[Participating in the Nexon PEAK Post Challenge]

Mabinogi has been around for more than 20 years now.

Starting with the original PC Mabinogi, the series has continued to experiment in a lot of different directions through Heroes, mobile, and more, and I feel like I have ended up sitting down with each new title seriously at least once.

If someone asked me to recommend just one game from the Mabinogi series, I would naturally stop and wonder, “Which one would actually be the best recommendation?” Until recently, before I had properly tried Mabinogi Mobile, I would have said PC Mabinogi without much hesitation... but after spending time with Mabinogi Mobile for myself, I came away feeling that if I really had to choose one, then Mabinogi Mobile would probably be the right answer.

So today, I want to briefly share why, out of the whole Mabinogi series, Mabinogi Mobile is the one I would recommend.

Mabinogi’s experiments were bold, but the downsides that came with them were hard to ignore

When I look back at Mabinogi’s various attempts, what stands out is just how broad they really were. If we set aside PC Mabinogi as the original, there was Mabinogi Heroes, Mabinogi Duel, Mabinogi: My Knight Order (for earning AP linked to PC Mabinogi), and now Mabinogi Mobile, so it really has been a series willing to try a wide range of approaches.

In the case of Mabinogi Duel, the setting itself did seem to draw from Mabinogi’s world, but because it leaned so heavily into being a card game, I personally felt it fell a little short of capturing everything that makes Mabinogi enjoyable. In a sense, it felt like trying to fit the scale of an RPG into a TCG was always going to be a difficult task.

With Mabinogi Heroes, on the other hand, I never really got the sense of Mabinogi’s original “fantasy life.” It felt much more focused on stylish combat. I played from the early days up until Vella was released, and while the combat was genuinely fun, I do not think I ever found that particular kind of enjoyment that came from Mabinogi’s life skills, or from simply gathering with other people and chatting at ease.

“Then was Mabinogi Mobile any different?”

To be honest, I did not have especially high expectations when Mabinogi Mobile was on the way. I had gone to G-STAR twice and played it both times, and it did not seem as though much had really changed. But once I tried the live version of Mabinogi Mobile, I realized my impression had shifted quite a lot. I will go through the reasons one by one.

Combat with real impact

Anyone who has played the early combat in PC Mabinogi has probably felt how heavy and oddly awkward it could be. It has been improved steadily over the years, so now it is at least in a much better place, but to people who have never played Mabinogi before, it can still look slow and frustrating.

But in Mabinogi Mobile, that overall feeling of combat has changed quite a bit. Leaving aside the fact that, as a mobile game, it includes automation, the way Mabinogi’s originally heavy combat has been modernized into something with clear, satisfying impact makes it feel like an “enormous transformation.”

A fusion of worldbuilding

Mabinogi itself has plenty of enjoyable stories, but personally, the first story arc of Mabinogi Heroes was also one I found genuinely memorable. The relationships around Morrighan and Cichol, along with the stories of the surrounding characters, were all very compelling, and while playing Mabinogi Mobile, I started noticing a lot of familiar elements.

What I mean is that the job classes you choose in Mabinogi Heroes appear here as characters, and not just the characters either, since monsters like “Gnoll Chieftain” also show up. That made them unexpectedly nice to see again, and it also left me thinking, “So this is why an expanded IP matters..”

A cartoon-like character of your own

Realistic graphics certainly have their own appeal, but even a slight mismatch in proportions or color can make them feel awkward very quickly. By contrast, I think Mabinogi Mobile’s cartoon-style visuals are able to overcome many of the weaknesses that realistic graphics tend to have.

I had settled into a spot while waiting to meet an NPC named Evan, and after seeing so many beautiful characters around me, I somehow found myself with the oddly strong motivation that “Later, when I have more outfits, I am going to make an even prettier character!”

PC Mabinogi has also done collaborations quite often, so I imagine Mabinogi Mobile will eventually do a variety of them as well, but personally, I felt that the way it faithfully brings Mabinogi’s original pleasure of dressing up your character over to mobile really shows off one of the series’ biggest strengths.

Detail in the presentation

Unlike earlier Mabinogi series titles, Mabinogi Mobile includes a lot of modern-feeling presentation touches, and they are woven in with a charming sense of detail.

Whether it is opening a box or breaking a wooden barrel, older entries often handled those interactions in simpler ways, with the box opening automatically or the barrel being smashed through a standard combat motion. Mabinogi Mobile, by contrast, includes a range of finer presentation details that I really appreciated, such as a motion for opening treasure chests or the feeling of kicking the door open when entering a dungeon.

Personally, things like having a campfire before a boss room, or drinking water by scooping it up when you find a fountain, details that feel like those of a modern game, looked especially good to me because they felt like thoughtful additions layered onto Mabinogi’s existing concept.

Because it feels like a version that compensates for the weaknesses of the other entries while also gathering Mabinogi’s different kinds of enjoyment into one place, if someone asked me to recommend just one game from the Mabinogi series, I think Mabinogi Mobile would be the best choice.