Ragnarok breaks global barriers

If you think you’ve seen everything that Ragnarok Online has to offer, think again.

This was the challenge made by Ben Colayco, general manager of Level Up! Games, the Philippine franchisee of Ragnarok Online, the popular MMORPG (massively multi player online role-playing game).

Colayco, speaking on behalf of all RO franchisees during the Ragnarok World Championship 2004 (RWC) held in Seoul, Korea last July, urged RO fans to continue patronizing the game and watch out for better things to come.

"We’ve barely scratched the surface. We’ve got great things planned for all Ragnarok fans out there and I suggest you buckle up. It will be a fast and exciting trip for all of us," he said.

The first international competition for Filipino players, the RWC drew participants from all over the world, including host-country Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, China, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. A total of 162 players vied for honors and prizes amounting to US$85,000.

The RWC was also simulta-neously held in conjunction with the third "Ragnafest," a yearly event first started in Japan which brings members of the online community to celebrate the game with fellow aficionados, in the form of shops and art and costume contests.

In his speech, Colayco said the RWC highlighted RO’s compe-titive nature and strengthened its hold on the global community, mirroring the vision of Jung Ryool Kim, chairman of Gravity Corp. of Korea, developer of Ragnarok Online.

"Ever since Gravity launched it overseas in October 2002, Ragnarok Online has been the most successful MMORPG loved by thousands of global users," Jung said.

Jung is pleased that with the holding of the RWC, RO players have a chance to get together in one place for a fair and friendly competition.

He is also optimistic on the growth of Ragnarok Online, especially now that they are aggressively branching out to new markets across the globe.

With new content (the Juno patch), merchandising and even an animated TV show in the offing, Colayco is confident that Ragnarok will continue to grow locally.

Taiwan’s "Unforseeable" guild took home the RWC grand prize, while Taiwan’s "Gates of Hell" grabbed the second place. Two teams from Malaysia took the third and fourth places.

Colayco said that although the Team Philippines lost, its members now have a goal to look forward to and their experience in the RWC will elevate local gameplay to a higher, more mature level.