![]() ![]() Regrettably, the narrative surrounding the enormous tree is less than interesting on the whole, with text block upon text block of flavorless dialogue delivering the key story points. ![]() Once learning of this information, players are whisked off to the tree and are asked to delve the humongous dungeon in search of answers as to why this turn of events is happening in the first place. After completing the last chapter of the campaign, players are informed that a massive hole has sprung up in front of the mythological Nordic tree, Yggdrasil. The biggest enhancement is the new narrative that revolves around the Tower of Yggdrasil. In fact, all the new content that ACE brings to the table is post-game stuff. Speaking of the campaign, nothing has been added to the title’s core story - know that now. Sadly, jumping right into the campaign isn’t as easy as we had hoped, since returning players will have to start the campaign over from the very beginning, which is something sure to make some people groan with disappointment. Unfortunately, however, not everything will carry over, but the game does at least allow Monster Cards and Weapon Cards to be imported as well. Naturally, for folks who played the first game, they can transfer over certain basic physical features (such as name, face and job classs - but not clothing) as well as some of their items to ACE. And then of course, there’s the combo system that is very much so worth discussing, as it’s one that has enough variety to keep the enemy juggling aplenty, making sure that folks can hack and slash their way through aerial combinations and entrancing change-ups that look dazzling to the eye. ![]() This ultimately equates to an experience that is diverse, at least to the point of extending replayability by a good number of hours, since mastering the classes will take some time. Better still is the fact that each plays independently enough from the others to feel exclusively unique in terms of playstyle. That means the six character classes are back and feel generally well-balanced. In terms of the positive, though, RO:A delivers on what worked so well in the original entry. So while on one hand that’s a glowing endorsement, on the other it means we get a game that is riddled with bugs and glitches that have somehow not been addressed in this expansion title. To that end, ACE feels like more of the same, really, especially for those who played the first installment. Although, we should note that ACE is not nearly as deep as those games, but the fundamental action goes down in virtually the same way. It’s a system that is akin to others in its genres - titles such as Phantasy Star Online/ Universe and Monster Hunter immediately come to mind. As such, ACE plays smoothly, combining a wonderful pace with action-RPG systems that feel rewarding and challenging simultaneously. After all, this is simply an enhancement of content, not a shakeup in design principles. In fact, in this department, everything remains unchanged. Thus, we’re ultimately left with a simple question: how exactly does ACE stack up against its source title?įrom a gameplay standpoint, the core mechanics here have carried over from the original Ragnarok Odyssey. As an enhancement package, it’s sometimes hard to find relevancy when the original, base game from which the “complete” version is built, is still fairly fresh in the minds of gamers. But, here we are, some 18 months later and we are getting an updated version of RO under the moniker Ragnarok Odyssey: ACE. Of particular note were its customization options, accessible hack and slash gameplay and overall graphical fidelity (which allows it to rank in at the top of the Vita’s most aesthetically-pleasing titles, by the way). When Ragnarok Odyssey was released back in October of 2012, it was met with mostly favorable reviews. ![]()
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