The second episode of our Let’s Explore Ragnarok Origin! Tutorial series begins as we enter the main hall of the Adventurers’ Academy. As with the original Ragnarok Online PC game, the tutorial area is set in a castle on an island off of the continent of Midgard. Here, we are greeted by our guide, Sprakki, who has been waiting for us all this time, while we were out exploring the landing area and the mini-garden in the previous episode. She greets us with a bad news–the professor isn’t ready to see us since an old friend of his has arrived to meet with him.

Note that we’ve decided to use the name “Sprakki” for the guide from this point on, since it’s the closest to the Japanese server’s “Splatch”/”Spratch”. Sprakki is actually the first female guide you meet at the Novice Training Grounds in Ragnarok Online. She is also present at the current Criatura Academy tutorial area in Izlude, as well as the Eden Group Headquarters, in iRO!

source: ROExtreme.com

Of Adventures and Adventurers

While waiting, Sprakki tells us about the Academy and shows all sorts of adventures we’ll get into when we finally leave and change Jobs. The Photo Wall displays pictures sent by the academy’s alumni. It is here where the game gives us a hint that Ragnarok Origin encourages players to capture their precious moments as they play the game.

While many of the pictures show characters in groups engaging in a variety of activities, there are some that portray only a single character. I think they’d like us to know that ROO can also be enjoyed alone–that a single player can still have as much fun with costumes, quests, and exploration without having to be part of a Party or Guild.

While looking around and speaking with other Novices, we meet a concierge who looks exactly like Sprakki only without the Bunny Band. It turns out she’s her sister, Stephanie. We can ask her to tell us about some interesting areas in the academy and she names a few.

I’ve noticed a bug in her dialogue, though. Even when you’re tapping the “About the Professor” option, she still replies to you with directions to different parts of the academy instead of actually answering your question. I tried it with a different character and the correct dialogue gets triggered but you have to keep choosing the “About the Professor” option multiple times.

The Professor and His Gift

When we’re ready, we enter a room to the right of the lobby and meet Professor Anderson for the first time. He is impressed with our background and abilities and recognizes our potential to become a great adventurer. After officially admitting us into the Adventurers’ Academy, he gives us a gift–the Camera function–and hands us over to Sprakki to learn how to use it. Like Ragnarok M, Ragnarok Origin promotes its beautiful graphics by prompting us to use the Camera and take pictures for us to keep as souvenirs of our journey and to share on social media.

I personally like the wide variety of options available on the Camera function which has three modes: Normal, Free, and Selfie. Aside from the classic RO emotes, we can also add facial expressions, character animations, stickers, and frames. If you’re playing on mobile, try the Free Mode. It’s pretty cool!

If you decide to look around, watch out for the band of Rockers performing on stage–they’re hilarious (and cute)! Another thing that might catch your attention while at the restaurant (“cafeteria” is not classy enough) area of the academy is the Jukebox. It allows you to listen to a couple of classic RO BGMs for that much-needed nostalgia boost! For me, this seems to be a preview of what we can expect in terms of maps and music.

One thing of note is that the background music playing in the tutorial area is called “One Step Closer”. If you love RO BGMs like us, you’ll most likely remember that this is also the title of the BGM for RO’s Novice Training Grounds. Ragnarok Origin‘s version of this song doesn’t sound very similar to the original. It took me a week of playing the game and editing videos to realize that it has, in fact, a very minute similarity with Ragnarok Online‘s “One Step Closer”. The beat and and the melody are unlike each other’s, but you can hear just a little resemblance in the two–possibly in the feeling they both elicit. Aside from this, it seems that “Theme of Prontera” has been modified to evoke a feeling of majesty and grandeur, compared to the original’s more romantic pop tune.

The World of Ragnarok Origin

We’ve only met the professor minutes ago and honestly, we haven’t really learned much from him aside from the fact that we remind him of his younger self. But Sprakki says it’s time to bid him farewell. Before we go and meet with the Training Grounds instructor, Professor Anderson gives us our first lore information.

According to the cinematic video, the game is set years after Ragnarok (the event) occurred. Loki had cast a curse of destruction before his death, and in the years that passed, monsters awakened to bring chaos to Midgard. The Adventurers’ Academy was formed by the Kingdom of Rune-Midgarts to train new adventurers to ward off the invasion of evil monsters. If Ragnarok occurs after the events of Ragnarok Online, is this game set after RO much like Ragnarok Online 2?

Anyway, before we head out to the Training Grounds, the professor gives us a cute–but unfortunately–time-restricted Poring Mount. This is where the game introduces us to mounts as part of character customization. I actually saw this promotional material that shows two of the many mounts we can get from–I assume–Gacha, the Store, and some in-game events.

source: Ragnarok Origin Press Kit from Gravity

The last thing we look at in this episode is the Party Window. Much like in any game in the franchise, you can choose to create or join a Party. I will probably be playing alone most of the time, but might check what being in a Party is like for more challenging activities like Trials and boss fights.

What do you think of Ragnarok Origin so far? I think the ambient NPCs add flavor to the game, while the main ones are a joy to interact with! I’m definitely eager to learn more about ROO’s world and the game’s different features.