However, you can definitely notice the amateurish quality of the voice acting and it seems like this game is probably many of the actors’ first notable gig.Īstria Ascending draws a lot of inspiration from classic JRPGs, and that’s reflected most in its battle system. They aren’t the typical swath of voice actors you’d hear in most JRPGs these days. It’s a shame because the English voice cast for Astria Ascending has a lot of new talent and names I don’t recognize. English dubbing has gotten substantially better over the past decade, and it was incredibly jarring to hear how bad it was here. The Japanese voice track, on the other hand, sounds pretty decent in comparison. Cutscenes are so awkward because it feels like none of the characters are actually “speaking” to each other-the conversations don’t flow well. All of the lines in the poorly dry script are delivered flatly. What makes things even worse is that the English voice acting is some of the most painfully average that I’ve heard in a very long time. But it doesn’t change the fact that the characters are so unlikable. There are loads of side quests and backstories that help expand on the world building and members of the main cast’s history up to becoming Demi-Gods, which is appreciated. Some of them even mock Eko, spouting ideas like Peyskas are stupid or they’re untrustworthy.Īnd I’m supposed to believe that these eight chosen Demi-Gods are supposed to save the world? There’s no real sense of camaraderie between them, and they’re all introduced at the beginning of the game in a sort of rapid fire, speed-dating style. However, even the main cast is weirdly racist towards each other. Early on in the game, an unfortunate event befalls the Peyskas and Eko is rightfully upset about it. One of the Demi-Gods, Eko, is a member of a race of fish-like people called Peyskas. Racism is also a big theme in the game, but it doesn’t handle it very well. The game throws so many proper nouns at players, like “Harmony” and “Chaos” and “Dissonance” it’s all too much at once and implemented like they’re from some generic JRPG 101 textbook. There are some interesting concepts and themes like rebellion and free will, but the story ends up being incredibly boring. The Demi-Gods gain immense power and abilities to fight off antagonistic beings called the Noise, but in exchange are only given three more years to live before another group comes along and does the same thing. In order to keep the pact of peace, Orcanon’s races eat Harmelons, which suppress certain abilities. Manage cookie settings What is Going on in Orcanon?Īstria Ascending takes place in Orcanon, where a group of eight chosen individuals called Demi-Gods protect Harmony, which is some sort of peace agreement between the different races in the game. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Unfortunately, a captivating artstyle can’t save what a sloggy experience the game is. The colors are crisp and the backgrounds look sharp. The 2D art invokes familiarity with Vanillaware titles like Odin Sphere or Dragon’s Crown. In an age where more and more games, especially Japanese RPGs are going full 3D, having a different look can help a game stand out amongst a crowd. On the surface, Astria Ascending intrigued me with its wonderful hand drawn artstyle. Now it's back with a new adventure, Astria Ascending. The studio’s first project was Super Neptunia RPG, a 2D entry in the Neptunia franchise. Artisan Studio is a French and Canadian developer that specializes in 2D RPG games.
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