This is the first of a few quality of life improvements that Astria Ascending brings to the table.Īs a fan of the genre it is easy to forget sometimes that turn-based JRPGs are not for everyone and can take a lot of work to get into, so Astria Ascending has implemented accessibility features for those who may not be familiar with the genre to ease themselves in.
Regardless of who is in the party or who is on the sidelines, everyone gains the same amount of experience as long as they live through the fight, so there is seemingly little to no need for grinding to keep everyone on the same level. Genre veterans know that this is relatively common when you have more party members than what is allowed in battle, but in Astria Ascending you can swap out up to your entire party if you want to in a single turn – and for good reason.īattles are more often than not a challenge where, depending on your situation, you can see yourself in deep water even before your first turn begins, thus encouraging you to experiment with different groups of members to see which best finds you success in specific encounters. While there are eight party members throughout your journey, only four are usable in a battle. Whether it be abilities or a melee attack, you can use up to four focus points dealing up to 200% strength. But focus points don’t always go in your favor, as you can lose several at once if you attack an enemy who can absorb, resist, or nullify the damage type. A party member can also use their turn to focus and gain temporary points to help deal massive damage. By hitting your enemy’s weakness you will gain focus points. Where Astria Ascending defines its unique battle mechanics is with its focus system. In general, the environments and animations are drop-dead gorgeous across the board despite some unnecessary detail, but its turn-based combat is where it is at its best, with each slash and blast oozing with charm. These demigods keep the harmony in check by confronting “the noise,” cryptic enemies that attempt to disrupt the balance that the people of Orcanon try to maintain. These warriors do not volunteer but are chosen – andwhere after three years, they move on from the world. Taking place in the high fantasy world of Orcanon, I found myself in the shoes of the demigods, eight powerful heroes whose job is to keep the harmony together with Ulan as the captain of the group. After playing the first four chapters, Astria Ascending offers a lot to look forward to even if it doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary. In an unexpected but welcoming collaboration, developer Artisan Studios has partnered with Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer of Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story as well as Kazushige Nojima, who has written several notable JRPGs including Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII Remake. 2021 has seen quite the number of quality Japanese role-playing games already, with still more to come, and based on what I’ve played, I believe that Astria Ascending should be near the top of your JRPG to-do list for this year.
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