Logan Booker explores the world of anime avatars, sans Pokemon and Chokobos.
Until recently, Australian players were unable to enjoy the computer adaptation of the Lee-Myon Jin comic world of Ragnarok without a great deal of hassle. Luckily for Oceania, a local company called OnGameNet recently picked up the rights to run an official server in Oz, and since then we have been able to enjoy some RO in all its animated goodness.
RO has a strong community focus, founded on an arguably basic RPG system. What gives the system life is the crazy amount of items and skills, and the experience is more about cooperation than level-building.
Combat is very Diablo-esque - click on the bad guy, time the use of your abilities, and try not to die. But even if you do, Ragnarok is reasonably forgiving and you'll only lose a small amount of experience for kicking the bucket. For those interested in extra combat, there is a restricted area for player versus player fighting.
The game features a massive number of occupations, and is probably the title's highlight. Players start out as novices, and can then choose such base jobs as thief or acolyte after a short training session. After a crazy amount of leveling, even more jobs become available. Unfortunately, some of these jobs aren't accessible in Ragnarok Australia - although OnGameNet has promised that it will be introducing them sometime in November/December.
It should be noted that the translated dialog is not English friendly, and will confuse players from time to time.
Ragnarok Online is a fun MMORPG. And, for the time being, it's also free while the Australian servers are tested. If it's let down by anything it's the missing content. If you can hold out until this is rectified, you'll find RO to be a rewarding experience.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012