astria ascending character customization

The character customization gives a feeling of constant, incremental progress that fulfills the effort put in. I’m always happy when I see a game successfully emulate the spirit of the ever-sacred old-school RPG, and I can happily say that Artisan Studios really outdid themselves with this one!įor a game with so many valid criticisms, a recommendation might not seem forthcoming, but Astria Ascending rises above all of these issues as a total experience, with the art alone making it worth the price of admission. When it comes down to it, Astria Ascending is a charming blend of new and old and a very enjoyable RPG experience overall. Each of them is doomed from the beginning but nonetheless, they will fight for a world they will not live to see. Pick and choose for them 20 different classes with different specializations and skills. Form your team of adventurers from 8 customizable characters hailing from different fantastical races with different abilities and attributes.Encounter over 200 different types of enemies, fight them back in exciting turn-based combat, use special abilities like summoning legendary beasts, that you tamed, and charging up focus to use devastating combo break skills.

Play fun minigames like a side-scrolling shoot ’em up, a final fantasy-themed card game, and environmental puzzles.

Get into and loot 20 unique dungeons filled to the brim with dangerous enemies to conquer.

The world of Orcanon in Astria Ascending is a huge and expansive place, you will get to visit five different cities each populated by a unique race of beings that have their own plans and agenda.

While the setup might sound like JRPG cliché, Astria Ascending promises a mature and emotional narrative rife with betrayal and sacrifice. Immerse yourself in the world of Orcanon a world on the brink of chaos destruction, play as soldiers from the 333rd company of demigods trying to stop it from happening. There is at least a difficulty option that can be lowered if you’re not willing to deal with these annoying spikes – but on the normal difficulty, it’s not uncommon to spend multiple hours leveling just to get past one specific fight only to have to do it again for a different one not too far down the road.Astria Ascending is a turn-based JRPG developed by Artisan Studios, inspired by the trappings and style of old-school JRPGs like the final fantasy series. This means you’ll occasionally need to spend a significant amount of time grinding to get past tough enemies. Unfortunately, Astria Ascending also comes with some horrendous difficulty spikes. Members of your party begin with a starting job but will gain three more throughout the story, which provides them with a myriad of different skills to mix and match based on your personal preference and the weaknesses of the enemies you are facing. An intuitive job system provides a wide variety of abilities to use, and planning your team’s powers is where Astria Ascending’s true puzzles lie. Mix that exciting system with the art and animations and it truly makes combat an impressive package.Īlmost every encounter feels like a challenge that is satisfying to conquer too.

You’ll also have to be careful since using the wrong attack on an enemy will make you lose Focus, adding an extra layer of tension to each fight. But while you’re collecting Focus, enemies can hit your weaknesses and do the exact same thing, raising the stakes the longer a fight goes on. Focus can stack up, allowing you to deal an abundance of damage once it maxes out. This is due to the excellent Focus mechanic, which makes the party gain Focus Points when striking an enemy’s weakness. The combat itself is some of the best I’ve seen in a traditional turn-based JRPG. Every Gran Turismo Game Ranked This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Gran Turismo series.

Whether it be an attack, spell, buff, or status effect, everything is animated immaculately and with purpose. Since it’s presented as a 2D platformer outside of fights, the world of Orchanon feels as if it was created in a story book – each of its characters drawn with tender love and care, and they especially shine in combat. Every zone is drop dead gorgeous, especially in dungeons. Focus Your SkillsĪstria Ascending really stands out in its battles and its art style. Every enemy type has distinct abilities so fighting these minibosses adds even more variety to the creatures that you face, which is especially welcome when combat is the shining star here. While none of them are very interesting, additional guild missions that task you with killing special enemies for money, experience, and skill points can be. You’ll often be asked to defeat a certain number of enemies or find the quest giver a specific item, and little else. As you explore Orchanon, you will also find plenty of side quests, but these are similarly straightforward and uninspired, doing little to make the world feel fleshed out.

Astria ascending character customization