Are you ready, guys? Because right now it’s Ragnarok Odyssey happy hour! Or more like Happy Day, since today we celebrate the release of our precious PS Vita title. It’s been a lengthy localization journey, but we’re proud to bring out the Ragnarok Odyssey Standard Edition for $39.99, as well as the Mercenary Edition, which includes a meaty monster guide with artwork, a full soundtrack, and 10 randomized collectable monster cards out of over 50 for $49.99.

The game itself is the real star of the show, though. Think of it kind of like Monster Hunter or Gods Eater, but with more of a Norse mythology twist and a battle system that’s all about knocking your enemies high into the air, then flying up after them and flinging them all over creation before slamming them back down into the hard dirt below. It’s a great game to pick up and play anytime, as you can just grab a quest and head out to go attack all manner of creatures and loot lots of goodies off their hacked-up remains. And if you don’t want to go it alone, you can always bring three friends with you through ad-hoc or infrastructure multiplayer – which might be a huge help when you face off against some of this game’s mammoth bosses, who can be hundreds of times bigger than you are.

And since this is basically a really cool party, I’ll be talking about those multiplayer features here today. While we weren’t able to play together too often (naturally, we’d get far too distracted trying to get our characters to properly high-five each other), the times we did play it in the office left us in fits of giggles and a welling flame of camaraderie for taking down big dudes. Because some of the dudes you fight are… well, really big and stuff.

The maps of multiplayer are the same exact maps used in the single-player campaign, and while single player is accessed through the local Guild, multiplayer is accessed through a nearby tavern. So what’s the difference, exactly? Difficulty. Multiplayer is much more difficult in comparison, and will reward players who take it on with better items which you can use to create new clothing, weapons, or just sell for some extra cash. Luckily, this difficulty isn’t closed to those who are venturing solo and want the extra challenge – single players only need to enter the tavern alone to progress through the game with a higher difficulty (y’all are crazy, though, for real).

So can a brand new player instantly be fighting on one of the last maps in the game if one of their partners is farther ahead? The answer to that is no. If you have two, three, four people in multiplayer, the quests available for your team to choose from will be decided based on the ‘youngest’ player. This means that if you have three players who are at Chapter 5, and one on Chapter 3, you’ll only be given quests up to Chapter 3. Help that last guy conquer a few familiar foes, though, and you’ll be taking on later chapters together as a team in no time.

The game has a few multiplayer friendly in-game features, too. While you can’t use voice chat, there are a flurry of emoticons and silly to serious body language options to choose from to let your comrades know how you’re feeling. There are also equippable cards that are friendly to playing with others, too, such as a card that spreads certain leftover stats to your allies should you fall in battle, or a card that helps loot gravitate more to you than others (because if sharing was caring, things wouldn’t be as fun, though some drop items are split amongst the party).
Oh yeah, and so long as someone has a North American copy of the game, you can play with them, meaning don’t sweat having everyone play in the same room to enjoy some monster hunting. It’s all online, baby!

So be nice, have fun, and do your best on conquering the toughest Giants the Sundered Lands have to offer!

If any of you have played Ragnarok Online, you may already be familiar with how cards work in Ragnarok Odyssey. For those who haven’t played, don’t worry! I’ll explain. You will find cards in shops and from defeated monsters. Depending on what monster you defeat, different things will appear on these cards, such as their likeness, rarity, and specific new abilities and stat boosts. Taking advantage of this is easy, as all armor in the game has a Card Capacity gauge – and the more you upgrade your armor, the more cards you can equip. It’s a nifty little system for when you need an extra boost in firepower to defeat an ugly FrostGiant (they really aren’t all that cute) or a little extra HP.

How else do you change abilities in this game? Naturally, you change job classes. Ragnarok Odyssey provides six awesomely awesome job classes for you to choose from: Sword Warrior, Hammersmith, Mage, Assassin, Hunter and Cleric. While they’re all readily prepared for battle, they each have their own advantages, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find which one suits you most (Hammersmith is where it’s at, by the way).

The Sword Warrior is the most balanced of the job classes, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. A good offense and defense, as well as speedy combos and the ability to guard come with this package. While not necessarily the best at anything, this job class’s stats are far from the bottom, and it’s a great pick for beginners to play when getting a hang of the controls.

The Hammersmith (yeeeeah!) is the powerhouse of the group. This job class sacrifices speed in exchange for unmatchable raw power, as evidenced by the slow — but exceptionally devastating — hits with a giant hammer that can easily knock enemies across the screen. Unfortunately, because the hammer is a two-handed weapon, you cannot guard. Just be sure to always keep your wits about you as you take the offensive.

The Mage job class is as flashy and fabulous as you might imagine. While not particularly high in either defense or offense, mages have an uncanny ability to unexpectedly turn the tides of battle with elemental damage. This is also a job that can really take advantage of cards which increase elemental damage, because whether it’s a giant ball of fire or a chunk of the earth protruding from the ground, mages are all about being in their element.

Assassins are fast. And when I say fast, I mean really, really fast. In the time a Hammersmith does one attack, they do like, five and stuff. Sure, their attacks are among the weakest of the job classes, but add up each individual strike and the damage count can become quite staggering. For those who absolutely love fast-paced combat (as well as a sleek design, because the outfits are awesome), this is the job for you.

Hunters are the best option for those that prefer to hang back a little. Their defense is the lowest among the job classes, but so long as you stand a good bit away from your enemy, that won’t be a problem. This job is perfect for taking advantage of the lock-on ability, and you can send arrow after arrow in record time – or, if you’re in the mood for showmanship, charge your tension and be ready for a flurry of arrows.

And last, but not least, is the Cleric job class. Just as Hunters have the lowest defense, Clerics have the highest – their defense, as well as their HP, is unmatched. They can guard, too, and with the right timing, can counterattack right after guarding, making them a potent fighter. Just as their name implies, they can heal party members, too, so be sure to have a Cleric whenever you’re doing online multiplayer! It could save you a lot of hassle.

That’s all for today, folks! Ragnarok Odyssey, should be coming out later this month – we’ll let you know the exact release date soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Hey guys! How are you? You’re doing awesome, you say? That’s pretty awesome, I’m doing awesome myself. And you know why? Because I’ve been playing Ragnarok Odyssey for PS Vita. In English.

[Insert gasps of excitement here]

Are you ready to stand taller than giants? You should be, because that’s what this game is all about. One day, a passage along the Millennium Peaks gives humans access to the long-sealed off Sundered Land, and because they’re really lucky, it’s filled to the brim with mighty beasts that seem to want nothing more than to destroy mankind’s territory — Trogdor-style. Only they’re not dragons with handsomely chiseled arms, they’re ugly Giants. Giants who like to smash things.

That’s where you come in. You’re a mercenary on the front lines, and once you choose your sex, job class, and how cute you are (by way of hair style/color, skin color and voice type), you’re ready to drop in on Fort Farthest like a bat out of hell. And don’t worry, you’re only restricted to your default job class for a short time — you’ll soon be able to go from hacking and slashing as a Sword Warrior to creating miniature explosions as a Mage with a mere wardrobe change. And even that won’t be a limitation soon enough, because I’m sure some of you would prefer to be dressed like you just walked out of a western while whacking things upside the head as a Hammersmith, right?

There are myriad lands with different environmental themes to discover in the Sundered Land, each with their own badass brand of monsters and Giants waiting to put their jaws (or slime — actually, that sounds kind of wrong, just go back to jaws) around your pretty little head. Accompanying these landscapes is a combat system that’s fast-paced and all-over-the-screen in the best kinds of ways. Battle your enemies using an arsenal of weapons at your disposal depending on your class, building what the title calls “tension” — the more tension you build, the more powerful, flashier and just all-around more awesome your specialized attacks will be. Thrust your enemies into the air, leaving them defenseless to your blows, or use the knockback ability to drive them clear off the screen.

What else does this game have? Well, there’s certainly more. Way more than I could possibly explain in one blog entry. But for now, I’ll leave you with one more fun fact: remember the beloved Porings in Ragnarok Online? They’re back. And you can wear them. On your head. So now that that little gem’s been unveiled, be patient girls and boys and we’ll talk again soon, okay?

After 300+ hours of time spent with the game, I feel I might have the qualifications to give it a score of badass/10. Which means 11. Maybe 11.5. But since I can’t actually score games I’ve worked on (some people might call that cheating), just remember the part where I started yelling at the screen because my favorite character, who is a Golem, started crushing on a loli Mandrake (this is actually a lot less creepy in context… okay, it’s kind of creepy in context too).

As someone who isn’t normally into dungeon crawlers, I wasn’t sure what to expect when playing Unchained Blades. I like fighting and I like dungeons, sure, but being a JRPG fan I love having my fully developed cast of characters and an engaging story even more. I’ve just never felt close to the “create your own character” thing. Or maybe I’m just lazy and don’t feel like picking out my mage’s hair color.

Luckily, this game gave me the best of both worlds. I had the pleasure of playing with an intimate, animated cast with their own goals, personalities, and relationships. When Tiana, a princess of the Phoenix Clan, proclaimed she wanted to turn into a ‘big, spiky dragon’, I wanted to slap her silly and ask what the hell kind of fantasies she was having involving dragons in the middle of the night. When Demon Clan Sylvie awkwardly avoided conversations concerning her mysterious brother Lucius, I wanted to know what thoughts were hiding in the back of her mind. I wasn’t travelling with faces and stats of my own creation; I was travelling with people who had stories to tell, and I was the one meant to discover them.

I was also worried that the combat would get repetitive, since, you know, it’s not a dungeon crawler if you’re not going through endlessly large dungeons and fighting difficult battles. Unchained Blades takes care of this as well by giving you various types of combat to play with. The first type includes traditional turn-based battles, in which you fight using up to four members of your party by blasting enemies with a series of fast, flashy and furious spells and skills. Along with that, you can charm the pants off of your enemies and bring them to your side so they become Followers, ready to either back you up in a fight (in fact, sixteen of these guys can be brought into battle at a time) or take damage in your place. Another type includes battles where your party is kicked to the curb and your Followers take the stage, fighting in battles presented by pressing a series of buttons on queue. Think DDR, only you’re dancing with your fingers and you might be a lizard instead.

The fully-fledged (get it? Because kids in the game are called fledglings hah) title Unchained Blades hits PSN today for a mere $29.99. Don’t complain, I got like 80 hours out of this game my first time around, not including side quests and a certain epilogue involving a 100-floor tower. Let’s see if you’re strong enough to meet with the Goddess and have a wish or two granted at the end. I bet you’re not. Go on. Prove me wrong.