Ragnarok Odyssey Review

In addition to some deadly generic enemies, there are a few different bosses you can fight. Similar to games like Monster Hunter, every boss has “breakable” parts, which will give you items to upgrade your gear and also contain a “weak point”. Now what makes these fights interesting is that you need to pay close attention to what they’re doing. Some bosses have near instant kill moves and others have moves you want to avoid. For instance Fafnir fires off poison orbs whenever he takes damage and I doubt I need to explain why that’s bad. On the other end of the spectrum, you also have bosses that can only be killed a certain way. These bosses offer a nice change of pace, plus add some much needed tension to the game.

NOT

Farming for Materials
If you’ve played an alchemy heavy game like Monster Hunter, then you know the importance of farming certain enemies for parts. However, figuring out where to find the items you need is a more daunting task than need be. The only way to see who drops what, is by looking at the material after a mission or in the sale menu. This is something you might not notice and could ultimately lead to you spending needless time trying to figure out who drops what. Also, even though you know the monsters name, that doesn’t mean you actually know what that monster looks like, so you could be on square one even with the information.

Dainsleif Mode
Around halfway through the campaign you will unlock a skill called dainsleif. This is something of a burn the candle at both ends skill, since it grants you additional attack, health regeneration when you damage an enemy and unflinching, but it also constantly eats away at your life, plus puts you in more danger. Believe it or not, the real danger comes from the fact enemies can’t knock you back. This is because the game will constantly award the enemy multiple hits, which can DEVASTATE your life. This happened to me many times with giants, who do a rushing attack that goes from 400 or so without Dainsleif to 2,000+/60% of my life with it. This problem is even worse with bosses, since the right move will instantly kill you (it’s happened to me). The problems don’t ruin the power, but since you have to level it, it won’t always help you out in the end.

Multiplayer Could be Better
For many gamers the main selling point is to play online with friends. While Ragnarok Odyssey features online multiplayer, it could be a lot better. This is largely due to the inability to invite friends to your room, so they will need to search for it. Thankfully you can password lock the room restrict it to friends only, though private slots/invites would have been a better solution. You can also add other stipulations to keep unwanted noobs out, like restricting it to people that are on X chapter or better. Thankfully playing online is a blast, though you’re unable to push the PlayStation button while online. This will result in you getting kicked out of the party and can get fairly annoying. Other than that, you should have a lot of fun, especially because there are a number of gestures to play around with.

VERDICT

While Ragnarok Odyssey isn’t the best Vita game, although I still thought it was one of the best games so far. With engaging combat, steep hurdles to cross and plenty of missions to conquer, you’ll have plenty to do. Even after doing all of that you have the DLC to look forward to, which should add new content for no additional cost. Sure the online and other things could be better, but you’ll most likely forget about this over time. Honestly speaking, if you enjoy this genre or just want some mindless fun, you’re sure to love Ragnarok Odyssey.

[Editor’s Note: Ragnarok Odyssey was reviewed on the Playstation Vita. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]