GungHo has been trying to expand the reach of the Ragnarok Online IP. They released a DS game that was kind of like the MMORPG and a strategy RPG. Ragnarok Odyssey, a mix of Monster Hunter and an action game, seems to have hit the mark.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is kicking off their PlayStation Vita the Best re-releases this month. “The Best” games are essentially Greatest Hits titles that get a yellow stripe on the box instead of a red one.

If you’re on the fence about Ragnarok Odyssey and its battles with giants you can try the game first. Xseed will release a Ragnarok Odyssey demo on PlayStation Network this Tuesday.

“We want to keep the quality of the IP high, so our thought is to focus on a certain type of gameplay and be selective on the platforms we develop for. We are focusing on Ragnarok Odyssey as a series, that kind of fast action gameplay.”

Air-dashes are what set Ragnarok Odyssey apart from other hunting games. Jumps and dashes use up stamina, but leave you with enough to air-dash from foe to foe.

Since the original Ragnarok Online is an RPG, we considered all our options for providing an RPG-like experience to the users. One of the key words we concentrated on from the start of the project was “exhilarating,” said director Kazuhiro Irie.

“Well, the CPU has definitely been underutilized. Right now, the GPU uses up the CPU, so I believe some extra fine-tuning will be required in the future,” Irie answered.

The news comes with more screenshots from the English version.

“The single-player game needs to be good, of course, but having exceptional multiplayer is absolutely essential to success,” says director, Kazuhiro Irie.

Along with news about an October release window and a Mercenary Edition bundle, Xseed sent us some new Ragnarok Odyssey media.

The standard version of the game will cost $40, while the Mercenary Edition will cost $50.

“All free expansions will be present on the game card from the start. That means the Epic Weapons Pack, Sograt Desert and Multiplayer packs.”

A representative from Xseed confirmed that the Hong Kong version of Ragnarok Odyssey will use Xseed’s translation. However, the Hong Kong release will be different than the North American one.

We’re not sure when Ragnarok Odyssey is coming out in North America. We just asked a representative from Xseed who said “no release date has been set.” Bummer, but you can play Ragnarok Odyssey in English on August 16.