Sakura, lanterns, pagodas, waterfalls, torii gates and jade dragons: the setting is an Asian-fantasy world that is painted rather than assembled from stock parts. Parchment cream and gold frame the interface, jade teal runs through the water, and lantern amber lights anywhere warm.

The art, the audio and the code are our own and newly made for this game.

• ▸2D, hand-painted maps.
• ▸A crystal cursor with 16 states that tell you what a click will do.
• ▸Hand-made visual effects on every skill.

You start by choosing a weapon family: Blade, Spear, Star, Dagger, Bow, Staff, Fist or Gun. At level 10 you pick a profession inside it, and later stages follow automatically as you level.

Each profession has its own signature skill, such as Crescent Cleave, Verdant Volley or Cloudburst, and skills rank up to 10.

Your story begins on one of 31 opening islands, each with its own residents and a five-quest tutorial chain. When you reach level 10 a ferry takes you to Lantern Harbor, and the rest of the world opens.

• ▸31 starter stories with 155 chapters.
• ▸372 job trials at the advancement gates.
• ▸350 town and harbour tales.
• ▸A journal and a quest helper to keep you oriented.

Bosses use telegraphed patterns, from the Jade Gatekeeper to the lightning columns of the Storm Guardian. Field bosses roam the open maps, and party raids support eight or more players.

Chat has Party, Guild, Friend and System tabs. A minimap and a world map atlas with a bestiary help you find your way. Ferries, cranes and airships run on schedules between regions.

Many hair styles, avatar customisation, damage skins and the Kazoryu Shop, a cosmetic shop, let you decide how your character looks. Keys can be remapped per character, and each account has six character slots.

KAZORYU ONLINE is online only and has no offline mode. The client is built for Windows and connects to an authoritative game server.