The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Ragnagard is a fighting game using pre-rendered sprites similar to that of Rare's Killer Instinct but with different gameplay mechanics. The game features an Aerial Battle System which is done by pushing up on the joystick and both of the weak punch and weak kick buttons together, allowing for air combos and air dashing. Players can also charge up the power gauge (based on four elements of Water, Wind, Fire, and Thunder, though each character only uses two of the four elements) which allows for Desperation Moves to be performed. Super Desperation Moves can be performed only if the player's life is flashing red, similar to The King of Fighters series.
Reception
Ragnagard received generally mixed reception from critics since its release.
Of Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers, Crispin Boyer had a subdued reaction, but the other three panned the game. Shawn Smith and Sushi-X found it boring due to the characters' choppy movements and the lag time between each move, and Dan Hsu and Sushi-X remarked that while the pre-fight animations are impressive, the graphics are undistinguished once the fight starts. MAN!AC's Robert Bannert commended the character designs but felt overall mixed about Ragnagard when reviewing the Saturn conversion in regards to several design aspects. Player One's Christophe Delpierre compared the visual style of the game with Killer Instinct.
