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| Mike Salbato |
First look at this lush new anime-styled MMORPG.
08.15.13 - 4:34 PM
This past weekend was the Otakon 2013 convention in Baltimore, MD. One of the many companies in attendance was free-to-play game publisher Aeria Games. At Aeria's panel, the company announced its next MMORPG project, Aura Kingdom. The game is being developed by X-Legend, who have previously worked on such titles as Eden Eternal and Grand Fantasia.
Aura Kingdom, as you can see above, features a vibrant, anime-styled world and characters. It's almost exactly how I would picture a Star Ocean MMO. But that's just me. Regardless, the word that keeps springing to my mind to describe the environments is "lush," so it certainly isn't hard on the eyes.
One of Aura Kingdom's key differentiating features is its companion system. While other games give you companions in different capacities, these sidekicks level up alongside your character, have their own skill sets, and can even perform combo attacks with your character. A system that reminds me in ways of both Torchlight and Final Fantasy Tactics, your companion can be sent on errands, and since they retain memories of what they did, will return and occasionally have conversations about their solo adventures. You can see one of the potential companions here, alongside some of the nice character designs, but there's more in our new gallery.
Customization will also play a large role in developing your characters. Aura Kingdom will have eight classes available (details about said classes are forthcoming), each with their own play style and weapon choice. After a certain point, you'll be able to branch out and use a secondary weapon from a different class. Of course, there will also be a skill system to level up your abilities. Since you'll be encouraged to change up your skill set to meet different challenges, it sounds like this could be a key ingredient in gameplay, versus locking you in to a set path like some titles.
Below is the game's announcement trailer, and again, be sure to check out our all-new gallery for screens and more of the game's lovely artwork.
Aura Kingdom is, per Aeria tradition, a free to download and free to play title. It doesn't yet have a release date, but will launch in English and French, with more languages coming in the future. Beta signups are now live at the game's website.
