At the fifth NTP (Netmarble Together with Press) conference at the end of January, South Korean game giant Netmarble released as many as 20 research projects in one go. However, perhaps the Game of Thrones open-world RPG mobile game based on Unreal Engine 5 is too eye-catching, and few media outlets have set their sights on a "resurrected" IP, RF Project.
But in the near future, GameLook noticed that many foreign players expressed their great expectations for this game after watching the PV of "RF Project", which has a "holy song style" game that allows some players to call out that they have their wallets ready, as long as they are served.
In the context of the market where MMORPGs have long been saturated, what is the charm of "RF Project" that can make players look forward to it so much?
Promote PV
Netstone took over strongly, targeting the next generation
In September 2020, Netstone acquired the rights to RF Online and announced that it would start development of a mobile game version in the near future. At that time, no one would question the technical power of netstone, but for RF mobile games, more people still believe that being able to "hd remake" may already be a good ending for this classic IP.
After more than a year of silence, when Netstone first announced the concept PV of RF Project at this year's NTP, players still felt a strong visual impact. Obviously, RF Project goes far beyond a mobile game port and HD fork of RF Online, its goal is to target the next generation of cross-platform MMOs.
Judging from the official release of the PV, the setting of the coexistence of "magic and technology" in RF classics has been completely interpreted. You can either wear a futuristic mech and engage in a melee combat unique to the cold weapon era, or you can take a high-fire machine gun with a very oppressive high-fire machine gun and shoot a crazy strafing at the enemy in the distance.
What's more, advances in technology have allowed RF Online's third-person perspective to be brought closer in RF Project, whether it's the special effects of electric flint or the blood-splattered combat, which can bring players a realistic and shocking combat experience. This also makes the overall visual perception of RF Project almost the same as many FPS masterpieces.
When introducing this product, the relevant person in charge of Regia said that he was eager to show the charm of RF and its unique world to users again, and Regiar was also ready for this. Overall, Netstone hopes to create a wonderful world with both nostalgia and freshness, so that old users can not only have a familiar feeling, but also have a novel experience.
Many elements of the previous game were presented in new ways in RF Project, such as the symbolic mecha combat method in the past, which changed to the player can directly ride a giant robot armor in the new game. At the same time, players can also summon super giants to fight side by side like in the previous game, but in the new game, it is really possible to fight "side by side".
For the most classic RvR elements of RF Online, the person in charge said that RF Project will inherit the essence of the original RvR, provide users with a higher degree of freedom of narrative space, and also hope to further enrich the game's RvR experience by allowing users to freely change their race and occupation.
At the same time, the official also said that this game will not be limited to mobile phones, and like a number of cross-platform MMORPGs launched by South Korea's 3N in recent years, PC players will also be able to enjoy the unique fun of "RF Project". The release date of the game has not yet been determined.
What is the origin of RF? RF Online beyond the timeline
In August 2004, the Korean CCR company took the lead in launching the 3D MMORPG "RF Online(Chinese translation: Crystal Battle)" in the local market. At that time, NCsoft's "Paradise 2" was launched less than a year ago and was killing people in the global market. Affected by this, not only the Korean market, but also the online game markets in various countries are basically swept by fantasy fever, and it seems that "Paradise 2" is the standard answer to the online game market.
It's hard to say that RF completely circumvents the influence of fantasy genres, but overall it's still a product that goes beyond the timeline. The story takes place on a distant planet in the Novus galaxy, where magic and technology coexist. Like most MMORPGs, RF follows classic fantasy settings, such as swords and witchcraft. But it also has the concept of race vs race vs race (RvRvR) and modern and even futuristic technologies such as mechs and nuclear weapons.
The so-called RvR, just like StarCraft, you not only exist as a "hero", but also dominate the economic construction and military expansion of a "race". In RF, players can choose from 3 character races: Akretia, Berto, or Carat. The battle for resources between the three races is the main conflict in the game world. Therefore, one of the most important dungeons in the game, Chip Wars, is not based on individual victory and defeat, the goal of Chip Wars is to help the entire race gain control of key resources.
In terms of screen, some domestic media have commented: "The game configuration requirements are not high, but it has gorgeous graphics." "In an era when many single-player games were limited to the technical level and could not fully achieve 3D, RF's full 3D picture quality was definitely eye-catching. More importantly, because it does not stick to the fantasy style of "Dark Like", the rf world also has a brighter color expression.
The concept and picture transcend the timeline and also keep the ill-fated RF extremely alive. Although the game service in Europe and the United States was shut down in 2008 due to the expiration of the license, the CCR restarted the service in the United States in 2012 through the publisher GamesCampus. In the Philippines, which has set a record for the length of online games in the country, the game was even relaunched in 2017.
On YouTube, there are still many videos of games from the past two years, although it seems to be a bit of a year, but few people feel that the life of this game is close to 20 years.
Stylized MMO: A Bright Path
If according to the standards of European and American media, products such as "Original God" and "Magic Tower" are also regarded as MMORPGs, then the answer seems to be self-evident in the long-debated topic of whether MMO is dead. As one of the most popular game categories in the world, MMO has developed to this day, although the competition is becoming increasingly fierce, but such stylized and prominent products as "Original God" and "Magic Tower" still have a bloody road with excellent product quality and unique selling points. The same applies to the RF Project.
Comparing the MMORPG projects announced by major Korean manufacturers this year, even those products that are still based on magic still have unique labels. For example, the "Game of Thrones" adaptation mobile game mentioned at the beginning of the article undoubtedly has the unique selling point of IP blessing. The recent NCsoft official announcement of "Throne and Liberty" and "Project E", although it is still the medieval theme of the classic, but the gimmick of "one world, two games" and the extreme Eastern and Western style are enough to make players look forward to it.
In contrast, the stylization of RF Project is undoubtedly more prominent in the Korean MMO market with a "kimchi" flavor. Whether it is the combat and visual experience of FPS, or the surreal alien theme that combines magic and technology, this product has made this product highly recommended by MMO players who have been educated by "Paradise Like". Even if you have not played "RF Online", the effect display in the promotional PV has also made many players think about it.
In Taiwan, where Korean-style MMO games often slaughter the list, there are many players who leave messages in the YouTube comment area, including veteran "RF Online" players with a sense of memory, as well as new netizens who bluntly say "I want to play it" (I want to play this game)." This not only reflects the distinctive characteristics of the original game to leave a deep impression on players, but also proves that even twenty years later, the stylized RF still has a broad market space in the era of mobile games.
For South Korea's 3N, which has always declared that it wants to transform, blindly abandoning its years of accumulation in the MMO field in order to transform is inevitably a bit of an inversion. In contrast, stylized MMO like RF Project, which can give full play to the advantages of research and development and get rid of the "kimchi" label, is undoubtedly more suitable as the starting direction of transformation.
And if you look at the global market, whether it is the end game or the mobile game market, whether it is "New World", "The Lost Ark" or "Original God" and "Phantom Tower", it has been proved that players are always honest and upright. Even if there is a singing sound, the stylized MMO will still be a promising track.
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