Ragnarok Online is one of those MMO?s that I never really got into, despite knowing a few people that seemed to really enjoy it. There wasn?t much about the design or style of the game that appealed to me, so it?s something that I?ve put off playing for some time. So maybe having no real appreciation of Ragnarok Online hinders my ability to enjoy Ragnarok Odyssey as much as others, but I really feel like Ragnarok Odyssey?s attempt to mimic what makes Monster Hunter so much fun feels incredibly hollow and insubstantial, and leads to a very underwhelming experience on the Vita.
Ragnarok Odyssey drops you into a world where a kingdom is at war with various monsters, and the giant variations that they spawn, which threaten to invade at various points in the game. In an order to stem this invasion, you?ll take on a series of missions that thrust you into the wilds surrounding the kingdom, and often task you with killing a certain number of monsters, or locating a certain number of goods that drop from fallen monsters.
Like the aforementioned Monster Hunter series from Capcom, a big part of Ragnarok Odyssey?s gameplay centers around killing monsters, gathering loot, and using that loot to craft new weapons, and to a certain extent new armor. Crafting feels particularly underwhelming; as most crafting is relegated to visiting in town shops and purchasing new weapons and armor provided you have the materials and money to do so. For weapons you can refine them with the right materials, strengthening that weapon ever so slightly every time it?s refined. For armor you can likewise expand it, allowing you to carry more stat enhancing cards, which serve to boost skills like attack, health, defense and so on.
On the plus side of things, the card mechanic that helps you enhance your skills seems like a good idea and at least gives you a glimmer of something to look forward to from loot runs. Again, you?ll find a lot of cards are complete trash, but every so often you?ll get a nice one, which helps an otherwise lackluster loot system. The ability to switch out these cards at will is nice, giving you a lot of customization options for your character, allowing you to outfit your role for each mission you take on.
In the end though, I found Ragnarok Odyssey to be a bit of a bore. I was looking forward to my first Monster Hunter clone on the Vita, but came away from this one with a pretty sour taste in my mouth. There are better alternatives if you?re willing to look backwards through the PSP library, and while the inclusion of working online play is a definite plus, there?s little else of note to be found here. If you?re a big fan of this particular sub-genre then you might find something to like, after all it?s not entirely without merit, but everyone outside of that group will likely want to stay away, this is hardly a shining example of what these games are all about.
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