Does the game still require you to pay to unlock everything?
Yes and no, theres 2 free open areas of the game but a lot of things beyond that take crowns. Most of the areas I've come across so far are about 1usd to open up.
Don't forget you can buy a monthly/yearly membership that gets access to everything. I don't suggest it though because the majority of players have stopped playing. High level players are incredibly difficul to find anymore, however Kingsisle is fairly good at updating the game, but the gameplay gets repetative.