Asura's Wrath

Asura's Wrath
Developer(s)	CyberConnect2
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Seiji Shimoda
Producer(s)	Kazuhiro Tsuchiya 土屋 和弘
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
Release	NA: February 21, 2012 JP: February 23, 2012 AU: February 23, 2012 EU: February 24, 2012 UK: March 9, 2012
Genre(s)	Action Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player

Asura's Wrath (アスラズ ラース, Asurazu Rāsu) is an action video game collaboration between CyberConnect2 and Capcom that was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 2010. It was developed to be released in Japan, North America, and Europe for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was released on February 21, 2012 in North America and February 24, 2012 in Europe. According to the game's producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, "Asura's Wrath takes elements from Hindu mythology and blends them with science fiction. In the game, Asura is a demigod fighting to reclaim his daughter from the deities who kidnapped her and banished him from the mortal world."

Gameplay

The player is prompted during a fight to press the B button in order to increase and maintain their burst gauge, represented as the slowly filling red bar at the top of the screen (Xbox 360 version).

The gameplay of Asura's Wrath is a combination of multiple genres, while overall is presented in the style of an episodic anime series. The gameplay throughout shifts between a third person action and a rail shooter game. The game also requires the player's direct input during cinematic events in the form of interactive cutscenes with various quick-time event and context sensitive button prompts. In all forms of gameplay however, player progress is determined by two gauges represented at the top of the screen, the life and burst gauge. The life gauge determines the current health and damage taken by the character that if depleted results in a game over/restart screen for that current section. The burst gauge however starts empty at the start of every encounter that needs to be charged fully. In order to do this players must successfully defeat enemies, inflict large amounts of damage and press the current quick-time prompt correctly and in time. Once filled to maximum, players can unleash a powerful burst attack, which in the majority of cases is required in order to finish off strong opponents and advance the plot/gameplay, even commencing another cutscene. In addition to these two gauges, a additional one known as the "Unlimited gauge" fills up in a similar way to the burst gauge but instead can be activated to temporally increase damage that can be inflicted on opponents.

The third person action sequences resemble "beat 'em up" style gameplay where the player must defeat enemies in close combat, utilizing light and heavy attacks, counters, dashes and projectiles. While regular light attacks are fast, heavier attacks inflict more damage and can throw back multiple enemies yet can overheat requiring a cool down period between uses. Players can also perform counter moves if they input the current prompt during an enemy's attack. When an enemy is knocked down, special moves can be performed that further help fill the burst gauge. If however the player character is knocked back, they have a chance to quickly recover by landng on their feet and saving additional health. The rail shooter portion of the gameplay involves the player character moving yet on a fixed axis, being only able to move to dodge and maneuver against incoming attack and obstacles, all the while locking on and firing upon enemies.

The interactive cutscene element is integrated with the gameplay however. Correct inputs when prompted will advance the story while failure can cause the restart of a sequences and damage to health in a previous gameplay sequence. While a few sequences may continue regardless, certain quick-time events have degrees of success where the player may attempt to press at an even more specific time than when the prompt immediately and initially appears. For example a press too early or later might register a merely "good" or "great" while the exact correct moment will register as "excellent". The player's performance in this aspect, along with time taken to complete and overall damage inflicted is graded at the end of each episode, with the highest grade being an "S Rank". A certain number of S Ranks unlock the final hidden "true ending" of the game.

Presentation

Each level is played out as an episode more akin to an anime television series, with subtle introductory and closing credits at the start and end of each episode. This is then followed by a brief promo with cut together footage for the next episode, along with a narration recapping and foreshadowing upcoming events. In between episodes, there are also snippets of additional narrative and back story that are presented in the form of a series of illustrations, with each different segment drawn by a different credited artist. The entire "series" is split into three chapters, each cutscenes overlaid with lengthier production credits.

Story

Overview

Asura’s Wrath takes place over thousands of years, across and above the world. Prior to the game, an advanced civilization known as Shinkoku Trastrium rises to power and unifies the nations of Earth, known as Gaea. Trastrium is a hierarchical empire, under which unaltered mortal humans comprise the lower class, and are ruled by near-immortal, genetically/cybernetically altered humans called demigods. The Emperor is the beloved figurehead of Trastrium, and commands the demigod military through his Eight Guardian Generals. The demigods control the supply of mantra, a powerful energy source resembling electricity that is derived from mortal emotion. Only demigods can manipulate mantra, which comes to power all human technology and allows the demigods to augment their physical abilities. The demigods promote a new world religion based around their worship, and make great advances in science from the resulting influx of mantra.

Trastrium’s growth comes at the cost of critical levels of pollution and overpopulation, which forces Gaea into action. The planet unleashes its natural immune system to restore balance to the world; the Gohma. An endless horde of mutated animals, the Gohma’s attempts to cleanse the world are barely fought off by Trastrium forces over millennia, with neither side possessing a way to decisively defeat the other. This eternal conflict becomes known as the War of Creation.

Asura, the titular character, is the newly appointed demigod general of Wrath to the Eight Guardian Generals. His daughter Mithra is chosen by the 127th Emperor Strada to be Trastrium’s Priestess, the ultimate amplifier of mantra. He grudgingly approves, and goes on to fight many battles with the help of his daughter’s prayers.

The War of Creation drags on, punctuated every few thousand years with the awakening of Vlitra, a continent-sized Gohma that is the embodiment of the planet’s rage towards Trastrium and the demigods. While suppressed by succeeding generations of Generals and billions of warriors, Vlitra and the Gohma eventually gain enough power to wipe out humanity and the demigods at the time of Vlitra's next awakening. Fearing defeat, the demigods begin construction of the Karma Fortress, an orbital space station which will house the Brahmastra, a gigantic laser powered by mantra.

Part I: Suffering

The game begins as the Gohma attempt to seize the Brahmastra, which is defended by a massive fleet led by all eight Generals. Hoping to intimidate Vlitra, the Commander of the Generals, Deus, orders the Brahmastra fired. Incomplete and underpowered, the beam instead awakens Vlitra from its slumber prematurely. Asura breaks off from the fighting and engages Vlitra, subduing it alone. The other Generals are shocked, but quickly take credit and declare a final victory over Vlitra.

The next day, Asura is summoned to the Emperor’s palace as all of Trastrium celebrates. Thinking he is to be commended, Asura enters the throne room and instead finds Strada murdered. The palace guard confront Asura, who flees home to protect his family as word of his “treachery” spreads.

Asura returns to his raided residence and comes across his wife Durga, mortally wounded. With her dying breath, Durga makes Asura promise to save Mithra, who has been captured and transported to the Karma Fortress. Distraught, Asura flies up to the Brahmastra and finds the other Generals holding Mithra hostage. Asura attempts to take Mithra back from them, but is severely weakened from his fight with Vlitra and becomes incapacitated by Deus. Asura asks for Deus’ motive as he is held over the side of the Brahmastra.

According to Deus, Emperor Strada refused to take the radical steps needed to end the war, as it would be unpopular with the public. Fearing he would not see victory in his lifetime, Deus murdered Strada as part of a coup d’état against the Empire. Deus has no desire to be crowned Emperor himself, but still needs Asura as a scapegoat to deflect suspicion and Mithra to harness mantra more effectively. He casts down Asura, who swears vengeance as he falls back down to Gaea and dies.

Asura’s soul awakens dangling from a pillar in Naraka, a barren realm of the afterlife ruled by a mysterious figure known only as the Golden Spider. Suffering from amnesia, he begins to ascend the pillar as the Golden Spider hints about Asura’s past and what the mortal world has become in his absence. Fueled by his unexplainable anger, Asura breaks out of Naraka and inhabits his body, freeing it after 12,000 years in a massive explosion from beneath the surface. Asura wanders Gaea, which has turned into a vast wasteland with blood red skies and frequent lightening storms. Asura comes across a human village amidst the ruins that is under attack by Gohma. While Asura rescues the villagers, a capital ship descends to the village and deploys Trastrium warriors led by Wyzen, once a fellow General.

Wyzen explains that the Eight Guardian Generals disbanded after the coup, becoming the self proclaimed Seven Deities. Corrupted by power but still fighting the Gohma, the Seven Deities have seized control of Trastrium and oppressed the other demigods. Humans have been devolved back into Bronze Age tribes, systematically harvested in order to convert their souls into a more powerful form of mantra. This mantra is meant in theory for the Brahmastra, but is often taken by the Deities to magnify their power and prolong the War of Creation even further. Asura has been vilified among the demigods, and is now known as The Fallen. Infuriated, Asura duels Wyzen. Wyzen transforms several times, eventually tapping into the Brahmastra’s mantra reactor and becoming a titanic being. As he is about to be crushed under one of Wyzen’s fingers, Asura recalls his entire past. The subsequent release of wrath is so great that it obliterates Wyzen and shatters Asura’s arms, knocking him unconscious.

Upon awakening, Asura is confronted by Yasha, his former brother-in-law, who tells him to move on and to forget about Mithra. Asura refuses and fights Yasha despite the loss of his arms. Though he manages to damage Yasha's mask, he is ultimately overwhelmed and cleaved in half by one of Yasha's energy blasts.

Part II: Rebirth

Asura is awakened in Naraka by the Golden Spider a second time with his memory intact. Haunted by the sound of his daughter crying and fueled even further by anger, Asura climbs the pillar again into the mortal world.

500 years after his second death, Asura returns to his body. Petrified in stone at the base of a mountain, a shrine has been built around it by the descendants of the villagers he saved. The demigods abandoned the region after the battle, and the remaining humans now believe him to be a guardian against the absent Gohma. The Gohma finally attack just as Asura breaks free. A Gohma chieftain kidnaps a little girl that was worshipping Asura, who pursues it to the besieged village.

After defeating the Gohma, a fleet commanded by the Deity Kalrow comes to investigate. As Kalrow taunts Asura’s status as The Fallen from his ship, the Trastrium warriors begin harvesting the grateful villagers, who believe being absorbed into mantra is ascending to Heaven. Asura kills the warriors and destroys the fleet, crushing Kalrow in his escape pod as he begs for mercy.

Crashing down onto a mountain, Asura finds his old mentor Augus, now one of the Deities. The two briefly relax in a hot springs before the imminent fight. Augus tells Asura that Deus wants to achieve The Great Rebirth, an end to the War of Creation that will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity at the expense of billions of humans harvested for the cause. Asura and Augus fly to the surface of the moon for their showdown. Evenly matched in hand to hand combat, Augus draws his sword and stabs Asura the length of the moon to Gaea. As Augus prepares the killing blow, Asura disarms an impressed Augus and strikes him down.

The little girl finds Asura a few days later. She returns him to the village just as another fleet commanded by the Deity Olga launches a barrage of missiles to purify the land. Asura survives the attack, but finds the little girl’s charred body in the rubble. Consumed by fury, Asura becomes a demonic form of himself that wipes out most of the fleet within minutes. Distraught that Asura's power has somehow surpassed what took the Deities millennia to gather, Olga orders the now-completed Brahmastra fire directly at Asura.

On the Karma Fortress, Yasha looks on in horror and pleads with Olga not to waste the accumulated mantra that is meant for the Gohma. He attempts to stop the firing sequence, but fails to shut it down before Asura is caught in the blast and disappears.

Part III: Karma

Yasha is summoned by Deus to explain his actions. While his belief in the cause was once firm, Yasha now questions the need to sacrifice the humans since Asura has shown power that overshadows their own. As a test of loyalty, Deus has Yasha accompany their fellow Deity Sergei on an extermination against the Gohma, who are marching on another village near the capital of Shinto. Although Yasha fights valiantly to stop them, Sergei has his ship harvest the village the moment the Gohma arrive. Sergei shows no remorse, and apathetically states that seven trillion humans have already been harvested since they began. Having operated in space for most of the time since the coup, Yasha now witnesses the mass slaughter he and the Deities have committed, and cannot tolerate how many more humans and millennia it will take to satisfy the other Deities.

Asura suddenly arrives, having survived the Brahmastra’s firing and still in his demonic form. He carves through Sergei’s ship and disembowels Sergei himself. Sergei revels in his own death, gloating that he personally killed Durga during the coup. Yasha, who was aware of Sergei’s actions at the time but chose to restrain himself for the cause, battles Asura after he brutally defeats Sergei and completely submits to his fury. Knowing that Asura will consume himself if he is not subdued, Yasha taps into his own mantra of Melancholy and cracks open Asura’s form, returning his sanity but placing him in a temporary coma. Disgusted by the state of the world, Yasha goes rogue and rides to Shinto to assassinate Deus.

While in his coma, Asura is visited by the Golden Spider. While saddened by his loss of control, the Golden Spider reassures Asura that carrying out his revenge and defeating the Gohma is his destiny. Asura rises and heads to Shinto. He arrives at Deus’ office to find Yasha in combat with Deus. After a lengthy brawl, Deus escapes to the Karma Fortress and uplinks into the station. Yasha and Asura pursue him, avoiding being crushed or vaporized by Deus and the security forces. Asura slays Deus as Yasha frees Mithra from the machine. Before father and daughter can reunite, Asura and Yasha are interrupted by Vlitra’s surprise reemergence from Gaea, now at the apex of its power.

Despite the Brahmastra being depleted, Asura and Yasha leave with Mithra’s blessings to face Vlitra. A long fight in space ends at Vlitra’s core, where the two find a colossal monster that startlingly resembles Asura’s demon form. Realizing that this is the source of Gaea’s wrath, Asura releases his own and slays Vlitra, escaping with Yasha back into space. As the remaining Gohma are pushed back on the planet below, Asura returns to the Brahmastra and embraces a tearful Mithra in his arms.

Hidden Ending

If the player finishes 50 episodes with any rank or five or more episodes with an S Rank on any difficulty, “True Episode 18” is unlocked. The episode repeats most of Episode 18, but continues the ending after Asura and Mithra are reunited. Olga, despondent over Deus’ death and the loss of her fleet, returns to the Karma Fortress and appears behind Mithra taking her hostage. As she is about to kill Mithra, the Golden Spider appears in the mortal world and kills Olga, stating that he cannot allow anything to happen to his “vessel”. The Golden Spider weaves a web around himself and Mithra, emerging as a glowing avatar of the mantra. He states that Asura has served his purpose in fighting off the Gohma, somehow related to him since he is the “True God” of the mantra, and is now dismissed. True to form, Asura charges at the avatar, his wrath not yet satisfied.

Part IV: Nirvana (DLC ending)

The Golden Spider reveals himself to be Chakravartin, and refers to Asura as The Redeemer. Chakravartin states that he himself unleashed the Gohma to test the inhabitants of Gaea, in the hope of finding a successor and ending his need to watch over Gaea. Asura attacks Charkravartin only to find himself outmatched, even while in Mantra form. Asura unleashes his Wrath form in hopes of saving an imprisoned Mithra, but to prevent his destruction, she sends him falling down to Gaea along with Yasha. Chakravartin proclaims the world a failure and prepares to cleanse and remake it once more, which will kill the surviving demigods and humans. He seizes the Karma Fortress for the cleansing and detaches the Brahmastra, causing it to crash down to Gaea. Awakening on the surface, Yasha realizes that the still-unconscious Asura is the only one who can save the planet. Yasha defends him from surviving Gohma, then installs the Mantra Reactor from the Brahmastra into Asura. The reactor will prevent Asura from destroying himself in the final battle, and can augment his powers with the trillions of souls needed to stand against Chakravartin. Yasha removes his own mantra core to revive Asura, and prepares to battle him as a catalyst for Asura's new potential.

Asura wakes up to find Yasha eager to battle. Though confused, Asura accepts. His new mantra core comes online during the fight, causing him to critically injure Yasha. As Asura prepares to land the final blow, he realizes what Yasha has done for him and stops the fight. Yasha is already beyond help, and dies with a smile on his face. Before departing, Asura admits he had always considered Yasha more like a brother than an enemy.

Preparing for his final confrontation, Asura meditates and sees visions of the other Deities and Durga, reminding him of his purpose. He heads into space to confront Chakravartin. Chakravartin fires the doomsday blast at Gaea, but Asura transforms into a near-godly form called Asura the Destructor and deflects it. Asura engages Chakravartin, who again requests that Asura become the new god of the planet only to be rejected once again. The very fabric of time and space begins to come apart as they duel for the fate of Creation. Chakravartin is eventually pressed into his final form, but is brought to his knees by Asura's sheer force of will. As Asura prepares to kill Chakravartin, Mithra breaks free and urges him to stop. Mithra states that if Chakravartin is killed, all mantra will cease to function. This will render all of Shinkoku's technology and the powers of the demigods useless, including those keeping Asura alive. Asura chooses to destroy Chakravartin nonetheless, resigned to his fate and happy to die so long as Mithra can live free from danger. As the landscape around him collapses, Asura shares his final words with Mithra and vanishes, free of his wrath for the first time.

Mithra is sent back to Gaea, where she integrates with the surviving humans. She spends many years recounting the tales of her father to the flourishing mortal children on Gaea before presumably passing away peacefully of old age.

In the epilogue, It becomes apparent to the player that the events of Asura's Wrath actually occurred in the far distant past. The demigods reverted to humans after Chakravartin's demise, their exploits and very existence forgotten to modern society. Indeed, the truth about humanity's origins and near-extinction lives on only in vague stories passed down from prior generations.

The cycle of reincarnation is shown to have continued despite Chakravartin's absence, and all of the Deities including Asura have been reborn on present day Earth. A series of still frames shows Asura blissfully spending time with his reincarnated family, unaware of his past life's exploits. Suddenly, a giant meteor appears in the sky, presumably a new threat. Feeling a strangely familiar urge to defend the helpless, Asura stands prepared for battle.

Development

Unlike most action games where you can level up and acquire new abilities, Tsuchiya says, "Asura's fighting style will change according to the story. Asura's fighting styles are all predicated from the dramatic story or beats within the game. At certain points in the game, if Asura gets extremely angry, you might see him fight with six arms. At even later points in the game, Asura might get beat down and lose most of his arms." A playable demo was released on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on January 10, 2012.

Gameplay footage from the teaser trailer were not in the final build of the game, although elements of it will be in downloadable content.

Downloadable content includes a two-dimensional fighting mode using the Street Fighter IV engine as well as characters from the series. Also, "untold" chapters will be included and will use hand-drawn animation with quick time events.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The game's original soundtrack is scored by Chikayo Fukuda, and was released on March 7, 2012. A track listing has been provided in Japanese.

Kaoru Wada composed the main theme In Your Belief. The vocalized version was sung by Tomoyo Mitani.

Track listing

Asura's Wrath: Disc 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Project Barracuda"	0:22
2.	"Main Theme of ASURA'S WRATH"	1:52
3.	"In Your Belief"	5:24
4.	"Furious"	4:03
5.	"Unwavering Justice"	2:13
6.	"Six Heavenly Weapons of Indra"	0:30
7.	"The Gods' Military Forces"	2:45
8.	"Insurrection"	2:50
9.	"God's Vanguard"	2:57
10.	"Fear God"	2:51
11.	"Only Happiness For This Child"	0:52
12.	"A Place to Return To"	2:46
13.	"One Who Spins Ideas"	2:38
14.	"Demon Ruination"	2:35
15.	"Broadminded"	2:25
16.	"Orphan Wolf Legend -Wind-"	0:49
17.	"Orphan Wolf Legend -Fang-"	3:03
18.	"A Change of Fortune"	1:37
19.	"One Flower in the Wasteland"	0:58
20.	"Demon Curse"	2:42
21.	"Those Who Borrow Power"	2:33
22.	"Temple Ship"	3:08
23.	"Symphony No. 9 from "The New World" 2nd Movement"	2:39
24.	"Symphony No. 9 from "The New World" 4th Movement"	3:54
25.	"I Don't Need a God Who Only Takes Away"	1:07
Total length:		59:33

Asura's Wrath: Disc 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Even a God Must Dirty These Hands"	1:19
2.	"Sink Into Ostentation"	2:24
3.	"Open Your Friend's Eye"	3:06
4.	"Sakra Devanam Indra"	1:08
5.	"Counterattack Fists"	4:44
6.	"Show Justice"	2:56
7.	"Already You Must Recite It"	4:35
8.	"Visit"	4:00
9.	"Star's Outcry"	2:51
10.	"In Your Belief (instrumental)"	5:26
11.	"Becoming the King of the Round Ring"	2:03
12.	"Aurora Borealis"	3:04
13.	"Orphan Wolf Legend -Bonds-"	2:53
14.	"Proceed to the Earth with a Decisive Battle"	0:59
15.	"One Who Destroys the Ring"	1:17
16.	"One Who Spins Samsara"	4:11
17.	"In Your Belief (Piano Solo)"	4:42
18.	"In Your Belief (Ethnic Arrange)"	6:00
19.	"Option"	1:59
20.	"Game Over"	0:20
21.	"Asura's Wrath"	1:47
22.	"Treachery's Beacon"	0:42
23.	"Demolishing Adversity"	2:01
24.	"Determination"	1:32
25.	"Unruined Reason"	1:07
26.	"That Strength is Ugly"	0:47
27.	"Green Youth, But..."	0:42
28.	"Recollection"	2:19
Total length:		70:54

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameStats	8.0 / 10
Metacritic	73/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	D+
Computer and Video Games	7.5/10
Eurogamer	8/10
Famitsu	38/40
Game Informer	8.5/10
GameSpot	5.5
GameTrailers	6.3/10
IGN	7.5/10
Joystiq	4.5/5
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	7/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	7/10
Giant Bomb
Joystiq
Video Gamer	8/10
XGN	8.5/10
The Escapist

The game was received positively by the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. The magazine gave the game scores of 10, 10, 9, and 9, each out of 10, adding up to a total of 38 out of 40.

When released in the Western market, critical reception of Asura's Wrath was mixed to positive, with many critics praising the story and highlighting the "interactive anime" style as a positive, while others felt is detracted from regular gameplay. In a review for G4 TV, Alex Rubens in regards to the episodic narratives stated "I found myself anticipating the next episode as if it were my favorite TV show, making me want to jump right back in and play even more", going on the detail that the story "manages to keep from being predicable by the sheer craziness of the twists that [it] takes". TeamXbox praised the overall presentation as "the best adaptation of the Anime episode structure ever in a videogame", that is suited the characters and overarching narrative. Brad Shoemaker of GiantBomb praised the game's over the top spectacle, in that the "sheer craziness isn't enough; it's also about the way the craziness is presented. The visuals have a tremendous scale, and the action is masterfully framed by someone who really knows how to work a camera angle".

Critical response to the balance between the "interactive anime" style and gameplay was varied. Jeff Cork of Game Informer commented that "the combat may not be as deep as other hack and slash offerings, but it does a great job of making Asura feel (and play) like the unhinged demigod", in which he felt the story was the focus rather that the combat, finding it "a nice change of pace from other hack-and-slash games, featuring an interesting story that’s not blocked off by insurmountable difficulty." Keza MacDonald of IGN stated that this unique element was "self-evidently, an excellent thing – and a rare one, if you've been playing games for a long time", praising the presentation in particular, in his opinion calling Asura's Wrath "one of the greatest achievements in Japanese animation in a very long time". Despite this however he responded negatively to the longevity, concluding that "as an episodic download release Asura's Wrath would be brilliant, but as a premium-priced game it can only be recommended with strong reservations." In a more critical review, Giancarlo Varanini of GameSpot called the reliance on quick-time events "uninspired" and a "distraction", while also being critical of the difficulty of the combat, in a statement saying "There's no challenge; no enemies that put up an engaging fight. It's all very safe". Gametrailers echoed this view saying that if approached as a game, Asura's Wrath will leave you wanting, but as a piece of multimedia, it's intriguing.

References

Asura's Wrath Review

External links

• Official website Template:Ja icon
• CyberConnect2's website Template:Ja icon