Asura's Wrath

Ultimately while this theme of epic revenge may ring familiar, CyberConnect2 has done an excellent job with their specific story details and in how they present it. Asura's Wrath is maybe just a little bit too hands off for my tastes, but I had an absolute blast from start to finish.

The presentation style in Wrath suits the storyline and characters almost perfectly.

The action is fast, brutal and completely absurd, the story a blend of Asian mythology and Sci-Fi epic. If you like action in its purest form or are partial to enjoying anime then Asura's Wrath is something you will not want to miss!

Asura's Wrath isn't as brainless as it may want you to believe. The ridiculous moments and likable characters kept me smiling, which was odd, considering it's essentially a story about misery. It's a nice change of pace from other hack-and-slash games, featuring an interesting story that's not blocked off by insurmountable difficulty.

Overall the action feels really great, and while the combat system doesn't have the depth of other top-tier action titles, it does the job of filling the gaps between action-packed sequences.

In terms of story and presentation, the tale of Asura's Wrath is one of the best of this console generation, but a scant six hours of gameplay and lengthy cutscenes holds it back from being perfect.

The way the action slows down to zoom in on a brutal kick is reminiscent of how similar camera tricks worked for Street Fighter IV. This enhances Asura's Wrath greatly and turns a game that might've been a generic brawler into a positively memorable one.

It feels like the kind of guilty pleasure that you and me, serious players of video games, should be embarrassed for enjoying. What satisfaction could there possibly be in a game that largely plays itself? In spite of the one big, obvious caveat, I kind of love this game.

Alongside a rhythmic and uncommonly accessible beat-'em-up, Asura's Wrath is part rollercoaster, part anime blockbuster and part stress-ball. The end result may stretch the definition of a video game, perhaps, but it's also extremely hard to get angry about.

Good or bad, game or no game, you've just got to play Asura's Wrath. And, in truth, that probably says it all.

Admittedly, Asura's Wrath is not a great game. The combat mechanics are uninspired and the title relies heavily on QTEs to drive the action. However, I'm not entirely sure it's trying to be a pure game so much as it wants to be an interactive experience. That may sound a bit like a cop-out, but I truly believe the interactive elements are there merely to drive the story forward, and in that respect, the game delivers beautifully. Asura's Wrath is a strange bird indeed, throwing in so many disparate elements that all manage to somehow come together and create a compelling, fun experience. This game is weird, but it's weird in the right ways.

Asura's Wrath is a definite explosive and engaging experience on the first time through but falls short when it comes to replay.

Whether it's the story that will remind you of your favourite Japanese animation series, the relentless action and fast paced gameplay or even the unusually likeable angry Asura, it's an action game that many fans of the genre should have a go with at least once.

Asura's Wrath sports an entertaining and adrenalinic gameplay, coupled with great visuals and a captivating storytelling style. Nevertheless, its very repetitive gameplay, short duration and too low challenge level contribute to drag down its overall value.

If you like anime and videogames you shouldn't lose this game, as it can be considered an ultimate experience that blendes perfectly both worlds, and manages to engage the players until the very end. The problem is that the game is a bit short, around six hours, and is not a very replayable one. Although the blend of action and cinematics is perfect, those players who are just looking for an action game might be a bit disappointed for the amount of non-playable time.

I really enjoyed Asura's Wrath, but the gameplay is somewhat of a great disappointment. We are supposed to be here to play a game, and the sections that we do get to play are lacklustre at best and don't add much to the experience, which is a shame.

As an anime experience, it's frankly hard to top what Capcom's done here. But as an entry in the pantheon of interactive entertainment, it doesn't do enough to be anything more than marginally "interactive," resulting in a merely average, albeit unique, game.

If you go in with tempered expectations and know there isn't much of a game, you'll have an enjoyable experience.

Asura's Wrath wears its anime influences proudly on its sleeve and it is a better game for it.

This is a game in only the loosest sense of the word, but is an intriguing proposition nonetheless, especially for those with a penchant for action-based manga series. Asura's Wrath is an original, engaging and occasionally ridiculous game and as a result is certainly a novel experience, though whether it's an experience that most gamers will be happy paying top dollar for is another matter.

It sets out to be a new kind of interactive animation, and it succeeds completely at that. But a game this light on actual content is difficult to justify as a full-price release; it's style over substance, and some players will feel cheated by the paucity of actual gameplay in amongst the six hours of brilliant spectacle.

If you can take it for face value, knowing it's a QTE heavy experience and you like the Japan and anime style, you'll without a doubt enjoy your time with Asura. For everyone else though, it has charm, amazing visuals and sound, and a certain uniqueness that's a spectacle to be soon, albeit a short one.

The stylish art design and the story are convincing while the gaming experience falls short.

Asura's Wrath proves how awesome anime can be, but at the same time also how ridiculous it is. With exaggerated quick-time events, absurdly long battles with bosses and a lack of actual gameplay make this the perfect translation from anime to a game. Unfortunately this doesn't automatically create a perfect game.

A surprisingly immersive experience. We doubt you've played anything like it. [Issue#83, p.88]

A truly bold combination of anime and simple fighting game. It's a perfectly worked out audio-visual piece of work, albeit a short one; its gaming part is even shorter than its anime part. This hybrid is counting on three things: stylization, drawing you into a story, and a fact that you like anime, in which you have a desiring opportunity to hack all those bad guys to bits.

It's such a tough sell, as it's so short and so little of its running time can actually be defined as 'gameplay'. It's such a maverick, though, and such a bananas way to spend eight hours, that it's almost certainly something everyone should experience. Just don't go expecting the Earth. Asura's already smashed it to pieces.

A wonderfully imaginative and beautifully presented interactive anime, but one that cannot maintain a regular enough supply of surprises to justify even its short running time.

It can be incredibly exciting, but also quite boring. We like it because it's brave, but even if it tries to Asura's Wrath is not exactly what we'd call a videogame.

As an anime CyberConnect2 has done a remarkable job in crafting a very intriguing mythology that is worth watching until the end-credits. Unfortunately gameplay in Asura's Wrath seems like an afterthought which depends a lot on QTEs.

There's definitely an audience for a game like this, a story-driven interactive experience that opts for bombastic action and spectacle as opposed to taking place in the real-world as a police or crime procedural, and for that reason, and that particular audience, Asura's Wrath comes highly recommended.

The game may be short, but it ends before it outstays its welcome. There's some unfortunate repetition of a few moments as a result of its emulation of TV episodes, and the combat itself isn't too deep, but there are few dull moments and the screen will be constantly filled with action.

Asura's Wrath begs for negative criticism. But no unhelpful intellectualising about the boundaries of TV and videogame can magic away the wide grin that sat on our face for most of the game. If you're a fan of massive-attack anime and characters who are only mortal when the battle ends, Asura's Wrath is Naruto for post-pubescents. It's not great value, but it is spectacular entertainment.

It's easy to be seduced by Asura's Wrath. This CyberConnect 2 creation has amazing things like phenomenal art and epic boss fights, along with good story. But it is impossible not to look to the best games in the genre and see that they didn't need an incredible amount of QTE's to deliver an amazing experience.

An interesting experiment, an interactive anime full of style but short in substance that can't compete with better alternatives in the Beat'em Up genre, but that manages to impress with its audiovisual approach.

Fans seeking deep, involving combat shouldn't put down their copies of Kingdoms of Amalur or Mass Effect for Asura's Wrath: it's a game chock full of style but little substance. Nevertheless, we can't deny that Asura's made us jump, scream, and pump our fist in the air just as often as the game's crazy warrior hero, even if it was a byproduct of not having to press any buttons for dozens of minutes at a time.

Whilst it's definitely not a game that will stay with you for the action then, it's still worth noting that Asura's storyline is engaging and absolutely spectacular in comparison to most other titles.

Needs to be seen to be believed. If only it needed to be played to be believed, too. [May 2012, p.77]

Asura's Wrath is an incredible experience, but not exactly a great game. You spend as much, if not more, time watching cut-scenes as you do actually controlling Asura. There is a lot of promise to this concept, but I am not sure it's implementation belongs in a full-priced, retail game.

If you're looking for something different, then Asura's Wrath is unique enough that it's worth a rental, but I can't justify spending full price for a game that's literally as long as the movie it's so desperately trying to be.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the story, I just didn't like the lack of emotion that this game evoked. With a name like Asura's Wrath, and being heavily story driven, its disappointing to not feel Asura's pain.

With its high-production values, there's nothing else like it. Provided you don't approach Asura's Wrath as you would a typical game, you won't be disappointed.

Despite its short length and overall lack of interactivity, Asura's Wrath is quite a spectacle; one that all anime lovers need to experience at least once, but for now you can get that done with a one-day rental. Everyone else can wait for a huge price slash or just go watch some of the great anime they are adding to Netflix each new week.

Very, very strange action beat'em up would probably make your eyes pop-up, yet you'll be attracted to play it – if only to find out what madness is hidden in next part... [Apr 2012]

Asura's Wrath is a novel idea with some poor implementation. It often feels strained into too many directions, but there is something undeniably fun about certain outrageous moments. There really isn't much else quite like Asura's Wrath.

It's very clear that they wanted to make an anime, but somehow wounded up making a video game instead. It's a short game that you will watch more than you play, only taking about 6 to 7 hours to complete on the hardest difficulty setting. Replay value is laughable, with the only unlocks to be found are different looking health bars.

Asura's Wrath is an interesting experiment with huge balancing issues. This cool anime-style action game is too story-oriented, with tons of animated sections and just a little bit of gameplay. This could be a good starting point for CyberConnect2's future projects, but next time the developers should aim for a more balanced experience.

Asura's Wrath isn't much of a game, but its over-the-top, anime-style story makes it easier to overlook its shortcomings.

Asura's Wrath is a title that's light on the undeniables, but foremost among those is that there's nothing else quite like it right now. That's not an entirely good thing, as Asura's exploits are likely best suited for other gameplay styles, or even other media.

It's like gaming through proxy, and I don't like it.

Asura's Wrath would have been a superb anime or an excellent videogame. However, it couldn't decide what it wanted to be and instead served up tiny slivers of both, pulled together in a fashion so clumsy that you can see the stitching from miles away. It's not so much a game as it is a collection of concepts, roughly thrown into the same box and jumbled around in the vain hope that something good would come out at the end.

Asura's Wrath commits the cardinal sin of video games: It's not fun. I genuinely commend Capcom for backing such an ambitious, experimental project; I just wish they had read the script first. This was not a story worth telling, and it sure as hell isn't a story worth paying extra for to see how it "really" ends.