Stellacept Online

Stellacept Online is a free-to-play, 3D sci-fi fantasy MMORPG developed and published by Asobimo Inc, a well-known Japan-based mobile MMORPG developer most known for their flagship MMORPG, Avabel Online. Stellacept Online is Asobimo Inc’s most recent English translated game that launched globally on July 16, 2015 with the potential of topping Avabel Online. Stellacept Online offers a unique sci-fi fantasy theme similar to the Phantasy Star game series, gorgeous graphics, and engaging story-based questing that speaks of high production value. Stellacept Online reached over 100,000 downloads on Google Play and iTunes one week after its release and is currently set on becoming one of the top MMORPGs on mobile devices.

Character Creation

Players begin Stellacept Online by creating a character with many appearance customization options in hand. The character creation screen itself looks very sleek and reminiscent of console JRPGs. Players can choose male or female, and choose from 12 different face and hair style options and 10 different hair colors. Players can also change their height, skin color, inner armor (underwear) color, and outer armor color (for their starting armor). The character customization is definitely in-depth with a lot of options to choose from to make each character look somewhat unique. Players can also enter their birthdate since zodiacs and astrology play a role in the game. There are no classes to choose from during Character Creation because the game has an unrestricted class system based on nine weapon types.

An Open Sci-fi Fantasy World

Stellacept Online has an open persistent world divided into many large zones. Players start off in a futuristic, yet very colorful and fantasy-looking, base that serves as the main town in the game. The town is persistent and is full of players and quests NPCs scattered around. There is a tunnel on the left side of town that teleports players to maps for their active quests. Quest progression is fairly linear so the tunnel automatically knows which map the player is headed towards next. These maps are huge and are filled with NPCs, players, monsters, and various story-related objects. As of this review, the game was bustling with new players running around at every corner, which actually made questing a bit of a hindrance due to how many players were trying to kill the same monsters. Each map is large and persistent so there is quite a bit of running to do sometimes but it really brings the open world to life.

Wonderful Graphics

Stellacept Online has great graphics and is one of Asobimo Inc’s best looking MMORPGs. The game has a sci-fi fantasy theme reminiscent of the Phantasy Star game series. The world is futuristic and yet very medieval fantasy-looking at the same time. Weaponry is very high-tech with laser blasters, energy blades, robotic spheres, and more, while the armor in this game has a more advanced, feudal look. Most of the environments, other than the main town, look very fantasy-esque with grassy fields, trees, and creatures such as wolves and giant mosquitoes. There are also some unique creatures such as dragons, giant fish monsters, and demon-like bosses. The interfaces and menus have a very sleek, sci-fi JRPG look and are easy to navigate and use. Overall, the game looks great and the world and character designs are very detailed.

Freedom to Customize Your Build

Stellacept Online does not have a set class system which allows players to build their characters how they like. The game has 9 unique weapons which include: Blade, Blaster, Sphere, Glaive, Launcher, Disc, Vice, Chaser, and Ranger. Each weapon has different attack styles and separate skill trees containing many skills to choose from. With so many different weapons and skills to customize, the combinations are almost endless. There is also an option to quickly switch between two weapon types (named “Main” and “Sub” weapons) so the game encourages players to choose at least two weapons to focus on.

Players can also customize their builds through the S/G/M Level and Status upgrades. Defeating monsters will give players Star Spicas which they can use toward S/G/M Level upgrades. The S Level strengthens Blade, Glaive, Vice, and Ranger weapons, the G Level strengthens Blaster, Launcher, Chaser, and Vice weapons, and the M Level strengthens Sphere, Ranger, and Chaser weapons. The S/G/M Levels only increase after twenty points have been allocated toward one of them so they do take a relatively long time to level up. Points for Status upgrades are obtained from leveling up. The 6 Status options are STR (affects SLASH, SHOT, MAGIC), BODY (affects DEF and MAX HP), TECH (affects ACC), SPD (affects AVD and MOV), SOUL (affects CRIT Resist and GRD), and LUCK (affects CRIT Rate and CRIT DMG). They are basically like stat points in other MMORPGs and it is important to allocate them wisely depending on the weapons players decide to focus on.

Questing with an Engaging Story

Stellacept Online combines traditional questing with a story that keeps things interesting. The questing is very beginner friendly and the game holds the player’s hand for most of the game, which in my opinion, is a good thing. The game guides players from one quest to another with quest arrows and simple objectives. The quests mainly involve killing a certain number of monsters or a specific boss, talking to NPCs, and collecting monster drops, but story elements in between help keep the game interesting. Every NPC interaction becomes more immersive as the camera zooms in on them and there are many NPC to NPC interactions creating some amusing dialogue and animations. Additionally, NPCs speak conversationally so there are no big “walls of text” to read. There are also many cutscenes involving both NPCs and the player character. The lore itself is also interesting. Everyone in the world of Stellacept Online has a Stella, which is like a spirit companion, and these Stella are mysterious and causes the player to occasionally enter strange flashbacks in order to unlock the truth and hidden potentials of the Stella.

Combat: An Action and Point-and-Click Hybrid

Asobimo Inc has made their fair share of both action and point-and-click MMORPGs and Stellacept Online is a mix of both. Players move with a virtual joystick and have a button to attack similar to mobile action RPGs except it isn’t as action-oriented as say, Avabel Online. Pressing the attack button will target and attack near-by enemies but the attacking is slower than true action RPGs so it somewhat seems automated. Essentially players will keep spamming the attack button as they characters stand there and attack, which kind of feels like a point-and-click game since players are somewhat auto-targetting and cannot dodge. There is, however, a combo and skill system that makes it more action-oriented. Players can attack monsters for 3 hit combos before the attack animations reset but using a skill after the third hit will trigger a 4-hit combo for extra damage. Additional skills can also be combined into attack sequences for higher combos. Despite the hybrid combat, the combat is definitely not bland or boring. The animations are very smooth and the flashy skills and effects make the combat exciting to watch. Plus it is still somewhat action-oriented and players can move and attack with the ranged weapons. There are also bosses in each map that can be a blast to fight once players are of the proper level.

The Mysterious Stella and Burst Mode

Stellas are glowing orbs of energy (possibly spirits) that follows players around. Everyone has one, even all of the NPCs. They are a unique and mysterious aspect of the game’s lore and play a large role in the story. Every now and then, players will unlock a star in their astrology chart (from completing story missions) which contains 4 potential stars for each zodiac. These stars give the player special skills during Burst mode. Players have a Burst meter that gradually fills up while fighting monsters. When the bar is full, players can enter Burst mode which transforms them into a giant, glowing deity that can quickly destroy any foe that they attack. Unfortunately this mode only lasts for a couple of seconds, due to overpowered it is, so this mode is best used wisely. Stella skills can be used during Burst mode and different Stella skills can be learned throughout the game. These skills include powerful AOE attacks, buffs, and passive abilities. Stellas are mysterious and progressing through the story will unlock their true potential.

Cash Shop/In-App Purchases (IAP)

The in-app purchases in Stellacept Online are similar to most of Asobimo Inc’s other MMORPGs, which are lenient and unnecessary but offer slight advantages and cosmetic items.

The most popular items in the Cash Shop at the moment are the Avatar items, which are purely cosmetic costumes that enhance the character’s appearance with many unique themes. These costumes are obtained from a wheel that randomly gives out different parts of the outfit and different colors of the costumes so players cannot directly buy the ones that they want. There are also item wheels that give out random useful items such as upgrade and boost items. With Gems (premium currency), players can also buy a beginner weapon pack, hair cosmetics (hair styles and colors), skill resets, revives, teleports, Star Spica (skill exp) boosts, and bag expansion items. Other than the beginner weapon pack, which gives slightly better versions of the beginner weapons, there is no other equipment that can be bought from the Shop. The in-app purchases are mainly cosmetic and convenience items and are overall very reasonable and the game currently is in no way, pay-to-win.

Final Verdict – Great

Stellacept Online is yet another top notch MMORPG from the well-known, Asobimo Inc. With high quality graphics, a unique sci-fi fantasy theme, engaging questing and story, and fair in-app purchases, Stellacept Online is a great mobile MMORPG that all MMORPG fans should try out.