Izanagi Online

Izanagi Online Review

Izanagi Online is a free-to-play mobile MMORPG from Asobimo Inc., a Japan-based developer with a recognizable catalog of phone-friendly online RPGs. While the English release landed on April 2, 2015, the game had already been available in Japan earlier, which is worth keeping in mind when judging some of its design decisions. Its biggest calling cards are the Unreal 3 Engine visuals and a strong art identity, with character designs credited to Takashi Okazaki of Afro Samurai fame. The result is a mobile MMO that looks and feels more serious in tone than many of its peers, even when its systems remain fairly traditional.

Classes and Character Creation

The class lineup is immediately familiar to MMO players, but the presentation gives each role a ninja-leaning twist. Warrior functions as the durable front-liner with a heavy weapon focus and a defensive block mechanic. Assassin is built around mobility and burst, leaning on quick strikes, ranged throws like shuriken-style attacks, and a dodge-oriented class skill. Mage plays as the high-damage glass cannon, favoring ranged spellcasting and tools to keep distance, alongside a mana recovery mechanic to help sustain longer fights. Cleric (often described as a Priest-style role) trades some raw damage for healing, buffs, and protective utility, including a Barrier skill that reinforces its support identity.

Character creation is straightforward but serviceable for a mobile MMO. You select your class, choose male or female, then adjust a modest set of options such as facial features, hair style, hair color, and skin tone. It is not a deep character editor, but it provides enough flexibility to avoid a “same character” look in crowded towns.

The Open World of Izanagi Online

One of Izanagi Online’s strongest features is how it sells the idea of a shared adventure space. After a tutorial that uses cutscenes and story beats to set the tone, you arrive in a hub town where other players are actively moving around, taking quests, and preparing for hunts. Both the town and the field areas keep that online, persistent feel, which helps the game resemble a “real” MMORPG rather than a lobby-based co-op RPG.

The world is separated into zones rather than being a seamless single map, but the individual regions are large enough that exploration still matters. Each zone mixes terrain variety, quest NPCs, and monster spawns, with gathering nodes for materials and occasional larger threats. Bosses show up both in dedicated dungeons and out in the open areas, which adds a nice sense of danger when you wander off the main quest path.

Visual Presentation and Art Direction

Even years later, Izanagi Online is easy to recognize for its visual ambition. Using the Unreal 3 Engine gives it a sharper look than many mobile RPGs that rely on simpler rendering, especially in lighting, texture clarity, and skill effects. The game’s palette is intentionally bleak and shadowy, emphasizing its darker fantasy mood instead of going for bright, saturated colors.

The character designs are a major part of that identity. Takashi Okazaki’s influence is noticeable in the silhouettes and overall attitude of the cast, and the style complements the “ninja versus monstrous forces” theme well. If you value atmosphere and cohesive art direction in a mobile MMO, this is one of the areas where Izanagi Online consistently delivers.

Questing and Progression Loop

The quest structure is classic MMORPG fare, which can be a positive if you want that familiar routine on mobile. Much of your time is spent picking up tasks in town, heading out to field zones, and returning with progress, drops, or gathered items. Objectives commonly include defeating a set number of monsters, collecting specific materials, retrieving drops, and speaking to chains of NPCs to advance the storyline.

Dialogue is present enough to give context, and players who enjoy light lore will find a steady drip of world-building. Navigation is also streamlined with an on-screen quest indicator that points you in the right direction, keeping the game playable in short sessions. While the quest design is not especially inventive, it does a good job of giving direction and pacing to what could otherwise become pure grinding.

Combat: strengths, frustrations, and learning curve

Combat is built around real-time movement and active skills, with an on-screen joystick and buttons for basic attacks, abilities, and your class-specific action. When it clicks, fights are satisfying: animations are fluid, skills are visually punchy, and the differences between classes are meaningful, especially when you start dealing with tougher enemies and bosses.

The main drawback is that the controls can feel awkward in practice. Attacks are heavily influenced by camera direction, so you can end up swinging into empty space if your viewpoint is not lined up correctly. This makes targeting feel less forgiving than in mobile action RPGs that auto-correct your aim toward nearby enemies.

There is also a noticeable rigidity to animations. If you commit to an attack, you cannot always immediately interrupt it to block, dodge, or reposition. That delay is manageable during routine monster farming, but it becomes more noticeable in boss encounters where quick reactions matter. With time, you can adapt by playing more deliberately, but the system can still feel clunky compared to newer mobile action combat standards. It is also important to note that Izanagi Online does not include PvP, so the focus stays on PvE progression and cooperative play.

Attack animations also cannot be cancelled, so if you’re in the middle of an attack and want to block (Warrior), dodge (Assassin), or just move out the way, you have to wait for the attack animation to end (which has a slight delay in ending) and then do an action, such as move. It ends up feeling a bit clunky and doesn’t feel as smooth as most newer action RPGs on mobile. In its defense though, this game was released in Japan 1-2 years ago. This combat system would have been considered amazing 1-2 years ago before all the better action RPGs came out, but it is still decent once you get used to the aiming and attack delays. It can still be very annoying when you’re fighting bosses and need to dodge fast but can’t. Also this game doesn’t have PvP, which will disappoint many players.

Cash Shop/In-App Purchases (IAP)

Izanagi Online’s monetization is built around a mix of convenience items, cosmetics, and equipment acquisition systems. A big portion of the shop is lottery-style draws that can award gear, consumables, and Avatar outfits (costumes). These lotteries are split into categories, including higher-rank weapons and armor, utility items (such as EXP boosts, repair and appraisal kits, enhancement materials, and travel-related scrolls), costume-focused Avatars that do not add stats, and even gold.

If you dislike gacha-like randomness, it helps that many items can also be purchased directly rather than only through lotteries. There are also storage-related purchases such as inventory and treasure box expansions. The controversial part is the potential power gap: premium gear can provide a combat advantage, although strong equipment can still be earned through normal play and improved via enhancement. EXP boosts and utility items mainly reduce time investment, which some players will see as pay-for-convenience and others as pay-to-progress-faster. Since there is no PvP, these advantages rarely translate into direct player-versus-player imbalance, but they can still affect how quickly someone reaches higher-end PvE.

Final Verdict – Great

Izanagi Online remains a strong option for players who want a true MMORPG structure on mobile: a shared world, lots of quests, dungeon and boss content, and class-based group play. Its visuals and art direction are standout features, and the dark ninja theme gives it a distinct identity among mobile fantasy MMOs. The biggest compromises are the occasionally awkward combat feel and a shop that can offer meaningful advantages, even if it is less disruptive in a PvE-only environment. If you can tolerate those quirks, it is still an impressive mobile MMO for its time.

Izanagi Online Online Links

Izanagi Online Official Site
Izanagi Online Facebook
Izanagi Online Google Play Store
Izanagi Online Apple Store
Izanagi Online Forums (Fansite / Forum)

Izanagi Online System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Android 4 or later, iOS 5.1.1 or later

Izanagi Online Music & Soundtrack

Coming Soon…

Izanagi Online Additional Information

Developer: Asobimo Inc.
Publisher: Asobimo Inc.
Platforms: Android, iOS
Release Date: April 2, 2015

Izanagi Online was developed and published by Asobimo Inc., a Japan-based mobile developer and publisher recognized for producing polished MMORPGs for phones, including Avabel Online and IRUNA Online. Asobimo’s catalog has historically performed well worldwide, and Izanagi Online also found an audience after its global release, following an earlier run in Japan before it was translated and launched internationally on April 2, 2015. The company has also released other mobile MMORPGs in Japan that have not always received immediate English versions, including Aurcus Online, Toram Online, and Stellacept Online.