That, after all, is the whole point of such games: interesting decisions fostered by the rules of the system, with a level design progression to match the player’s ever-increasing skill. In other games in these genres, you can obtain familiarity with those mechanics over a period of time via good level design. These segments make up the majority of the “in-game” play moments you’ll experience in Asura’s Wrath, and while both seem interesting, they lack a certain refinement and depth that even appears in CyberConnect2’s other releases. When I did encounter a problem with the game, it derived from its game modes of choices: both stylish action brawler, and Panzer Dragoon/Star Fox copycat. Again, these fit with the intentions of the developer, so I don’t have a big problem with the game. I know quite a few game with long cutscenes (*cough* Final Fantasy *cough*) which give zero interactivity during long segments – at least CyberConnect2 keeps you engaged, especially when you need to jam on the circle/B button to ensure you don’t suddenly die. CyberConnect2 made this choice consciously to supplement the goal of making a video game anime, so it’s hard to fault them for this heck, there’s even fake commercial breaks, divisions of levels into “episodes”, and previews of NEXT TIME ON ASURA’S WRATH emblazoned on the screen.įurther, a lot of the button presses really don’t matter for your progress, aside from getting a good mission score, but they simply highlight the action happening in a cutscene. The cutscenes progress much like a typical anime show, in that lots of people talk before action happens. Yes, both these things remain true when you play the game. Note that I am not going to criticize the game for the cutscenes being “too long”, or the quicktime events “not actual mattering” in a number of instances. There are several levels where this fails, and we will examine them in turn. While it certainly tries its hardest to present a visually, emotionally, and mechanically satisfying experience, the failure of this last facet of game design seems, to my mind, too much to ignore. For those of you who stick around, or for those of you who actually played the game already, you knew this part was coming! Asura’s Wrath, as a game, fails in nearly every respect.