If you’ve never heard of Ragnarok Online, I’d have to assume that you’ve been living under a rock since about 2002. The popular Korean MMORPG came to American shores in 2003, but by that time it already had a rabid fanbase among Korean gamers (50 million players worldwide to date). The game originally started as a Pay To Play title, but a Free To Play version came along later down the line, which only amped its popularity. What more could you ask for from a fun little MMO like this? Why, to make it portable, of course … and with Ragnarok Violet [Free], that’s just what you’ve got.
In Ragnarok Violet, you will play the young hero who hopes to become a knight and eventually gets drafted to stop the Dark Lord from reawakening. Okay, I know that that doesn’t sound particularly new or creative, but hey, it’s an RPG. Sometimes you just have to breathe your way through the cliches and get on with the gameplay. Speaking of, the game goes with the good old top down format that you’ll fondly remember from so many Super Nintendo RPGs of old.
If you love grinding, leveling your character, boosting stats and doing the whole fight in the fields/go back to town schtick, Ragnarok Violet’s got you covered. You’ll be given quests right off the bat and soon be on your way to exploring. The control scheme works just fine, although the D pad on the left bottom corner of your screen is a bit large and will impede your vision on occasion. Slots for quick spell access on your right bottom corner are particularly handy and make it easy to start using those skills you’re racking up.
Fighting is … well, it’s pretty standard hack and slash stuff that consists of hitting the same button over and over. Leveling happens pretty quickly, which means you can start getting comfy with the stat and skill point systems. Unlike many of the retro titles that likely inspired it, Ragnarok Violet doesn’t torture you to get your character stronger in the beginning, which is a blessing as far as I’m concerned. Who wants to be murdered by a slime before you even hit level three? That does not make you feel like a hero, I can tell you that.
Ragnarok Violet does feature one thing which most RPGs don’t, and that is a pet system. You can tame these guys at a pet shop in town and they will offer little benefits to your quest, such as aiding HP or gathering items, as long as you remember to keep them fed. They also offer chatty commentary and are just generally cute. No doubt this feature is a great hit with fans of ultra cute characters in RPGs (in other words, all of Asia), but let’s face it: If you’re playing Ragnarok Violet in the first place, you obviously already have a soft spot in your heart for cute stuff.
You can earn money in-game to buy stuff to beef up your arsenal, or you can hit a little shop button in your top right corner and make In-App Purchases with real money. A lot of the stuff is just for fun, like hats for your pet, but there are also useful items for sale like instant revives. I’m not a fan of buying items in games personally, but if you are, I think you’ll find there’s a decent selection of fun, inexpensive things to choose from.
There are a few major weaknesses in Raganarok Violet. Firstly, the skill tree is just kind of sad and underdeveloped-looking, and doesn’t offer a lot of exciting skills to get. I also found the minimap more or less useless, as it just looks like a tiny sprite map with an icon of your head on it and does not really point you in the direction of any destination you might need to find. Lastly, the dialogue hovers somewhere right below average, and on occasions is downright awful. It feels really rushed, and I spotted a lot of misspellings. Also, our hero has an attitude that makes me want to kick him into next week, but that’s just my opinion, mind you.
Regardless of any weaknesses, however, fans are sure to go rabid for Ragnarok Violet, even if it’s based just on the nostalgia factor of having played Raganarok Online in the past. Although it has its flaws, it still offers a huge world to explore and plenty of solid (if not terribly innovative) gameplay. Some of that might make you pause and consider whether it’s worth your hard earned dollars, but wait — it’s free. No reason to hesitate now, yes?
