badtz-maru
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Happy Birthday Badtz-Maru!
Today is Badtz-Maru's birthday! The ringleader of the XO clan was born on Oahu Island in Hawaii. Though he remains in the first grade, his dream is to be the boss of everything.While Bad Badtz-Maru could be a villain in Hello Kitty Online, it looks like he will instead be a Country Leader and quest giver. I am not sure if you will be able to join the XO clan, but you may be able to gain faction with it, depending upon how faction and reputation are implemented.I am personally hoping for a roleplay aspect that is sorely lacking from WoW: that of being able to choose a side by actions instead of during character creation. By choosing to complete quests for Badtz-Maru and his friends, you may end up not being able to complete quests for Hello Kitty and My Melody. There is a small scale version of this when choosing Centaurs to befriend in Desolace, but it does not affect how any of the major NPCs react to you.Regardless of his role in HKO, he is one year older today, so Happy Birthday Badtz-Maru! May you realize your dreams in the Flower Kingdom and beyond!
Kuromi vs. My Melody - Is Sanrio dedicated to real PvP?
As Sanrio continues to build Hello Kitty Online into the amazing MMO we all know it can be, I sincerely hope they don't forget one of the most important aspects of any MMO: PvP. While it's true that purely PvP focused games such as Fury and Shadowbane often end up struggling, the fact remains that the segment of the MMO playing market that insists on being able to match their skills against their fellow players is too big to ignore. But how do you properly implement PvP into the world of HKO without betraying the rich tapestry of lore and creating compelling reasons to PvP? Let's look at the latest PvP rumors after the break.
Know Your Lore: Keroppi
When word came from upstairs that we were switching over to HKO Insider, I was afraid that was the end of Know Your Lore. It turns out, HKO's lore is far superior to Warcraft's lore. For one thing, Hello Kitty is consistent. For two, it is adorable. For three, it has hit the perfect mix of humor and drama, something that WoW could never, ever do.I've personally fallen in love with a character that goes by the name of Keroppi. The name Keroppi originates from the sound frogs are said to make in Japan, 'kero,' and the word 'ppi' which means 'giant leaps bring faith and forgiveness to all men'. Keroppi comes from a relatively large, well-rounded family. His father is a doctor, his mother is a chef, and he is one out of a set of non-identical triplets. He and his siblings, Koroppi and Pikki, are all very unique from one another in all but appearance. In fact, Koroppi(meaning 'holy crap they look the same' and 'no seriously') and Keroppi are often mistaken for one another, which certainly doesn't make life in the region of Donut Pond very easy.
Elect your Flower Kingdom leader!
Rumor has it that some of your favorite characters will be featured in the upcoming MMO as country leaders! In the spirit of Amanda Dean's Azerothian General Elections, I thought it would be fitting to find out who are the fan favorites for leaders of Sanrio.Let's take a look at the personalities and platforms of the candidates, shall we?A. Hello Kitty (London, England): Hello Kitty believes that friendship is the key to peace and economic stability. If elected, she promises to hold free friendship seminars and events, including trust falls, group therapy, communal gardening and a buddy system. Other key issues in her platform include the "Cookies for Love" campaign, fair market prices, and staying in school. If elected, she will be bringing Charmmy Kitty on as her advisor.
Breaking News: Hello Kitty Island Adventures expansion announced!
Sanrio Digital, showing a dedication to content creation and fan service that other game companies could definitely learn from, has already started in with some exciting news for Hello Kitty fans everywhere. Despite not being out of Closed Beta yet, It's been confirmed that Hello Kitty Online will have an expansion in 2009: Hello Kitty Island Adventures! The expansion will open with Hello Kitty and her friends (Including you, the player) crash landing on a desert island while on Hello Kitty Air flight 337 to the 5th World Cuteness Symposium in Perth, Australia. That's right, in a gutsy move that should rightly earn them the applause of MMO designers everywhere, Sanrio Digital is shaking things up and actually shrinking the game world to one desert island, giving Hello Kitty faithful a whole new area to explore and giving them a break from the humdrum environs of places like Mari Land and Nightengale Lane. Join us after the break for a rundown of some of the other features you can expect!
