The moment I first watched a trailer for it, I uttered the words: I want that. From the awesome Street Fighter 4 ink like look to the over the top sci-fi Hinduism themes, I knew this was a game I would enjoy, I needed this. It wasn't until it came out that I had my reservations. It soon became apparent that the game play style wasn't just some beat'em up game, but more of an interactive anime, you can't help but be worried. Because of this I did not buy the game until recently. Is a game worth it's money if it's more cut-scene than game play. Many will probably say no, and part of me wants to agree. Yet this game, or interactive anime, highlights one of my favorite and most intense experiences of the year. The game is the controversial Asura's Wrath, and IT...WAS... AWESOME.
Asura's Wrath was developed by CyberConnect2 (CC2), known for such titles as Tail Concerto, Solatorobo, and the .Hack series and was published by Capcom. If anyone knows CC2, they will know that they have always been one that seemed to enjoy the medium of anime. And it became apparent that this game is really a love letter to this medium as well as it's various fans. Levels are divided into “episodes”, with literal inserts between 15 min of cutscene and action, and is, or at least for most of the time, topped off with a preview of the next episode. Most episodes round off at 30 mins, but some are a bit longer/shorter depending on how the duration of a battle and your skills. In the basic package, there are 18 episodes. That's right, I said basic package, but lets save that for last, as I want to talk about the game itself. there are three difficulties; easy, medium, and hard. I played medium difficulty which I found to be easy most of the time, but there were spikes in the difficult, but nothing too bad.
Asura's Wrath's story actually follows the old shonen battle anime (DBZ, YuYu Hakusho, Fist of the Northstar, etc.) convention pretty well, if your familiar with the genera then you should probably be able to guess how things go. You are Asura, one of the great guardian generals of the emperor fighting an evil presence called the Gohma, who are literally the essence of evil in animal like form. Things seem well for Asura, who has a beautiful wife and daughter. Then one day, he is accused of killing the emperor and cast off to die, with his wife killed and daughter (who has mystic abilities) kidnapped and used for personal gain. character wise: you have your common rival who only wants best but has a different way of getting there, a bad-ass main villian who is seemingly overpowered in every way, a lunatic pretty-boy obsessed with beauty and death, maniacal old man, your a-typical woman character (this needs to stop) that is overly obsessed with the main villian, a master who taught you everything and only wants to fight, and your fat and simple minded easy first target. OK, so no marks for originality at first glance but that's not to say that a few of the characters are quite enjoyable, even lovable (Augus, I'm looking at you). Thankfully it's the presentation that makes the plot something extraordinary. As the title implies, Asura is one angry guy. And he want's revenge. It's through this motif alone that CC2 makes the story delightful. Everything is over the top in Asura's Wrath, the first scene has you jumping through space destroying space nautilus and at one point Asura fights his rival with just his feet and his head and face, you will even destroy whole segments of the moon and earth a few times here and there.
Asura can do everything with his rage, and he literally knows no bounds as he slams his fist, face, and feet into everything. The presentation is griping, and had me at the edge of my chair more than once, and I'm being literal, as a friend pointed out that I was about to land on the floor in a mere few seconds if he didn't say something. That grip will also bring you an emotional aspect, as this game is not really the happy go lucky type, even if it's predictable. The world that it creates also makes for an exciting time. Loosely based on the Hinduism belief system with a heavy dose of sci-fi, there is more than a handful of times that the world itself will make you drop your jaw, or throw you for a loop. Also along for the ride is a stunning soundtrack and really decent voice work. And if you really dislike English dubs (as many anime enthusiasts do), the game includes Japanese with English subs as an option. Sure the basic plot can be considered a used towel, but the use of the anger motif and it's over all Presentation is how CC2 makes the game truly shine.
Now for the gameplay. As stated before this game is more interactive than full on game. In fact, the game plays like the interactive sentai (kamen rider, power rangers, etc.) games of old, where there are cut scenes and QTE for the bulk of the game. These games were more popular in japan than in america, hence why most of us are unaware that Asura's Wrath isn't fully a new concept for a game. What makes the game more entertaining is that the game adds beat'em up and on-rail shooter segments as well. A good portion of the game is cut scene with QTE. The later two aspects of the game do happen often and are equally represented in the game, but The QTE segments are the most common. And thankfully for those who aren't huge on QTE, they never make it too annoying with the QTE, and it's not the most punishing thing if you miss a button, at least it's nothing like RE4's QTE cut scenes (“shutter”). The game switches between these three game types on a whim and very seamlessly, so it's not always obvious what you will be doing next. There is a goal to the levels. There are two bars (three technically) above the action. The top one is Asura's health, if this goes out, it's game over. The second bar is the burst gauge, and is how you progress the games story. It fills up as you do actions in the game, from counters, to simply attacking, even getting hit will make go up a bit. When this bar fills up you can press the R2 button to gain either the final blow (with more QTE) or it just leads to the next segment of the battle. The final gauge is the unlimited gauge, and this gives you a power-up mode for a limited time until you can fill the gauge again. And this is how the game plays. You can unlock different types of gauges that will have an added effect in the game from stronger defense to a faster build of the burst gauge.
Now, I mentioned “base game” earlier, and If you are familiar with the many dealings of Capcom, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise. The last 4 episodes are DLC (thankfully sold together in one pack). Yes, we all know that it's a horrible practice, but hear me out, the DLC is 100% worth it. If they had left out these 4 (which was said to be left out due to disk space if you want to believe this or not) the experience of Asura's Wrath would feel very empty. So if you get this game, and you are enjoying the game after a test of a few episodes, I implore you to at least get the Part IV DLC, it's worth it, really it is. Other DLC are not needed but are actually recommended. Two are side story segments that take place between two of the episodes (respectively for both) that are beautifully animated by Studio 4°C. The other two DLC are non-Cannon mash up's of Asura vs. Ryu and Asura Vs. Akuma. If your a Street Fighter fan, you will love these, and lets face it, if you already took the time to beat the game and it's Part IV DLC, your probably clamoring for more Asura at this point anyways. At least I know I was.
Would I recommended this for everyone? Probably not. Did I love the game, the answer is, without one doubt in my mind, a yes. Really this game is for those who love Anime, can't get enough of over the top action, can be open minded and flexible about certain things, can follow a slightly convoluted story (as with all anime), and really doesn't mind that what they are really buying is an Anime box-set with some interactive touches. Forget that Capcom marketed this game towards an audience that is into hack and slash style games, because that's not the game CC2 made, and it never will be. Sure it's not all cut scene, as it has it's fair share of pure action game play, but it certainly isn't like most games we are used to. So if your willing to try something different, please give this game your support. If your anything like me, you will start playing and never look back.
P.S. To the Gamestop employee that dissuaded me from buying this game, I'm sorry it wasn't your type of game, but maybe give it one more chance.
