Top 10 Cult Online Games Embedded in 90s Childhood

As one of the first games developed in South Korea, encompassing all the features of a 2D MMORPG, MU Online is an online game published by Webzen. It falls under the role-playing genre based on the legends of the ancient MU continent.

MU Online is a product that brought immense fame to the South Korean developer Webzen when it was created in 2001. Shortly after, this product dominated the local online game market for a long time and expanded to other countries. The game made its way to Vietnam around the end of 2003 and started flourishing in 2004. Just from its launch until the end of 2005, MU Online had more than 5 million members joining the game. In early 2003, internet users in Vietnam were only familiar with chatting, reading news, and using low-configured computers. The concept of online games was quite foreign, but just a few months later, everything changed drastically with the advent of ADSL services in June 2003 in Vietnam. This was a crucial milestone for MU enthusiasts at that time because the robust development and increasingly affordable prices of ADSL services played a vital role in the strong growth of online games in general and MU Online in particular.

The golden age of MU Online not only contributed to changing the concept and quality of internet usage in Vietnam but also introduced many new concepts about community, names/terms, and first concepts in the online gaming industry, which are still valuable today.

Martial Arts Legend made its debut in 2007, developed by the network technology limited company Hoan My in Beijing, this is an MMORPG online game genre popular in many Asian countries. In Vietnam, the game is translated and developed by Quang Minh DEC company.

The setting of Martial Arts Legend is built from legends when heaven and earth were still chaotic. The Ancient Board God, after creating heaven and earth, dissolved his whole body to create the sun and moon, gods, and living beings, and the materials in that world were composed of 5 elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These 5 elements were ruled by 5 gods, later the 5 gods fought against each other, the fire god and the water god fought fiercely, and the water god submerged the lower realm. The gods combined the 5 elements and formed a new world, called the perfect world. The character classes in the game include humans, beasts, birds, and demons. With different abilities in each race, they are further divided into different classes, providing players with many choices. The first version of the game Martial Arts Legend is the Castle Battle, also the most extreme version that Martial Arts Legend gamers have experienced in 12 years.

Did you know, the Castle Battle marked the surprising success of Martial Arts Legend, attracting 85% of the gamer community at that time, reaching the milestone of 200,000 players logging in at the same time within 6 months. It was also the first online game to attract participants of all genders and ages.

The statistics and memories show how strong Vietnamese gamers were in the game GunBound, as well as the popularity of this game at that time. The two playstyles that were of interest at that time were shooting with the mouse and shooting with the spacebar.

Each playstyle had its own advantages and disadvantages, but even today, shooting with the spacebar (hold, release) is still the most popular and widely used. One of the reasons that made shooting with the spacebar more favored was the poor quality of the mice nearly a decade ago, not necessarily the player's skill. Therefore, many gamers at that time using the spacebar could minimize mistakes better than with the mouse. However, the main weakness is that it takes quite a long time to adjust, but in return, it creates a habit of calculating force very accurately, suitable for team battles with Aduka, Boomer Launcher, or Kalsiddon. There is an issue that any top GunBound player must pay attention to, which is that they will have more turns if they shoot faster. Therefore, shooting immediately is crucial to increase this index, allowing players to shoot 2 turns in a row. Using Dual+ bullets (1+2) also contributes to this ratio compared to players using Dual (2+2).

Therefore, to shoot quickly, the most effective way is to shoot with the mouse and use one's feeling instead of the time-consuming calculations often seen when using the spacebar. Top players in GunBound use the mouse and shoot dual 1+2 or 2+2 right at the start of the match in just 3-5 seconds.

Galactic Outlaw is VTC Game's first online game, released in Vietnam in 2006. It is developed on a 3D platform, allowing you to move in any direction in the sky as well as on the ground. Joining the world of the space cowboy, you will choose one of four types of spacecraft to battle. Each type has its own strengths, weaknesses, but all are important and essential in every war.

I - GEAR is nicknamed the sky emperor with fast movement speed, high dodging ability, and the skill to launch many automatic-seeking fire arrows. Monsters fly around in strange orbits, sometimes even suddenly changing direction. Each time you defeat the required number of monsters for the mission, leveling up makes us extremely happy. Therefore, facing challenging missions is laborious, sometimes wandering for days just to find mission monsters. Despite the difficulty, it is genuinely enjoyable when meeting the requirements to unlock new maps, battling new types of monsters. Galactic Outlaw is one of the most challenging games for newbies. Not only because of the control mechanism (actually, many people just stand and watch but still get motion sickness) but also because of the combat mechanism in the game. Players of the two nations ANI and BCU can freely move to each other's territory to sabotage digging campaigns, loot bosses, or simply herd chickens (newbies). Each time you defeat the enemy, you will receive a medal called a kill mark. You can sell it for in-game money or exchange it for exp to level up.

Therefore, the wars in Galactic Outlaw never end, and the newbie's digging campaign has never been peaceful. But that has spurred everyone to try, strive to become stronger, to be able to fight and defeat enemies, not just be delicious bait for the enemy.

Released in 2006, Dance Rhythm, published by VTC Game, has been considered a monument in the fashion and dance game scene in Vietnam. This game is closely associated with the sweet youth of many generations, filled with nostalgic memories.

Dance Rhythm is a reminiscence of the days when skipping school to go to the internet cafe just to finish songs like Aloha, Snow Love, it's also memories of being called Ox, Bx affectionately, memories of lion's mane hairstyles, wide pants fashion, and Korean dresses. Stepping into 2019, Dance Rhythm continues to develop vigorously like a storm with new updates, new features such as personally designed fashion items with the style of 12 gods, VIP S seating feature, FAM battle, etc. Regardless of how many years have passed, Dance Rhythm is still an indispensable spiritual food for the community of music and dance lovers. Audition's birthday parties are always famous in the community for their playfulness with unique concepts. In 2019, Audition brought a completely new color to Au Fes 2019, a party with a vibrant festival style, full of color, light, and sound. Audition's birthday parties are always famous in the community for their playfulness with unique concepts.

Moreover, Au Fes went to various provinces across the S-shaped land, celebrating Audition's birthday with gamers in Da Nang, Dong Nai, Hai Phong.

Silk Road Adventures or Silkroad Online is undoubtedly one of the names closely associated with the childhood of many gamers, especially those from the 80s and early 90s. As September passes and October arrives, gamers eagerly anticipate the new titles that will be released this month.

Silk Road Adventures, originally a famous 3D MMORPG brand, was first introduced in Vietnam by Net2E in July 2006. At that time, its reputation could rival legendary names like MU Online and Perfect World Online in the Vietnamese gaming community. Currently, despite being 14 years old, Silk Road Adventures is still active with a large player community, showcasing the enduring vitality of this online game. Now, inheriting the success of the old brand, the creator of Silk Road, Joymax, collaborates with U1 Game, a well-known game producer in China, to launch Silk Road Adventures Mobile. Although it is launched on the mobile platform, the game will maintain the same attractive gameplay as the PC version with modern graphics and some new features to suit users' preferences. The Silk Road Adventures Mobile project has not been a recent idea; it has garnered significant attention from the gaming community since 2016. Now, the game has been confirmed for official release at the end of October in the Southeast Asia region, with a fully Vietnamese version.

Silk Road Adventures Mobile is set in the 7th century AD, traversing ancient China, Persia, and Europe, forming a vast game world for players. In the game, players take on roles such as Merchants, Escorts, or Bandits, participating in familiar activities like transporting goods and battling bosses.

For any gamer passionate about games in general, Celestial Dragon Odyssey is a name that resonates. Developed and published by Changyou (now a subsidiary of Sohu Inc.), this game is known for its enduring popularity due to its close adherence to Jin Yong's original work, making players feel like they are part of the story.

Celestial Dragon Odyssey PC version was officially launched on May 22, 2007, by Changyou in the Chinese market. Upon release, the game quickly became a sensation comparable to the early days of Kingsoft's Vo Lam Truyen Ky (Swordsman Love) saga. Alongside that martial arts game, Changyou's creation flourished, dominating the gaming landscape and significantly contributing to shaping the development of the martial arts MMORPG genre in general, and this series in particular, until today. Joining the game, players can choose from familiar martial arts factions in Jin Yong's world, such as Thien Son, Ming Sect, Shaolin, Thieu Lam, Cai Bang, Nga My, Ngoc Doc, Celestial Dragon, and more. It truly is a game with the most diverse classes in the martial arts MMORPG gaming world. As time went on, the number of factions developed, satisfying the gaming community's demands for choice and exploration. Each faction has attractive aesthetics, staying true to the original martial arts theme with an eye-catching skill system and costumes. Importantly, each faction offers diverse choices for players. The never-ending adventures in the game serve as inspiration for many players to participate. The thrill of exploring and battling evil, aiming for good in the game, is a way for each player to become a hero in the game in some aspects, rather than in real life.

Celestial Dragon Odyssey by Changyou satisfies the thirst for world conquest and asserts itself in the community, even if only in the virtual world. Since its launch, the game company based in Beijing has continually improved its quality and created new versions.

Counter-Strike or Crossfire is a game that undoubtedly every Vietnamese gamer knows due to its immediate popularity from the early days of release. With its unique and exciting gameplay, the game has always been beloved by fans even after more than 10 years since its launch.

Crossfire (abbreviated as CF) was developed by Smilegate and drew inspiration from Half Life 2. After a period of initial release, the game was brought to Vietnam with the name Counter-Strike in 2008 by VTC Game and is currently managed by VTC Online. As of now, CF in Vietnam has reached over 10 years old, and in the early years, it was considered a national online game with everyone playing it. At that time, almost every internet café had 99% of computers running this popular game. However, after a few years of development, with the introduction of numerous hacking tools and the emergence of other online shooting games, Counter-Strike started losing players. Nevertheless, the reputation of this first-person shooter game remains intact. In fact, CF can be considered a game with incredibly robust vitality, despite times when the game faced challenges due to widespread hacking and cheating, and the publisher seemed almost helpless. The player community at that time established their own hack/cheat-free servers such as 6-6, 1-1, and this helped many legitimate players have a safe environment for a long time. At the time of its release, CF can be said to be the most beautifully designed first-person shooter game in the country. The gun design, characters, maps, and costumes are all very meticulous, sharp in every small detail.

The sound quality is also something that Counter-Strike excels at, with distinctive footsteps, gun sounds, and bomb-throwing sounds. The in-game sound is not only a factor that supports the entertainment experience but also is very useful for professional players.

Once a towering monument of FPS shooting games in Vietnam, Heroes' Special Mission of Special Force has officially been resurrected in the mobile arena. The trial server will soon be placed in the Southeast Asia region for gamers to fully experience this nostalgic game.

Special Force - Heroes' Special Mission is a renowned shooter game once published by FPT Online in Vietnam. Alongside Rapid Deployment Force and Crossfire, it formed a triumvirate of power in the shooting game genre in the past. Recently, the developer Dragonfly has introduced to gamers the product Special Force Mobile, and the game will be released in the Southeast Asian and international markets under the name Special Force: Global. Regarding the distribution time of Special Force: Global, the game will be available at the end of July, starting first in Thailand and the Philippines, then expanding globally. Stepping into the gaming world, you will experience various game modes, including team combat, solo combat, deathmatch, zombie mode, and more. Most modes will consist of a red team and a blue team, except for combat, training, and zombie modes. The game allows a maximum of 16 players to join one room, with 8 players on each side. Players have the ability to purchase characters from special forces worldwide, including French GIGN, German GSG 9, Malaysian PASKAL, Republic of Korea Marine Corps, US Army Delta Force, Russian Spetsnaz.

The characters from the national forces mentioned above possess unique combat skills and specialties. Currently, the fan page of Heroes' Special Mission has prepared early registration exclusively for the Thailand/Philippines regions before opening to the rest of the world.

When mentioning the name Rapid Deployment Force, most Vietnamese gamers are likely to instantly recall the title that was once considered a legend in the Vietnamese shooting game genre. Launched in 2008, Rapid Deployment Force quickly rose to become one of the hottest online FPS shooting games in the country.

Despite being evaluated as a successful product, due to various objective reasons, Rapid Deployment Force bid farewell to Vietnamese gamers in 2010. Since then, nearly a decade has passed, and the Vietnamese gaming community has only recently had the chance to remember this name. In recent times, the name Rapid Deployment Force has unexpectedly been mentioned more frequently, after nearly 10 years of being dormant in oblivion, with the emergence of information about the latest Vietnamese version of Sudden Attack, the original name of Rapid Deployment Force in South Korea, soon to be released in Vietnam. The rumors started when a Facebook Fanpage named Rapid Deployment Force became known to the gaming community. According to the content shared by this Fanpage, it seems that a Vietnamese version of Rapid Deployment Force has been in the works for a long time and is in the final stages of completion, ready to be introduced to Vietnamese gamers in July. Not only in the Vietnamese server, but after the Southeast Asia server of Sudden Attack was discontinued in 2015, the experience of the game for loyal fans of this shooting game from Korea became even more challenging.

After ending its relationship with VNG, Rapid Deployment Force also had several opportunities to reunite with Vietnamese gamers under the name Sudden Attack. Unfortunately, this game couldn't reclaim its former glory due to issues with hacks and cheating, which contributed to the downfall of a once superlative masterpiece.