''Soul of the Ultimate Nation'' (often abbreviated as ''S.U.N.'') was a fantasy-based
massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) produced by
Webzen, a Korean-based company. It was operated in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
by Webzen and in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
by
The9
The9 Ltd. () is a Shanghai-based online game operator which had the exclusive licence to operate and distribute World of Warcraft in China (launched in June 2005, it has since become the largest online game), a licence it secured after successf ...
. The game was launched in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
on April 19, and in China on May 24, 2007 as a paid online service and closed on July 3, 2013.
In December 2005, Webzen sold an export contract for the game to The9 for $13 million
USD in total, which at the time was the largest single export transaction in Korea's online game history. In 2006, ''S.U.N.'' was selected as the most anticipated online game at the 2nd Annual ‘Best Online Game Selection’ in China. In a survey by Gametrics, the largest Internet cafe survey website in Korea, ''S.U.N.'' was ranked among the top 10 games in Korean Internet cafes. Also, ''S.U.N.'' received the award at the Digital Contents Awards by Ministry of Information and Communication and
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...
in 2006.
Gameplay
Like some other MMORPGs, ''S.U.N.'' utilised the "
hack and slash
Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...
" way. Players were part of a rebel group known as "The Guidance". Items could be strengthened and upgraded throughout the game play of SUN. For large-scale combat such as siege warfare, ''Soul of the Ultimate Nation'' utilised a combat map with partitions that divided players into multiple fields each containing 20-40 characters; the outcome of each battle having direct effects on the combat occurring on other fields. SUN also allowed players to strategically set the stage for battles by choosing different types of maps, entry numbers, degrees of difficulty and types of monsters for a customized game play experience. SUN had three types of specified maps using a zone map system. Players started the game in a city and had to create zones to play the game. In terms of maps, the mission maps were the primary places where players can solve missions. The hunting maps were for tracking down monsters to level up characters, gather items and acquire in-game money. The quest maps were used to fulfill quests and to help users better understand the overall scenario of the game.
The game underwent four stages of beta from September 2005 to May 2006 in South Korea, and received high marks from gamers. ''S.U.N.'' Taiwan moved from closed beta to open beta on 20 December 2006. The final open beta allowed game developers to improve the field maps, add a competitive hunting system and a mission ranking system.
SUN Korea adopted
F2P
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
mode and item mall model on November 14, 2006. NHN USA Corp., the publisher of SUN in North America which made a license agreement with Webzen on May 21, 2009.
''S.U.N.'' was available for distribution and operation in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
through the gaming corporation ijji.
A beta test of Webzen's version was held from October 14, 2009 until October 16, 2009. Webzen's ''S.U.N.'' version came out October 21, 2009.
Battle Zone System
Under the Battle Zone System, players could create "rooms" for battles, be it against monsters or other players. Players had to talk with a specific
non-player character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
(NPC) in each town to create such rooms. They could select different types of maps, areas, set the entry numbers,
degree of difficulty and types of monsters within the map. For a players vs. monsters map, players formed a party and usually had to proceed through the map to complete certain map objectives, such as killing the boss monster. At the end of the stage, experience and loot were shared among the participants.
Character classes
Like in Webzen's earlier MMORPG,
MU Online, players had a selection of five different character classes: Dragon Knight, Berserker, Valkyrie, Elementalist and Shadow. For each class height, hairstyle, and face could be picked from several alternatives, but each class had a predefined gender. However, since Episode 2's release, each class was available to another character. For example, a Dragon Knight could be a Valkyrie, and an Elementalist had the possibility of being a Shadow; all of this is in terms of skill set and play-style.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for this MMORPG was composed by
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...
.
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
''S.U.N.'' Official Korean website''S.U.N.'' Official America/Europe website''S.U.N.'' Official Taiwan website''S.U.N.'' Official Russia website''S.U.N.'' Official S.E. Asia website''S.U.N.'' Official Japan website
2006 video games
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
2007 video games
Fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing games
Ijji
Inactive massively multiplayer online games
Products and services discontinued in 2013
Video games developed in South Korea
Windows games
Windows-only games
Webzen games
The9 games