PSP

Astonishia Story

Wenn ihr euch davon überzeugen wollt, dass Nostalgie in zwei Dimensionen auch heute noch begeistern kann, dann legt euch SquareEnix' Final Fantasy-Auflagen für den DS zu. Dort erzählen durchdachte Handlungsfäden und ein umfangreiches Kampfsystem bewegende Geschichten. Sonnoris Eintrag wirkt dagegen wie der tausendste Beitrag zum Thema Fußball-WM im „Kleinniemandsdörfer Anzeiger“. Versteht mich nicht falsch: Astonishia Story macht vieles richtig. Es macht allerdings erzählerisch so wenig richtig gut, dass jeder Hauch von Eigenständigkeit an ihm vorüber zieht. Die Wendungen der Geschichte sind vorhersehbar, die Gegner keine Herausforderung, die Helden profillose Skizzen. Aber wisst ihr was? Mir hat es trotz dieser Schwächen Spaß gemacht! Witzige Einlagen lockern das Geschehen auf, das aktive Kämpfen ist kurzweilig und an den wunderschönen Städten und Dörfern kann ich mich nicht satt sehen. Das alles ist mir Grund genug, um mit Astonishia Story die Mittagspausen zu verbringen.

If you’re looking for a generic role-playing game that isn’t half-bad despite its dated gameplay then Astonishia Story might just be the PSP game you’ll want to buy. Its story might not be very original and the characters can sometimes have the personality of cardboard cut-outs but it does a few things right enough to be that much-needed RPG fix for when you’re on the go.

Astonishia Story is the equivalent of a cheap novel you might pick up in an airport gift shop. It's a light, easy way to burn some time, but isn't substantial enough to sustain interest for very long. It certainly isn't a game you'll want to go too far out of your way to play, but if you're starved for a role-playing game on the PSP, Astonishia Story will provide some temporary satisfaction.

Astonishia Story est un RPG qui mérite le coup d'oeil ne serait-ce que pour toucher à un nouveau jeu coréen après l'arrivée de Magna Carta en Europe. Peu original dans ses péripéties, il profite tout de même d'un système de combat simple et technique à la fois. Malheureusement, sa difficulté excessive le destine avant tout aux acharnés du genre qui trouveront là un titre intéressant tout en devant faire face à des accès disque fréquents, une absence de traduction ou un manque de clarté dans ce que l'on attend d'eux.

This is how engaging RPGs shouldn't be made -- even though it's a port of a pre-existing game, it should've been turned into a director's cut with much more content. It would've been so much more intriguing if the tactics were handled better, you cared about the characters in the game, or the story took longer to develop relationships and plot points. Instead, Astonishia Story abandons depth and interesting characters for the barest bones of plot and combat, which will easily leave RPG fans wanting more.

If you're a fan of the classic RPGs from the 16-bit days and you've got a sense of humor you might find some enjoyment in Astonishia Story. However, if spending $40 on a glorified Super Nintendo game doesn't sound appealing you may want to reconsider. With all of the re-releases hitting the market and the availability of Genesis and SNES games, finding one of the classics that Astonishia Story borrows from shouldn't be too difficult.

J’aimerais en dire plus, mais que voulez-vous, on ne peut pas inventer des choses pour en parler. En 1994 ou en 1996, Astonishia Story aurait probablement été bien reçu, mais depuis, nous avons pu jouer à des jeux qui ont changé notre perception des RPG, ce qui donne qu’aujourd’hui, un jeu comme Astonishia Story n’a plus vraiment la cote.

With a fast-paced "tactics lite" battle system and a hero who mercifully isn't a spiky-haired bag of sulk, Astonishia should have been great. I guess "good", like God, is in the details.

All in all, Astonishia Story is a terrible game with a few fun moments. There is nothing much here in terms of story, characters, or complexity in the battle system. The difficulty is high, but only because of the steep level curve, the extreme damage dealt by even regular enemies, and the high price of goods. The game suffers from considerable performance issues, lack of direction, and a story that fails to draw the player in. The few moments of quirkiness are hardly worth trekking through the rest of the crap found in this game. The player can only hope that Astonishia Story 2 turns out to be better, as it looks oh so very cool.