Astria Ascending Reviews
Astria Ascending is a fascinating JRPG with intriguing storytelling, distinctive characters and charming hand-drawn art. Artisan Studios has outdone themselves providing a lengthy gameplay experience and addictive mini-game that will have you entrenched for hours. My only grudge against the game is the maps can be perplexing at times when attempting to complete side-quests or just finding your way through dungeons and temples. However, the combat mechanics are solid and customization options for your party and builds provide a lot of depth and strategy. Considering the fact that Astria Ascending is not a full-priced title, the game is definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of the genre.
Astria Ascending is a game that reminds the golden era of JRPGs, with a modern twist tied to a brilliant combat system and a renewed job system. It is a must have for turn-based combat lovers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Astria Ascending is a gorgeous JRPG with wonderful world-building that overwhelms the player with characters and progression systems. With somewhat standard-feeling combat that is overly punishing at the default difficulty, I felt at a loss as far as what to concentrate on to improve my party. Astria Ascending tells a beautiful story, but too often that story is buried behind too many mechanics and systems.
Astria Ascending tries to convey the "feel-good" atmosphere of the classic JRPGs with an aesthetically pleasing art direction and promises of pure turn-based combat extravaganza. Unfortunately its ambition falls flat due to a forgettable writing and an unbalanced combat system.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Astria Ascending is a JRPG with classic overtones where we must control eight heroes and prevent chaos from taking hold of Orcanon while enjoying an exceptional technical section that delights all fans of the genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It feels like a throwback to the PlayStation era in the best way, when there were always new JRPGs showing up in the hopes of getting the same sort of cult reception as Final Fantasy VII, always new titles to try out and new stories to experience, some of them winding up a bit generic but others turning into unexpected little gems along the way. Astria Ascending feels like one of those gems, except it’s a new game right now and benefits from all the hindsight that implies.
While Astria Ascending adds some flair to traditional turn-based combat, it has a lot of gaping flaws and too much going on for it.
There's no faulting its lush character designs, but beyond Astria Ascending's good looks lies a tedious and repetitive Japanese-inspired RPG whose insipid story and cringey voice acting make it difficult to bear.
With so many other incredible JRPGs released in 2021, it’s hard to recommend Astria Ascending. It does have a very pretty artstyle, which is what will draw most players initially. The battle system and customization options can be enjoyable to tinker around with, but the lackluster story and unpleasant cast of characters really bog down the whole experience.
If you are a turn-based RPG fan looking for a new experience that brings fresh twists on classic elements of the genre, I cannot recommend Astria Ascending enough, just so long as you don’t need an overly engaging plot to pull you along.
A fascinating effort from a writer who's delivered some of the most beloved JRPG stories has too many flaws to be another classic.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Astria Ascending. While parts of it felt long and grindy, the English cast is abysmal, and the dungeons design themselves left more to be desired, Astria Ascending is still a solid entry in the JRPG genre. It does what it sets out to do and at its price point it does it pretty well. While it may not quite rise to the heights of some of the forebears it tries to evoke from Square Enix’s past, its friendlier price point makes it a great entry that can steal away 25-30 hours of time. Just don’t expect it to sway you over if you don’t already like the genre. As its tendency to get grindy, and its overwrought characters may not change your mind.
Astria Ascending is filled with countless features and mechanics to add more flavor to an adventure that can last dozens of hours. However, it does have some noticeable issues that can sour the experience. The poor narrative and progression can become too tedious, and some characters will feel useless down the line.
If you are a fan of classic JRPGs and customization in your characters, then you're going to have a great time with Astria's Ascending, however someone new to these types of games may find themselves overwhelmed. Accompanying it is a pretty solid story, which unfortunately doesn't stick the landing.
Overall, Astria Ascending is a great tribute to the classic JRPG’s from before. It has that classic feel but with a modern flair to make it relevant to the times. It’s JRPG with a heart, passion and an endless amount of entertainment. You wouldn’t want to put down this game once you have started playing it.
If you’re looking for a game with dynamic environments and nostalgic JRPG combat, Astria Ascending ticks those boxes. Its inclusion of Final Fantasy greats such as Kazushige Nojima, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hideo Minaba, and Akihiko Yoshida makes it a wonderful turn-based RPG that reminds me of the series I grew up with in the 1990s.
Astria Ascending is a beautifully hand-drawn JRPG with tactical and strategic combat, rewarding dungeon exploration and the ascension tree gives you much versatility in how you specialise party members.
When it comes down to it, Astria Ascending is a charming blend of new and old, and a very enjoyable RPG experience overall. 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!
Astria Ascending is surprisingly an accessible JRPG that could appeal to both veterans and beginners. The fact that your health replenishes after each battle makes dungeon crawling not as stressful as other RPGs. Not to mention the 2D graphics look awesome on both PS4 and PS5. This is definitely if you are a JRPG fan in general.
Astria Ascending had me invested in the 25 hours it took me to get to the final dungeon. However, that comes with a padded runtime of level grinding, lengthy battles, dungeon navigation confusion, and many menu interactions. So if you begin, prepare not to understand what is going on until 10 hours into the game, but if you don’t have that time, don’t bother. However, those who do get far enough are in for a genuinely fun JPRG experience that only requires a few quality-of-life improvements.