Astria Ascendingis a remake of a game that many gamers may not have known about. It was calledZodiac: Orcanon Odysseyand was released in 2015 for mobile devices. It didn’t make much of a splash as it was missing a lot of features. There were plans to make it into a more robust game forPS4and PS Vita but the project was eventually canceled.
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Those plans are finally coming to fruition asAstria Ascendingis almost a completely new game. Was the wait for this mobile RPG from developers that helped work onFinal Fantasyand several other high-profile games worth it?Astria Ascendinghas its ups and downs so let’s go through the highlights. As a bonus note, theJRPGis onXbox Game Pass.
10Best: Visuals
The visuals inAstria Ascendinglook so good on thePS5. 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 likeFinal Fantasy 12mergedwithDragon’s Crownand 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.
9Worst: 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’sone of the problemssome people have with the voice work in theKingdom Heartsseries. Even if players switch to Japanese voices inAstria Ascending, which is better, there is still the problem with pauses.
8Best: 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 ofAstria Ascendingis filled with colorful races. This, again, makes it feel very much likeFinal Fantasy 12and has the world feel more lived in.
7Worst: Too Many Characters At The Start
Most RPG gamesstart the party off with one to three characters depending on the maximum size.Astria Ascendingallows 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 inAstria Ascending.
6Best: Difficulty Modes
AAA games and indie games have started adding more and more accessibility options. WhileAstria Ascendingdoesn’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.
5Worst: 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 thatdid both from 2021 wasBravely Default 2.Astria Ascendingfeatures 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.
4Best: 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 Ascendingfalls 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.
3Worst: 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 improveAstria Ascending’s approachability.
2Best: 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 examplewould beEastward. It only allows one save slot per game.Astria Ascendingfeels 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.
1Worst: 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 hurtAstria Ascendingin a huge way as it’s more confusing than anything else.
Astria Ascendingreleases July 13, 2025 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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