Former Final Fantasy talent onboard for striking hand-drawn JRPG Astria Ascending
Set for 2021 release on PC and consoles.
Artisan Studios has unveiled Astria Ascending, a new Japanese-style RPG being developed in conjunction with Final Fantasy 7 writer Kazushige Nojima and FF12 composer Hitoshi Sakimoto.
Astria Ascending casts players as one of the eight demigods - guardians of Harmony charged with protecting the world of Orcanon from the mysterious Noises.
There's plenty more scene-setting in the trailer below - including mention of the delightfully named "Harmelon", an instinct-suppressing melon used to maintain harmony across the land - but the gist is that it's a side-on, turn-based RPG with some very nice hand-drawn art.
Kazushige Nojima and Hitoshi Sakimoto - who discuss the game in a separate video - are onboard as scenarist and composer respectively, further cementing Astria Ascending's connection to 2015 iOS JRPG Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey, which the pair also worked on.
Astria Ascending is scheduled to launch later this year and will be available on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, Switch, and Steam.