Kamina
Golden Boy
Replay File 1 from the PC
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EverythingsOverrated
Member
Finished file 11 last night and started to go through the cases in file 12. Overall, a damn good game that could have one of the greatest sequels ever.
The story really didn't go anywhere. The shitty part about that is I was feeling the story and the world building up until the last couple files. When it came time to cash in the story elements they were setting up it turned into uninteresting tropey kind of stuff.
The cookie cutter structure of the pretty much all the files (show up to area, do investigation, get to fighting) became tiring towards the end. The investigations never really felt like they reached their potential either. After the first two (the collapsing freeway and the drone that got shot) I was like, ok this is cool, but they never really did much more with them, and actually got less interesting the further things went.
Having said that, I loved the setting, visual style, music, and most importantly, the combat. Once I started getting the hang of all the unique abilities with the legions I started strategically setting their X and Y attacks to things that would pair well when I switch to the next legion. Good stuff. The initial sales look pretty good, so hopefully we get a follow up that can realize the franchises potential.
The story really didn't go anywhere. The shitty part about that is I was feeling the story and the world building up until the last couple files. When it came time to cash in the story elements they were setting up it turned into uninteresting tropey kind of stuff.
The cookie cutter structure of the pretty much all the files (show up to area, do investigation, get to fighting) became tiring towards the end. The investigations never really felt like they reached their potential either. After the first two (the collapsing freeway and the drone that got shot) I was like, ok this is cool, but they never really did much more with them, and actually got less interesting the further things went.
Having said that, I loved the setting, visual style, music, and most importantly, the combat. Once I started getting the hang of all the unique abilities with the legions I started strategically setting their X and Y attacks to things that would pair well when I switch to the next legion. Good stuff. The initial sales look pretty good, so hopefully we get a follow up that can realize the franchises potential.
zenspider
Member
HOW!? I didn't see an option.
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TwiztidElf
Member
Options on the title screen.
I did it as soon as I could - I think you have to finish the first file?
I did it as soon as I could - I think you have to finish the first file?
Mista
Banned
Finish the first file, save and return to the title menu. From there you can do it
TheDuskwalker
Member
Replay prologue or title options.
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Rock And Roll
Member
Just picked this up the other day and finished the first two missions. It's a good game but not my thing unfortunately. It just feels like there's way too much going on with the combat for my tiny brain to comprehend. Also, the post by
EverythingsOverrated
makes me think I'll get bored of it near the end. It's a really unique concept with the investigations and then doing the fighting but I'm struggling to enjoy this. Not the biggest fan of cutscene either and this game has a lot of them.
EverythingsOverrated
makes me think I'll get bored of it near the end. It's a really unique concept with the investigations and then doing the fighting but I'm struggling to enjoy this. Not the biggest fan of cutscene either and this game has a lot of them.
EverythingsOverrated
Member
Just picked this up the other day and finished the first two missions. It's a good game but not my thing unfortunately. It just feels like there's way too much going on with the combat for my tiny brain to comprehend. Also, the post by
I didn't really "get" the combat until 4 or 5 chapters in and from there trying different combinations was enough for me to keep playing - when you get the hang of it it's really great stuff.
As for the cut scenes, there's definitely a lot more up front, but ya, there is still quite a bit of dialog. If it doesn't click after a few more missions, it might just not be your jam, which is completely understandable - this is a weird ass game.
Mohonky
Member
Just picked this up the other day and finished the first two missions. It's a good game but not my thing unfortunately. It just feels like there's way too much going on with the combat for my tiny brain to comprehend. Also, the post by
I have this problem with all Platinum games, it's like ok I'm getting through the game, but I don't feel like I am really getting the most out of the combat system. Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta was the same for me, I actually had to buy Bayonetta twice; I never really enjoyed it on X360, but when I bought the double pack for Wii U I looked up videos on how to really understand the combat and absolutely loved it.
Wonderful 101 was the same, it took me watching Saurs video guides on youtube to really get it and then I was amazed, loved that game to death, but when I went back later and had forgotten how it all works I had that same frustration; I love the game but felt like I wasn't getting the most of it.
Same story with Astral Chain; absolutely loving it but definitely having some frustrations trying to get the most out of the combat system which is made all the more frustrating when watching people on youtube.
This is one of the reasons I always loved the Itagaki Ninja Gaidens; it has a very finely tuned attack / block / counter system that requires you to be pick your moments where Kamiya games are more about relentless attacking combos with dodge offsets that just don't come to me quite as intuitively.
Anyone know of any good youtube guides / tutorials with more expanded explanations on how to approach combat?
zenspider
Member
For everyone who it's not clicking for, it's a loooong unobvious tutorial phase for all the spectacle upfront. I was pretty 'meh' until after File 03 (roughly 5 hours) and now I'm enraptured.
Stick with the default mapping too... it makes sense why after you progress a while.
I'm still fighting my Bayonetta muscle memory and timing (and switch around contol schemes didn't help) but when it clicks it's a beautiful expansion on the ideas in W101.
Just got
and I'm just super impressed with the whole package here. Astral Chain is something very special.
Stick with the default mapping too... it makes sense why after you progress a while.
I'm still fighting my Bayonetta muscle memory and timing (and switch around contol schemes didn't help) but when it clicks it's a beautiful expansion on the ideas in W101.
Just got
the Arm Legion
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Labolas
Member
Alright, so thoughts:
I think the game's great, feels fantastic to play while fighting enemies, has some of the best music I've heard this year. At one point the game was pretty slow at the start then it was firing on all cylinders. The 90's anime aesthetic is my jam. You got Jojo, you got Bubblegum Crisis, you got Eva. The Eva references were so strong someone at Platinum has to be a fan. Speaking of Platinum, this game feels like a sum of their previous games and something different at the same time. Putting your main attack buttons as the shoulder buttons were something I was getting used to, part of the reason why I can't get into the Soul games. But it was easy once I got comfortable with it. The controls in combat are fun and can do cool things (ie jumping off your legion's back and you would do a downward slash.). Back to the references and callbacks, so many of them. There's a callback of getting to Bayo 1's alfheims. There's stuff from MGR, Bayo, Transformers Devastation(this game is awesome damn it), Nier: A, Wonderful 101 in the gameplay. This probably has the best introduction to the protagonist I've seen in a game and felt like something out of an anime. Speaking of the alfheims, the hidden ones have new bosses which I find to be awesome. My favorite one probably has to be Agni and Rudra boss you fight on the rooftop with it raining.
But outside of combat is where most of my issues reside and mind that I was trying to getting S+ for all files in the game so far. I'm not the biggest fan of platforming in action games. I hated it in DMC4 and I didn't care for it here too much. It isn't THAT bad in fact you look cool doing it but does grate on you after a while especially in combat. The little early side quests that do you do weren't bad and were fine to get graded on because either you get all of the answers correct and get S+ or get didn't. Plus, most of the noncombat red cases made sense to why you were doing them and getting graded. Then you come to file 8 and holy shit I started to hate them. The Lappy game wasn't that bad but boy I did get mixed up on the controls, admittedly it was more of a me thing. But the carrying the boxes minigame was worst of them probably because it was a mundane task that required no skill or thought and was based on you balancing boxes using the gyro controls. And for whatever reason, the controller would freak out go one way. Or chase the graffiti artists because that's fun.
Okay, I do one or two grievances with the combat, the camera can get really bad in places where you can't see the prompt to finish an enemy off or in my case can't see Noah Prime throw out a one-hit kill behind you. Also fighting floating enemies in the astral plane is kinda annoying because you end up falling in the process.
Beyond all of that, I still think that the game is pretty awesome and is fun. And getting pure platinum isn't anywhere hard as Bayo 1 on a first run so anyone looking for an easy Platinum game I would say this is it. Again Platinum put out what I believe to be the soundtrack of the year and the Switch's best game this year.
9/10
Forgot to say I went with a guy because I want the female twin to get the characterization.
My run of the game:
I think the game's great, feels fantastic to play while fighting enemies, has some of the best music I've heard this year. At one point the game was pretty slow at the start then it was firing on all cylinders. The 90's anime aesthetic is my jam. You got Jojo, you got Bubblegum Crisis, you got Eva. The Eva references were so strong someone at Platinum has to be a fan. Speaking of Platinum, this game feels like a sum of their previous games and something different at the same time. Putting your main attack buttons as the shoulder buttons were something I was getting used to, part of the reason why I can't get into the Soul games. But it was easy once I got comfortable with it. The controls in combat are fun and can do cool things (ie jumping off your legion's back and you would do a downward slash.). Back to the references and callbacks, so many of them. There's a callback of getting to Bayo 1's alfheims. There's stuff from MGR, Bayo, Transformers Devastation(this game is awesome damn it), Nier: A, Wonderful 101 in the gameplay. This probably has the best introduction to the protagonist I've seen in a game and felt like something out of an anime. Speaking of the alfheims, the hidden ones have new bosses which I find to be awesome. My favorite one probably has to be Agni and Rudra boss you fight on the rooftop with it raining.
But outside of combat is where most of my issues reside and mind that I was trying to getting S+ for all files in the game so far. I'm not the biggest fan of platforming in action games. I hated it in DMC4 and I didn't care for it here too much. It isn't THAT bad in fact you look cool doing it but does grate on you after a while especially in combat. The little early side quests that do you do weren't bad and were fine to get graded on because either you get all of the answers correct and get S+ or get didn't. Plus, most of the noncombat red cases made sense to why you were doing them and getting graded. Then you come to file 8 and holy shit I started to hate them. The Lappy game wasn't that bad but boy I did get mixed up on the controls, admittedly it was more of a me thing. But the carrying the boxes minigame was worst of them probably because it was a mundane task that required no skill or thought and was based on you balancing boxes using the gyro controls. And for whatever reason, the controller would freak out go one way. Or chase the graffiti artists because that's fun.
Okay, I do one or two grievances with the combat, the camera can get really bad in places where you can't see the prompt to finish an enemy off or in my case can't see Noah Prime throw out a one-hit kill behind you. Also fighting floating enemies in the astral plane is kinda annoying because you end up falling in the process.
Beyond all of that, I still think that the game is pretty awesome and is fun. And getting pure platinum isn't anywhere hard as Bayo 1 on a first run so anyone looking for an easy Platinum game I would say this is it. Again Platinum put out what I believe to be the soundtrack of the year and the Switch's best game this year.
9/10
Forgot to say I went with a guy because I want the female twin to get the characterization.
My run of the game:
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Mista
Banned
ASTRAL CHAIN Devblog: Visual Effects, Platinum Style | PlatinumGames Official Blog
Hello, everyone. I’m Takuo Yamamoto, visual effects artist for ASTRAL CHAIN… and admittedly one of very few ol […]
www.platinumgames.com
Fbh
Gold Member
Finally Started this.
Have only played the first 2 "cases" but so far I'm really liking it. I like the visual style and while the combat system took a while to click, I'm starting to like it more and more as I keep playing. I'm also really liking the level design, I like that there's a lot of "hidden" or optional chests and optional battles so it pays to always keep an eye out for side paths or places to jump to with your Legion.
My only gripe so far is the ranking system, it seems to favor speed above everything which I'm not a fan of. I finish a fight really trying to avoid taking damage and use a variety of moves and get a C or D ranking. I do the next one just attacking like crazy, to the point I feel like I'm just button mashing at times, while using a bunch of healing items....S+
Have only played the first 2 "cases" but so far I'm really liking it. I like the visual style and while the combat system took a while to click, I'm starting to like it more and more as I keep playing. I'm also really liking the level design, I like that there's a lot of "hidden" or optional chests and optional battles so it pays to always keep an eye out for side paths or places to jump to with your Legion.
My only gripe so far is the ranking system, it seems to favor speed above everything which I'm not a fan of. I finish a fight really trying to avoid taking damage and use a variety of moves and get a C or D ranking. I do the next one just attacking like crazy, to the point I feel like I'm just button mashing at times, while using a bunch of healing items....S+
Fbh
Gold Member
I'll keep that in mind. Though I still think time seems way too important. At least in all the S+ rankings I've gotten so far time has given me by far the most amount of points
Verdanth
Member
Finally finished the game. For me the highlight of the game is the combat system. Absolutely good and fun to play.
Once you get the hang of it, controlling both the main character and legion feels great and works pretty well.
Narrative has some hits and misses, but the ending was a letdown.
Too many cliffhangers / things left unanswered if you ask me. But then again, this is supposed to be a trilogy. Let's see where this goes.
Hope there is a second game, because this combat system is my favourite one coming from Platinum.
Pros:
Combat system is sublime
Game visuals are pretty dope if you like your game's very anime like
Amazing soundtrack
Game's length is good, considering all the content offered
Cons:
Some side cases are kind of simple / repetitive
The bike should be used more, not just in two sections of the game
Narrative is more miss than a hit
Ending is meeh
Mute protagonist
8/10 from me.
Once you get the hang of it, controlling both the main character and legion feels great and works pretty well.
Narrative has some hits and misses, but the ending was a letdown.
Too many cliffhangers / things left unanswered if you ask me. But then again, this is supposed to be a trilogy. Let's see where this goes.
Hope there is a second game, because this combat system is my favourite one coming from Platinum.
Pros:
Combat system is sublime
Game visuals are pretty dope if you like your game's very anime like
Amazing soundtrack
Game's length is good, considering all the content offered
Cons:
Some side cases are kind of simple / repetitive
The bike should be used more, not just in two sections of the game
Narrative is more miss than a hit
Ending is meeh
Mute protagonist
8/10 from me.
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Ulysses 31
Gold Member
TwiztidElf
Member
Fuck this final boss.
mcjmetroid
Member
I love this game.
Graphics are great and honestly on my giant 1080p still one of the best looking Switch games.
I have a few complaints though so far about chapter 6 in.
Too much time in the red chimera zone,
Camera is absolutely wonky in combat no matter what I do. Targetting is almost pointless sometimes and very hard to tell what you're locked into in the heat of the battle.
Otherwise I think it's great, a lot of fun.
Graphics are great and honestly on my giant 1080p still one of the best looking Switch games.
I have a few complaints though so far about chapter 6 in.
Too much time in the red chimera zone,
Camera is absolutely wonky in combat no matter what I do. Targetting is almost pointless sometimes and very hard to tell what you're locked into in the heat of the battle.
Otherwise I think it's great, a lot of fun.
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
The Beast Legion is your best friend in this fight and make use of perfect call with Arrow Legion.
EverythingsOverrated
Member
Yup, mounting the beast legion and running around when the last boss is shooting all those orbs and shit is huge
Overall, the last boss was pretty meh. The first time I fought him he glitched out and just stood there, occasionally teleporting. It was actually pretty hilarious, but ya I definitely was expecting more
zenspider
Member
I'm in file 8 getting knocked about on platforms and had to take a break. It's a shame because the tethered platforming is pretty fun, but it's too finicky in the clutch, or when you're under attack.Alright, so thoughts:
I think the game's great, feels fantastic to play while fighting enemies, has some of the best music I've heard this year. At one point the game was pretty slow at the start then it was firing on all cylinders. The 90's anime aesthetic is my jam. You got Jojo, you got Bubblegum Crisis, you got Eva. The Eva references were so strong someone at Platinum has to be a fan. Speaking of Platinum, this game feels like a sum of their previous games and something different at the same time. Putting your main attack buttons as the shoulder buttons were something I was getting used to, part of the reason why I can't get into the Soul games. But it was easy once I got comfortable with it. The controls in combat are fun and can do cool things (ie jumping off your legion's back and you would do a downward slash.). Back to the references and callbacks, so many of them. There's a callback of getting to Bayo 1's alfheims. There's stuff from MGR, Bayo, Transformers Devastation(this game is awesome damn it), Nier: A, Wonderful 101 in the gameplay. This probably has the best introduction to the protagonist I've seen in a game and felt like something out of an anime. Speaking of the alfheims, the hidden ones have new bosses which I find to be awesome. My favorite one probably has to be Agni and Rudra boss you fight on the rooftop with it raining.
But outside of combat is where most of my issues reside and mind that I was trying to getting S+ for all files in the game so far. I'm not the biggest fan of platforming in action games. I hated it in DMC4 and I didn't care for it here too much. It isn't THAT bad in fact you look cool doing it but does grate on you after a while especially in combat. The little early side quests that do you do weren't bad and were fine to get graded on because either you get all of the answers correct and get S+ or get didn't. Plus, most of the noncombat red cases made sense to why you were doing them and getting graded. Then you come to file 8 and holy shit I started to hate them. The Lappy game wasn't that bad but boy I did get mixed up on the controls, admittedly it was more of a me thing. But the carrying the boxes minigame was worst of them probably because it was a mundane task that required no skill or thought and was based on you balancing boxes using the gyro controls. And for whatever reason, the controller would freak out go one way. Or chase the graffiti artists because that's fun.
Okay, I do one or two grievances with the combat, the camera can get really bad in places where you can't see the prompt to finish an enemy off or in my case can't see Noah Prime throw out a one-hit kill behind you. Also fighting floating enemies in the astral plane is kinda annoying because you end up falling in the process.
Beyond all of that, I still think that the game is pretty awesome and is fun. And getting pure platinum isn't anywhere hard as Bayo 1 on a first run so anyone looking for an easy Platinum game I would say this is it. Again Platinum put out what I believe to be the soundtrack of the year and the Switch's best game this year.
9/10
Forgot to say I went with a guy because I want the female twin to get the characterization.
My run of the game:
Hopefully a sequel improves on this.
EverythingsOverrated
Member
Is that the part where the homnculus (or whatever it's called) is destroying the platforms? For that part I would just tap the left trigger to send the legion quickly and then get pulled over - not exactly the most elegant solution.
But ya, not the greatest design choice
Mohonky
Member
This was kind of my thought too. Seems a bit unfair, beating the boss with Beast Legion felt a little cheap, but at the same time it didnt seem possible to not use Beast; the boss would just wail on you with consecutive hits that even if you evaded you got smashed with the next one (or hit by the laser beams), parry / perfect call didnt stop the beating and every hit was over half your health gone and you didnt even get time to heal because you were constantly stunned.
Whole boss fight just felt broken really.
That is kind of one thing that annoys me about Kamiya action games tho, things like perfect calls, followed by sync attack just leaves you open to getting annihilated against groups of enemies, especially fast ones. I often find these action games lack a stun or stumble to offensive hits
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
That depends on what perfect call you use, if you use perfect call with Arrow Legion you won’t get hit, this also true with Arm & Axe Legion. Also make use of your Axe Legion abilities like it’s Shield skills. I personally enjoyed the boss fight, I would say some of the post game red cases are much, much harder than the final boss.
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Fbh
Gold Member
I think I'm past the midway point.
Still really liking it but I think for me personally it won't go into my list of favorite Platinum games.
The combat has grown enough on me that I feel comfortable with it and I still think it's really fun. The different legions add a lot of variety and the fights look flashy as hell which is always a bonus. I also agree that this is one of the best looking Switch games, aside from the aliasing the presentation is nice and clean and the animations are great, it's also one of those games that IMO look great in both docked and handheld mode.
I also really like all the police/detective stuff and the small details like getting bonus points for picking up trash (though I wonder how these parts will hold up on a replay)
I think my biggest issue so far is difficulty, it's a shame that there isn't some hard mode unlocked from the start. Fights are extremely easy and are often over quickly, enemies have these badass designs and intros but then you fight them and they hardly present a challenge. I think I'm 3/4 through the game and I haven't died once, nor have I even come close to dying.
It's like the challenge is intended to be to get the best possible ranking, which has always been a thing in Platinum games, but their other games like Bayonetta or the Wonderful 101 did a much better job at also making the fight itself feel more challenging. Even on normal it was like actually beating the fight was the first challenge and THEN you start to think about how to improve your ranking. Here you sort of skip straight ahead to that second part.
And on the more nitpicky side the mute protagonists is just awkward.
Overall still a solid game. So far I'd give it a 8/10 but Platinum games tend to be in the 9+ ranking for me
Still really liking it but I think for me personally it won't go into my list of favorite Platinum games.
The combat has grown enough on me that I feel comfortable with it and I still think it's really fun. The different legions add a lot of variety and the fights look flashy as hell which is always a bonus. I also agree that this is one of the best looking Switch games, aside from the aliasing the presentation is nice and clean and the animations are great, it's also one of those games that IMO look great in both docked and handheld mode.
I also really like all the police/detective stuff and the small details like getting bonus points for picking up trash (though I wonder how these parts will hold up on a replay)
I think my biggest issue so far is difficulty, it's a shame that there isn't some hard mode unlocked from the start. Fights are extremely easy and are often over quickly, enemies have these badass designs and intros but then you fight them and they hardly present a challenge. I think I'm 3/4 through the game and I haven't died once, nor have I even come close to dying.
It's like the challenge is intended to be to get the best possible ranking, which has always been a thing in Platinum games, but their other games like Bayonetta or the Wonderful 101 did a much better job at also making the fight itself feel more challenging. Even on normal it was like actually beating the fight was the first challenge and THEN you start to think about how to improve your ranking. Here you sort of skip straight ahead to that second part.
And on the more nitpicky side the mute protagonists is just awkward.
Overall still a solid game. So far I'd give it a 8/10 but Platinum games tend to be in the 9+ ranking for me
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Mohonky
Member
Yeh Im getting pretty fucked on one of the files in group 1 atm, with the Raven agents.
As soon as you get fast moving enemies around you, I feel like the combat goes to shit because dodge isnt anywhere near as responsive as say, Bayonetta
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
I would say the dodge is pretty responsive, it just you can’t abuse it. In Bayonetta, the dodge is much more generous with its timing because it’s main mechanic, while in Astral Chain you have other options to avoid attacks like Perfect Call and Shield with Axe Legion.
tassletine
Member
Platinum have a serious problem with bloat.
Someone needs to tell them that their combat systems don't need extra garnish. I'm used to Platinum games being overloaded but this is ridiculous. Too many cutscenes, options, sounds, talking, stats, everything, everywhere, all over the place, everywhere, burying the combat. Everywhere!
Pare it down please, it doesn't need this shit. You're a good boy. You done well Platinum. Now stop trying so hard.
They also need to be taken to task for their 'platforming' sections if you can call them that. I've died more in this game by falling off things than anything else. It's scummy.
I had enough of running around boring construction sites in Nioh, and this is starting to become a Platinum trope. Like they are making the inbetween sections deliberately dull to highlight the good bits.
It's a great game when you can get to it. I even like the detective bits, but I get the distinct impression of shit being thrown at a wall. Most of it sticks but it's messy.
Someone needs to tell them that their combat systems don't need extra garnish. I'm used to Platinum games being overloaded but this is ridiculous. Too many cutscenes, options, sounds, talking, stats, everything, everywhere, all over the place, everywhere, burying the combat. Everywhere!
Pare it down please, it doesn't need this shit. You're a good boy. You done well Platinum. Now stop trying so hard.
They also need to be taken to task for their 'platforming' sections if you can call them that. I've died more in this game by falling off things than anything else. It's scummy.
I had enough of running around boring construction sites in Nioh, and this is starting to become a Platinum trope. Like they are making the inbetween sections deliberately dull to highlight the good bits.
It's a great game when you can get to it. I even like the detective bits, but I get the distinct impression of shit being thrown at a wall. Most of it sticks but it's messy.
Fbh
Gold Member
Finished the main story. IMO it was a solid 8.
Most of my impressions remain the same, overall I think it was really enjoyable yet slightly disappointing. Fun gameplay, nice visuals and (at least IMO) surprisingly great level design that made the exploration parts way more enjoyable than I thought they would be.
The detective/police stuff was enjoyable to play through once, though I don't have much desire to replay it. And while the setup of the world and story was interesting, it was disappointing that towards the end it just went with a generic anime ending.
The combat is fun and definitely feels unique which I appreciate. I still think it's a shame that for the most part it's very easy to the point that I don't how you can even die during 99% of the game (during my whole playthrough I died one time ...during the final boss) and I think a harder mode should have been unlocked from the beginning. I also think that at times the action became hard to read when the screen became overwhelmed by flashes, explosions, beams, particles and all sorts of special effects, IMO their previous games like Bayonetta 2 or MGR did a better job at still being over the top but easy to read.
Now I'm playing through the challenges in Chapter 12 and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. After the very structured nature of the rest of the game (Base- Investigation - action) it's nice to be able to focus on just the fights for a while.
Most of my impressions remain the same, overall I think it was really enjoyable yet slightly disappointing. Fun gameplay, nice visuals and (at least IMO) surprisingly great level design that made the exploration parts way more enjoyable than I thought they would be.
The detective/police stuff was enjoyable to play through once, though I don't have much desire to replay it. And while the setup of the world and story was interesting, it was disappointing that towards the end it just went with a generic anime ending.
The combat is fun and definitely feels unique which I appreciate. I still think it's a shame that for the most part it's very easy to the point that I don't how you can even die during 99% of the game (during my whole playthrough I died one time ...during the final boss) and I think a harder mode should have been unlocked from the beginning. I also think that at times the action became hard to read when the screen became overwhelmed by flashes, explosions, beams, particles and all sorts of special effects, IMO their previous games like Bayonetta 2 or MGR did a better job at still being over the top but easy to read.
Now I'm playing through the challenges in Chapter 12 and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. After the very structured nature of the rest of the game (Base- Investigation - action) it's nice to be able to focus on just the fights for a while.
Katsura
Member
I haven't played Bayo 2 but am currently struggling to get through B1 and what i think AC does so much better is you actually use the things you learn for the vast majority of the game. I'm in the chapter 15 in B1 and it's just one gimmicky fight after another or some stupid sequence on a rocket or what ever. The combat is incredible, why am i not allowed to use it more? AC is much better designed in this regard
Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
I've just replayed the first file in Astral Chain to go for 100% and besides getting 100% red matter clean up rating, there's a star and a animal palm symbols there, but for some reason the fact that I adopted a cat and used toilet does not regitster after completing the file in file selection menu. What I did wrong and why the game don't count these things after replaying files?
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Hawks Eclipse
Member
The star represents shining blue stars that you have to shoot with the Arrow Legion (similar to the blue medallions in Resident Evil 5) whilst the paw symbol indicates special digging spots for the Beast Legion.
If you managed to find the hidden toilet in File 1 then those two things are much easier to find in comparison.
Lastly, you don't need to complete the File for them to register; once you have found them you can just quit/load and the scorecard will be updated accordingly.
Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
Hawks Eclipse
thank you.I'm in File 9 now and I don't know how to explain it but.... it's just so easy for me to put this game down and do something else for a while after I've finished a mission. Idk why.... I just don't feel the need or urge to continue playing long sessions (4-5 hours or even more than that) and missions in this game are very long, especially if you'll be exploring a lot to find secrets, completing all quests etc. For example, I could play Gears 5 the whole day back when it came out and I wanted to play more next day cuz I felt the need, the urge, to play more, ya know? But even though I like Astral Chain... I just can't do that with this game for some reason.
Am I the only one with this "problem"? Please tell me that I am not, cuz I want to know why someone else besides me feels the same way and why is that.
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Hawks Eclipse
Member
Agent_4Seven
I can sort of relate. While I've put a lot of time into the game, I never felt the same kind of addiction that occurs with some other games like say, Diablo 2 and 3.
I think in my case it's because the game's combat can be quite mentally taxing and most of the other aspects surrounding the combat (eg. story, pacing, investigations, hunting for hidden items) are not very compelling.
Having said that, the combat is really quite special and much of my time spent in AC was just digging for new combat techniques...in the training room.
I don't remember the progression; if you're in File 9, I think you are still missing the Axe Legion?
Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
For me it's definitely not combat which I really like a lot and I think it's the best Platinum's combat since the first Bayonetta. There's just so much different stuff you can do with your chain and with your legion in combat depending on the situation and behavior of enemies.... Well, to say the least I enjoy every second of the combat in this game. Even terrible camera at times and clunky legion controls on two thumb sticks with ZL button don't hurt the game too much.
I've been thinking about it and maybe it's just the fact that I'm playing the game on my 50'' TV on which it's blurry and my eyes just getting tired after a while. I mean, don't get me wrong, Astral Chain is one of the best looking games on Switch hands down. I really like what they did with the world design in this game, even though I'm not a fan of character art / design (they look like characters from very cheaply made anime - you can even see that on the game's cover art) in this game except armor, legions and other things like that aside (which are looking great). There's a few exceptions of course.
Production values and art is just through the roof here and they even managed to implement some really cool modern stuff like SSR, particle effects etc. Overall level design, amount of objects on screen, attention to detail and view distance is also mind blowing for a Switch game, even though pop-in is present and very noticeable. This is how Platinum's games shoud look like if you're invest a lot of money and Nintendo invested a lot into production of this game and if Astral Chain looks like that on Switch, just imagine how other Platinum's games could look like on PC, PS5 or Project Scarlett.
I mean, when I first got to of the visually busy squares (File-04) with tall buildings, a lot of NPCs, huge advertisement screens, neon signs, neon lights everywhere (which were implemented into almost every piece of tech etc. and don't even get me started on a visual VR / augmented reality-like menus, world stuff like signs that appear on floors, elevators etc.), traffic on the roads etc. my jaw just instantly dropped. It's just unbelievable how good this game looks on a such underpowered console and it clearly shows what developers can really do with the Switch if publishers will invest a lot of money into production of their games. The very first bike chase scene is also looks amazing, but sadly there's not a lot of this stuff in the game. And what aslo amaze me is the fact that performance is really good and very stable - over the course of 30+ hours, I haven't seen a single huge FPS drop, stuttering or other nasty things like that and for a game that looks so good and clearly very demanding it's just unbelievable. I'm like looking at performance of Link's Awakening right now and can't help but ask - WTF happened, Nintendo?
If there's a few things I truly don't like about Astral Chain (which and to be frank don't even hurt the overall experience and enjoyment of playing this game for me), it's artificial roadblocks which appear after you progress further in main mission (you can't go back if you missed something (item, quest etc.,) - it is super dumb, annoying and stupid mission design), very bad and repetetive fetch quests (I hate those quests with boxes and timers with every fiber of my being) very bog-standard, extremely predictable anime story. I shit you not, after 4th or 5th mission (and especially after the mission where you have to go beyond a huge wall into restricted sector of the city), I could predict everything that'll happen next cuz of how cliché, stereotypical and bog-standard story is in this game, especially if you're like me and watched a ton of anime over the years with vey similar stuff in terms of story, plot twists etc. But I do like some of the characters a lot especially Marie with her cheerful and "positive all the time" personality, I wish I had someone like that in my life. And probably the last thing I don't like is silent protagonist. But here's the thing, he (or she) does have a voice, but only if he (or she) is not the character you're playing as. I mean, they clearly voiced both main characters in this game, so why the fuck he (or she) can't speak at all as a character you're playing? This is just super dumb and annoying to say the least.
Also, can we please have Vendor-3 vending machines in real life? They're so fucking cute and adorable, especially the one in File-04 and I'm talking about original Japanese VO. I also really like that each of the Vendor machines have it's own personality and also in terms of visuals, really, REALLY NICE touch.
I've been thinking about it and maybe it's just the fact that I'm playing the game on my 50'' TV on which it's blurry and my eyes just getting tired after a while. I mean, don't get me wrong, Astral Chain is one of the best looking games on Switch hands down. I really like what they did with the world design in this game, even though I'm not a fan of character art / design (they look like characters from very cheaply made anime - you can even see that on the game's cover art) in this game except armor, legions and other things like that aside (which are looking great). There's a few exceptions of course.
Production values and art is just through the roof here and they even managed to implement some really cool modern stuff like SSR, particle effects etc. Overall level design, amount of objects on screen, attention to detail and view distance is also mind blowing for a Switch game, even though pop-in is present and very noticeable. This is how Platinum's games shoud look like if you're invest a lot of money and Nintendo invested a lot into production of this game and if Astral Chain looks like that on Switch, just imagine how other Platinum's games could look like on PC, PS5 or Project Scarlett.
I mean, when I first got to of the visually busy squares (File-04) with tall buildings, a lot of NPCs, huge advertisement screens, neon signs, neon lights everywhere (which were implemented into almost every piece of tech etc. and don't even get me started on a visual VR / augmented reality-like menus, world stuff like signs that appear on floors, elevators etc.), traffic on the roads etc. my jaw just instantly dropped. It's just unbelievable how good this game looks on a such underpowered console and it clearly shows what developers can really do with the Switch if publishers will invest a lot of money into production of their games. The very first bike chase scene is also looks amazing, but sadly there's not a lot of this stuff in the game. And what aslo amaze me is the fact that performance is really good and very stable - over the course of 30+ hours, I haven't seen a single huge FPS drop, stuttering or other nasty things like that and for a game that looks so good and clearly very demanding it's just unbelievable. I'm like looking at performance of Link's Awakening right now and can't help but ask - WTF happened, Nintendo?
If there's a few things I truly don't like about Astral Chain (which and to be frank don't even hurt the overall experience and enjoyment of playing this game for me), it's artificial roadblocks which appear after you progress further in main mission (you can't go back if you missed something (item, quest etc.,) - it is super dumb, annoying and stupid mission design), very bad and repetetive fetch quests (I hate those quests with boxes and timers with every fiber of my being) very bog-standard, extremely predictable anime story. I shit you not, after 4th or 5th mission (and especially after the mission where you have to go beyond a huge wall into restricted sector of the city), I could predict everything that'll happen next cuz of how cliché, stereotypical and bog-standard story is in this game, especially if you're like me and watched a ton of anime over the years with vey similar stuff in terms of story, plot twists etc. But I do like some of the characters a lot especially Marie with her cheerful and "positive all the time" personality, I wish I had someone like that in my life. And probably the last thing I don't like is silent protagonist. But here's the thing, he (or she) does have a voice, but only if he (or she) is not the character you're playing as. I mean, they clearly voiced both main characters in this game, so why the fuck he (or she) can't speak at all as a character you're playing? This is just super dumb and annoying to say the least.
Also, can we please have Vendor-3 vending machines in real life? They're so fucking cute and adorable, especially the one in File-04 and I'm talking about original Japanese VO. I also really like that each of the Vendor machines have it's own personality and also in terms of visuals, really, REALLY NICE touch.
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Katsura
Member
That's exactly how i feel...........about Bayonetta
I'm in File 9 now and I don't know how to explain it but.... it's just so easy for me to put this game down and do something else for a while after I've finished a mission. Idk why.... I just don't feel the need or urge to continue playing long sessions (4-5 hours or even more than that) and missions in this game are very long, especially if you'll be exploring a lot to find secrets, completing all quests etc. For example, I could play Gears 5 the whole day back when it came out and I wanted to play more next day cuz I felt the need, the urge, to play more, ya know? But even though I like Astral Chain... I just can't do that with this game for some reason.
Am I the only one with this "problem"? Please tell me that I am not, cuz I want to know why someone else besides me feels the same way and why is that.
I love AC though so can't help you there
Danjin44
The nicest person on this forum
Both AC and Bayonetta took me little time to get used to the combat but once it clicked I couldn’t stop playing.
Astral Chain’s combat flow is very different than other action games out there but man once you figure it out the combat in my opinion is brilliant.
Katsura
Member
I love Bayo's combat. It's other, small, things that adds up for me with that game. I hated the visual design of the enemies, cutscene when entering or exiting gates of hell (which defaults to the 'No' option when you skip), QTEs and the further you get the less you use the actual combat because bosses becomes so gimmicky later on. Haven't played Bayo 2 though
In AC it felt like i used the same combat for the vast majority of the game and i loved the setting. The story, while cliche anime, was fun enough for me
Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
100% agree with you.
At first you don't have a lot of options when it comes to moveset, combos etc, but the more you play and the more you unlock different Legion's abilities, combat is getting better and better. Also, it is better to just train for a little bit during the first few hours just to get to know the basics and how to use your Legion and chain proporly in combat.
True, plus when it comes to some of the abilities in Legion skill tree, they are exactly the same for all of the Legions and they could've done a better job adding more unique abilities to each of the Legion based on it's type. But still, the amount of options in combat and stuff you can do with it is just ways better than in any previous games made by Platinum (excluding Vanquish which is completely different game from the rest).
Yep, if nothing else it gets the job done to make you play more and see it through the end.
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Hawks Eclipse
Member
Agent_4Seven
Wait, when you said you're in File 9 is that still on your first playthrough or you've already completed the game and are going for 100% collection?
I only have a PC monitor for gaming so I have no idea how AC looks when scaled up to a 50" TV, though I imagine it should still look quite good!
About the production values, I think it's a mixed bag. World & environment design is quite a big step up from most of PG's past efforts, though I must say I was a little disappointed that we only got to explore only a few parts of the Ark. It reminds me of how I felt in Deus Ex: HR where I imagined Hengsha would be this huge location to explore and it turned out to be a lot smaller than the concept art would have me believe. But yea, other things in AC like the ingame cutscenes are somewhat odd, with average lip-synching and some stiff animations when the characters need to move, this is especially noticeable when characters need to turn around.
I'm quite impressed with what they've squeezed out of their engine visually but more importantly I'm glad they stick to their own engine for one reason: I feel that their engine is really good at handling player inputs. Even though AC runs at 30fps with dips, I never felt like I couldn't get my inputs to register.
I'm okay with the predictable story but I wasn't a fan of how the protagonist is silent for 99% of the time and considering how small the key cast is, they didn't do much to develop most of them.
Funnily enough, the vendors exude tons of personality and I love how they each have a separate line for when you browse the wares but buy nothing.
Btw, I apologize for the lack of proper quoting...I'm currently not having the best setup to be replying.
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Agent_4Seven
Tears of Nintendo
Nope, it's my first playthrough.
As I've said, the game looks amazing especially if you'll keep in mind for which platform it was developed, just a bit blurry at times cuz of variable resolution - it's not even 1080p when docked ya know, Switch is not powerful enough.
I think they did best the could with what they have in this game and I'm not complaining at all. As for comparison to DXHR, yep, I think it's fair and devs of this game also did the best the could with what they have which is - do more with very little. I'd also compare this game with Yakuza, cuz these game also don't have huge worlds to explore but amount of very diverse content in them is just mind-blowing. Also, keep in mind that it's not always the same exact enviroment with the same stuff in it for you to do, they always try to do something different each time and I'm 100% fine with it and I like what they did.
C'mon, you're just nitpicking here mate. Nier Automata is not that much better ya know. Not every Japanese games should look like Yakuza when it comes to character animations, facial expressions etc. and sometimes it's not that important at all.
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Hawks Eclipse
Member
Regrettably I started Nier:A almost 2 years ago and haven't managed to properly dedicate time to completing it, so I can't really compare it, though I did note that performance was all over the place and the environments looked like they came from the early X360 era, albeit now rendered at 900p (on PS4). Speaking of Yakuza's facial animations, the team is really adept at that; I played Binary Domain back on the 360 and facial animations & expressions were equally top notch there.
Yea, I won't disagree that I am nitpicking because those points of mine wouldn't detract from a score if I were to ever give AC one. It's just something that even Bayonetta 1 did better a decade ago so I assume it might be the result of having some of the newer, younger staff handling some aspects. As an example, the visual effects which you praised was handled by one of their veteran developers.
Bear in mind that unlike most things, cutscenes are fully within the developers' control so when some of the animations are a bit off it sticks out to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in this forum & thread to slam the game, just pointing out observations that I've made while playing. It's entirely possible to like a game and still point out areas in which it could have improved (assuming unlimited time, money and talent).
Edit: I'm not sure how to keep each of my replies under the respective quote -_-
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Hawks Eclipse
Member
Photobrick did good work with his research: Baton behaves oddly with dodge offset in relation to the Blaster and Gladius and I think it might have been unintentional on PG's part.
I would like to point out that there are quite a few interesting tricks that are not shown in either video, which is to be expected considering the period in which these videos were made and uploaded.
Also, it's probably a personal issue but I took really long to develop the muscle memory for AC. Even now I don't think I'm close to what I'd consider mastery; there is so much that can be done in AC's combat that I find it mentally exhausting.
Hawks Eclipse
Member
I hope this isn't too off topic but I was revisiting this Polygon article the other day and came across a paragraph that made me think of AC.
www.polygon.com
Shinji Mikami and the fountain of youth
The creator of Resident Evil saw a lack of opportunities for young game directors in Japan. So he started a company to create some.
www.polygon.com
ProgenitorCastle
Banned
Played more of this recently...it's really different for PlatinumGames. Normally I like new Platinum IPs...as long as there are identifiable elements and it doesn't stray too far from the classic Platinum feel. Now with Astral Chain...I feel like they nailed it with identifiable elements in the form of the Leigons, which reference previous Platinum Games in terms of function. Also other things like the general interface being like Nier Automata, for example. But where I'm still kind of divided on, is the feeling of straying too far from the classic Platinum feel. Things like no jumping, getting penalized for destroying background things when investigating, investigation stuff in general, making your own character and being a silent protagonist and having everyone else doing the talking for you, etc. and many things about the gameplay in general, like the way the pistol operates, feels distinctly not-Platinum to me. So yea...maybe later on, the game will actually click with me and I'll come around on it, but as of this writing, I'm so-so on Astral Chain.
I agree with this. There's something about Astral Chain's combat that doesn't feel...cozy after a while. Like The Wonderful 101 has a different game system than Bayonetta, but after a while I adjusted to it and certain things in the combat became easier as a result of increasing in it skill wise and getting nice new moves and upgrades which helped too. Even with additional Legions and stuff, I still feel pretty sluggish at Astral Chain...
I agree with this. There's something about Astral Chain's combat that doesn't feel...cozy after a while. Like The Wonderful 101 has a different game system than Bayonetta, but after a while I adjusted to it and certain things in the combat became easier as a result of increasing in it skill wise and getting nice new moves and upgrades which helped too. Even with additional Legions and stuff, I still feel pretty sluggish at Astral Chain...
Hawks Eclipse
Member
Hmm, you mind elaborating on the pistol not operating in the manner you'd like?
Oh about the muscle memory part, it took me a long time but I'm happy to say that it's mostly quite developed now and I can do most of what I want without concentrating too hard on what my fingers are doing.
I'm considering writing more posts discussing the combat stuff that the game doesn't teach you. The help section is surprisingly comprehensive but the game also has quite a few things you can perform which are either hidden or unintentional.
And actually, I think W101 seems closer to Bayo in terms of how the dodge feels and how you can hold it down to transform into the ball. I feel that AC deliberately tries to not hew too closely to the Bayo blueprint and in a way I'm glad it's that way.
Edit: Yea the silent protagonist thing is a really bad decision (especially when you reach the end) but apparently that's how Japan likes it. I think Taura said it is meant to be easier for the player to self-insert. Hopefully FF7 Remake will buck this 'tradition'.
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