Asura's Wrath, or literally The Wrath of Asura. Beyond an eardrum-ripping pronunciation, the title of the new game produced by Capcom and developed by CyberConnect2 totally reflects the concept around which the story was built, that of Asura, a demigod who was chosen to be part of the Eight Divinities who reign unchallenged over the entire universe. For millennia, these celestial entities have been venerated by Earthlings, regularly subject to attacks by the Gohmas, vile creatures who have taken refuge on the blue planet and number one enemies of our divine knights. Thanks to an impressive flying fleet, the mastery of a devastating technology made of collecting souls and its Eight Generals with extraordinary powers, the Kingdom of Shinkoku was able to establish its authority by sending Vlitra, the most powerful of the Gohmas, under the 'Earth's crust. A new battle won by the Gods who celebrated it greedily, so much so that no one saw the Emperor's savage murder coming. The fault was then thrown on Asura, who had become a disturbing element in the eyes of Deus, the leader of the Eight Divinities. Victim of a conspiracy because present at the scene of the crime at the wrong time, our hero will lose his wife Durga, killed in the turmoil, while his daughter Mithra will be kidnapped by the men of Deus, who have drawn his future for him. coming years. Dropped by his former companions, including his brother-in-law Yasha, Asura was banished from the kingdom and sent to the underworld where he will stay for 12 years. Suffice to say that when he wakes up, he has time to ruminate on his anger, which will push him to confront one by one all those who have betrayed him, like a Bronze Knight crossing the 000 houses of the Zodiac.
"ANGER IS A GIFT"
This is therefore the starting premise of Asura's Wrath which, as you may have guessed, gives pride of place to its scenario. It is even the main engine of the developers of CyberConnect2 who had in mind to make an action game where the player could enjoy a captivating story. To do this, Capcom and CyberConnect2 have decided by mutual agreement to take Japanese cartoons and other current TV series as references, in order to shape this action game which is different from the others. It was therefore decided that Asura's Wrath will be divided into episodes, with a summary at the beginning and end of each chapter to remind the facts. Fans of Japanese anime will appreciate this choice, quite surprising at first, but which ultimately turns out to be one of the project's greatest ideas, since it systematically focuses the player's attention for half a hour, the minimum time to complete a section. CyberConnect2 has therefore sought to introduce as many elements as possible in each episode so that the player is not bored for a single second. Those who appreciate the great spectacle will not be disappointed, as Asura's Wrath certainly offers the most excessive fights that can exist today. Bayonetta had already set the bar very high, but Capcom's title goes further by offering even more impressive boss fights. With their planetary size, Wyzen and Deus in his ultimate form will give Asura a hard time, who will not hesitate to call on the high priestess, Mithra, his own daughter, to make two pairs of arms appear in the backs that will not be too many to face these imposing enemies.
Those who appreciate the great spectacle will not be disappointed, as Asura's Wrath certainly offers the most excessive fights that can exist today.
However, it is fashionable to remember that Asura's Wrath is anything but a clone of God of War, even if some gameplay sequences are reminiscent of the Sony Computer Entertainment title with its arenas of enemies to destroy using attacks distance and melee blows. We find the range of weak, strong blows and other dodges, without forgetting the possibility of locking an opponent so as not to get lost in this maelstrom of streums which always arrive not vaguely. It will also systematically clean each area to trigger the Fury, which allows access to the next sequence. Fortunately, by keeping an eye on his Trikaya gauge, it is possible to switch to a higher rage mode, which allows our hero to inflict greater damage. Unfortunately, no new weapons to unlock or new moves to win over the course of the adventure, Asura is limited to the anger that animates him and his 6 arms that he can grow in a scripted way. It is on this point that Asura's Wrath will divide the players, since to keep this interactive cartoon guideline, the developers have cut the gameplay into two parts. On the one hand, we find classic beat'em all, as well as sequences of shooting on rails in the manner of a Space Harrier / Panzer Dragoon; and on the other, these famous interactive cinematics sips of Quick Time Events, which allows to promote the immersion of the player and keep this dynamic narration in suspense. This is also the reason why it will be possible to skip the QTEs, in the sense that missing them will not be synonymous with Game Over, as is the case in other games, such as Heavy Rain for example. . Depending on the success of the QTEs, it will be possible to obtain a note at the end of each chapter, allowing you to unlock many illustrations, but above all to access the second end of the game, the real one, the one that will shed light on the end of this story of divine vengeance.
STREET FIGHTING MAN
As for the controversy regarding the lack of challenge in Asura's Wrath, it remains half unfounded. If it is true that the title remains quite tolerant in its normal difficulty and that it ends in about eight hours of play, things get seriously tough in God mode, where certain bosses may give you a hard time. , in particular the last ones which will not give you any gift, even if it means exhausting the player to the marrow. Fortunately, the checkpoints, quite well placed, will not require you to stuff yourself with a whole fight, especially when the enemy in front has several stages or transformations. Only regret: the character of Yasha. If it is pleasant to take in hand, we regret that it is finally quite close to Asura in its gameplay, although its blows are the opposite of the latter. Without spoiling you too much, know that his presence as a second playable character is not insignificant, especially after the turn taken by the story that one might think came out of an episode of Naruto. References to Kishimoto's work are legion, which is hardly surprising when you know that CyberConnect2 has a very strong relationship with the mangaka. But Asura's Wrath is inspired by other strong Japanese works that rocked our childhood: Hokuto no Ken, Dragonball or even Saint Seiya. All people who appreciate these cartoons from near and far will not be able to remain insensitive to the noble struggle that Asura leads. We were literally conquered by the title of Capcom, you guessed it, which finally offers something different and successful. And this risk-taking simply deserves to be welcomed.
