(originally posted on Raptr.com)

I definitely need to give this game props for being so powerful for being a browser-based role-playing game. For every browser-based game that is of quality, there are probably 20 download-to-play MMORPG's that are good. To be blunt: browser-based MMORPG's almost always seem lacking in some respect. They just seem like they were condensed or compressed in order to fit into the browser, rather than using the resources that are available to the developers and being a fun, non-graphic-intensive gaming experience.

This is exactly what Pet Forest manages to do: it doesn't approach the fact that it needs flash as a shortcoming; it embraces it. The original developers outdid themselves by creating a game that uses flash to its advantage: having graphics like GoonZU--a 2D isometric video game from another company-- (a game you have to download, which is up to 4GB in file size) it brings a level of that typical foreign, free-to-play cutesy art style, but not being overwhelming about it. In fact, it's what makes the game charming and have that pop that most free-to-play MMORPG's never have.

I'll make a list of things that it does right:

1) It reduces grind significantly- Remember in most of those free-to-play, Chinese/Korean MMORPG games where you have to just keep clicking monsters and killing them, hundreds at a time in order to reach the next level? Pet Forest almost completely abandons that. In place of grinding is a massive series of quests. I can guarantee you'll almost always have a quest to do. You'll be leveling up in no time.

2) Amazing navigation of the game's world- I've played about 200 different MMORPG's, and almost none of them rival this one's genius navigation. I usually see myself forgetting where exactly the quest NPC was, since there are tons of quests going on at once, but with one click I can be guided right back to the NPC when I'm finished with the task at hand. If the NPC is too far away to auto-navigate to, the map opens and shows me where I have to click to in order to get there.

3) Gives you an alternative to the cash shop- While the cash shop is still a pretty huge part of the game, like many F2P online games, you can still get goodies without having to part with your money. For example, there's a Gacapon machine in-game that requires cash shop "spell stones", but there's a variation of the machine that lets you pay in-game gold for prizes. This gives you a taste of the cash shop and all the good stuff that comes with it, without making a dent in your wallet. And also on the plus-side, when you get to level 20, you get a free cash-shop suit in your prize pack for a day.

4) Auto-training- Lots of us don't have time to sit behind a computer for fifteen hours straight, in an attempt to level up. There are two things about Pet forest that eliminates that: little to no grind because of quests, and an auto-training option. Need to go to work or want to hang with friends, but don't want to fall behind on leveling up in Pet Forest while doing it? They have you covered. Simply go to the actions tab in the game, and click "Auto-training [online] or [offline*]", enter how long you want to train, select the characters or pets you would like to train, and viola! For some in-game money, you can be leveling while not sitting behind the computer. *- offline training requires cash shop spell stones.

5) Balanced classes- I, for one, don't like it in online games when one particular class is the best. Want to know why? Because then almost everyone is that class to get the easy way out of the game. This game keeps a pretty fair balance between all the classes, while still providing a degree of challenge for all of them. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, which is needed.

6) Facebook sync, and an option to make an account by logging in with Facebook- It seems that nowadays, almost everyone around us is on Facebook very often. Many people who are online RPG enthusiasts tend to be disappointed that all Facebook has for RPG's are those text-based games that are more of a set of chores than actual gameplay. Pet Forest is a godsend for them, since you have unlimited play, you don't have to wait for your energy to fill back up before doing anything, and there's a huge amount of community interaction. On top of that, they managed to integrate Facebook updating, so every five level-ups you get, or any bosses you defeat or any rare items you obtain, you update your friends with how you're doing in-game. And, maybe they'll join in on the fun as well!

7) Very low minimum computer requirements- I managed to run this game on a computer that had 100 megabytes of RAM (for the not-so-tech savvy, most computers nowadays have 3 to 8 Gigabytes of RAM, which is about 3,000 Megabytes to 8,000 Megabytes.) and it ran pretty smoothly. Oh, and obviously since it's a browser game, it's 100% compatible with Macintosh!

Happy gaming!


Verdict: (5/5)

First reply, wow I'm surprised, you put a lot of time into that review. I should probably make the Reviews forum a main forum so that the threads get more replies and also so that we can get more reviews.

Anyways, 500 Viz.

Thank you!

Damn. I need to stop drifting away from Vizzed. I love this place. But things just seem to get in the way and consume tons of time.

Not announcing coming back, but I'm going to try to be here more often xD

That was a good review. I will have to check this game out. I like games like this that dont take to much grinding