Dinsun Review
I never liked the 'pre-rendered 3D' look back then, and I don't like it now. It looks muddy compared to the clean pixel art SNK was known for. That said, Ragnagard is an interesting experiment. The aerial combo system was ahead of its time, though it feels incredibly clunky to execute today. The characters—gods and mythical beasts—are a cool idea, but they lack the personality of characters from 'Samurai Shodown' or 'King of Fighters.'
Mechanically, it’s a bit of a mess. The hit detection is questionable, and some characters are vastly more powerful than others. Like all these ACA ports, the touch controls are a disaster for a serious fighter. It’s a piece of history that shows where fighting games were trying to go in the mid-90s, but it’s more of a museum piece than something I’d want to play for fun. If you’re a historian, get it. If you want a good fighter, look elsewhere.
Overall Stats
Pros & Cons
- Unique mythological theme
- Interesting air combo system
- Perfect emulation
- Ugly pre-rendered visuals
- Stiff and clunky gameplay
- Poor character balance
- Unplayable with touch controls
Technical Report
Performance: Rock solid performance; accurately replicates the original arcade slowdown where it occurred.
- Save states
- Controller support
- Display aspect ratio options
Audience Fit
Buy if: You are a NeoGeo collector or fascinated by mid-90s pre-rendered graphics.
Skip if: You want a fluid, competitive fighting game.
- World Heroes Perfect
- Kizuna Encounter
Reviewer Context
- Reviewer: Dinsun
- Hardware: iPhone 14 Pro
- Playtime: 2 hours
- Status: Finished arcade mode twice
