Ragnarok Odyssey Ace is technically good, contextually bad

Both a reboot and a sequel to Ragnarok Odyssey in the same way Soul Sacrifice has Soul Sacrifice Delta, Ragnarok Odyssey Ace is a monster-hunting fiesta not unlike the popular series Monster Hunter.

Built for the PS Vita platform, RO Ace certainly is a very pretty game, but lacks the depth and draw of its inspiration, the Ragnarok Online universe. Given how little RO Ace resembles a Ragnarok game, it’s not unexpected.

While you do see familiar monsters on your adventures (like Porings), little else evokes nostalgia. Once you pick your class of choice, the game starts off by plopping you in the middle of a room. Venturing beyond the room reveals the town square. Apparently you’re a mercenary or something and this town is your new hangout. I sped through uninspired dialogue to find out that I had to hunt a bunch of monsters to complete a quest. So off I went.

I was ported back from the instanced dungeon once I was done. I sped through more dialogue, sold some stuff, button-mashed my way through the Kafras’ tutorials. Then I went off on another quest, and another, all in the same instance, only I was allowed to go a little further each time.

I did finally find a giant of a boss in a separate instance, though I couldn’t kill it. Fortunately the quest objectives that round only included collecting items. You probably get to hunt giants later in the game, but I didn’t get that far.

That’s RO Ace (and Ragnarok Odyssey as well) for you in a nutshell, rinsing and repeating the same uninspired quests in the same uninspired instanced dungeon. If there’s more to it beyond the first chapter, I really wouldn’t know, because to be frank – the first chapter was boring enough to put me off exploring the game further. It’s boring even if you’re a Ragnarok or Monster Hunter fan, and that’s saying something.

Technically there’s nothing wrong with the game. It’s well designed and GungHo has given it a graphical boost. It plays well. Everything is centralized, combos in fights are intuitive enough, and the tutorial is comprehensive, if albeit jarring on the eyes at times. It supposedly has new content as well, but I didn’t see it. It’s possible that it only comes into play after the original game’s content is finished.

RO Ace’s problem is that it fails to capture its audience. I was thrown into a town and told I was a mercenary and then sent off to beat monsters over the head. I was not given any context as to why I was doing this. I was not given any reasons to want to protect the town I was in from marauding orcs or giants. The dialogue was by no means bad. It was characteristic of the folk who lived in the town. But there simply was no point to this game, no story worth playing it for.

Of course, if you’re the type of gamer who just likes beating things up, or who’s waiting for Monster Hunter 4 in English, by all means, pick up RO Ace. But if you’re one who appreciates games with heart, give this a miss.

Ragnarok Odyssey Ace is developed for the PS Vita by Game Arts, published by GungHo Online Entertainment and localized by Xseed Games.