Konami's Master of Epic still hums with life 21 years on

Released in 2005 as a Japanese-only MMO from Hudson, Master of Epic leaned into time travel, with zones that feel different when visited in other eras. The colourful fantasy title arrived as World of Warcraft was reshaping the market; despite anime tie-ins and active marketing it quickly receded from the spotlight.

After Konami acquired Hudson in 2011 the game might have folded like many others, but a small, dedicated audience and a sustainable niche have kept it running. Getting into the game feels like stepping into something preserved in amber: the client needs a huge update—somewhere around nine hours—with a tiny progress bar to watch, yet account creation and logging in are easier (even in Japanese) than FF11’s PlayOnline service.

Character creation is simple, limited to four races and five unique hairstyles and face textures each, but the systems that follow—pets, homes, factions, time travel and era-specific storylines—are numerous and deeply intertwined. Master of Epic drops you into its world without a job or class.

Japan

master of, konami, hudson, mmo, time travel, anime tie-ins, japanese-only, dedicated audience, character creation, playonline