[앱셔틀] Island M seems to be watching the original animation

The webtoon media mix is ​​on the rise. Webtoon-based dramas such as Sweet Home, Goddess Advent, and Marvelous Rumors have gained enormous popularity in recent months, and other webtoon media mix works are also drawing attention.

Among them, Island M is a work that made its first step into the game of webtoon in 2021. As the original Irish was called the legend of the exorcism comics, there was a lot of interest in the game as it was highly anticipated. In fact, it can be seen how much attention this IP is receiving just by looking at the top ranking in both markets for more than five days since its launch.

So what was the actual game like? In conclusion, the basic framework of the game was a general collectible RPG, but Island M’s unique elements, story, and characters were clearly attractive. In particular, the excellent graphics that seemed to be organic battle production and animation between characters stood out.

The two main characters are NPCs?

Island M is a mobile collectible RPG based on webtoon Island, which has been serialized since 2016. Ireland is a webtoon of cartoonist Yang Gyeong-il and writer Yun In-wan, famous for Soma Shinhwa Biography and Shinam Haengeo Temple, and depicts Won Mi-ho, Van, and John destroying the unknown monster named Jung Young-gwi. Recently, it has attracted more attention as it has been incorporated into the superstring worldview known as the Korean version of the heroic universe.

First, the world view and the main characters in the game follow the original cartoon. ‘Won Mi-ho’, a woman who has a bad personality but has great wealth, and’Ban’, an esoteric monk who is misunderstood as a serial killer, appear as the main characters, and numerous characters in the original appear as exorcists. However, while the original story contained a rather heavy and cruel story and social criticism, in the game, the episode of a rather light feeling continues, focusing on combating the ghost and meeting a new exorcist.

The basic game progression follows the standard of collectible RPGs. There are stages for each episode, and it is a way to proceed with the story step by step by combining and growing 4 characters. The interesting part is that in this collectible RPG, the main character usually comes out as a very powerful character, but here the two main characters appear as NPCs rather than playable characters. According to the in-game setting, Won Mi-ho appears under the name of collecting exorcists using his unique fortune, and half is used as a secondary character that suddenly appears when a powerful enemy emerges, as it is set as the strongest in the world.

Another characteristic is that all characters in the game have the same grade. Normal collectible RPGs have different levels of birth depending on the character’s performance, but these games all start with the same N-grade, and any character can cultivate the highest grade SSR. In addition, the scouting system, which can increase the likelihood of each character and transfer as a companion, is also a unique element that can only be seen in this game.

Maximize the fun to see with brilliant visuals and battle direction

The biggest advantage of this game is also its visuals. In the cutscene, live 2D is applied to the original manga to bring out the feel of a webtoon, and during play, the cartoon rendering is used to show a natural graphic as if watching an animation all the time. The completeness of cartoon rendering is so excellent that it is reminiscent of Guilty Gear, which was evaluated as an innovative graphic.

In addition, the battle direction in the game is also very colorful. The characters on the field move very organically and smoothly, and each time they hit the enemy, they have excellent hitting feeling. Each character has its own skill effect, and the characters use very precise movements so that you can easily see how the battle progresses at 1.5x speed. Most of all, the special cutscenes that appear every time you use your ultimate were gorgeous enough to be comparable to any other mobile game that appeared recently. This advantage, combined with the above-described good graphics, makes you feel the fun of watching, an essential virtue of a collectible RPG, to the limit.

Another advantage of this game is that it inherits the settings of the original game well, while embodiing the differences that can only be found in this game. Basically, it fits well with the original, starting from the setting that Won Miho actively uses his wealth to scout exorcists from around the world, and the original story of the game that proceeds through it is also quite attractive. In particular, there are many characters that do not appear in the original, such as Kang Haena, Harang, and Lee Joo-ho in this game, and by dealing with the stories of these characters in a good balance, it provides the justification for collecting multiple characters.

In addition, the game’s own training system, which has no birth grade, is also an advantage. Most collectible games have good characters, and getting them is the main goal of the game. However, in this game, all the character classes are the same, so there is no pressure to choose a particularly good character. In fact, it is beneficial to simply raise your character to the highest level. Of course, not all characters are the golden balance used in the right place. However, if you match the team combination well depending on the enemy match, you can easily play the game with any character. Thanks to this, it is a bonus that the fun of making combinations has increased.

The difficulty of training and drawing characters is too high

Of course, this game also has obvious drawbacks. First of all, the time when stage progress is blocked is very early. By the time they arrive at Stage 4, their progress is naturally blocked and the character is forced to develop. In general, when stage progress is blocked, it is just before an important story begins, or when the player has opened most of the in-game content. However, Island M is suddenly blocked when the player becomes interested in the game. Although there may be individual differences, it is inevitable that it is a feeling that one of the main contents is blocked before the immersion is formed.

In addition, it is worth pointing out as a disadvantage that the difficulty of’Scout’ for selecting a new character is considerable. In order to pick one character you want, you have to collect gift resources for that character, because there are very few ways to get it. The most efficient way to get a gift is to use search content, and since the search takes at least 3 hours at a time, if you consume the main character here, you will not be able to enjoy other contents. The fact that you cannot scout another character while scouting one character is also the main culprit to increase the difficulty of this content.

The difficulty of character development is also high. In order to increase the character’s combat power, in addition to the level and grade, the skill level and equipment must be matched, and the equipment also requires 6 basic equipment and 1 dedicated equipment. Even each piece of equipment must be leveled and graded. Of course, the resources needed to upgrade these elements can be obtained from daily content. However, it is difficult to deny that the difficulty of fostering is high because daily content has a limit on the number of entries, and the resources that can be obtained from it are very small.

Hope you can break the prejudice of the game based on webtoon

The downside is clear, but the game can be enjoyed by anyone. In particular, users who have enjoyed the original game will be satisfied with the colorful visuals and hitting feeling of this game. The original characters and stories that can only be found in this game fit well with the settings of the original, and they are rather attractive. In recent years, webtoon-based games have not performed very well, but I wish Irish M, which marked the beginning of 2021, to show a reversal.