On one side, there’s this familiar gameplay direction, found most commonly in games such as Monster Hunter series, original Ragnarok titles for the PC, and Soul Sacrifice, which is a very similar game to that of ROA for the PlayStation Vita. There’s nothing too compelling that would drive home the sales or anything exuberantly exciting about the game, aside from quenching your thirst to play a solid action/RPG title.

But then, on the other hand, games like these are on the extinction list. After the Square era, JRPGs became a waning interest to the majority of the western audience that would rather pull a “No Scope” kill from a sniper rifle in a brain-dead FPS title rather than to deal with some hero who is an emotional wreck until he/she learns they are the key piece to the game’s element of saving the world from some hell-bent villain that wishes to strike some age of darkness into us all.

So what gave me these mixed feelings? Well, Ragnarok Odyssey ACE is an update to the original title released for the PlayStation Vita, but is now available for the PS3. The title is largely based on the Ragnarok series of games and heavily references Norse mythology, from settings to certain character names in the game.

As a player that never touched the series or its original title for the handheld system, my first impression was jaded. The game presents itself in a way of an epic RPG that would make you–the character you created–important. Along with the story bits laced with the title, you’ll quickly be sucked under the comprehension that the game deters from that element of importance right down to its purpose: just a solid, casual grind fest. Granted, the story does move the game along but it’s just there as a constant reminder how much you shouldn’t care for it whatsoever.

That’s where the perplexing feelings began. There are some characters that you might have a bit of an attachment to, as far as their presence is concerned; one that will soon find reason why such a thing would happen due to it’s pacing and progression in the game. They are literally just around to fill in the lonely void that shrouds the single player experience, that’s it. While the NPCs have quite the charm (Pavianne, hands down, is the cutest out of the bunch), they just don’t drive the game’s experience, and that’s a dang shame.

What does drive, however, is the system direction of ROA. There are 9 chapters and 24 extra quests, along with 4 ACE chapters and a bevy of extra quests as you progress through 200 floors of the Yggdrasil Tower, so you have a lot to do in this game. Though you can progress through these quests steadily (they are rather short, depending on how well you equip the game’s main focal point, which we will get to in a sec), after you complete the Tower there’s not much else to do except grinding for materials to upgrade weapons, level up Halomona’s weapons, or finding raw items to expand your costumes.

Believe it or not, the game’s true shine is the multiplayer mode. You and three other players can join you as you queue up a quest or two to traverse the terrains and defile the baddies lurking about. You can purchase music and customize them to each stage, which makes for a pretty unique experience.

But let’s get to the mixed feelings that I have about this game.

Lets put this in perspective: the game is addicting as heck, but all for the wrong reasons. Though the game presents itself very well, Ragnarok Odyssey ACE relies on a skill card system. You rank up upon completion of each chapter, leveling your base stats. After you achieve your tenth rank, that’s it. Everything else is through the “heart of the cards” (if you don’t get the reference, then I’ll see you at DudeFest ’14), so you’ll be managing and scrambling through your inventory finding the right combinations that’ll meet to your game play aesthetics.

There are five classes to choose from, with Sword Master being the best to start off with for it’s balanced base stats. Others to choose from are the War Mage (that specializes in offensive magic attacks), Cleric (your healer of ROA), Assassin (effective in quick steps and speedy attacks), and Hammersmith (slow speed and defense but the highest attack power in the game). How effective your card loadout with your chosen class is up to you. There’s no boundaries or the right/wrong way in building your character in this game, so you can go nuts on the system.

The problem lies with its very linear combat system. Granted, this is a PS Vita title ported to the PS3, so what you’re getting is literally the same build. Nothing too groundbreaking or overtly exciting. By the time you’re complete with the ACE chapters and the Tower quests, you’ll be begging for more diversity and variety in the game. The replay value is there, and there are plenty of trophies you can grind for, but after awhile it just becomes a chore that gets old pretty fast.

The game will remind you a bit of some of your favorite anime shows (even some of the enemy designs borrow heavily on some of the concepts like Attack on Titan), which aren’t too bad. They pretty much present the challenge in this game; one false move or attacking the wrong area of their body can net you an instant death, so you’ll be facing the “Quest Fail” screen numerously if you don’t understand the game’s card and skill system.

The Multi-player mode can be, at times, equally good and frustrating. While you’ll meet an assortment of fun players, the options for this game are very small. you’ll mostly meet low-ranked gamers that’ll join your room, and — from my experience — have no way to filter these people out. You just have to announce you’re looking for high level play.

Most of all, the game is not that engaging. I can’t explain any further beyond what the title entails except you go online, create a group, choose a quests, and just swing on enemies and collect items until you face the boss of the stage. If you’re lucky, you’ll pick up rare cards and weapons in the game that’ll make you the star of the server.

I don’t wish to be too detailed in this review, so I’ll give my overall opinion on ROA: if you can’t find this title for under at least $19.99, then you’re better off picking up gems like Suikoden or the stellar Valkyria Chronicles. While Ragnarok Odyssey ACE does have a certain charm that’ll get you through the game, the only reason why you would desire to log into a session or two is due to out of sheer boredom, itching to play a JRPG-style title with friends, or for acquiring the trophies in this game. Even so, it’s a touch and go; enter at your own risk.

You can check out AginoEvolutionHD’s playthrough and see for yourself. And if I feel up for it, I might do some recording as well.

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