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That said, clones aren't always such a bad thing and my philosophy tends toward "clone away, just get it right" and that's sadly where most companies tend to fall down. So where dose Luna Online fall in that twilight between Win and Fail? The first thing you should know is that Luna tends toward the cutesy anime genre of free to play, looking remarkably like ROSE Online in terms of graphical implementation with a just a touch more depth concerning character customization. Humans and Elves are the species of choice and that customization is limited to hair and eyes, meaning you'll only stumble across your evil twin every ten minutes instead of the standard one to five. Like most MMOs of the type, this is where you'll choose your initial class and Luna is no exception, nor is it rocket science. The typical Mage, Rogue and Fighter archetypes can be selected and Luna follows the tried and true Asian job model, where you select your class initially and then specialize at level twenty. Overall, it's nothing you haven't seen before so lets pop the hood and look at what's underneath.

Usually I don't start out with audio, but it is perhaps Luna's most notable facet. In fact, it goes a long way toward turning what would be a thoroughly average environment into something more immersive. Stepping into the game's newb zone for the first time I was greeted by... Dance. 150 beats per second of happy go lucky midi dance that fits the Luna's feel surprisingly well. The Techno Twins Slad and Veter aside, combat is also acoustically superior, a fact confirmed the first time you loose a spell or technique. Chanting out a spell has to be one of the most unique, disconcerting experiences I've happened across in an MMO and the closest parallel I can draw upon is from the audio chanting in the Baldur's Gate series. Acquiring valuable loot drops are accompanied by energetic exclamations, sighs and other nuances that push your toon into something closer to a living, interactive entity.

Graphically, Luna Online runs the gamut of mediocrity, though that's not to say the game is ugly. Far from it, in fact, as the sand boxed environments are stylized; full of nice touches and bright colors. Still, we would be remiss if we didn't note that there probably isn't a whole lot to wow you since you've more than likely been there and done that before. The characters and their techniques are well animated and also flashy in execution, though it's maybe a step above the competition, if that. Still, the cutesy theme will definitely appeal to a number of players and for what it is, Luna does it well.

So is there anything that stands out as above average? Surely. While each region is effectively a self contained sandbox, most are sprinkled with a number of elites that are all but impossible to miss. Even the newb zone has a few and I can't help but to express my delight in joining in on a combined attack against at a mere level four. On that note, the mobs animate reasonably well and are creative enough in design as not to written off as stale straight out of the gate; even spouting off dialogue as they roam about the countryside awaiting their demise by your hand.