The Legacy of Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online, sometimes written Ragnarök Online, is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) released in 2002. Ragnarok Online became known and reached millions of players worldwide due to its distinctive 2.5D graphics, action gameplay, soundtrack, and unique setting.
What Is Ragnarok Online Like?
Ragnarok Online is heavily influenced by Norse mythology. This influence is seen in many elements of the video game such as in the fact Ragnarok Online takes place in a land called Midgard, whih is the name for the realm inhabited by humans in Norse mythology. While the cultural elements of Ragnarok Online are heavily influenced by Norse mythology, the visuals of the game draw inspiration manhwa, which is the Korean term for cartoons and comics. To be more specific, Ragnarok Online is inspired in the Ragnarok manhwa.
Ragnarok Online features a gameplay similar to the one found in classic action RPGs (ARPGs), such as Diablo (1997) and Diablo II (2000). In this sense, Ragnarok Online, such as classic ARPGs, is played mostly with the mouse, and in which gameplay takes place in real-time. The player character defeats different enemies, which drop loot which can be collected in order to be traded for in-game currency, equipment or other items, such as healing items. Like Diablo, Ragnarok Online features multiple classes, and the selected class significantly influences the gameplay. For example, in Ragnarok Online, some classes have the ability to become invisible, while others have the ability to earn more currency in trade.
As an MMORPG, Ragnarok Online is played by multiple people, who can choose to form parties with their game characters, or play independently. Ragnarok Online game characters can also create guilds, which, unlike a party, is a persistent organization of game characters. Guilds in Ragnarok Online are able to dispute territory by fighting in the War of Emperium and by destroying the Emperium crystal during these battles.
Unlike many MMORPGs of the 2010s, Ragnarok Online mostly does not feature artificial intelligence (AI) companions, and thus the game character fights enemies either independently or in a group with other players. Some classes in Ragnarok Online, such as the alchemist, are able to summon an homunculus, which acts as a summoned creature, similar to the necromancer class in Diablo II (2000), with the important difference that in Ragnarok Online, the alchemist is able to only summon one homunculus, whereas in Diablo II (2000) the necromancer is able to summon various creatures to aid in fight. In Ragnarok Online, in general, game characters also receive a bonus for acquired experience when fighting monsters in groups of multiple game characters. For this reason, it is often said that Ragnarok Online incentivizes group gameplay through the bonus to earned experience.
One distinct feature of Ragnarok Online is the card system. In Ragnarok Online, everytime a game characters defeats a monster, there is a very small chance of the monster dropping a card on defeat. In general, these cards are very valuable items that can be attached to equipment in order to provide unique bonuses or skills. Beyond the objective bonus granted, cards in Ragnarok Online also feature unique artwork, which is a reason for players of Ragnarok Online to collect these rare items.
The Reception of Ragnarok Online
At launch and its subsequent years, Ragnarok Online was played by millions of players. In many countries and regions, Ragnarok Online became a phenomenon among players and captivated millions of fans with its unique graphics, setting, soundtrack and gameplay.
At the beginning and in its early years, Ragnarok Online was mostly a subscription-based MMORPG, in the sense that players had to pay for monthly subscriptions in order to be able to play Ragnarok Online. Over time, this model was changed to a free-to-play model in which some special items could be acquired by paying. This later model, which includes acquiring in-game items with real money, is sometimes called "pay-to-win" by the online games community and MMORPG players, and is critisized for providing an unfair game experience, in the sense that a player that invested many hours into finding equipment in the game can be outmatched by a player who spent more real money in buying better equipment.
In line with other MMORPGs, such as Final Fantasy (2002) and World of Warcraft (2004), Ragnarok Online received multiple expansions that added more content to the game. One of the most known expansions of Ragnarok Online is Renewal, which altered various aspects of the game. For this reason, Renewal is sometimes considered to be one of the most significant expansions of Ragnarok Online. While Renewal introduced much new content to Ragnarok Online, at the same time it altered aspects with which some Ragnarok Online players were accostumed with.
Over time, other games belonging to the Ragnarok Online universe were released, such as Ragnarok Online 2: The Gate of the World (2007), Ragnarok Online 2: Legend of the Second (2012), Ragnarok M: Eternal Love (2018), Ragnarok X: Next Generation (2021), among others.
The Legacy of Ragnarok Online
While Ragnarok Online (2002) is sometimes seen as a game from the past, its mobile iterations, such as Ragnarok M: Eternal Love (2018) and Ragnarok X: Next Generation (2021), captivate multitdes of players while retaining the Ragnarok Online characteristics.
While some players feel nostalgia towards their days playing Ragnarok Online in its early years after launch, others discovered the game after its various expansions, and had a great experience and made new friends. While the experience of each player is unique, Ragnarok Online is remembered by generations of players who spent many hours discovering Midgard and making new friends.
Due to the enormous success of Ragnarok Online, it should come as no surprise that it has had a deep impact in the video games industry. Due to its unique sprite-based graphics, inspired by the Korean manhwa Ragnarok, Ragnarok Online introduced many players to a new style of graphics, which are sometimes called "anime graphics", even though "anime" is a word usually used to refer to animation produced in Japan. After Ragnarok Online (2002), other online games with a similar style of graphics were released as well, such as Grand Chase (2003), MapleStory (2003), Trickster Online (2003), La Tale (2006), Angels Online (2006), Tales of Pirates (2007), Secret of the Solstice (2007), Tree of Savior (2016), among others. Some video games that featured a similar characteristic of the graphic style of Ragnarok Online, which is often referred to as sprite-based, are Secret of the Solstice (2007) and Tree of Savior (2016). Due to its enormous success and to the amount of games with a similar graphical style that were released subsequently, Ragnarok Online (2002) is sometimes considered to have paved the road for many MMORPGs that were released in Western countries thereafter.
In particular, Tree of Savior (2016), due to its similar sprite-based graphical style, as well as having some of its soundtrack produced by soundTeMP, the same team that created much of the soundtrack of Ragnarok Online (2002), is often considered to be a "spiritual successor" to Ragnarok Online (2002). Many players see similarities between these two games, despite being developed by different companies. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that Tree of Savior (2016) was created by Kim Hakkyu, who was also the creator of Ragnarok Online (2002). For this reason, some players consider Tree of Savior (2016) to be a "spiritual successor" to the Ragnarok Online (2002) video game.
Even a long time after its initial launch, the game universe of Ragnarok Online (2002) is enjoyed by multiple players around the world that play one of its iterations, and it served as inspiration to multiple games released subsequently. Many players remember their experiences on Ragnarok Online (2002) as some of the best they have had in the MMORPG genre, and Ragnarok Online (2002) is often considered one of the most important MMORPGs of the early 21st century. Even though techonology changes over time, Ragnarok Online (2002) should be considered an example of how a well-made, unique video game can have a significant impact on the video games industry, and be everlasting.
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