ASTLIBRA Revision

This game is an unbelievably rich content experience. From the absolutely satisfying progression, to the fun engaging story and characters, to the game feeling good to move around and hack and slash, and to the marvelous OST. This is a game that has left a deep impression on me that so very few games have ever managed to accomplish. I still listen to the OST quite frequently and within a year it has become as nostalgic as games from 20+ years ago. I have to talk about the OST since this is really what pulls a lot of the weight of making the rest of the games good qualities really connect. There is so much quality in the OST and so so much variety as well. I don't think there's been a single JRPG that I've played that has produced so many bangers in a single game. one that actually has a soundtrack for each zone boss and extra boss hit. Many other RPGS will occassionaly have a unique OST for very specific bosses but typically they all boil down to mini boss track and major boss track and end game boss track. AstLibra is a game that really uses the weight of tension building within each arc that culminates into a satisfying climax thanks to the OST building the tension and delivering when you get there. I love so many other aspects of this game such as the collecting, the extras, the post game content, and countless little details that are within but the OST is really what ties this game up into an unforgettable experience when you're in there jamming away and defeating whatever stands in your way.

This game describes itself as a return to the golden age of jrpgs and I honestly couldn’t think of a better descriptor. It sucked me in like nothing else, the story was so genuine and beautiful, a far cry from games that are afraid to take themselves too seriously. This world Keizo managed to create is truly amazing like criminally addictive, this game feels like an anime I’d have to wait years to see a conclusion of, but you get to play through it. I cannot compliment this game enough this is truly a masterpiece that was worth every single second of its over decade long development. Also the music is so good after I finished the story I went back and wanted to grind a couple achievements so I turned on a stream in the background and turned the game down but the ost is so good I couldn’t listen to anything else while playing lol I know people don’t tend to read reviews when they’re this long but if you need convincing, this is one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had, it’s so fun and interesting.

I'm honestly on the fence about not recommending this game but I enjoyed my time with it. Even though, at times it was really frustrating. This has been my 2 hours before bed type of game on my Steam Deck OLED. The story is about you trying to save your childhood friend/partner from death by going back in time using scales, which was intriguing. Unfortunately the story felt like it overstayed it's welcome by going back and forth with the protagonist's decision making about either saving his friend or saving his crow companion. Which to be fair I could've finished the game at a much earlier time but I wanted to see all the different endings the game has to offer. In the end, I found the story to be okay-ish. Combat is definitely the highlight of this game. I find the hack and slash combat in this game very satisfying especially with those damage and combo numbers flying around. It felt like more of an ARPG than a JRPG. Music was a mixed bag for me. At times it was soooo good but other times so songs felt over used and repetitive. Difficulty wise, I started playing the game on normal difficulty, but when I was reaching the end of chapter 7, I decided to switch to easy because it felt like I had to grind levels for a while to get through the boss fights in the upcoming chapters. To me, I'm a sucker for Souls games and love the fair difficulty. With this game it felt like I had to grind and waste a lot of time on levelling just so I can pass the chapter on normal difficulty. I hated this mechanic so much. Therefore, I switched to easy mode to finish the game. I was really glad that I did that because the final boss was almost 200k hp and took over 10 minutes to beat and it was really unfun and tedious for no reason. Smacking a big hp number on a boss as a difficulty spike and calling it a day is s such a cheap way to do it. This is a close call to me. I do recommend this game because of a decent story and good combat. I also recommend people playing this game on easier difficulty if they want avoid grinding levels for hours. I don't like when games force you to put a lot of time into levelling a character's damage just because the boss has big hp number. I rate games based of enjoyment and my final rating is 6/10.