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Hello Kitty Online pre-release review
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Come play with Hello Kitty!
Where can you find a relaxing atmosphere, with friendly people, and some of your favorite childhood characters, all in one place? Hello Kitty Online! If you read the interview a couple of weeks back, you know what it's all about from the developers and publishers of the game. Well, after playing the game since the opening of closed beta, this review has been put together for you, the player. While I'm not at liberty to go into full detail of the game, what I can tell you is that this game exceeded my expectations, and I've written my thoughts below.
While HKO may not be the death of WoW, as many rumors have insinuated, it is an absolutely beautiful game. This free-to-play MMO has outdone itself, successfully coupling the images and imagination of the Hello Kitty world, with an enjoyable and playable experience for the fans. The game incorporates social networking ties, with blogs, videos, and player information that can be viewed directly through the game. So, HKO isn't focused on grinding, or leveling, unless you want it to be.
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Keroppi is waiting for you!
While there are many quests, with a good storyline to go with them, the game does not focus primarily upon them. There are many things to do other than questing, like crafting and socializing. While crafting can be fun, collecting all of the items you need to make certain things does become time consuming, and even monotonous at times. The socializing aspect is where it really is. The atmosphere within the game is much friendlier than in other games I've played in the past. People are willing to give you a helping hand, or just sit in the town square and talk to eachother. The emoticons within the game are hilarious as well, and are fun to throw into random conversations.
Purin enjoying himself.
The quests are not very difficult, but you do get rewarded for doing them. Not only do you receive cool clothes and gear, but you also get experience and friendship points for each town. The storyline, which I will not give away, does engage the player, especially if you're familiar with the Hello Kitty family and franchise in the first place. If you're not familiar with it, I could see getting confused on which character to go to next, but you can always count on fellow players to help you out.
As far as the graphics are concerned, as soon as you enter the game you are taken to a beautiful and relaxing environment. Even the smallest details, such as stars embedded into the ground, are gorgeous. Everything is very colorful and fantasylike. The creatures you fight are slightly "Maple Story"-esque, in the way that they're too cute to believe that they will take you out if you're too low level. But, believe me, they will if you get too close, or don't know how to run fast enough. Many, many times. Also, the music in the game is extremely relaxing as well, and pulls you in to believe that you are really in another world.
HKO is extremely child friendly, but it's also fun for the young adult as well. I personally ran into multiple people in their early to mid twenties. And, though it's obviously aimed at the female crowd, there's a lot for guys to enjoy as well. Some clothing items are only available for boys or girls, and the other gender can't wear them. The many famous cities that you can visit are beautifully put together, and there are some familiar cites with the Hello Kitty flair added to them that you'll be sure you'll want to visit.
The Bottom Line: Because HKO is still in closed beta, you'll have to look at the rating as it is. The game is still buggy, but that's to be expected. I'm sure that all of the bugs will be worked out by the time the public release comes around. The graphics are smooth, and what you would expect from the Hello Kitty world. Very detailed and very much from a fantasy world. The controls are easy to master, and the quests are relatively easy to finish. Very child friendly, and very friendly in general. I'm going to give this game an 8.0/10, because some might find it too easy and friendly. Also, it is very much female oriented, and the colorfulness might be a putoff to the male crowd.
