Ragnarok Odyssey Ace is both a sequel and expansion coming to PS3 and PS Vita

GungHo Online Entertainment unveiled Ragnarok Odyssey Ace in this week's issue of Famitsu magazine, a follow-up to the PS Vita action RPG released Stateside by Xseed Games last October.

The new title, which is due out for both the Vita and PlayStation 3, straddles the line between an expansion pack for the original Odyssey and a true, full-on sequel. "If you have a base product, it's often the case that you're just releasing an updated version of it," executive producer Kazuki Morishita told Famitsu. "We weren't satisfied with that. After agonizing over how to get new gameplay in there that we couldn't provide before, we ultimately were able to get a lot of new features in there that really change the action. Once you play this, you'll see that not only is it the pinnacle of Ragnarok Odyssey, but also a product with gameplay that really stands out on its own."

Along those lines, Ragnarok Odyssey Ace features the entire original Odyssey game, including all previously-released downloadable quests. The original aspects come in the dungeons, enemies, bosses, weapons, and more that developer Game Arts have created, all centered around a new set of story episodes that pick up right where the last game's ending left off.

"In the end, it wouldn't be fun for us to just release an expansion pack," explained director Kazuhiro Irie. "If we were going to make something that we were satisfied with, it had to be a full package worth paying a full price for. We're aiming for this to be the true Ragnarok Odyssey, a product that connects right to the next title."

The Famitsu preview mostly focused on teasing a few of the new dungeon elements including a giant Nidhoggr dragon boss and a new dungeon called the Tower of the World Tree. One more important new feature discussed, however, are Ace abilities. Ace features the same six classes as the original Odyssey, but this time, each class has a unique set of special abilities that you gradually unlock as you advance through the game. "Hammersmiths may have a lot of combo-hit Ace skills," said lead designer Yoshiyasu Okawara, "while Sword Warriors, since they can guard, will have taunting moves that attract enemies to them. In the last game, Mages usually broke out their magic at the end of combos, but you'll be able to cast spells anytime you like in this game. Hunters can set traps and Clerics can use healing and power-up magic. There's a lot to pick from."

More about the new game (including the daily quests GungHo have in store for the Japan launch) will be revealed soon. The title is due out for the PS Vita on July 11 in Japan, although no PS3 launch date was announced yet.