Another KEMCO RPG for the Collection?
In something that makes me begin to doubt my mastery of the English language, I have to find a way to introduce a new retro styled JRPG from KEMCO.
Regular readers of these pages will know that I have reviewed more of these than I’ve had dinners, seemingly, and so have gone down every permutation of introduction I think possible.
I’ve done jokey, serious, reporting just the facts: everything I can think of. Everything, that is, except for complaining about how there are no ways left to introduce one of these games!
Going by the name of Astral Takers, the new entry in the KEMCO bid for world domination is here, and I’ve spent some time playing it. So, cast your eyes down the page and I’ll explain what I found!
Retro Rifts and First-Person Fights
Starting with the presentation, and half the game is exactly the same as most other KEMCO titles out there. We play as a nicely designed, anime style sprite that can wander around an overworld map or a dungeon, and while the levels look like all the other games from this developer, the way that battles are portrayed is actually a little bit different.
You see, instead of the action being viewed from a side on perspective, it is taken in via a kind of first person perspective instead. Don’t think that this becomes a fully animated feature, however: the attacks that are actioned are indicated by either a cheesy magic effect or a swipe, while the enemies, when they attack, flash briefly to show it is them attacking. State of the art graphics this isn’t, but it serves it’s purpose.
Sound is the usual fare as well, with suitably stirring battle music and sound effects being as you’d expect. There is no voice acting in Astral Takers, as the story is explained using the age-old medium of static cutscenes with a picture of the person speaking. All in all, pretty much as expected.
A Run for Freedom
Now, as I’ve always said (and read any of my other RPG reviews if you don’t believe me) an RPG lives and dies by the story – and that is indeed the case here.
Astral Takers works with the usual kind of setup: we play as a young man called Revyse, who is renowned for always helping people out. On an exploration of a dungeon, we come across a woman who has lost her memory, and the only thing she remembers is her name, Aurora. When we get to the exit of the dungeon with Aurora in tow, we are arrested, thrown in jail, and then told that Aurora is to be executed as a witch. What else can we do but save her and go on the run? Well, nothing, as it turns out! But fear not, you’ll get no more story details from me, mostly for fear of spoilers.
Team Composition and Combat
It’s the gameplay that happens to be the last thing on my reviewing check list, and it should come as no surprise by now to learn that the news here is the same old, same old from previous games.
However, one thing that does make Astral Takers a little more interesting than usual is the ability to select the party that you want to take into combat; from a possible cast of eight characters, we have to form a party of four. Mixing and matching the roster is pretty cool, and having certain people who specialise in magic rather than melee brings new options to the gameplay. This is a passing thing, however, as you will quickly settle on four that you like and use them exclusively.
The combat system has had a bit of a tweak as well, with a new feature that appears in the top left of the screen. Here the turn order of the battle is shown, and also the enemy moves are listed that they are going to perform. This gives you the chance to adapt your tactics on the fly: if a powerful attack is coming in that will kill a character, get them to defend this turn, and maybe get your healer to patch them up at the same time. The battles rapidly get very tricky indeed, and facing multiple powerful foes will make you think, that is for sure.
The Grind is Real
The rest of Astral Takers is pretty much the same as we’d expect, and yes, that does mean right down to the usual KEMCO trope of characters getting hung up on corners as they try to go through narrow gaps, and the ever present random battles getting wearisome quite fast.
However, fighting is the only way to level up, and here the grinding news is very disappointing: the amount of EXP gained from each battle is miniscule, and it seems to take an absolute age to gain a level.
A Middle-of-the-Road KEMCO RPG
In conclusion then, the good points of Astral Takers are balanced out by the bad, and the result is a game that is middle of the road at best. If you like KEMCO games, this is one of those that will test you, but there’s not much here to drag the new players in.
Important Links
KEMCO is Back with Another Classic JRPG – Astral Takers is OUT NOW – https://www.thexboxhub.com/kemco-is-back-with-another-classic-jrpg-astral-takers-is-out-now/
Buy Astral Takers on Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/kemco-is-back-with-another-classic-jrpg-astral-takers-is-out-now/
