Astria Ascending Reviews
Astria Ascending's 2D puzzle platforming blended with turn-based combat and stunning art style does all the heavy lifting to keep players interested as the game's writing feels a bit generic.
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.
The beautiful graphics, unique characters and fun combat doesn’t take away from the fact that this is an old-school RPG at heart with new school wrappings. AA boasts a fun take on the traditional job systems found in JRPGs, I just wish it was given a story to match all of the great things it has going for it. Fights can drag on at times much like the JRPG’s of old, what helps is the amazing art and effects from the various attacks. But while fans of the older Final Fantasy’s and even Dragon Quest games may enjoy this trip of nostalgia; those folks raised on Persona 5’s and the last few Final Fantasy’s might be in for a bit of a shock. Astria Ascending isn’t a bad game, just a flawed one; but if you enjoy Vanillaware games and don’t mind a grind a lot of fun can be had here.
Astria Ascending may not be a flawless release but the solid combat system, spectacular visuals, deep character skill building, and wealth of content make for an experience that JRPG fans will feel right at home with. We'd give this one a recommendation to anybody looking for an original RPG to sink their teeth into; the writing and plot could have done with more development and attention, but there's lots to love about Astria Ascending and we're eagerly anticipating whatever Artisan Studios does next.
For 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 worth the price of admission.
Astria Ascending checks off the proper JRPG boxes while adding enough unique twists to satisfy fans of the genre. It won't sit at the top of your "must complete" list, but it'll serve you well when you need a break from higher profile releases.
Review code provided by the publisher.
Astria Ascending is heavily inspired by classic JRPGs. Its combat is its strongest suit, but its narrative fails to hold of the player as it should, which keeps it from recreating the elements that made its inspirations so special.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
A JRPG that drinks from very good titles and has good ideas, nice and pleasant. Unfortunately it has certain design decisions that do not let it shine and make it a little heavy for its genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While this choice may be unorthodox, Astria Ascending does a marvelous job at providing its players with a finely executed combat system, as well as a very engaging sense of character progression. Completionists too will enjoy clearing every single path for the development of the game's characters. Set amid a visually gorgeous world, Astria Ascending could have invested more in its plot, which is rather generic and unoriginal, but fans of JRPGs who can look beyond that will find a very fun and absorbing work landing on their Nintendo Switch.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Overall, Astria Ascending is a perfectly good JRPG that is familiar and traditional in a way that is both refreshing and frustrating. What it does differently from others in its class (fun and unique temple puzzles, amazing quality art assets) are enough to help it rise from the ashes of its storytelling faults. Major difficulty spikes and repetitive encounters hold it back from greatness and may make this a skip for some, but the adventure will speak to many fans of classic JRPGs.
Built by talented designers of some of the most celebrated RPGs in history, Astria Ascending introduces a beautiful fantasy world and a cast of characters that promise to pull nostalgic players in. Will your adventure with the Fated Eight bring a fresh turn-based experience?
An ambitious project featuring big names from the JRPG scene. It uses many JRPG conventions from the past, but ultimately, fails to stand up to the best in the genre.
Astria Ascending is a bit of an odd bird to me...
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 attracts you with its art, keeps you interested with its combat, but may lose you entirely due to its bland story full of annoying difficulty spikes.
Despite its convincing 2D aesthetic, its music and its undeniable richness, Astria Ascending misses the boat a little to hope to compete with the greatest of the genre. The fault is a certain lack of inventiveness in the gameplay, a difficulty sometimes too demanding and an unclear course of missions, not to mention some fatal flaws.
Review in French | Read full review
There are a few issues that stop it from being an amazing experience like the huge difficulty spikes or lack of quality of life features that JRPG fans have come to expect from the genre. But Astria Ascending for the most part is an exhilarating experience that could be the starting point for something spectacular.
Despite some of the JRPG royalty involved, Astria Ascending just isn’t able to live up to the high expectations. The good news is that Artisan Studio seem committed to updating the game over time, so ideally the rough edges present will get smoothed out.