Chaos Raiden
Avid Gamer & Reviewer
This is perhaps one of the divisive games that I have ever played. I liked for it's artistic design, combat, creative visuals, amazing soundtrack, but the game's design and length can be quite disappointing to many people, including me.
Story
The story takes place in a science fictional world of Asian Mythology. Asura is one of the Eight Guardian Generals, who battles the Gohma, mysterious beings that plague the Earth. Asura and other Guardian Generals are demigods, who possess overwhelming strength and power that allows them to decimate the Gohma easily. After Asura's victory against the Vlitra, the supposedly source of the Gohma, he was betrayed by his fellow Guardian Generals by framing Asura as the Emperor's killer and the Eight Guardian Generals kidnapped Asura's daughter, Mithra for their own cause. Asura went to rescue her, but was defeated by the leader of the Eight Guardian Generals, Deus, and crashed to Earth as well as being dormant for a certain period of time. After 12,000 years, Asura has awakened, hellbent on revenge to his fellow Demigods and to save his daughter.
The story is very compelling, well-told, and quite emotional. I love the storyline, and the cutscenes in the game are extremely well made to tell the storyline effectively. There are 18 episodes, with a secret unlockable episode. The game's episodes are carried out like Japanese animated television series, with a sneak preview on what will happen at the next episode.
Each episode spans about 10-30 minutes, as each episode have quite many cutscenes to be viewed as well as being interacted with. Most cutscenes in the game are interwoven with Quick Time Events (QTEs), requiring you to press certain buttons to play with. I will explain this further at the Gameplay section.
The main problem with this game is the main focus on the cutscenes, without much gameplay stages. All episodes have certain gameplay stages, but they are not lengthy enough to play with. In comparison with Heavy Rain, a fellow game that has a lot of QTEs in the game design, this game's length is significantly shorter than Heavy Rain's game length. The main difference between both games is that Asura's Wrath focus on over the top action scenes whereas Heavy Rain focus on realistic scenes. Another comparison is Metal Gear Solid games, where most of the MGS games have extensive, lengthy cutscenes, but have balanced gameplay sections.
The characters in the game are quite interesting. Asura has almost the same personality like Kratos in God of War series, but the main difference between both of them is that Asura does not like sacrificing innocent lives needlessly, whereas Kratos will do anything it takes to get his revenge. I find that Asura's personality is likable and interesting. Other character like Yasha has quite good exposure as well, as he is the older brother of Asura's wife, Durga, who will eventually turned from an antagonist to a secondary protagonist late in the game. I like all of the characters in the game, as they have quite compelling roles that make them memorable.
After completing each episode, there is an interlude playing that gives you brief explanation of what happens behind the scenes in the game, such as certain unexplained events in the game. The interludes are accompanied with narrative text and compelling artworks by several different artists. The interludes are well done, but unfortunately, they lacked voice acting to make the interludes more interesting.
Overall, the storyline has quite a few emotional impacts, plot twists, and interesting hooks that will attract gamers who are looking forward to a good story. Even though the game's storyline may be bad or cliche to some people, there is a certain hook in the game's storyline that will attract non-interested gamers to watch, thanks to the episodic format of the game as well as the clever sneak previews after finishing a chapter. Unfortunately, the game's main focus on the cutscenes and storyline affected the gameplay quite negatively.
Gameplay
The gameplay system is rather simple. Asura has access to combo attacks and heavy attacks. He also can execute rapid-fire projectile attack to defeat long ranged enemies. He can also jump, or dodge enemy attacks. Like most action games, you have to attack your enemies to beat them by using your attacks. Unlike most action games, only you have your own Life Gauge, whereas special enemies like bosses does not have any Life Gauge for you to know how much more it takes to beat them.
When your enemies are down, you can execute a Special Attack that deals major damage to the enemies. This can be done if you press the appropriate button prompt on the screen. This however, will cause you to overheat, and it disables your heavy attack for a certain period of time. Be aware however when you use a heavy attack, you will overheat as well. You can also do Counterattacks on certain enemy attacks when there is a button prompt on the screen, which negates you damage while damaging your enemies. Unlike Special Attacks, Counterattacks won't cause you to overheat.
In certain Episodes, there are few arcade shooter like sections that require you to shoot down enemies while flying or dropping from the sky. You can use rapid fire projectile attacks, or use lock-on projectile attacks. Using lock on projectile attacks is preferable, since it can take down multiple enemies at the same time. To lock on multiple enemies, just move your crosshair to the screen and to lock-on enemies.
If you have filled up a gauge called Unlimited gauge by hitting enemies, you can activate your Unlimited mode. In this mode, Asura is stronger, and can execute heavy attacks consecutively without overheating. However, by doing so, your Unlimited mode will last shorter, so use it carefully.
When fighting certain stages and bosses, you need to fill a gauge called Burst Gauge. Burst Gauge is a gauge that requires you to fill up in order to beat a boss or proceed in a certain part of an Episode of the game. In order to do so, you need to continually hit your enemies until your gauge is full. Using Special Attacks and Counterattacks will fill your gauge faster, so it is recommended to do so. After filling up your Burst Gauge, you need to activate Burst in order to proceed in the game. Activating Burst will initiate a series of QTEs that tests your reflexes, such as button mashing, rotating the left or right analog stick, or pressing the correct button on screen. While playing the game, most cutscenes played will require you to complete QTEs to proceed, so this means you should not be slacking while watching the cutscenes, since the QTEs can prompt out anytime while playing the cutscenes. Be constantly reminded that you will not be able to proceed in the game without activating Burst, as it is a mandatory thing to continue in the game.
After completing an Episode, you will be ranked accordingly as to how fast you completed the Episode, how well you did in battle, as well as how perfect your QTE execution. Getting A rank is not a problem while playing Easy or Normal modes, but getting S rank can be difficult as you need to be perfect in playing for each Episode.
That's it. There are only three main components of the actual gameplay section. Beat certain waves of enemies section, beat the boss section, and the arcade shooter section. The game's gameplay length is very short and repetitive, lasting less than 2-4 hours. Plus with the cutscenes in the game, I would say the game will last about 6-7 hours, depending on your play skills. To put it simply, the battle sections in the game are lacking, and last only between 5 to 10 minutes for each episode. The developer simply do not find a balance between the cutscenes and the gameplay, making the game favours cutscenes than the actual gameplay. In fact, the gameplay stages are simple well done, but it is a sad thing to see that the developer did not include more gameplay sections in the game to make this game more longer.
Graphics
The game have excellent and beautiful cel-shaded graphics. Personally, I don't like much games that have cel-shaded graphics, except a few of them, including this game. I also prefer this game's graphics than Street Fighter IV, where both games share the same kind of graphics.
The characters are creatively detailed and designed, as well as amazing looking environments. The artworks drawn in the interludes are also exceptionally well done by several different artists, with their own unique style of drawing.
Unfortunately, the game suffers framerate issues in most cutscenes, which are noticeable when there is a high speed action playing on the screen. It is not gamebreaking, but it is noticeable even to novice gamers.
Sound
Story
Asura was betrayed by his fellow Guardian Generals, and seeks revenge against them.
The story takes place in a science fictional world of Asian Mythology. Asura is one of the Eight Guardian Generals, who battles the Gohma, mysterious beings that plague the Earth. Asura and other Guardian Generals are demigods, who possess overwhelming strength and power that allows them to decimate the Gohma easily. After Asura's victory against the Vlitra, the supposedly source of the Gohma, he was betrayed by his fellow Guardian Generals by framing Asura as the Emperor's killer and the Eight Guardian Generals kidnapped Asura's daughter, Mithra for their own cause. Asura went to rescue her, but was defeated by the leader of the Eight Guardian Generals, Deus, and crashed to Earth as well as being dormant for a certain period of time. After 12,000 years, Asura has awakened, hellbent on revenge to his fellow Demigods and to save his daughter.
The story is very compelling, well-told, and quite emotional. I love the storyline, and the cutscenes in the game are extremely well made to tell the storyline effectively. There are 18 episodes, with a secret unlockable episode. The game's episodes are carried out like Japanese animated television series, with a sneak preview on what will happen at the next episode.
Each episode spans about 10-30 minutes, as each episode have quite many cutscenes to be viewed as well as being interacted with. Most cutscenes in the game are interwoven with Quick Time Events (QTEs), requiring you to press certain buttons to play with. I will explain this further at the Gameplay section.
The main problem with this game is the main focus on the cutscenes, without much gameplay stages. All episodes have certain gameplay stages, but they are not lengthy enough to play with. In comparison with Heavy Rain, a fellow game that has a lot of QTEs in the game design, this game's length is significantly shorter than Heavy Rain's game length. The main difference between both games is that Asura's Wrath focus on over the top action scenes whereas Heavy Rain focus on realistic scenes. Another comparison is Metal Gear Solid games, where most of the MGS games have extensive, lengthy cutscenes, but have balanced gameplay sections.
The characters in the game are quite interesting. Asura has almost the same personality like Kratos in God of War series, but the main difference between both of them is that Asura does not like sacrificing innocent lives needlessly, whereas Kratos will do anything it takes to get his revenge. I find that Asura's personality is likable and interesting. Other character like Yasha has quite good exposure as well, as he is the older brother of Asura's wife, Durga, who will eventually turned from an antagonist to a secondary protagonist late in the game. I like all of the characters in the game, as they have quite compelling roles that make them memorable.
After completing each episode, there is an interlude playing that gives you brief explanation of what happens behind the scenes in the game, such as certain unexplained events in the game. The interludes are accompanied with narrative text and compelling artworks by several different artists. The interludes are well done, but unfortunately, they lacked voice acting to make the interludes more interesting.
Overall, the storyline has quite a few emotional impacts, plot twists, and interesting hooks that will attract gamers who are looking forward to a good story. Even though the game's storyline may be bad or cliche to some people, there is a certain hook in the game's storyline that will attract non-interested gamers to watch, thanks to the episodic format of the game as well as the clever sneak previews after finishing a chapter. Unfortunately, the game's main focus on the cutscenes and storyline affected the gameplay quite negatively.
Gameplay
Beat up your enemies with Asura's fists.
The gameplay system is rather simple. Asura has access to combo attacks and heavy attacks. He also can execute rapid-fire projectile attack to defeat long ranged enemies. He can also jump, or dodge enemy attacks. Like most action games, you have to attack your enemies to beat them by using your attacks. Unlike most action games, only you have your own Life Gauge, whereas special enemies like bosses does not have any Life Gauge for you to know how much more it takes to beat them.
When your enemies are down, you can execute a Special Attack that deals major damage to the enemies. This can be done if you press the appropriate button prompt on the screen. This however, will cause you to overheat, and it disables your heavy attack for a certain period of time. Be aware however when you use a heavy attack, you will overheat as well. You can also do Counterattacks on certain enemy attacks when there is a button prompt on the screen, which negates you damage while damaging your enemies. Unlike Special Attacks, Counterattacks won't cause you to overheat.
This gameplay section reminds me a lot of old arcade shooter games.
In certain Episodes, there are few arcade shooter like sections that require you to shoot down enemies while flying or dropping from the sky. You can use rapid fire projectile attacks, or use lock-on projectile attacks. Using lock on projectile attacks is preferable, since it can take down multiple enemies at the same time. To lock on multiple enemies, just move your crosshair to the screen and to lock-on enemies.
Bosses can be easy or tough depending on your gaming skills. Keep in mind that they do not have any Life Gauge.
If you have filled up a gauge called Unlimited gauge by hitting enemies, you can activate your Unlimited mode. In this mode, Asura is stronger, and can execute heavy attacks consecutively without overheating. However, by doing so, your Unlimited mode will last shorter, so use it carefully.
When fighting certain stages and bosses, you need to fill a gauge called Burst Gauge. Burst Gauge is a gauge that requires you to fill up in order to beat a boss or proceed in a certain part of an Episode of the game. In order to do so, you need to continually hit your enemies until your gauge is full. Using Special Attacks and Counterattacks will fill your gauge faster, so it is recommended to do so. After filling up your Burst Gauge, you need to activate Burst in order to proceed in the game. Activating Burst will initiate a series of QTEs that tests your reflexes, such as button mashing, rotating the left or right analog stick, or pressing the correct button on screen. While playing the game, most cutscenes played will require you to complete QTEs to proceed, so this means you should not be slacking while watching the cutscenes, since the QTEs can prompt out anytime while playing the cutscenes. Be constantly reminded that you will not be able to proceed in the game without activating Burst, as it is a mandatory thing to continue in the game.
After completing an Episode, you will be ranked accordingly as to how fast you completed the Episode, how well you did in battle, as well as how perfect your QTE execution. Getting A rank is not a problem while playing Easy or Normal modes, but getting S rank can be difficult as you need to be perfect in playing for each Episode.
At some points in the game, Asura may have six hands, two hands, or none at all while playing. This however, does not prevent Asura from beating the crap out of his opponents.
That's it. There are only three main components of the actual gameplay section. Beat certain waves of enemies section, beat the boss section, and the arcade shooter section. The game's gameplay length is very short and repetitive, lasting less than 2-4 hours. Plus with the cutscenes in the game, I would say the game will last about 6-7 hours, depending on your play skills. To put it simply, the battle sections in the game are lacking, and last only between 5 to 10 minutes for each episode. The developer simply do not find a balance between the cutscenes and the gameplay, making the game favours cutscenes than the actual gameplay. In fact, the gameplay stages are simple well done, but it is a sad thing to see that the developer did not include more gameplay sections in the game to make this game more longer.
Graphics
Excellent cel-shaded graphics, but the cutscenes suffer constant framerate issues.
The game have excellent and beautiful cel-shaded graphics. Personally, I don't like much games that have cel-shaded graphics, except a few of them, including this game. I also prefer this game's graphics than Street Fighter IV, where both games share the same kind of graphics.
The characters are creatively detailed and designed, as well as amazing looking environments. The artworks drawn in the interludes are also exceptionally well done by several different artists, with their own unique style of drawing.
Unfortunately, the game suffers framerate issues in most cutscenes, which are noticeable when there is a high speed action playing on the screen. It is not gamebreaking, but it is noticeable even to novice gamers.
Sound
Excellent musical score, with both English and Japanese voice actings.
The game have excellent orchestral musical score, and most of themes are quite well done. One of my most favourite themes is the theme played in the arcade shooter section in Episode 1, as it is very haunting, melancholic, and pleasant to hear. Other theme I like in the game is the theme played while fighting Yasha, as it has the spaghetti western sound like, which is quite unusual due to the game's artistic design and theme, but that theme is really nice to listen.
The game have both English and Japanese voice acting. The English voice acting are quite well done, with certain prominent voice actors that are voicing in the game, such as Liam O'brien as Asura, Robin Atkin Downes as Yasha, etc. If you want to complete the game experience like a Japanese animated series, you can easily switch the voice option to Japanese.
Replay Value
Low replay value.
There isn't much replay value in the game. By the time you have finished the game in Normal mode, you will have unlocked most unlockables in the gallery, such as artworks, videos, etc. You can also try equipping different Gauges and play the game again, as each Gauge provides different bonuses to Asura. You can also replay Episodes that you like at the Episode Menu. You can attempt to unlock the secret episode by completing 5 Episodes with S rank, or complete 50 episodes regardless of ranking to unlock it. The former is the better option, since even though the game have extremely short length, completing 50 Episodes can be time-consuming. Other form of replay value is to get all Trophies or Achievements in the game, but it can be extremely repetitive and time consuming as well.
Conclusion
Worth playing when this game gets cheap, or if you like QTEs based games like Heavy Rain.
Unfortunately, this game suffers an identity crisis between an interactive game and an action game. In a better comparison, I would say this game is a shorter, interactive action game in contrast with Heavy Rain. Due to it's extremely short length, this game should not be bought at full retail price, unless you really like games that have a lot of QTEs as well as many over the top and stylish cutscenes as well as cool-looking moves. This game fails in many areas, such as priority on cutscenes, short length, too many QTEs, unbalance between cutscenes and gameplay sections, low replay value, and framerate issues in cutscenes. However, this game shines in other areas, such as extremely well-made cutscenes, awesome cel-shaded graphics, stylish and abundance of over-the-top moments, easy to learn as well as fun gameplay, and very compelling storyline. This game is suited best for those who like over-the-top action, interesting storyline, nice looking graphics, and most of all, fun in playing games. In my case, I have a lot of fun playing this game, despite it's major shortcoming aspects.
Score
Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Final Score: 8.3/10 or 33/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Compelling, interesting storyline.
- Episodic format in storyline that creates the anime feeling.
- Easy to learn gameplay.
- Asura is an interesting character.
- Awesome, jaw dropping action scenes.
- Well-made and beautiful cutscenes.
- Beautiful cel-shaded graphics.
- Quite a few emotional moments in the game that might touch your heart easily.
- Good voice acting, and has both English and Japanese voiceovers.
- Excellent musical score.
- Provides a lot of fun.
Cons
- Extremely short length. Each episode lasts about 10 to 30 minutes when playing normally.
- No balance between actual gameplay sections and cutscenes.
- Too many cutscenes that hamper the gameplay sections in negative way.
- Too many QTEs in the game.
- Easy difficulty.
- Inconclusive ending (viewed by completing the secret episode.)
- Framerate issues in cutscenes, but not gamebreaking.
- Lack of bonuses.
- Low replay value.
