Water Margin Online

Water Margin Online Review

Water Margin Online is a Chinese game based on a famous novel from the Song Dynasty but it seems to me that that the developers had something besides medieval Chinese texts on their mind when they cooked up this game. The graphics in Water Margin are nearly identical to those of Ragnarok Online. MMORPGs borrow features from each other frequently but the level of similarity here is hilarious. Even if WMO is a RO clone, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Like RO, Water Margin has an interesting blend of 2d environments with 3d objects such as trees, characters, and houses. WMO isn’t the only RO clone, Secret of the Solstice fits that description as well.

Before going any further it is important to note that there is currently no Western version of Magic World Online. The only English version is located in Malaysia. Anyone can still play but the registration process for these foreign servers is always a bit of a headache. I could not get the registration page to work on Firefox and had to use Internet Explorer. When the web page finally cooperated, I was asked to provide a ID number, my address, contact info, and other information. Be sure to put in fake information, the system has no way to check the authenticity of what you enter.

Water Margin Online has 6 starting classes: Major, Martial Monk, Peasant, Thief, Literatus, and Taoist Priest. Players can customize their character’s hair style and color but not much else. Every character starts with 10 points in each of the 5 stats: Str, Con, Dex, Wis, and Fai. Players are given 5 points during character creation to distribute among these five. Don’t waste any stat points or you’ll regret it, characters in WMO only receive 1 stat point per level. Similarly, players receive one skill point per level. New players begin their adventure in a tutorial area called ‘Newbie Town.’ Players are introduced to the game’s combat and quest system. Like other Asian MMORPGs, the English text in WMO is poorly translated. WMO has plenty of early level quests and the quest giving NPCs are clearly marked in green on the mini map which helps give the grinding some purpose.

Water Margin Online has a basic point and click interface which works well but most of the content in the game is not appealing. Players are forced to hunt the same simple creatures for hours to progress. WMO does have a sea based component but ships are expensive and new players can hardly afford to repair their starting ship if it happens to sink. Ship combat is similar to land based combat but a player’s naval and character levels are kept separate. Playing Water Margin Online reminded me of a recently released 3d MMORPG with the same land and sea concept - Florensia. Water Margin Online has several cool features such as the ability to own pets, open a personal shop, and ride mounts. Water Margin Online is a simple game game but suffers from a small community and lack of compelling content. If you’re looking for something similar to Ragnarok Online or a lesser known foreign game, give Water Margin Online a try. For the rest of us, there are many better game choices.

Water Margin Online Screenshots

Water Margin Online Video

Water Margin Online Links

Official Site

Wikipedia Page