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. 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. 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.
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. These warriors do not volunteer but are chosen – andwhere after three years, they move on from the world. 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.
The peace between the various races of Orcanon is thanks to a fruit known as harmelons, but little else was learned about them. How do they keep things harmonious and what are the consequences if their protection was left unchecked?
The leader of the demigods is Ulan furnished with a shield and lance. The entire cast is diverse with different spells and abilities so even if there are two melee heavy characters in your party for example they will both stand out from one another.
Each party member begins with a beginning job giving them a set list of stats and abilities that they will be able to unlock overtime through their Ascension Trees. By using Stat Points and Orbs that are earned through battle you are able to choose different paths on which new skills or stat boosts that I wanted. The number of paths you start with however depends on the job.
As time progresses you will be able to choose between multiple jobs as your “main job” which is more or less an evolution of the job you started with.
If you’re a fan of traditional turn-based combat then Astria Ascending will have you slabbering out the mouth.
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.
Where Astria Ascending defines its unique battle mechanics is with its focus system. By hitting your enemy’s weakness you will gain focus points. A party member can also use their turn to focus and gain temporary points to help deal massive damage. 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. Whether it be abilities or a melee attack, you can use up to four focus points dealing up to 200% strength.
While there are eight party members throughout your journey, only four are usable in a battle. 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.
Battles 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.
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. This is the first of a few quality of life improvements that Astria Ascending brings to the table.
As 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.
For instance, enemies respawning in dungeons can be disabled, difficulty can be changed on the fly, and there’s even a weakness indicator that can be turned on so you don’t have to use an ability or play the guessing game to figure out a threat’s vulnerabilities. Of course, many players will want to experience everything organically, but having the options for those who are newer or more casual with the genre to enjoy their experience in their own way is a huge win.
Despite how much I enjoy the combat, one notable omission was the lack of a turn bar displaying the order in which the field would operate. It isn’t particularly a necessity as it doesn’t hurt the gameplay’s quality, but it has been such a useful feature in many modern turn-based JRPGs of this century that it seems odd that it is absent.
Astria Ascending looks really promising, with, based on what I’ve played so far, great combat, fantastic visuals, and an interesting world to explore – but the latter is where I have my hesitations. With these heroes chosen as demigods they are guaranteed death three years later. Do any of them take issue with being chosen as a demigod? Do any of them fear the inevitable death that is coming for them? These are the types of questions that I hope are explored, but how hard will the commitment be remains to be seen.