Highlights
- Before World of Warcraft, there were other MMO juggernauts like Ultima Online and Final Fantasy 11 that deserve respect and attention for their accomplishments.
- RuneScape, despite its laughable graphics, became one of the biggest MMORPGs of its time and can still be enjoyed without spending money.
- EVE Online is a game where player actions drastically influence the economy and game world, and every decision and action counts in this non-casual game.
World of Warcraft is often credited with revolutionizing the MMO genre. It reached a wider audience than ever before with quality-of-life improvements that helped all manner of gamers get into the fantasy world. However, it was far from the first of its kind. In reality, it was not even the first that blew away both critics and the average gamer.
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The games below all came out before World of Warcraft's 2004 release and were juggernauts in their time. While they are not as popular as they once were, they all demand respect and attention for their accomplishments. For the curious, a handful of these still have active communities to engage with.
7 Ultima Online
When one reads the word Ultima, one immediately thinks of groundbreaking RPGs that set numerous precedents for others in the genre to follow. The same goes for the MMORPG space and Ultima Online. It took a lot of what players were familiar with in the series and translated it into the online multiplayer arena.
On top of that was an intense focus on a changing world due to players' actions. Ultima Online came out in 1997 and has been free-to-play since 2018, though the subscription grants access to significantly more content.
6 Final Fantasy 11
Younger fans of the genre probably never got to experience Final Fantasy 11 in its prime. The game is special not only because it was the first MMORPG in the storied franchise, but it was also the first major contribution to the genre from Japan and the first to appear on consoles.
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The idea of playing an MMORPG on the PS2 feels far-fetched even today. Final Fantasy 14 fans interested in going back to it will have a hard time dealing with its complexities and lack of modern MMORPG tropes designed to make the experience smoother.
5 Runescape
RuneScape now has many ways to play, but it started as a free-to-play browser game in 2001. The graphics were laughable even by the standards of the time, but that did nothing to stop it from becoming one of the biggest MMORPGs of its day.
As time went on sequels were released with improved visuals and gameplay, but the original RuneScape persisted as RuneScape Classic until 2018 when the servers were finally shut down for good. Though microtransactions have been a part of the RuneScape equation for a little while now and there is an optional membership, players can still have a great time in the games without spending a dime.
4 Meridian 59
It's hard to believe, but there was a time when MMORPGs didn't use graphics. It was not until 1996's Meridian 59 that the genre received a game with actual 3D graphics. Though it seems extreme, it was only in the mid-1990s that 3D gaming started becoming the norm.
It does not play like other popular MMORPGs either, instead featuring real-time combat where most of the status of the battle is conveyed through text at the bottom of the screen. Meridian 59 has long since exhausted its commercial use, but servers are still up and serve a very small, but active, community.
3 Star Wars Galaxies
The Old Republic was not the first attempt at an MMORPG in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars Galaxies took place after A New Hope and let players pick several classes related to the property. It was notoriously difficult to become a Jedi in the game's early life.
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Players had to fulfill a number of unknown requirements before brandishing a lightsaber. In fact, it took months before any players were running around as a Jedi. A 2005 update let players pick the Jedi from the start, which upset a lot of hardworking fans. Though the initial game was well-received, a lot of updates were said to be the game's downfall, which led to its permanent closure.
2 Eve Online
People do not just play Eve Online, they live and breathe it. The game is built upon a world where player actions drastically influence the economy and game world. The game launched in 2003 and since then has been host to some incredible events, all of which are driven by players' influence on the world.
Eve Online is also not for the casual player. If a ship is destroyed, players lose it permanently. It makes every decision and action count. The most interesting experiment with the game was Dust 514, a PS3 multiplayer FPS set in the same world. The two games interacted with each other, with events in one influencing the other.
1 EverQuest
EverQuest was a phenomenon in the gaming world before both Final Fantasy 11 and World of Warcraft. Released in 1999, it set the standard for what a great MMORPG could be and one can still see traces of it in modern examples of the genre.
The game saw numerous updates through the years but its player count lessened as the aforementioned juggernauts came and stole players' attention. Even though it is not nearly as popular as it once was, updates have come out as recently as 2023, showing that the developer still supports those who have stuck around all this time.
