For better or for worse, it's Toontown Online just like you remember it. Recently, I came back to this game after a massive update that added the long awaited Sellbot Task Force and Field Offices, and while those were fun for a while, I think the glaring issues with the game at its core are astoundingly obvious, and it wasn't long before I put myself on hiatus for this game yet again.
If you've played the original Toontown, you'll know that the game operated on a monthly subscription fee in order to access almost the entire late game. To make the most out of this, Disney, ever so ready to maximize profits, made it so that there were absurd requirements in completing everything. Completely maxing out an activity that required a membership (in other words, just about all of them) could take several months, if not years; gardening alone could take up to several months to max out if you wanted to 100% the game, the rarest fish in the game had less than a .01% catch rate, and getting a suit to level 50 would take ages with how the game awards progression points. It was incredibly obvious that Disney wanted you to keep buying memberships so you could get everything completed on just a single toon.
Unfortunately, as TTR is made to be as close of a replica as possible to the original game, many of these glaring issues didn't see much fixing. The only things I can note that changed progression wise were a few select missions and the requirements to max out certain activities, which are entirely optional if you want to just play the main game. The issue with slow suit progression is still there, meaning you'll have to go through several hours of grinding just to start attempting another boss again. Even though the pay-to-play factor was eliminated, TTR's insistence on being accurate ultimately holds it back in several areas. It's still an incredibly grindy game, and I wouldn't recommend going through it without a friend or without something to watch or listen to in the background.
That said, in an age of gaming where preservation is becoming more and more crucial, I can appreciate the dedication to preserving a project as impactful as Toontown Online was, and going beyond with updates that logically would've happened should TTO have lived this long. TTR is nearing its 10 year anniversary, and thus TTO is nearing its 20th, and I'm glad that this community is still kicking strong all these years later, which is one of the most crucial parts of the game: its community. Without its community, TTR and any other fan projects like it wouldn't exist, and the game would be absolutely dreadful to play. The dedication people have for what looks like a silly game is absolutely astounding. It's a testament to just how far people will go in the name of preserving beloved games, no matter how many will play, how little there is to profit off of, or how the game's quality actually holds up. It's a passion project in every sense of the term. Even if it stopped attracting new players entirely, the sheer amount of people still looking to play the game they loved 20 years ago can easily keep it relevant.
The gameplay isn't anything incredibly special, though its simplicity isn't at all a bad thing; it's a game that everyone can pick up and learn easily, which makes it a fun time to play with friends. It's also not every day you see an MMO with turn-based combat, most people are out here playing something like FF14 or PSO2, which are both action RPGS. I'd personally love to see more MMOs take a shot at the genre, there's a ton of unexplored potential.
Frankly, I'm a bit afraid of TTR's future in the long-term; there's an overwhelming (and for new players, intimidating) amount of grinding to do, with seemingly no plans to have them adjusted later on, meaning the game will likely meet the same fate of TTO of players leaving at a more steady pace due to just getting bored. Though story extensions like the Sellbot Task Force are built to remedy this, I feel like it's a matter of "too little, too late." Updates come at a snail's pace, and adding more things that need grinding won't exactly keep player retention for long. There are core flaws with how TTO was built, and the insistence on being strictly accurate means those flaws likely won't be addressed. Though, I do still come back to the game every several months to check in, and I feel like the nostalgic memories it brings me, paired with the simplistic gameplay it offers, ultimately keeps me from putting it down permanently. If you're looking for an experience just like TTO, TTR is just about the best option out there with a still thriving playerbase. No matter where the players go, the game will likely always be here since this is a non-profit game. As long as there's at least some people willing to play, the game won't be going anywhere, nor will its community.
(If you're looking for a fresh, less grindy experience though, Corporate Clash will probably be more your speed)
If you've played the original Toontown, you'll know that the game operated on a monthly subscription fee in order to access almost the entire late game. To make the most out of this, Disney, ever so ready to maximize profits, made it so that there were absurd requirements in completing everything. Completely maxing out an activity that required a membership (in other words, just about all of them) could take several months, if not years; gardening alone could take up to several months to max out if you wanted to 100% the game, the rarest fish in the game had less than a .01% catch rate, and getting a suit to level 50 would take ages with how the game awards progression points. It was incredibly obvious that Disney wanted you to keep buying memberships so you could get everything completed on just a single toon.
Unfortunately, as TTR is made to be as close of a replica as possible to the original game, many of these glaring issues didn't see much fixing. The only things I can note that changed progression wise were a few select missions and the requirements to max out certain activities, which are entirely optional if you want to just play the main game. The issue with slow suit progression is still there, meaning you'll have to go through several hours of grinding just to start attempting another boss again. Even though the pay-to-play factor was eliminated, TTR's insistence on being accurate ultimately holds it back in several areas. It's still an incredibly grindy game, and I wouldn't recommend going through it without a friend or without something to watch or listen to in the background.
That said, in an age of gaming where preservation is becoming more and more crucial, I can appreciate the dedication to preserving a project as impactful as Toontown Online was, and going beyond with updates that logically would've happened should TTO have lived this long. TTR is nearing its 10 year anniversary, and thus TTO is nearing its 20th, and I'm glad that this community is still kicking strong all these years later, which is one of the most crucial parts of the game: its community. Without its community, TTR and any other fan projects like it wouldn't exist, and the game would be absolutely dreadful to play. The dedication people have for what looks like a silly game is absolutely astounding. It's a testament to just how far people will go in the name of preserving beloved games, no matter how many will play, how little there is to profit off of, or how the game's quality actually holds up. It's a passion project in every sense of the term. Even if it stopped attracting new players entirely, the sheer amount of people still looking to play the game they loved 20 years ago can easily keep it relevant.
The gameplay isn't anything incredibly special, though its simplicity isn't at all a bad thing; it's a game that everyone can pick up and learn easily, which makes it a fun time to play with friends. It's also not every day you see an MMO with turn-based combat, most people are out here playing something like FF14 or PSO2, which are both action RPGS. I'd personally love to see more MMOs take a shot at the genre, there's a ton of unexplored potential.
Frankly, I'm a bit afraid of TTR's future in the long-term; there's an overwhelming (and for new players, intimidating) amount of grinding to do, with seemingly no plans to have them adjusted later on, meaning the game will likely meet the same fate of TTO of players leaving at a more steady pace due to just getting bored. Though story extensions like the Sellbot Task Force are built to remedy this, I feel like it's a matter of "too little, too late." Updates come at a snail's pace, and adding more things that need grinding won't exactly keep player retention for long. There are core flaws with how TTO was built, and the insistence on being strictly accurate means those flaws likely won't be addressed. Though, I do still come back to the game every several months to check in, and I feel like the nostalgic memories it brings me, paired with the simplistic gameplay it offers, ultimately keeps me from putting it down permanently. If you're looking for an experience just like TTO, TTR is just about the best option out there with a still thriving playerbase. No matter where the players go, the game will likely always be here since this is a non-profit game. As long as there's at least some people willing to play, the game won't be going anywhere, nor will its community.
(If you're looking for a fresh, less grindy experience though, Corporate Clash will probably be more your speed)