Summary
The MMO genre exploded in the late 90s and early 2000s with the dawn of the internet in more populated areas. Before high-speed services, there was dial-up and it was a pain to endear. Still, a lot of MMO fans got connected to play games such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest,Final Fantasy 11, and so on.
As popular as the genre was before the bubble burst in the 2010s, not every MMO was released in the United States. There were a lot of MMOs that never left Japan or other parts of the world. Let’s dive in and take a look at some forgotten MMOs.
6.hack//fragment
Turning The Fake MMO Into A Real One
The.hackseries began on the PS2 in 2003 for North American audiences with.hack//Infectionbeing the first of what would be a quadrilogy. These games were solelysingle-player hack and slash dungeon crawlersset inside a fake MMO called The World..hack//fragmentwas a real MMO spinoff that allowed players to fully immerse themselves in The World sans the VR headsets.
The gameplay was similar as was the world overall but players could create their own character and choose from six classes including Wavemaster and Twin Blade. Also, the game had an offline mode if players didn’t want to always group up with friends. It was a forward-thinking idea and a novel spinoff for the series when it was released in Japan on the PS2 in 2005. Why it was never released outside of Japan is a mystery although the core games were niche.
5Dragon’s Dogma Online
A Secret Sequel To One Of Capcom’s Best
Dragon’s Dogmawas released in 2012 and gained a dedicated audience relatively quickly. Fans of theMonster Hunterseriesdefinitely clung onto it which makes sense given the similar gameplay mechanics and that Capcom had a hand in creating both. Some fans may think thatDragon’s Dogma 2was the first sequel but that is simply not true.
In 2015, Capcom launchedDragon’s Dogma Onlinein Japan which was made available for the PS3, PS4, and PC. It was a bigger, more in-depth world although it did feel like the same game albeit with a greater number of players running around. It was a half-step sequel and it did well for a time in Japan but the servers were shut down in 2019 making it impossible to get the full experience now.
4Dragon Quest 10: Rise of the Five Tribes Online
An Ongoing MMO With That Akira Toriyama Flair
Dragon Quest 10: Rise of the Five Tribes Onlineis the franchise’s first and only MMO and it is part of the mainline games. Players could create a race with a class, or Vocation, and experience the typical
MMO formula. It was released late into the Wii’s life, 2012, in Japan which may be why it was held back in the West. However, Square Enix has had ample opportunities to port it over via the Wii U, PC, PS4, Switch, 3DS, and phone editions.
In 2023, they releasedDragon Quest 10 Offlinein Japan and as of May 24, 2025 it is now available in Asian territories. It’s mostly the same game albeit remade in a simpler graphical style and obviously not containing any sort of subscription service. This version has the best chance of coming out over here if any otherwise it’ll continue into obscurity for Western audiences.
3Dynasty Warriors Online
Fight For China In This Hack And Slash War MMO
Dynasty Warriors Online, orShin Sangoku Musou Onlineas it is known in Japan, was released initially in 2006. A North American version was made available for PC players in 2010, but the subsequent PS3, PS4, and PS Vita versions were exclusive to Japan. This was made during the era when Koei Tecmo was referred to as Tecmo Koei, shortly after their merger.
The game itself has all the hacking and slashing combatMusou fans love. The only difference is that they must choose a weapon from the start and create their own character. Also, battles played out more like online matches in a shooter instead of having one huge world to explore like in other MMOs. Unfortunately, fans can’t play it now as the English version was canceled in 2014 and Japan got the ax in 2022.
2Front Mission: Online
Master The Secrets Of Mechs
TheFront Missionseriesbegan as a tactical RPG wherein players could customize their mechs for battle. There were action spinoffs though including the MMO,Front Mission: Online. It plays more like anArmored Coregame as a third-person shooter with high-velocity action but with multiplayer in mind on huge battlefields.
The customization options were still plentiful for mech fans that dove into them. It was released in 2005 in Japan for the PS2 and PCs and it has never left that territory. It’s also no longer online as the servers were shut down in 2008 which is not that long after its launch.
1Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine
Talk To Demons In An Online RPG
There are a lot ofShin Megami Tenseigames in the series that never saw the light of day outside of Japan like theoriginal Xbox-only game,Shin Megami Tensei: Nine. However, as obscure as it was at the time, the MMOShin Megami Tensei: Imaginewas released in the West in 2008 on PC platforms. This was only a year after Japan, which wasn’t too shabby and it was free to play too.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nineis relevant to the conversation because that’s what the MMO started as, a follow-up or reimagining ofShin Megami Tensei: Nine. Eventually, it became its own thing though, and featured MMO-style combat with auto-battling and cooldowns. Players could befriend demons and use them in battle to make the most out of combat. Like most of these titles, it’s no longer online as the North American servers were severed in 2014 followed by Japan going down in 2016.
