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Those plans are finally coming to fruition as Astria Ascending is almost a completely new game. Was the wait for this mobile RPG from developers that helped work on Final Fantasy and several other high-profile games worth it? Astria Ascending has its ups and downs so let’s go through the highlights. As a bonus note, the JRPG is on Xbox Game Pass.

10 Best: Visuals

The visuals in Astria Ascending look so good on the PS5. The main characters are all 3D models but on a 2D plane. Many of the NPCs are just 2D though. This makes the main models pop out as opposed to everything else for a cool effect.

This art style is like Final Fantasy 12 merged with Dragon’s Crown and that is a good combo to have in a video game. It’s a sharp-looking video game and might rank up as one of the best of 2021.

9 Worst: Uneven English Cast

The visuals are a treat for the eyes whereas the voice cast can be a bit grating on the ears. However, the cast isn’t as bad as the delivery and flow of the lines. There will be pauses in-between sentences that are only seconds in reality but feel like ages.

It’s one of the problems some people have with the voice work in the Kingdom Hearts series. Even if players switch to Japanese voices in Astria Ascending, which is better, there is still the problem with pauses.

8 Best: Character Design

To coincide with the graphical style, the character design deserves its own praise. These characters, even the NPCs, look striking. Everyone is unique and there is nothing too scandalous or ridiculous either. The game finds the right balance.

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The best part about these designs is that the world of Astria Ascending is filled with colorful races. This, again, makes it feel very much like Final Fantasy 12 and has the world feel more lived in.

7 Worst: Too Many Characters At The Start

Most RPG games start the party off with one to three characters depending on the maximum size. Astria Ascending allows players to have four in battle at a time, therefore, it would make sense to start with four characters. However, the game starts with all eight.

This is an issue for multiple reasons. One, too many characters at the start makes it hard to care about any of them in the story. Two, this makes the process of deciding the battle party feel too chaotic. The pacing, overall, is not great in Astria Ascending.

6 Best: Difficulty Modes

AAA games and indie games have started adding more and more accessibility options. While Astria Ascending doesn’t have these options exactly, the JRPG comes with a solid selection of difficulty modes.

Very Easy turns the game into a cakewalk where bosses can be killed with a handful of simple attacks. It makes the player really overpowered, and while this option might not be for everyone, its inclusion is nice to see. Normal and above should offer some real challenge even for RPG veterans.

5 Worst: No Auto-battle Or Fast-Forward

If a modern game comes out with a turn-based battle system, chances are it will have certain quality of life/convenience options built-in. The more common one is auto-battle. The second is a fast-forward button.

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One example that did both from 2021 was Bravely Default 2. Astria Ascending features none of these options. Battles typically don’t last that long so it’s not a terrible loss. Nevertheless, these options would be more than welcome.

4 Best: Fast Travel

Video games seem to be split on whether they should allow fast travel anywhere in the world or if the mechanic should be anchored to one destination. Astria Ascending falls in the middle.

Players can unlock fast travel points from dungeons, but at the same time, these locations aren’t needed to travel elsewhere. They can warp back to town or other dungeon portals at their leisure. No items or locations are required which is a huge relief.

3 Worst: Can’t Skip Through Text

This is a bit mind-blowing but there is no way to skip through text during cutscenes. Scenes can be skipped altogether, which is at least something. Sometimes players are just faster at reading the text than the characters are at speaking it, which is why people skip through dialogue but not cutscenes as a whole.

This game lacking this option is frustrating since line deliveries can have long pauses. This is a small addition that could significantly improve Astria Ascending’s approachability.

2 Best: Unlimited Saves

This isn’t a mechanic that will bother everyone, but it can be frustrating when save slots are limited in video games. A recent example would be Eastward. It only allows one save slot per game. Astria Ascending feels like a godsend comparatively because it has no limits.

This is great for players that wish to save at certain spots throughout the entire 30-40 main campaign. It’s nice to be able to revisit a favorite moment or two without having to replay the entire game again.

1 Worst: Dungeon Maps

The dungeon maps have a cool style to them like the rest of the game. Unfortunately, this style does not help players. The map is 3D in that the layers pop out of the camera and are synced with invisible threads almost like it is some sort of crime scene diorama.

Every piece of the map isn’t that detailed either, even with all options turned on. It doesn’t hurt Astria Ascending in a huge way as it’s more confusing than anything else.

Astria Ascending releases September 30, 2021 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

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