Nostale Anime MMORPG: How does it play in 2019?

Nostale is a classic anime MMORPG from a bygone era, one where MMOs were cute, chibi and laid back. Now it’s all about mad orcs and worlds at the verge of destruction, so it’s all a bit overly serious than it really should be. Well, maybe the fate of the world is at stake in Nostale, but it’s a bubbly one for sure. If you are feeling nostalgic for classic MMORPGs, you can play Nostale for free by clicking the link in the video description.

First released in 2006, it’s a game that lasted for several years, starting with a large player base and proceeded with a committed following that keeps the game thriving. It doesn’t have a toxic community where you can’t say a word without feeling shamed; it’s more of a slow, enjoyable experience that you play to get the best skills and discover new monsters and pets.

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We often get requests about great MMORPGs that aren’t too demanding, with low hardware requirements, usually to play on an older laptop. Nostale perfectly fits the bill, being very light and suited to pretty much every machine made in the last 15 years.

Unlike most games nowadays, you don’t start by choosing a class. Everyone begins as an adventurer, equipped with the essentials as they set off for adventure. You’ll make new friends, meet the excited Nosville NPC community, and get a few pets by force.

The character creation system mirrors this idea, offering a choice between male or female, along with a couple of hair styles, hair color, and that’s it, adventure awaits. It’s only when you reach level 20 that you get to choose one of three classes: Swordman, Archer, or Mage. But don’t be mistaken by this selection; there are over 30 specialist classes for you to further unlock, which means that you’ll get to try very different builds during your adventure.

The first 20 levels aren’t your usual walk in the park but are mostly used to learn the mechanics and know who are the NPCs that you can count on. Mimi Mentor will often guide you, while other characters help you with alchemy, upgrading weapons or managing your family, which is a fancy name for a guild.

One of the highlights from Nostale was the way that the world was built using a full 3D environment with 2D sprites. This allowed for a comfortable control where you could rotate and zoom the game world, making sure that no detail is hidden from sight. It may be a standard feature in MMOs nowadays, but at the time it was a standout. The anime characters remain as cute and chibi as they ever did, with no shortage of monsters to smack, and pets to tame.

There is one questline that was oddly funny in a somewhat twisted sense. You must put an end to the Kovolt miners’ strike, and how do you do that? First, by disguising yourself as one of them and eavesdropping; secondly – and this is the essential part –, you pretty much bash them repeatedly on the head through the duration of several quests until they settle down. I wish I could say that there is some underlying social commentary somewhere in there, but it’s just a silly, humorous excuse to grind, like there are so many others in other games.

While Nostale features an open world divided in several regions, it’s not advised to go exploring until you know that you are geared to the teeth to face the next challenge. You consistently raise your combat and job levels and only when you finally choose your class, you feel more confident about your potential. While I had to leave my previous skills at the door, so to speak, I was more than pleased with my new sword and buffed stats. The monsters that had previously worried me so much were now a breeze to beat.

The MiniLand is your own personal pet farm. This is where you can keep your inactive pets safe, as you can only take one of them with you. There are many structures to install, including your own home and warehouses, and other players may hang out with you as well, checking your pets and playing a few minigames for fun. Each pet levels up as it fights, so it’s important to always keep your most battle-hardened pet with you… until you manage to tame a better one.

The Nostale world has many Time-Space Stones for you to explore, most of them requiring a certain level to enter. Some of them are essential to advance the storyline, while others often have great rewards waiting for you. You will quickly discover that the Time-Space Stones provide an interesting challenge because these are timed trials. You’ll find yourself in a succession of rooms with levers and locked doors, not to mention a host of enemies that will make your life difficult. Sometimes the best tactic is to run to the exit, unless you need to kill every opponent in the room to unlock the door.

Nostale still feels like a very social game. It’s a relaxed game about leveling up and meeting a few players, helping each other out and having fun while doing it. There is PvP that will put your Specialist classes to great use, but you have dozens of hours of adventure before getting to it.

Combat in the Nostale MMORPG is tab-target and the kind that is extremely simple to learn but hard to master. It has more depth than what it looks like at first, with different skills changing the tide of battle – a shout of morale may be enough to win a fight that was looking grim.

It’s impressive to read the testimonies and seeing how the Nostale MMORPG changed so many lives, with many players confessing that they met life-long friends while playing this game. After over a dozen years, Nostale is still getting events and new content, such as a new Otter pet. If you wish to play a bit of classic MMORPG history, give Nostale a try by clicking the link in the video description, and have fun!