Blame /jp/. I've heard about this GRINDAN game so many times on there that I thought I'd go ahead and try it. Hell, the past few months I've been working on finding another MMO to play after burning out on Ragnarok Online and WoW. I tried DOMO, which was interesting, but the community seemed lame and the gameplay didn't come off as very rewarding(kill a bunch of monsters near your level in a single area for an hour and a half, level, move on to the next and repeat)
Anywho, game's called Mabinogi, it's an MMORPG with less of a focus on fighting and more of a focus on living and interacting with NPCs. Just how much of a focus? You gain xp for doing simple things like making deliveries or developing noncombat skills and NPCs will even treat you differently based on how often you talk to them or do things for them. They can also hire you to perform part time jobs for them depending on their place of business too. Like for example, the Medicine woman asks you to deliver potions for her, while the Innkeeper sends you on errands for supplies for the Inn, etc.
http://mabinogi.nexon.net/Some things about the game I thought were neat/interesting:
Music Compose: I thought this was insane when I heard about it. You can actually equip an instrument and play custom songs in-game. If you know musical notation you can use
the composer on the official site to piece together the song or even make your own. So far I've heard themes from Super Mario Bros., the Portal ending theme, the Pirates of the Carribean theme, Lucky Star's Opening, Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, and a few others.
The Battle System: I thought it sounded interesting enough on paper, but in execution the battle system really stands out and gives the game a more active feel than what you'd get in most point and click to fight RPGs. It works on a rock paper scissors type system where during combat you can choose to attack, defend, counter, or use a smash attack. Attack beats smash attack, Smash attack beats defend(if you're using a sword you'll literally stab and run through an enemy)), Counter beats attack, and Defend reduces damage.
You basically click on an enemy to attack or use a hotkey to change modes of attack. Nothing's more satisfying than totally shutting down a bosses' attacks by attacking and counter attacking him repeatedly, and then running them through when they get smart and decide to defend. Hits actually have momentum to them too, as getting struck sends you reeling back, sometimes on your feet, other times knocked down completely. Even though it's point and click it has a very arcadey feel to it yet is balanced and strategic enough that it doesn't become a button masher. Changing modes of attack takes timing and being able to read your opponent's movement and in that aspect combat can be particularly engrossing.
Character system: You can start your character between the ages of 10-17, and they gradually age over time. The earlier age you start at the more difficult the game'll be early on since your stats will be lower, but you end up gaining more attribute points in the long run so in my opinion it's totally worth it. Not to mention, the younger characters look particularly cute and look right at home in dungeons, almost like the game was a 3D version of Legend of Zelda 1.
Ah, there's a diet system too. If you feed your loli too much they'll grow big and fat, while if you starve them they'll lose energy and turn skinnier over time. There's also a custom clothes system too, though as of this writing it looks like you have to level up tailoring in order to make them, though from what I've heard you have a lot of freedom as far as what colors to make your clothes, assuming you have the appropriate dye.
Ingame Time: The game has day and night cycles that effect when you can perform jobs for NPCs, what's sold in shops, and what bonuses are available that day.
These are just some of the things I though were interesting about this game so far. It just went Open Beta so it looks like they'll be adding more as development progresses. So far though, I really like the features that set it apart from other MMOs. That and commanding a polygonal loli to fight a marauding bear.
