There are no missteps on the soundtrack of such a scale that I’m surprised it has graced a title as humble as this. If the game thinks you’re going to miss a platform jump and fall into oblivion, it doesn’t even wait for the ‘fall’ before launching you back to safety.Ī treat for the ears is the soundtrack which took me back to Final Fantasy XII. Some puzzles and abstract objects will block progress, with the game then forcing players through some light platforming and a bare attempt at Metroidvania power-ups to try and spice up what are otherwise some dang dull dungeons. Worse still, the map frequently misrepresented my orientation and environmental signposting is nearly non-existent. The dungeons contain multiple pathways that are layered on top of one another, with all locations of a dungeon looking vaguely indistinguishable. The dungeon maps themselves lack any visual signposting and progress is never as simple as moving from one side of the screen to another. The 2D areas are often connected to the hub city of the region and represent a wild area of encounters with enemies that can be identified as floating blue orbs. Sadly, this visual information disappears when exploring dungeons. Just don’t expect to be able to interact with much of it aside from interacting with a few NPCs that dump small talk on you or perhaps contribute to a quest chain. Each new town has a depth of visual information that builds its world through sheer 2D spectacle. I love that you ride a Fedorah, a panther Pegasus-type creature, to travel to each locale on the linear main quest path, welcomed with an outstanding new serenade that sets the tone of the environment. Unravelling the meandering, uneven plot and paper-thin character development do little more than distract from what is otherwise a frustratingly authentic old-school JRPG with at least enough presentation flair to register a glance amongst this year’s crowded roster.ĭiscovering the visual allure of the painted world of Orcanon and its many diverse biomes, sentient species, and monsters are the greatest strengths of Astria Ascending. The light-hearted brushstrokes across this picture book canvas highlight some very odd writing choices resulting from these heroes coming to terms with their near-imminent predetermined death date. This game loves its light and fluffy hero tropes, as well as a capitalised virtue noun for purely stylistic purposes. These protectors of the world of Orcanon are souped-up, ascendent representatives of various races that live in Harmony. Light on story, we are immediately introduced to the 333nd Demi-God squad in their Avengers Harmony tower. Gameplay draws from the traditional JRPGene pool of the earliest half dozen Final Fantasy titles, making for a pickup and play experience for anyone familiar with the genre. It does not store any personal data.With a nod and lascivious wink to Vanillaware greats Odin Sphere and Dragon Crown, Astria Ascending wears its vanilla, old-school JRPG influences proudly. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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