Sometime on 9th August, while scrolling down my Facebook news feed, I came across a video shared by the official Ragnarok Online page. The video, originally uploaded by a page called Ragnarok Origin, is a live-action ad that shows a bunch of adorable pink blobs falling from the sky, surprising unsuspecting humans who are simply going on with their normal lives.
These pink blobs are the Porings which have been Ragnarok Online‘s beloved mascot since the original massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Gravity Co., Ltd. was released in the early 2000’s, first in South Korea and later on internationally. A well-recognized and adored symbol of the franchise, any fan who finds a Poring in a visual medium of any sort can almost instantly tell that what they’re seeing is related to the world of Ragnarok Online, and will most definitely feel a sense of nostalgia. The fact that the ad features a modified, yet familiar version of the memorable “Theme of Prontera” background music adds more to that sentiment.
Although the original PC game in 2.5D perspective itself reached its peak in the late 2000’s and is nowhere near as popular as newer 3D games of the same genre, many are still attracted to the franchise. Whenever a new game comes out, fans both old and new are willing to give it a try. This was true for Ragnarok Online M: Eternal Love, a mobile game also developed by Gravity. First released in China in 2017, it made waves in Southeast Asia just a year later.
To this day, Ragnarok M is enjoyed by gamers worldwide, garnering 4.5 stars on the Google Play Store and 4.2 stars on the Apple App Store. It has maintained its popularity through frequent updates–including new episodes and classes–fun events both monthly and seasonal, cute graphics, instinctive game controls, welcoming community, and finally, the newly-released Ragnarok M 2.0 update. This added a new server, an entire map to explore, the Ninja class, as well as other exciting game features, in February 2021.
source: Ragnarok Origin NA Official Website
So when I saw the aforementioned ad for the new Ragnarok Origin, I was quite surprised! It wasn’t because I had never heard that they made a new game, but because it was only about a month or so ago when I came across a few Japanese Hololive streamers playing it. While South Koreans got to experience the game firsthand back in July of last year, Ragnarok Origin opened its doors to the Japanese mobile gaming market late June of this year. With some South Korean players protesting against Gravity’s poor management of the game in its home base in February, and the multiple unofficial attempts by fans to introduce it to the world (including private servers and an Google-translated English patch players can add onto the original Korean game client), it was a breath of fresh air to see that Gravity Interactive (USA) is officially releasing the much-awaited mobile game to a larger audience.
source: Ragnarok Origin NA Official Website
The post on the Ragnarok Origin Facebook page made me a little skeptical at first. Both the trailer video and the pre-registration page had typographical errors. In particular, the “Pre-Register” button on the landing page was initially spelled “Pre-Resister” and was pointed out by a Facebook user in the comment section. Both promotional materials also promise that one lucky pre-registrant will win a Tesla S, which we all know is worth a lot for a game launch giveaway! It was just too good to be true…
…so I decided to check its legitimacy with the official Ragnarok Online page, especially since the video they had shared from the Ragnarok Origin page was removed the following day. Fortunately, they gave me a positive response! They said that the Ragnarok Origin team had to replace the video to correct the spelling errors, and–unfortunately for SEA fans–that the game will only be available in the North American region at this moment. Personally, I think the official website would benefit from more traffic since, at the time of writing, the top search result for the game is a website for an unofficial private server. However, we should also consider the fact that the official Facebook page for the upcoming game was only created about less than a week ago and already has over a thousand likes.
According to its Play Store page, the upcoming addition to this classic franchise will feature “infinite character customization, fantasy RPG story campaign, dynamic battle action, mercenary system for solo players, social community system, unique contents to express yourself, [and a] high degree of freedom”. Aside from the Tesla S, they’re also giving away in-game items for those who pre-register until launch date.
source: Ragnarok Origin NA Official Website
Taking into account the timeline of the entire Ragnarok Online franchise, I wonder when this game will be set. Will they eventually release it in the SEA region? If so, when? Will it be as well-received as Ragnarok M? How will the two differ? We’re so excited to find out!
Do you plan on trying Ragnarok Origin out?