An upcoming turn-based JRPG developed by Artisan Studio, Astria Ascending promises players a mature and epic story with hand-drawn 2D visuals in 4K resolution. The single-player adventure will return players to the land of Orcanon, a name that might be familiar to JRPG fans, and for good reason.
In 2015, an RPG by the name of Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey was released for iOS mobile devices. Developed by Kobojo and boasting a team with two of the game industry’s heavy hitters — Kazushige Nojima, writer for multiple Final Fantasy titles and Kingdom Hearts, and Hitoshi Sakimoto, who has composed music for a number of JRPGs including Final Fantasy 12 and Vagrant Story — the game seemed destined for greatness.
Unfortunately, that was not the case, as Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey generally tanked in reviews by both critics and players, so much so that the promised PS4 and PS Vita versions never saw the light of day. Enter Astria Ascending, which revives the world of Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey, complete with the return of Sakimoto and Nojima to helm the game’s musical score and story.
Though developed by an entirely different studio, Astria Ascending also shares a very similar aesthetic to that of its progenitor, but the story diverges greatly. Players take command of a party of eight customizable characters known as the Demigods, a motley crew of fighters battling to save the land of Orcanon from disharmony. Gamers will have 20 classes of fantastical races to choose from, each with unique abilities and strengths.
Announced on March 26 during the ID@Xbox showcase, Astria Ascending will feature over 50 hours of gameplay, more than 20 dungeons, and a range of minigames that include environmental puzzles and a fantasy-themed card game. During the game, players will visit five cities populated by over 200 different monsters, and they can collect a variety of legendary beasts to summon for assistance in combat. Astria Ascending will feature full voice acting in both Japanese and English, and will also provide text localization in French, German, Spanish, and Chinese.
For those interested in other games on which Nojima and Sakimoto have collaborated, another of their projects, a JRPG called Project Babel, was announced to be in development in November 2018. With a completely different art style and story from Astria Ascending, the game will be released on mobile platforms at an as-yet undisclosed date and will follow the story of Rei and Mireiya in a world dominated by a mysterious tower.
Astria Ascending will be released in 2021 on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Official Site