Didnt want to title this a "Versus" thread because I dont want to make it seem like its a head to head competition or "this one is better than the other" kind of thing. Besides, I am and will always be biased towards only one.



As one ends...

Everyone should know by now (even nitrochampion.... ) that FusionFall is now gone. Not wishing to get into that aspect because its still a sensitive subject for me, I'll be brief on it.

We cant say that we didnt see it coming. We denied it, wish that it would make that miraculous recovery like we see in those feel-good stories we hear about.


But alas. It wasn't meant to be.


Even now, I keep the faith that something will happen. Wouldn't be a fan if I didnt.



Another Begins....

After needing to find another outlet for my online gaming addiction, I figured I could join w101 since thats always been at the forefront of the Kid MMO popularity. Wasnt too keen on it. . . . . but with no other recourse, I decided to join.


To tell you the truth, its better than what I expected.

----



If I could describe these games in my own way, FusionFall is like w101.........but with teeth. Whereas w101 takes a detour to get somewhere, FusionFall gets there immediately. I'll do my best not to be biased. It shouldn't show up all that often due to the fact that I like w101.

Its just that I still prefer FusionFall better.


Wizard 101 caters alot to its kid players. Its a game crafted specifically for them. So I really shouldn't be surprised when I see that in order to fill up your potion bottle, ya gotta play games at a fairground. lame.............

FusionFall is a little bit more harder edged when it comes to this aspect.


Wanna get a potion in w101? Go play a kiddie game. And make sure you play long enough or else the bottle wont be full.

Wanna get a potion in FusionFall? Go hurry up and buy some n00b and GET BACK TO THE FIGHT!



Getting straight to the point, all you have to do is buy the nano potions......go up to the monster and start blasting.......and get it done. Granted, it DOES lack the flare and fancyness of a cool battle system that KI so lovingly crafted, but it does speed up monster drops.




However, w101 beats out FusionFall in terms of Dedication & Patience and attention to Detail. I GOTTA respect that above all else.

- They went out of their way to add voice overs for all of the NPC's that I have seen so far.

- They made each card drawn have its own individual animation instance, thereby making the game seem really well polished.

- Their chat system doesnt seem to get NEARLY abused as much as FusionFall's did.

- The ability to warp wherever you want, almost whenever you want makes the struggle to get missions done a GLORIOUS REPRIEVE to the old 20 minute missions from fusionfall

- You level up TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS FASTER IN w101

It took me 3 play sessions to get to level 10.
For FusionFall it took 2 YEARS.


However, As nice and easy as that feels..............I knew that with the additional work, I felt I EARNED THE TITLE OF level 10. I didnt feel as jealous of you level capped players than I did a sense of admiration. I knew I wanted to get to the level cap.....but you had to earn it.


FusionFall in someways pushed you, challenged you. You had to work at collecting Fusion Matter, Take on and complete missions, and put time and dedication into playing.

So you can imagine, when I finally reached level 17............I felt REEEEEEEEEEEEALLLY GOOD since now I felt I was making my way into the realm of the lords of the game. Its a place reserved for the master players of the game. Level 17 was really significant for me. My final level I got to was 21. By then, I felt that I was finally a lord of the game.

Yeah you guys were level capped and always around, but I felt that I had already FINALLY paid my dues and earned the title of Veteran player.


w101.........meh.

Its hard being a n00b all over again. But this time it's different because, well, w101 is alright............but its no FusionFall. I go up 2 levels before I even realized that I even went up one at all. I guess it gets more challenging later.

Speaking of Challenging....


Battle Gameplay:

FusionFall Pros:

- Gets straight to the point; No gimmicky system to meddle with

- Monsters Vary in their Aggressiveness, some proving more of a challenge than others

- Can take down several monsters at once in a short amount of time, enabling you to sweep an entire area and gain alot of Experience points

- all monsters drop items constantly

- can escape attacking monsters and avoid battle. . . . if you can run fast enough




FusionFall Cons:

- Monsters can actually be TOO strong and take you out before you can safely get away.

- cant explore the overworld too far due to strong, over aggressive monsters.

- Monster Aggressiveness is biased. If you are a weaker player, the monsters will DEFINETLY come after you with no mercy. However, they leave higher ranked players alone.

- takes MUCH TOO LONG to drop Ultra Rare weapons




w101 Pros:

- has a cool gimmicky system to meddle with

- Cool animation & instances for monster card draws

- Gives the chance to think strategically about how to take down a monster

- anyone can join a battle - BUT EVERYONE GETS THE XP AND DROPS!!! BEST IDEA EVER!

- can successfully avoid battle, allowing you to explore the ENTIRETY of the Spiral and beyond

- Time and dedication went into making each and every animation. Good Job KingsIsle.



w101 Cons:

- cool gimmicky system is time consuming, making it labor-some to grind for drops of ANY sort.

- cant avoid battle once in a monster's gaze

- has to take the long way around by running along the map's walls

- monsters dont drop often enough

- can miss or "Fizzle" during inopportune times. Worst when it happens during that "one key move that will defeat the monster before it takes the last bit of your health"

 

I always liked the fact that you dont have to be bogged down by a time Consuming battle system.

But yet, at the same time.......the battle system is actually rather fun.

In FusionFall once you get into the ebb and flow of the game, you will come upon the need to grind for some items, or defeat a number of monsters to finish a mission. FusionFall gets straight to the point with the lack of Flare that KingsIsle put into theirs and you can quickly finish the mission depending on the difficulty.

w101 adds the concept of a flashy Battle system that requires the luck of card drawing to cast spells. Its not awesome, nor is it bad. Its just.......different. The time factor is my only hang-up.
But other than that, I still prefer the speed of FusionFall over the flashy flare of w101's battle system. Besides, you end up summoning the same cards enough, the thrill you get from seeing your cards come to life slowly becomes less and less amazing.

The addition of all players sharing the drops reguardless of whether you're in their group or not DOES balance the pros and cons out.
This one solo thing is MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE DIFFERENCE between FusionFall and w101 simply because I never liked kill stealing.

This is why players in FusionFall were always quick to join in groups.

With w101, you dont have that to worry about.

Not ONLY that, The loot drops increase with the addition of other players in the duel circle. This entices players to join others in taking down baddies. Now I dont know if others actively just go in any duel circle and join battles.

I know I've been hard pressed to do that............alot.

Maybe there's some sort of hidden community thing with doing that.

Kinda like how I figured out that instead of assisting another random player in FusionFall by shooting the monster, Have an area heal nano and support them from the side. They'll know you're there to help them while also not stealing their XP.




Game Design:

Game story -

The two stories..........its too early to judge. As with all MMO's, no one ever talks about the plot line. The Last of us? yes. Ultima? Yes. God of War? yep. Halo? meh. . . .every so often. MMO's? wait....they have a plot?


Yus. they do. FusionFall's plot gets revealed every so often when you talk to NPC's just as it does with w101.

But I cant be the one to judge. I havent done enough missions to progress in the story of w101.



Level and Model Design -

I will blatently point out..........I like FusionFall's avatar models better.
Monsters are even in this aspect though.

The ability to customize your character ALMOST as good as fusionfall's but falls shy of  eye color. Most would insist that something trivial like that isnt necessary to complain about............but it alleviates the problem of someone running up next to me with the same hair style and the EXACT same face.

I am ADAMANT ABOUT STANDING OUT. Its almost an obsession of mine.
I dont like to follow the crowd and like to be noticed before being heard.

So when I see someone running right next to me with the same thing I have, doesnt make me a happy camper.



Another thing I've noticed that the avatar models are rather low - res.


This is a stark contrast to the models that Appear in FusionFall. Heck, I hated the Graduation armor because it was low - res.
Come to find out, this is something I'm now gonna have to get used to.


KingsIsle makes up for it by introducing the concepts of Hair design. Much like the idea of a barber shop, KI capitalizes on this by making this a reality. They're even asking players to design their own hair styles..........which I am currently doing by the way.. 


Also, they offer the ability to change the color of your clothes.......something we never even cared to think of. Nice ingenuity KI.



FusionFall is Expansive.
w101 comes in second behind this aspect.
Mainly due to the Monster areas being limited to traveling along the walls.

I know its too early to judge...........but comparing the EXPANSIVENESS of City Station or the Beauty of Mt. Blackhead to w101 so far makes me DEATHLY BIASED. Cant help it.





And lastly. . . .there's the obvious. . .

Unlike CN.........KI is still there and lovin' it.

They just released p101 not too long ago. CN.........for god only know's WHY . . . . removed their paid subscription and made the game and Made it Free2Play.

And then that cancer called F2P slowly killed my beloved game little by little ever since.


KI. Simply put. Is smarter.

Not only did they add an Item mall that I have willingly spent money in...........they made it TEMPTINGLY CHEAP too! Paying only $5 for some in game currency? What a deal dontcha think CN???? I even payed $25 a couple of days ago for not only 16,000 crowns but got a bonus of +600 or so during a sale.

I can easily spend 5 bucks in a convienence store on a ton of candy.

So....why not blow it on crowns instead?
At least the crowns will last as long as I want, so it remains a worthy investment.



This would have been CN's Game money there.

I could see myself paying 5 bucks for in game taros. I could see myself buying a pair of Angel's prayers.......or superpowers..........or that secret base for my fansite with the working fusion Monster tracker.

What about a super fast vehicle? The ability to fly? Or have an actual Cartoon network character to assist you in battle? What about some gimmicky thing involving your guide assisting you?

Seriously. So many missed opportunities....

KI is not only still listening to their fanbase..........but they care so much for their project that they actively find sites and make their presence known. We've only gotten a response from CN once..............and that was to explain why their game flopped so bad the first day. KI has gotten on here 3 times and posted a few.


That. By itself.....keeps me playing.

You're actively showing you not only have true passion for the game you created, but you are willing to reach out to fans by listing VARIOUS fansites on your main sites as well as joining and chatting with others on outlier sites. We're a FusionFall fansite. . . . .but they felt the willingness to come here and talk with us.


I could say that I'm being naive in feeling this way. . . . . . . . . If it wasnt for the fact that I would do the exact same thing if I were in that exact situation.




They add ingenuity where other games lack to make their project stand out in any way possible and provide a positive, safe environment for players of all ages old or more importantly younger. FusionFall could be more easily picked up by harder core players and enjoyed.

It had scarier monsters, faster paced gameplay, and quick to the point, simplified action.
When going to a place like the Firepits for the very first time, you felt TRUE FEAR when you went there. I went there as a level 12 or so. You had to PRAY that no monster saw you.

I appreciated that fact that an MMO can bring that kind of feeling out of you that usually can only be induced by console or single player PC games.

w101 however has more downtime in the flow of fast paced gameplay, a more flashy, strategically centered Battle system that is enjoying to watch......but time consuming after a period of time.

However the addition of EXP & loot drops among random players participating in a random battle together makes up for ANY short coming that the battle system lacks. I feel that promotes players to interact with each other whereas you have to be apart of a community for FusionFall to know how to play the heavenly nurse. (running around with area heal nano out)

The fact that You can avoid monsters, doesnt create that additional Game feeling of fear that I like
..............but it DOES guarantee you the ability to explore other worlds without fear.

 
Their continued dedication to their baby shows in their constant need to involve the community in various events, sales, and Fansite hosting. CN however gave up not too long after they stopped getting income for theirs.

This game is so well received you might actually run into several players that are MUCH OLDER THAN ME that are actually parents, wives, and husbands that play this game. So there is always that added security.


So, In conclusion....
w101 is no FusionFall.

But it does well in earning respect for what it is and what it provides.


Thanks for being awesome KI.
(this post took me 2 1/2 hours to make)

Longest. Post. Ever. Sorry, X. Not even you will ever be able to beat this.

*sniff* it's so true...about how CN mostly ignored us, but to KI's constant open hand, to which they not only listened, but gave a mutual respect for online gamers...that's just...wow. I'll admit, I'm not to sucked in on W101, just never was interested, but they are just so greatly generous, most online MMO's would think of the gamers as a quick pay job, but these guys actually care...it makes you wonder if FF had that same feeling...

I mean we all joined this forum for fusionfall so we are always going to prefer it over w101. But it works a bogged down replacement 

°«©РwŃź0Ŕ®»™ wrote:

.....But it works a bogged down replacement 

 
Neat way to word it.

In all honesty, I think I enjoy the fact that I can make references to Gurren Laagan or Fairy Tail with this game.

Too bad no one here but Grumpz would get it.... 

I thought the CN reply was nice though.
And if I remember correctly, it was about overloades servers or some other technical issue.  
It's always nice when an mmo company comes to post.   
But yeah, KingsIsle did well in listening to fans and posting 3 times here so far.  
I don't understand the combat in W101 but I don't play often so that'll be why.

Its like a super kiddiefied version of Magic the Gathering...........or Yu-Gi-Oh!

SSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPER kiddiefied.

To battle you have to cross gazes with a monster and then you enter a battle phase...........much like pokemon.

To fight you have to pick from a random selection of cards in your deck...........much like Yu-Gi-Oh! or Magic.

Use strategy to overcome your enemies.

That's the w101 duel system in a nutshell.

so much info  

now I too,

will know the pros and cons, of these chocolicious games.