Asura’s Wrath Review: Asian mythology at its best

Video game developed by CyberConnect2 with Capcom, which have released an action game inspired by Asian mythology but from a perspective of science fiction.

Trophies

There are 34 Bronze Trophies, 7 Silver Trophies, 3 Gold Trophies, and 1 Platinum Trophy.
A Cry of Anger (Bronze) – Activate Burst 50 times.
A Roar of Fury (Bronze) – Activate Burst 100 times.
Anger Management (Bronze) – Activate Burst for the first time in Episode 1.
Art Appreciator (Bronze) – Get all the illustrations.
Be the Fist (Bronze) – Achieve an overall synchronic rate average of 80% on any difficulty.
Can’t Touch That (Bronze) – Perform 100 counterattacks.
Can’t Touch This (Bronze) – Perform 50 counterattacks.
CG Collector (Bronze) – Get all the CG art.
Deity (Gold) – Complete all episodes with an S rank on Hard.
Demigod (Silver) – Complete all episodes with at least an A rank on Normal.
Denied (Bronze) – Get scolded by your former master in Episode 10.
Enlightenment (Platinum) – Acquire all ASURA’S WRATH trophies.
Fighter (Silver) – Complete all episodes on Normal or higher.
Guardian General (Silver) – Complete all episodes with at least an A rank on Hard.
Heads Will Roll (Bronze) – Completely lose it in Episode 12.
Hit’Em Hard (Bronze) – Defeat 100 enemies with a special attack.
Hit’Em Harder (Bronze) – Defeat 300 enemies with a special attack.
It Takes Two (Silver) – Defeat Deus with Yasha in Episode 17.
Ka-ching! (Silver) – Accumulate a total of 120000 Battle points.
Karma (Bronze) – Complete Part III: Karma.
Lightning Reflexes (Bronze) – Achieve 150 EXCELLENT synchronic impact rankings.
Like a Fish (Bronze) – Consume more alcohol than you should.
Look Ma, No Eyes! (Silver) – Complete the game with the Blind Master gauge equipped.
Mortal (Bronze) – Achieve a D rank or higher on any episode.
Movie Buff (Bronze) – Get all the movies and interludes.
Pain Is Universal (Bronze) – Accumulate a total of 10000 in damage.
Quick on the Draw (Bronze) – Achieve 70 EXCELLENT synchronic impact rankings.
Rebel with a Cause (Bronze) – Do what you think is right in Episode 13.
Rebirth () – Complete Part II: Rebirth.
Shinkoku Soldier (Silver) – Complete all episodes with an S rank on Normal.
Shut Up, Augus! (Bronze) – Interrupt Augus’ monologue.
Shut Up, Kalrow! (Bronze) – Interrupt Kalrow’s monologue.
Shut Up, Wyzen! (Bronze) – Interrupt Wyzen’s monologue.
Sometimes I Feel Like… (Bronze) – Find all the peeping Doji at the hot spring.
Suffering (Bronze) – Complete Part I: Suffering.
Taking Out the Trash (Bronze) – Defeat 300 enemies with heavy attacks and/or lock-on fire.
The Six-Armed Man (Bronze) – Grow a few extra limbs in Episode 5.
The Truth Hurts (Bronze) – Uncover the truth.
The Whole Nine (Bronze) – Get all the gauges.
They Don’t Stand a Chance (Bronze) – Defeat 50 enemies while in Unlimited Mode.
Too Legit to Quit (Bronze) – Continue the game after falling in battle.
Unstoppable Force (Bronze) – Defeat 100 enemies while in Unlimited Mode.
View of the Valley (Bronze) – Continue to stare at the hot spring attendant’s assets.
Warrior (Gold) – Complete all episodes on Hard.
Who Needs Health? (Gold) – Complete the game with the Mortal gauge equipped.

Achievements: Episode Pack: Part IV DLC

A Friend in Need (15) – Protect your brother-in-law in Episode 20.
Blaze of Glory (15) – Put an end to your wrath once and for all.
Daddy’s Angry (15) – Defy the supreme being in Episode 19.
Gaea’s Champion (90) – Complete all episodes in Part IV with an S rank on Hard.
How Do Ya Like Me Now? (15) – Receive a parting gift in Episode 21.
Nirvana (15) – Complete Part IV: Nirvana.
Main Game

Complete each achievement to get the allotted gamerscore. The numbers between the () is the points given for each achievement.
A Cry of Anger (15) – Activate Burst a certain number of times.
A Roar of Fury (20) – Activate Burst a certain number of times.
Hit’Em Hard (15) – Defeat a certain number of enemies with a special attack.
Hit’Em Harder (20) – Defeat a certain number of enemies with a special attack.
Can’t Touch This (15) – Perform a certain number of counterattacks.
Can’t Touch That (20) – Perform a certain number of counterattacks.
They Don’t Stand a Chance (15) – Defeat a certain number of enemies while in Unlimited Mode.
Unstoppable Force (20) – Defeat a certain number of enemies while in Unlimited Mode.
Taking Out the Trash (15) – Defeat a certain number of enemies with heavy attacks, lock-on fire, or both.
Quick on the Draw (15) – Achieve a certain number of EXCELLENT synchronic impact rankings.
Lightning Reflexes (20) – Achieve a certain number of EXCELLENT synchronic impact rankings.
Be the Fist (20) – Achieve a certain percentage for your overall synchronic rate average.
Pain Is Universal (15) – Prove that you can take a beating.
Too Legit to Quit (15) – If at first you don’t succeed…
Look Ma, No Eyes! (30) – Complete all episodes with a certain gauge equipped.
Who Needs Health? (90) – Complete all episodes with a certain gauge equipped.
Ka-ching! (30) – Accumulate a certain number of battle points.
View of the Valley (15) – Give in to your male instincts.
Like a Fish (15) – Knock back a few bottles.
Sometimes I Feel Like… (15) – Find all the peeping toms at the hot spring.
Shut Up, Wyzen! (15) – Interrupt the fat one’s monologue.
Shut Up, Kalrow! (15) – Interrupt the old one’s monologue.
Shut Up, Augus! (15) – Interrupt your former master’s monologue.
Secret Achievements

Enlightenment (0) – Unlock all ASURA’S WRATH achievements.
Suffering (10) – Complete Part I: Suffering.
Rebirth (10) – Complete Part II: Rebirth.
Karma (10) – Complete Part III: Karma.
The Truth Hurts (10) – Uncover the truth.
Fighter (30) – Complete all episodes on Normal or higher.
Warrior (90) – Complete all episodes on Hard.
Demigod (30) – Complete all episodes with at least an A rank on Normal.
Shinkoku Soldier (30) – Complete all episodes with an S rank on Normal.
Guardian General (30) – Complete all episodes with at least an A rank on Hard.
Deity (90) – Complete all episodes with an S rank on Hard.
Mortal (15) – Achieve a D rank or higher on any episode.
Anger Management (15) – Activate Burst for the first time in Episode 1.
The Six-Armed Man (15) – Grow a few extra limbs in Episode 5.
Heads Will Roll (15) – Completely lose it in Episode 12.
Rebel with a Cause (15) – Do what you think is right in Episode 13.
Denied (15) – Get scolded by your former master in Episode 10.
It Takes Two (30) – Defeat Deus with Yasha in Episode 17.
CG Collector (15) – Get all the CG art.
Art Appreciator (15) – Get all the illustrations.
Movie Buff (15) – Get all the movies and interludes.
The Whole Nine (15) – Get all the gauges.

Asura’s Wrath Cheats

Unlockables
True Episode 18

True Episode 18 S rank 5 episodes or complete 50 episodes after beating the game

Asura’s Wrath is an action game for both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game received overly moderate reviews, but I think it should have gotten higher scores. If you played it, you have probably seen the credits appear in the beginning of every chapter which is clearly a downside. This is so only to strengthen the episodic feel of the game. I like it that every episode has an opening narrated about what happened in the previous chapter. This allows great save points between the chapters without being completely oblivious what is going on if you didn’t play for a long time. another thing I like is the short length of the episodes. The fact they are short with the great save points allows you to pick it up for an hour do something and go back to it. For busy people with not much downtime, this is purely awesome.

I believe this “Interactive Anime”, is divided into chapters with integrated mechanics into the story to fit the most, is the future of casual games. Especially, if done in triple A standards like Asura’s Wrath.

There is also a rating for each chapter. If you gained ranks in 5 chapters or completed 50 chapters (there are 18 chapters on 3 difficulties without the 2 extra DLC chapters before the true ending) you unlock the true ending. I always thought this is a cheap stunt by Japanese games like in Agarest to make you play more, but here, it is just phenomenal. This particular game has only the difficulties and ranking as replay value. Even so, the true ending is just worth it. All the loose ends from the normal ending are tied, and leave a great opening for the new DLC coming out with 4 new episodes.

There is a lot of crap going around about Mass Effect 3′s extended cut DLC as ripping off the buyers. Here, again it is not true. This DLC is so big compared to the normal game’s playability, it can be considered as a small expansion pack.

The first 2 DLCs are episodes in between episodes. They are both done in anime style and only have quick-time events. The first, episode 11.5, is being drawn very weirdly with un-matching color schemes for Asura. I didn’t like it, but it does give a sense of power because Asura is just a badass in that DLC. The second, Episode 15.5, had been drawn and voiced well. It is also much tensed and really keeps your face in front the screen even though you know what’s going to happen.

 

The third DLC, Nirvana, is the continuation of the true ending. I don’t want to give any spoilers to ruin the fun, but it is worth the cost. Very, very much it does. This time it continues in the same manner as the main game.

The comparison to God of War series seems inevitable. God of War series were games all about gore and violence. Asura’s Wrath is more refined than that. Though God of War combat and combo mechanics are superior, the quick time events in Asura’s Wrath are better and far more cinematic, as in Heavy Rain. The God of War bosses tend to be different from one another while here they have more similarities between themselves. The bosses in Asura’s Wrath carry far more emotions than the “hey, this is Greek myth” bosses in God of War series.

Though the game may be an action game, it combines a lot of elements from several action subgenres. The game has fighting encounters, shooting galleries and quick-time events, and they are oftentimes combined into one, unique experience. It has extremely fun bosses which are clearly driven from platformers like Mega Man (I miss you Blue Bomber). The coolest feature is the bursts. If you successfully gathered enough rage before your health is nullified, BAM! Asura explodes on his opposition in spectacular animations.

The problem with the game is, with all the different possible encounters and the heavy focus on the storytelling. About half of the playtime is interactive. About a third is the actual fighting. While in a game of a focus type, excluding some novelty missions, you are building confidence in a single type of interaction. Here, you have fights after dialogue and shooting missions and quick-time events.

Even without many characters and locations, with few very epic events, the storyline of Asura’s Wrath is magnificent. It is not complicated, but shows the progress of the characters and the world over time.

Nonetheless, the story seems shallow concerning the characters personality, mostly all being one-track characters.

For me, the scenery is the best part of the game. As a fan of Stargate, seeing a game based on the Ancient Astronaut Theory of the Hindu Mythology and aspects of other oriental mythologies, made it so fantastic. To bring back magic and science as one, and when I say science I mean space ships and astral cities and when I say magic I mean using prayers of mortal kind channeled through a priestess to enhance the power of the gods. I really liked the fact they used terms from the Hindu mythology and I had to look it up to see what they meant.

The music and the voice casting are amazing. I didn’t like Yasha’s theme which appears every time he is there, but most other tracks in combat are good.

I didn’t like the names given to most characters. I mean Sergei and Olga to Hindu gods? Really?! Even so, Dragon Ball has proven it is hardly matter how you name your characters.

Overall, the game is very worth playing. It’s new. It’s experimental with every aspect. And if it’s not your style, you can finish it quickly on the easy difficulty and enjoy a good story. The true ending is the icing on the cake. Especially, if taken all the way to the new DLC.