Nexon America's upcoming free-to-play MMO "Dungeon Fighter Online" looks old, but unlike most cases, that's actually one of the best compliments Nexon could hope to receive.

Qualities of old-school beat 'em ups still exist in some of the most popular MMOs out there. Take Nexon's own hit "MapleStory," for example. The title is played on a 2D plane and players are tasked with moving from either right to left, or vice versa, eliminating any and all opposition. What separates "MapleStory" from arcade classics like "Final Fight," "Streets of Rage," and "Double Dragon," is the lack of the all important Y-axis. In those games, players can move their avatars up and down in addition to left and right. In "Dungeon Fighter Online," though, that element is added back to the mix.

That's right: "Dungeon Fighter Online" is like a free-to-play MMO version of your favorite beat 'em ups.

Technically, this title is kind of old. Three years ago, Hangame published the Neople-developed game in South Korea. And just last March, Nexon announced they would be bringing it over to the U.S. You could be a little cynical and say we're getting Korea's sloppy seconds, but then you'd be overlooking the obvious benefits.

I asked associate producer Luis A. Reyes and Producer Ray Cheon if they were having any difficulties with balancing the game so that certain characters and combinations aren't more powerful than others. They quickly pointed out that most of that has already been handled, so players don't need to worry about the fisticuff Fighter tremendously outdamaging a Slayer, and the demon-possessed swordsman class, or a Priest stomping all over both Mages and Gunners in PVP.

Each class can be customized to the player's liking by choosing between four different specializations. Additionally, the appearance of each character can be changed by wearing different types of armor gained from questing and killing monsters as well as through purchasing them on the game's store via real money transactions (RMT) -- you know, typical stuff. When I asked the folks at Nexon whether or not purchased items would be available for a limited time (essentially denoting whether players are paying for a limited use license or, rather, "renting" the content) or if they'll be available forever, they said a model still hasn't been decided.

I like beat 'em ups (back in the day I would've said I LOVED them), and I dig the idea of FINALLY adding RPG elements and a persistent instance-based world to the mix, but to further enhance the experience the developers have inserted little touches that, in a way, authenticate the experience as "old school approved."

Moves can be activated three ways: by clicking the icon, pressing a shortcut key, or by inputting a button combination -- the much more arcade-like approach. Also, when players are stunned or incapacitated, a joystick icon appears on the screen prompting the player to move it left and right, even though they're playing on a keyboard. It's almost as if Neople reluctantly accepts the keyboard and mouse control scheme, instead preferring something much more ... retro.

Since I'm the proud new owner of an authentic arcade stick, I've been itching to try it out on a few titles. Seeing the potential to use it to play an MMO, I turned my attention to the Nexon people for answers.

Officially unofficially, it's something they'd really love to see(!), and "are really pushing" to have it implemented sometime in the future. No need to hurry though, ladies and gentlemen. Your "old" retro title doesn't age like most whose major selling points are "realism" and pixel counts.

For the rest of MMO Life's E3 coverage, you can check out our page of E3 articles, including news, first looks, and hands-on previews.

Posted by Kyle Stallock
June 6, 2009

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