Review: Asura’s Wrath

Something that I’ve noticed while in the running for iiNet’s TopGeek 2.0 is that a love of anime is almost a requirement. I fall short of the mark in that respect. I think the most anime I’ve ever watched would be about five episodes of Sailor Moon.

I didn’t understand any of it. I liked the cat though.

Understandably so, the idea of Asura’s Wrath didn’t have me terribly excited. It looked like anime, had cutscenes with limited interaction, and looked to have a combo-based system ala Devil May Cry. None of these things combine to make a game I’d enjoy. Or so I thought.

To briefly summarise Asura’s Wrath, the game is about Asura and his wrath. Okay, sorry…let’s go a bit deeper. Asura is one of eight demigods protecting the Earth from evil spirits, essentially. One fateful day, a spanner gets thrown into the works and Asura is cast out on his own. What follows is a story about revenge, rage and honour. All in ridiculous doses.

First of all, let’s take care of that combo-based, Devil May Cry claim I made earlier. I was wrong. In DmC, you need to perfect combos and chains to progress in the game. Not so in Asura’s Wrath, thankfully. You have two buttons for attacks; light and heavy. That’s it. Wailing on enemies doesn’t take a lot of finesse (though, counter-attacks with the “Y” button sometimes do); avoid attacks and hit people, and you’re golden. Hitting people enough times gives you the ability to “Burst,” which means our titular character goes berserker and finishes off whatever’s in his way.

Truthfully? When you go into “Burst” mode, the anime side (side…or whole?) of the game comes out to play. Asura grows six arms (or loses them all), and flips out at whatever enemy is near. In Burst mode, one fight goes from the moon, to the earth…and then through the earth and out the other side. It’s super crazy, and VERY Japanese. To my delight, it’s understandable though, and is so over-the-top you can’t help but smile.

The Burst mode is also very quicktime-heavy. You’ll be watching intricate sequences play out, and occasionally have to move your thumbsticks or time a well-pressed “Y” or “B” button. I didn’t mind them, and they seemed to fit well with what was on the screen…but it’s easy to see why others criticise this new IP: when you boil it right down, the Burst modes are the coolest bits of the game, and you’re not in control.

Levels themselves take between 10-15 minutes to complete on average, which suits the game well. You don’t have overly-repetitive combat sequences, and Asura’s Wrath’s scoring system means you’ll be replaying levels to better your previous attempt. It’s a short game, but it’s a game you won’t mind replaying.

For all the talk I’ve made about the cutscenes being understandable and having tolerable quicktime events built in, they do run a little long. There’s only so much crazy I can take before I end up hitting the skip button to get back to button-mashing. On that note, on the game’s easier side of the difficulty scale, button mashing is a viable strategy. For a true challenge, amp the game up and make use of some of the special bars that degrade Asura’s health or hide the Burst meter.

I judged Asura’s Wrath by its back-cover dot-points, and in the end I was wrong about the game. On the whole, Capcom’s released an original and entertaining IP that you all owe it to yourselves to at least try. Asura’s Wrath is the perfect game to play when you’re pressed for time and just want a short and punchy experience. Anime fans will love it, as will combat fans. People with control-issues might want to make this a rental to start off with, just to see if it gives you enough to work with.