Grand Fantasia : ORIGIN

About

Grand Fantasia : ORIGIN is a multiplayer role playing game with drama, anime, medieval and historical themes. It was developed by X-Legend Entertainment Co., Ltd. and was released on September 1, 2024. It received negative reviews from players.

New engine, New gameplay, New adventure, the classic MMORPG 《Grand Fantasia：ORIGIN》technological innovation, bringing an unprecedented gaming experience. Players can explore, fight, and grow in a broader world. Embark on a new adventure journey with your Guardian Sprite. [Engine Fully Upgraded]From the land to the forest, Rivers to the ocean, Villages to towns, the game's graphics will be sign…

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39%

Audience ScoreBased on 282 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

graphics5 negative mentions

Nostalgia factor is strong; the game brings back fond memories for longtime players.
The anime-inspired art style and graphics hold a distinct charm and have been modestly updated.
Casual gameplay that is accessible and enjoyable for players not focused on competitive play.

The game is heavily pay-to-win with aggressive microtransactions that hurt game balance and fairness.
UI and text issues are prevalent, including cut-off dialogue, poor translations, and confusing quest systems.
Frequent bugs, crashes, intrusive anti-bot captchas, and limited dungeon runs severely degrade the gameplay experience.

story
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
86%
7%
The story and quest system in the game are widely criticized for being chaotic, overly simplified, and disconnected from the world, with auto-quest popups and forced teleportation preventing meaningful player engagement. Numerous bugs, poor text formatting, and the removal of key quest features like mission orders further diminish the narrative experience, making progression feel tedious and sometimes buggy. Overall, players find the storytelling inconsistent and the quest design frustrating, eroding the connection and immersion once present in earlier versions.
- “I have always loved Grand Fantasia: the lore, the graphics, the possibility of quests and dungeons; I farmed a lot and, being a collector, I liked to accumulate reputations to unlock potions or rewards.”
- “An essential component of any game is its storytelling.”
- “Very fun game and I feel like it's a bit easier to play now that you can auto teleport to places. It does mean I don't know how to get anywhere now like I did when I was a kid, but it means missions are done a lot quicker especially if you work and don't have all day to play.”
- “The game's auto-quest popups became really overwhelming and irritating starting around level 15; I couldn't enter an area without multiple quests popping up, flashing error messages if I didn't accept them, with no sense of who wanted me to do these tasks.”
- “This new system made it so that I couldn't really connect with any of the areas. As a kid, I remember wandering around Steam Mine Mountain meeting all the quest NPCs and following their various threads, but now I don't even know who I'm doing quests for. I'm totally dependent on the auto-walk option to turn in quests because I have no idea where they originally came from.”
- “It's especially bad when you can't even tell what the quest is asking you to do. I played to level 43 and I still don't understand how the quest sequence is supposed to work.”
graphics
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
76%
15%
The graphics in the game are largely seen as outdated and only marginally improved, with some users appreciating the nostalgic, anime-inspired art style that holds up reasonably well over time. However, many criticize the lack of a true graphical overhaul, persistent bugs, and minimal enhancements beyond minor texture updates, making the visuals feel insufficient by modern standards. Overall, the graphics evoke nostalgia but fail to meet expectations for a contemporary refresh.
- “The graphics, while dated, hold up reasonably well due to the game's distinctive art style, which does not aim for realism.”
- “The graphics have been noticeably improved over the original version.”
- “Great graphics update, unfortunately lots of unwrapped texts, texts overflowing boundaries.”
- “Lots of graphic bugs (mostly with the slimes), no graphic update whatsoever, no additions except for a few things, new popups that are annoying more than anything. I'm disappointed that the port to Steam was not at least on par with the original game.”
- “Extremely outdated graphics, severely pay-to-win, poorly optimized UI, login issues, non-responsive developers, typical cash grab. I can't find a single reason to recommend this game, not even for free-to-play, simply not worth it in 2024, unless nostalgia.”
- “Literally cannot make an account, horrible game. Graphical overhaul looks like Kingdom Hearts from the PS1 era, not cool!”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
52%
16%
The gameplay is largely seen as outdated and heavily influenced by early 2000s mechanics, drawing strong comparisons to World of Warcraft but lacking modern quality-of-life features. Many critics highlight pay-to-win elements, intrusive monetization, bugs, and limited content that hamper enjoyment and player retention, though some appreciate the classic class system and the casual, community-focused experience. Overall, the gameplay feels stale and in need of significant updates to meet current standards.
- “I'm an old player, so maybe I'm biased, but the improvements made to gameplay have made me very happy.”
- “A prominent comparison can be drawn to World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, which was also launched in the same year and is praised for its smooth gameplay and engaging experience.”
- “They brought back the old class gameplay which is one of the only good things.”
- “Early 2000s graphics and mechanics, same bugs as reported during beta, introduced captchas during dungeons, which is disruptive and unnecessary.”
- “The developers now charge players for "legal" bots, allowing automated gameplay, which ruins the integrity of the game.”
- “Game has critical bugs and crashes that frequently interrupt gameplay, cause loss of progress, and prevent completion of daily tasks due to disconnections using up dungeon attempts.”
monetization
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
84%
The monetization of the game is widely criticized as excessively predatory and pay-to-win, with frequent intrusive ads and overpriced microtransactions that hinder the experience. Many users feel the current version prioritizes quick cash grabs over quality or player enjoyment, damaging the legacy of the original game. Overall, the monetization approach is seen as exploitative and overwhelming, driving players away.
- “Tl;dr - pay-to-win cash grab that weaponises your nostalgia against your wallet.”
- “Many MMORPGs are pay-to-win cash grabs, but GFO really takes the biscuit in my eyes as you can directly pay premium currency for stats increases.”
- “- Horribly predatory monetization with ridiculous pricing on mediocre/temporary items.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is widely viewed as excessively time-consuming and punishing, especially past level 20, with limitations like dungeon run caps and removed mission orders forcing players into heavy grinding or pay-to-win scenarios. Many players find progression trivialized in some updates but overwhelmingly grind-heavy and costly in others, making advancement difficult without spending real money or dedicating countless hours. Overall, the grind feels tedious and bottlenecked, leading to player frustration.
- “Once you reach past level 20, it becomes very grindy and costly to train your sprite(s).”
- “Requires a lot of your time running dungeons, upgrading gear, crafting, trading with other players, grinding normal mobs in maps, gambling what you made from a day with mclay where sometimes you go big or you fail, killing field bosses over and over again, waiting for world bosses to spawn, recruiting people for 5 man and 10 man dungeons.”
- “(P.S. the main issue is the addition of dungeon run caps and the removal of mission orders. Without mission orders, earning enough cash to buy basic items from NPC vendors and perform item crafting is difficult. It feels like the game has been deliberately sabotaged to create a problem solvable only by paying real money or doing an unreasonable amount of grinding.)”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent bugs affecting gameplay mechanics, graphics, and features like pausing. Despite some improvements, it remains a frustrating and unstable experience for many players.
- “While the game has received many improvements, they are simply not enough to fix what is still a very buggy, confusing, and ugly experience.”
- “Its buggy sprite protection is supposed to have 4 hours per day, but you can pause it and it's not really paused. Sometimes after a while, even when paused, time suddenly drops by 30-45 minutes out of nowhere, as if it's a fake pause. I even had one day where I only used 5 minutes pause and my 4 hours just disappeared like that.”
- “What I was given after I made my character was a buggy mess.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
23%
33%
The game's music is often criticized for its repetitive loops and lack of variety, with volume control issues and occasional random playback despite settings adjustments. However, its soundtrack can evoke nostalgia and adds some immersion, though it falls short compared to more dynamic MMOs like Final Fantasy Online or World of Warcraft's expansions.
- “Additionally, even Star Wars: The Old Republic is noted for its nostalgic music from the film series, adding to the immersion.”
- “The background music on the welcome screen brought a surprising wave of nostalgia and made me a bit teary-eyed.”
- “Time to go, do quests, enjoy the music and just AFK around, because everyone knows, that's what we all like to do.”
- “The music consists of repetitive loops and lacks variety, which can be quite off-putting for players.”
- “You still skip a frame or two every time you open up a menu like the backpack or adventure log, the game seems to only run on a single CPU core (according to task manager), and you still get the map music randomly playing sometimes when you've turned the music down in the settings.”
- “You still skip a frame or two every time you open up a menu like the backpack or adventure log, the game seems to only run on a single CPU core (according to task manager), and you still get the map music randomly playing sometimes when you've turned the music down in the settings.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from poor optimization overall, with minimal graphical improvements limited to water textures. Performance issues persist despite DX9/DX11 mode options, compounded by outdated graphics and a poorly optimized UI. These factors contribute to a frustrating experience, making the game unsuitable for recommendation in 2024.
- “Tried multiple times to enjoy it but the game is very poorly optimized. The Dx9/Idx11 mode helps but the game bugs out sometimes, which feels bad.”
- “Extremely outdated graphics, severely pay-to-win, poorly optimized UI, login issues, non-responsive developers; typical Asian cash grab. I can't find a single reason to recommend this game, not even for free-to-play. Simply not worth it in 2024, unless for nostalgia.”
- “The only graphical optimization is the water texture.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is described as dull and lifeless, with characters feeling flat and the overall experience resembling a lackluster, absent browser game.
- “The characters are like paper sticks, and the playing atmosphere is like a no-show browser game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel emotionally unsettled by the game, describing it as disappointing or unfair despite being free, which suggests a sense of frustration or dissatisfaction with their experience.