If you were a kid during the 2000s, there are two Disney online games that were all the rage, the first one is club penguin, the second was Toontown. Both have since been taken offline, only living the memories of their players.
The good news is that's not all is lost as a group of gamers have managed to bring Toontown back to life at least, allowing me to review this classic.
A New Star is Born
It was officially launched on June 2, 2003 Toontown can be described as a subscription-based MMORPG created by Disney interactive, that gave the players a chance to create their own cartoon characters and interact with beloved Disney characters such as Mickey and Donald.
The concept itself was inspired by Roger Rabbit, in which you could explore a town populated by cartoon characters living peacefully together with a style that was reminiscent of old cartoons. The graphics were colorful, and despite the simplicity of the gameplay, it was interesting enough to keep the attention of the young audience it was trying to attract.
And in order to create some conflict within the game, players were expected to fight enemies called Cogs that resemble robotic businessmen, whose main objective was to conquer all of ToonTown and replace the buildings with Corporate Skyscrapers.
But all goods things must come to an end with servers being shut in 2013 and the game being made free to play in its last moments as the last hurrah.
Thanks to fan preservation efforts the game was brought back under the title of Toontown Rewritten which is free to play as well learn more of its history here.
Taking a Stroll Through ToonTown
When you log on, you are taken to build-a-cartoon mode. You can choose a variety of animal-like cats, dogs, ducks, deers, mice, alligators, etc...You can choose body type, color, pick an outfit and choose your gender, which only consists of whether or not your toons have eyelashes.
Toon names can also be created by picking a set of default names and mix them together. I made a purple deer called Baron Thunderson, seems like a cool name.
Then you are taken through a tutorial, called here a Toontorial (this game is filled with a ton of puns but this is a good joke) you get some of the basics before entering the main game hub. It keeps things simple and prevents new players from being completely underwhelmed.
The first area that players get introduced to is a playground in Toontown Central, one of six basic neighborhoods.
Playgrounds are safe areas where toons can just relax and socialize, receive quests, and play a variety of minigames.
These minigames come in three types, first, you got the fishing minigame, where you simply click and use a power meter to throw the bait. You can then sell the fish for beans the main currency, and you have a fish encyclopedia where you can see all the species you´ve caught so far.
The second type is the trolley games, this is how I´ve earned most of the beans in this game.
You can play alone or with other players. Some of the modes include a Pacman clone, a memory game, swimming through rings, and protect barrels from Cogs. However, I did find them a bit tedious after a while.
The third type is golfing and racing, Golf is basically a mini-golf game where you can earn trophies (which gives a fancy outfit) and health meter boost, while racing is basically Mario Kart, and you can earn tickets which allows getting new carts or fashion accessories.
Going to a party is also another way to play minigames to earn beans, you can create one yourself or join other players. There´s also a jukebox and other fun props to interact with.
Once you´re done, head into the Goofy Gag, shop for all you gag needs which you´ll need in order to fight the Cogs.
Taking the Fight to the Streets
Once you leave the playground, you will find that the streets are filled with Gogs! But no worries, combat is easy to master, see one thing that makes it stand out it´s that combat is turn-based. With a couple of differences, for example instead of health, you have a laff meter. The main objective here is to make the enemy laugh until it explodes.
But this requires some strategy, as certain attacks (called gags) are only efficient on certain enemy types. And instead of gaining experience level, you gain points according to what gag you use. Filling them unlocks newer gags to use.
Now you could just mindlessly keep battling to progress, but there are better ways to do it, you can participate in Cog invasions, fighting wave after wave of enemies or by completing toontasks rewards players with laff points, and should give enough experience, although can only do one task at a time, which can be a bit annoying. Also, I suggest taking having the wiki open to figure out where certain Cog types are located to complete it.
Another neat feature is that other players can join the fight at any time, in fact, the game encourages casual teamups making progress really easy.
And if somehow get other toons to your group you can them to join at a Cog Building. These huge metal buildings function as the game's dungeon, where you battle wave after wave until reaching the boss. Once you´ve won. The building will be replaced with a regular Toontown building with photos of the players that liberated the building hanging on the walls for bragging rights.
There is also the Cog headquarters, these are permanently controlled Gog facilities inhabited by a boss Cog of a specific type. They´re a more elaborate and harder version of a Cog Building, and you will eventually be expected to perform tasks around the area.
It´s Free Real Estate
How could I not mention the fact that you have player housing in this game? When you simply just wanna take a small break, or hang out quietly with your friends, there is a small neighborhood fit for that purpose.
You can decorate your own house with furniture both from the Cattle-log (oh the puns) and save money in what is basically a candy machine.
In the backyard, you can also do some fishing, as well as gardening, which will need to purchase a kit. Besides just for decorative purposes, you can actually increase your laff meter and improve the power of a gag. Planting flowers by combining certain jellybean colors.
This is also the place where you get to visit your very own pet called a doodle! This however the only place you get to see them besides combat. You can feed them there, play with them and teach them tricks. Doodles can also be called to aid in battle with their tricks so training is important.
And since a player neighborhood is also the home of all the characters in the same player account you can also see the doodles of your alts hanging out.
They often come in different colors, body parts, and personality traits, and can be bought at the pet store. The options for available pets often change every day, and that´s depending on if a specific doodle was bought.
Disney Copyright-free events
Now, I know what people are thinking, how the heck did they maintained this game without being sued by the Big Mouse himself? Well, the creators of Rewritten pretty much removed all the Disney NPCs and replaced them with original characters. For example, Flippy the Dog is the mayor instead of Mickey. The only thing that reminds you that this is a Disney game are the shop names, statues, and street signs.
While this does means that players and exactly playing the game in its original form, it´s a much better compromise than having the project shut down.
But what they did manage to keep were the events, every year you have specific winter or Halloween events. (There´s also been a summer event this year) with the added bonus of community-led events. You can also earn exclusive outfits and participate in fun competitions.
Conclusion
Now how does it hold out as a fan project? Pretty good actually, all the fun stuff is here with a few minor tweaks to improve the game. The game is still getting updates, it has a vibrant and very friendly community. And it´s definitely what I would say a kid-friendly game (and for adults)
There are barely any bugs and the game runs smoothly. So, if you´re in a nostalgic mood, or just like Disney games in general, this is a must-play.
Dead MMO Perservation Project Index
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