Look, let's be honest, if we cast our minds back to the earliest memories of Mabinogi, it was all about that blue screen and Nao shared with mates down at the local PC bang. We used to squint at the monitors, desperately trying to style those low-poly default character customisations, rolling our mice to the absolute limit just to nail that specific #000000 colour code using dye ampoules secured over the weekend.

Perhaps it is precisely because of those fond memories that, upon reading Director Min Kyung-hoon's notice following the Mabinogi Eternity alpha test, we felt a profound sense of anticipation rather than disappointment. Sure, it was messy, rough around the edges, and felt rather unfamiliar at times, but it brought right back those nostalgic rushes of running frantically through various contents within a tight two-hour limit. Just how exactly is the 'eternal Mabinogi' envisioned by the development team coming together? We hopped into the first stepping stone of the Mabinogi Unreal Engine transition project, the 'Mabinogi Eternity alpha test'.

Naturally, the most anticipated aspect of Mabinogi Eternity was its drastically upgraded graphics. Seeing the diverse spectrum of body proportions offered right at character creation immediately evoked a strong sense of how far things have come. It even brought back memories of buying gloves sculpted with actual individual polygons just so we could finally look at our character's fingers.

What struck us most was how adding intricate details—including proper fingers—to each character dramatically enhanced the vibe of fashion outfits featuring 'poses', which has always been a core identity of Mabinogi. While the main server’s nostalgic expressions plastered straight onto faces were charming enough for basic emotes, the addition of full-body details made the difference in overall atmosphere starkly apparent. These elements paint a much more intuitive picture of what Milesians get up to in their everyday Erinn lives.

These visual upgrades spilled over from poses into hairstyles as well. Mabinogi practically never had any real movement built into its hair assets, yet even those flat, low-poly styles commonly dubbed 'default hair' now boast proper rendering and physics. Sure, we did spot instances of clothing hems and minor accessories clipping right through polygons here and there, but the overall direction is overwhelmingly positive.

The animations and camera transitions were equally noteworthy. Aerial movement in particular, including pet takeoff and landing, saw massive improvements. Instead of the jarring, stutter-stepping transitions of old Mabinogi, pets smoothly lifted off right from the ground, making the engine overhaul tangible in the best way possible. Naturally, this only amps up our excitement for the underwater movement teased at previous Fantasy Parties.

One rather curious quirk, however, was seeing the Golem boss—formerly residing in the Kay dungeons—crop up right where the Kay dungeon used to be during the unfolding story. Despite dealing with the absolute early-game narrative, Alchemy began taking the spotlight in NPC dialogues right from G0 onwards. We are genuinely hyped to see how the storyline shifts following the engine transition, not to mention how the generations themselves will evolve alongside it.

Once we slogged through the early growth phase, we could properly dive into various dungeons like the Alb Dun, Hard Mode Alb Dun, and Illusionary Coill Abyss, or properly sink our teeth into life and gathering contents. Up to 30 preset slots were supported, and weapons or gear swapping automatically remained just as seamless as before. That said, brand-new gathering and crafting tools made an appearance for certain life skills. Designed with handcarts or shopping baskets in mind, their designs were remarkably intuitive, setting aside any debates over icon visibility.

When it came to combat, simply getting rid of those frustrating micro-stutters caused by engine lag was more than enough to win us over. The gap between input and execution shrank drastically, and spamming massive area-of-effect spells like Meteor Strike across the map no longer brought the game to a grinding halt.

We also couldn't help but notice the addition of a dash function, which lets you dodge attacks without having to rely on Anchor Rush's invincibility and movement frames. Considering the position lag caused by Elemental Knights during our final playthroughs back home, the combat position accuracy and fluid movement in Eternity are simply indescribable. Of course, it wasn't completely flawless, but it's nothing unreasonable for an alpha test phase.

Dungeon details, however, could use a bit of fine-tuning. Clicking on orbs or chests should ideally progress things alongside the interaction key. Moreover, target clarity needs a proper boost to wipe out those annoying moments where your skills fly off to completely wrong targets.

Call it a matter of personal preference, but an unexpected letdown cropped up in a rather surprising place: the dialogue style of the notorious 'Imp', who is just as iconic as the Succubus from the Illusionary Coill Abyss featured in this test. That quintessential, delightfully obnoxious cheekiness teasing the Milesians was largely missing, leaving us feeling like the Imps who loved and hated us through our Erinn days had lost their signature flavour.

While the narrative tweaks, combat adjustments, and growth revamp certainly had their awkward moments, they were entirely tolerable enough to get used to over time. Yet, there was one element we simply could not wrap our heads around: the 'inventory' system, which has been switched over to a weight-based limit.

Mabinogi boasts an incredible variety of self-expression tools. You can broadly split them into appearance customization via rebirth and beauty coupons, dyeing, and fashion-centric coordination through mixing and matching parts. Throw in the players' personal 'signature colour' culture, and the depth gets even crazier. Pouring countless dye ampoules into crafting a signature colour palette has long served as the glue unifying a Milesian's gear. As the years spent playing piled up, a Milesian's bag naturally evolved into a sort of walk-in wardrobe or showroom for fashion content.

The Mabinogi Eternity development team seems well aware of the identity held by signature colours when it comes to personal self-expression, as emphasized in Mabinogi Eternity's character profile notices. Even within the brand-new character profile feature, signature colours were placed right below core information and highlighted all over again. Visual data driven by colour, harmony, and customization undoubtedly remains the core of the player culture.

That precisely is why the inventory system in Mabinogi Eternity leaves so many scratching their heads. If accessibility and visual clarity for newcomers were the goals, the UI needed to be far sleeker, accompanied by indicators that make it intuitive to tell similarly looking items apart. That goes double when you account for the mountain of event items and grade systems veteran players have been hoarding in their inventories.

Granted, we aren't completely blind to the readability and convenience offered by weight-based inventories. But even if we overlook the flaws of the weight-based inventory used by its sister IP Mabinogi Mobile, Mabinogi's gameplay loops—which demand multiple crafting sessions and inventory spaces just to craft a single item—mean the team really needs to inject various informational values next to the icons, or perhaps add extra tags and options. Giving different colours or backgrounds depending on the grade of gathered or crafted materials sharing the exact same icon is another avenue worth exploring.

If they are dead set on adopting a weight-based inventory, they’ll need to massively blow up the inventory window size compared to before and sharpen item icon clarity. While items aren't piling up to suffocating levels right now since it's just an alpha test, player reception upon official launch will likely swing wildly depending on how easily folks can dig up items not neatly tucked away in specific bags or pouches.

At the end of the day, no matter what gets discussed, the single most satisfying thing is knowing there's hope for our long-nurtured experiences to carry on. That rings especially true given how countless games lately pull the plug right before slapping terms like 'remaster' or 'remake' on the box, forcing players to wave goodbye to characters and years of progress they poured love into. Kudos to the team for taking a calculated risk to preserve existing players' gameplay experiences as much as humanly possible.

While sorting through screenshots after wrapping up the test, we came across a few snaps posted by Mabinogi General Director Min Kyung-hoon to close out the alpha test. The 'Mabinogian, cozy sceneries' envisioned by the developers felt like they captured the very core of what players remember and love about the game.

Mabinogi's systems have shifted countless times over, and the changes in Eternity feel like the latest chapter in that ongoing saga. It is arguably a world-first attempt for a live-service online game to transition straight from its proprietary engine to a commercial engine. Here's hoping steady feedback and open communication will polish things up so we can all enjoy our fantasy lives for many years to come.