Initially Xseed released Ragnarok Odyssey on the Playstation Vita about a year and a half ago. During this time many developers developing on the Playstation Vita were trying to create the next big thing after the success of Monster Hunter in Japans. While the first rendition didn’t catch fire in Japan portable scene, this latest addition to the Ragnarok series Ragnarok Odyssey ACE is releasing for the first time ever on a home console.
Ragnarok Odyssey Ace is exactly what you would expect from a Action-RPG. Though it does lean more towards the Action-RPG lite territory. What I mean about this is the core mechanics are really simple, almost to a point where it feels like a beatem up. Which made encounters really easy especially straying in the main missions with a pretty typical story at that. The combat became so easy on regular monsters that I could do it with my eyes closed, but as you move on to the boss battles though that’s were things get good. I found enjoyment in simply summoning mercenaries to help me tackle harder bosses late on. It really was a great option and it is also a newly added feature in Ragnarok Odyssey ACE. But certainly the feature is ruined by how many times the AI can revive again making the game too accessibly easy. If they would give the helpers exact similar stats as you, the unlimited revives would make appropriate sense.
Missions structure is also better suited for something more portable in mind. Which makes the Playstation 3 version seem really small since it is a upresed Playstation Vita title. Many others will realize this as you visit similar areas but certain pathways are blocked only because you weren’t assigned to go that way. A bit of freedom would have went a long way with this, personally I like the short missions but some console players won’t appreciate it.
The action gets going as you get to customize your character ranging from six classes to choose from, which include: Mage, Cleric, Hammersmith, Hunter, Two-handed Swordsmen and Assassin. Skills in particular have more customization options and it is pretty neat because you get better looking, stronger skills that will help you take down bosses in stylish ways. Ragnarok Odyssey ACE skill system is card based and you can equip cards with new moves and stats, you can implement more cards into your equipment only by upgrading your equipment with the loot you collect from the quest or main missions at the central hub.
Customization doesn’t end there as you can completely change colors of armor sets at shops. Kind of disappointed that there’s only a few armor sets and that Ragnarok Odyssey ACE is more of a game which skills upgrade more and not about cool looking stat boosting armor. Cruising the shops also get you the opportunity to shop for music, and other small extras like hats, and different dye colors. But the problem is that music is not even memorable, nor is any of the sound might as well put headphones on or you’ll be ready for a snooze fest generic soundtrack . The visuals are real charming and coming from the vita they don’t look bad, one thing you may notice is the UI is real blurry which kind of takeaway from the presentation. While not the best visuals the saturated colors really do Ragnarok Odyssey ACE favors .
Multiplayer was real easy to set up, you can create rooms and search games with ease. I tagged along with Joey Lampe (one of our editors) who is reviewing the Vita version of Ragnarok Odyssey ACE. we had a real fun time the only downside is that you can’t really progress in missions unless your playing solo which was kind of a disappointment. While going on our missions Ragnarok Odyssey ACE was real smooth and all button presses reacted on time. And this is where Ragnarok Odyssey ACE shines. The game doesn’t become easy anymore only because now your teammate doesn’t have unlimited respawn or AI patterns everything is crucial. This is where I can see replay value skyrocket and the difficulty level balanced.
Overall if your looking for something to scratch that monster hunting itch, Ragnarok Odyssey ACE might be one of the only titles to do that on Playstation 3. If you can overlook some difficulty flaws and short mission structures.
Verdict: 3/5
Great review!! I bought the original game when it first released on Vita, but had to stop because i hit a difficulty wall with a boss fight. The fact that they have added the ability to hire help for single player play is amazing. it has me interested in trying this Ace version out, though i might have to wait for a price drop.