This game along with Dragon Raja were one of my first MMO's I ever played as a teenager. I had countless of hours, days, weeks, months and years of fun in this game and it made my youth that much more exciting (internet was new and talking to people across the world was new). I made friends through it and never had a dull moment. There were always new zones to farm, items to get and money to be made.

Class system, music and general feel of this game still send chills of comfy nostalgia spikes down my spine. I can't vouch for this version, but back in the day this was the best MMO pre-WoW out there and for a good reason. I say download and play it, just for the music alone if grindy Korean style MMO's aren't your thing.

However this server is not recommended if you speak English and live in Europe. If you're French or German you'll fit right in as those are the two more dominant languages on this server for Europeans. The server feels dead at times and after level 90 you will feel the grind. The Steam accounts get a free week of Premium meaning it won't feel too grindy but after a week you realize what a clever trap it is.

Expect to only get bored unless nostalgia can keep you entertained for hundreds of hours of killing the same monsters over and over. Also the pay to win items will infuriate most and 3-1 (end game) classes are behind a pay wall might also turn away most people.

I don't recommend this game for everyone but the few.

EDIT: International Ragnarok Online Server (iRO)

I'd like to add that after this review I started anew on iRO (international RO) which is the server you join through Steam if you live anywhere else but Europe and unlike the European server people actually speak English on iRO which makes it much more pleasant for people like me who use English mainly as a way to communicate online. iRO is vastly better than the one I based the review on and I managed to enjoy my time there more as there's more content and better quests to help you level. Also you don't need to whip out a wallet to get to third classes either and there is a daily quest grind called Gramps that makes leveling a bit easier.

It is however also pay to win too and laggier for Europeans, but if you like RO I recommend that server over the European one even for Europeans. Simply google International Ragnarok Online and download the client that way instead of using Steam.

I played a hefty amount of my time on that server and reached level 130 within a month on two characters, until finally quitting when content was unbearable to do -- this game is hard and will test your patience -- and the smallest mistake leads to death and losing hours of experience (death penalthy is lower on iRO though).

Again if you like grindy old school 2.5D style Korean MMO's with heavy anime theme and a great soundtrack this game is just for you. Others I advice going back to World of Warcraft where the fun is more casual and easier to obtain.