Ragnarok Online is a classic Korean MMORPG released in 2002 by Gravity. We’re keen to find out if it has stood the test of time, so we tested it out.
The game features very unique graphics where the characters, monsters, and NPCs are all in 2D, while the environment is in 3D. Ragnarok Online was published all around Asia, and after some time, in the US, Europe, and Australia.
Very fun, unique gameplay – even after 10 years.
Ragnarok Online has some unique features not seen in other games, even 10 years after its launch. It uses the classic job advancement system popular in Asian MMORPGs, plus a novel skill tree system which is even now one of the most robust skill trees in any MMORPG I’ve ever played. The stat system is also very innovative. While other MMORPGs tend to give much more power to the equipment and the customizable stats are pretty much neglected, Ragnarok Online puts more emphasis on its stat distribution customization. Allocating stat points in the wrong place will seriously effect your character. For example, you can create a mage that casts faster but doesn’t hit hard, or a mage that casts really slow but hits like a truck.
Top down grid-based gameplay
It should be noted however that the combat does not involve much in the way of movement controls. Certain classes can dash with skills to reach places quicker, but that’s that. The rest is pretty much keyboard mashing and a click-fest, although strategies and quick thinking is indeed necessary to perform well.
Ragnarok Online also has a very good guild war system, called War of Emperium. It is not a 1-vs-1 guild, but a battle royale system where one defender guild and its allies must defend itself against every attacking guild, although these attacking guilds can attack each other as well. The fact that Ragnarok Online PVP is extremely fast-paced makes the guild war extremely fun. You can trap many enemies at once in a bottleneck and kill all of them in a matter of seconds. You, of course, could also be killed in less than two seconds. I think it’s good fun. I cannot stress how epic it feels when you and your guild manage to hold off hundreds of other players in one area and repeatedly defeat them as they try to get in, or when you finally manage to break the defense that had held fast for a long time.
A look at original Ragnarok Online job tree
There are many more fun features such as a card socketing system, sandbox dungeon system, and so on. But I will end up making a book if I explain everything, so I suggest you find more about these features on the game site or perhaps by playing it yourself. Suffice to say, in terms of gameplay, Ragnarok Online is an amazing one-of-a-kind MMORPG.
Graphics feel dated today
As I mentioned before, Ragnarok Online has pretty stand-out graphic style, mixing 3D and 2D. For a modern MMORPG, obviously the graphics of this game are totally out of date. When it was released in 2002, it wasn’t exactly jaw-dropping either. 2002 was the year when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Kingdom Hearts, and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind were released. It’s probably unfair to compare it to single-player games like these, but nevertheless its graphic were bad when compared to those games when they all launched. The 3D objects are not too bad however, and even now I can still appreciate the building designs in the city.
Old graphic, but very nice 2D models
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