We’re diving into the delightful world of digital expression as we celebrate World Emoji Day today, and what better way to do it than by looking back at the iconic emojis that helped us express ourselves in Ragnarok Online!

According to Wikipedia, World Emoji Day was created on July 17, 2014, by Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia—a popular site for searching for emojis.

Now, if you’ve been around the block a few times, you know that in-game emotes aren’t technically the same as the emojis we use on our phones today.  But let’s be honest with ourselves — those charming, custom-made RO icons were our original emojis, plain and simple.

Long before the iPhone even launched and kicked off the global emoji craze, Ragnarok Online players were already masters of emotional shorthand.  We used those expressive little faces to perfectly convey everything from a triumphant “GG” after a hard-fought battle to a slightly frustrated “AFK!” when duty called.  They weren’t just cute distractions they were little magical bubbles that helped us build friendships, spark rivalries, and made RO feel even more alive.

Want to take a trip down memory lane and rediscover some of those classic expressions or learn about the ones you might have missed?

There’s a great guide to all the in-game emotes in Ragnarok Online at iRO Wiki right here: https://irowiki.org/wiki/Emotes

Have fun and enjoy World Emoji Day!