Game Review: Ragnarok DS

RAG_BOXRagnarok is one of the most popular online computer games worldwide. Now you can enjoy the world of Midgard in a self-contained adventure with Ragnarok DS. While the main adventure is not online like the PC game, the world, characters, themes, and gameplay remain intact. Play as Ales, a young novice adventurer. After losing both his parents, Ales vows to become a great adventurer and along the way he meets up with a ragtag team of fighters who will aid him on his quest.

 

Ragnarok DS is viewed from a 2-D top down perspective, and is entirely controlled with the stylus (you can move your character around with the D-pad, though). While out on the field, move the stylus around to control your character, and tap on enemies to attack them automatically. Tap on yourself or allies to heal and use skills. Defeat enemies to gain experience and items to level up.  The game does a great job of easing you into the rules of play. And because of the simple controls, I can understand why the online PC game is so popular and inviting. For hardcore gamers who know about old games, my best comparison of Ragnarok DS is it’s a lot like the Super Nintendo classic Secret of Mana (complete with cute enemies and sometimes useless duo of allies).

While in towns, sift through menus to shop for items, weapons, and armor. Also, visit taverns and guilds to get jobs and quests that move the story along or garner some extra goodies. In town you can also change your job once you reach level 10 as a novice. Jobs include swordsman, magician, thief, archer, and more! Each job has its own skills and equipment to use and learn. Once you rise up in a particular job to level 30, you can upgrade these jobs (swordsman becomes knight, magician to wizard, etc.). With more than two dozen jobs to master, there’s plenty to do in this DS adventure.

Since Ragnarok DS is a self-contained game, you can’t import your online character from the PC. But the DS game does come with a code for some exclusive items to use in the PC version. Later on in the DS game, you can access a special tower and play wirelessly with two other friends through WiFi and friend codes, so there is an online mode after all.

The only small problem with the game is that the stylus control isn’t always as accurate. Sometimes it’s hard to click on the right monster you want to attack when there’s a lot happening on the bottom screen. And the stilted movements and animations of the characters don’t help much either.

But the old-school game anime look of the characters is charming, and there are a lot of nice little details. Like when you switch jobs or equip armor, your character’s appearance changes. While there is a lot of level grinding, there’s always a quest you can take on while gaining experience, so you feel like you’re progressing in a small way. Best of all, the simple yet addicting gameplay make Ragnarok DS a decently engaging on-the-go experience.

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Kid Factor:

Ragnarok DS is rated E-10 for Everyone 10 and up. ESRB descriptors include Alcohol Reference, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Suggestive Themes. The alcohol and suggestive references are in text only, and are mostly campy. You can slash enemies with swords and zap them with spells, but defeated foes simply disappear with a poof. The text has some mild language in it, and words like ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ are used quite often. Reading skill is a must because of all the text in the game. Since Ragnarok DS is a stand-alone game, parents who want to limit their kids’ time playing online games might find a good compromise in the DS title.

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  1. excuse me can you give me a link english version of this game because I always find a japanese version of it.

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