Definitely, we discover a lot of beautiful works using the Xbox Game Pass! It was by looking at the recent releases on the Microsoft catalog that I discovered Astria ascending, and I was immediately charmed by the artistic style which reminded me a lot of Vanillaware productions (Dragon's Crown, muramasa...). However, it was on PS5 that I tested the game, and I came out rather impressed!
Artisan Studio's RPG is a game that promises a lot given its universe, and I admit that seeing Kazushige Nojima in the script (scriptwriter of several final Fantasy et Kingdom Hearts), I may have hoped a little too much. We evolve in Orcanon, a world where several races coexist peacefully, by consuming a fruit called Harmelon, which allows harmony between all. In order to guarantee this peace, 8 people are elevated to the rank of demigods for a few years, and respond to the orders of the goddess Yuno. While there are only 3 months of standby left for this generation of demigods, interference is arriving all over the world and awakening many tensions opening up to a lot of interesting and unusual themes, such as racism or the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately, the whole thing remains too little exploited to really captivate over the length, and we finally find ourselves faced with a fairly classic story for the genre.
Count about twenty hours in the company of our 8 heroes, who will face many enemies going from dungeons to dungeons... The loop is finally quite repetitive: some dialogues at HQ, a problem, we will see, we enter a dungeon to clear the enemies and bosses who sit, and we start again... If you feel like it, you will have some side quests on the way which allow you to kill two birds with one stone and to glean some precious XP points and equipment! Finally, in order to prove that this game belongs to the noble category of J-RPGs, you will be entitled to a mini-game called the J-STER, which will be reminiscent of the now classic Triple Triad. I was already not conquered by the mini-game of FF VIII. It is the same for that ofAstria ascending, although I'm sure a few will appreciate the gesture!
On the gameplay side, we are faced with a very classic J-RPG, turn-based. Among the team of 8 demi-gods that we manage, we will have to choose 4 to fight. Each protagonist is unique, which brings a lot of thought depending on the enemies we face to know who we should use. Soldier characters, for example, will be totally useless on elementary creatures. In addition to the basic class, you can choose two other jobs for each of your demigods, which really makes it possible to make each character unique by unlocking the skills related to their jobs. A resistance/weakness system is also part of it, and if used wisely, it allows you to accumulate concentration points which increase the damage of an attack or a spell. The system is quite complete and offers a strong challenge, which made me pull some hair on some bosses.
But what really stands out when you play Astria ascendingis his artistic direction. It's extremely pretty, and the universe is clearly worth a look. The soundtrack is not to be outdone and will perfectly accompany your entire adventure. On the dubbing side, we have the choice between English and Japanese. Both are correct, although I have a preference for Japanese dubbing. On PS5, it runs like a charm, and the feedback I got from the Switch version is similar, although everything is less polished. Necessarily.
We will just pester on the title menu in which we spend far too much time for not much. Too much information is squirting out everywhere and the white background is not the most convenient to navigate and read. Also note many bugs that prevent trophies and other achievements from falling. Trophy hunter, wait a few weeks...
In summary, we can say that you will not be out of place, on the contrary you will be on familiar ground: it is extremely classic J-RPG in the proposal, and provided with a pleasant scenario surely remaining a little too superficial to be really exciting...I nevertheless think thatAstria ascending is a title to do, if only for its handmade rendering which will cause some jaw dropping!
