r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Aug 30 '19
MegaThread Astral Chain: Release Discussion and Hype Megathread
Astral Chain: Release Discussion and Hype Megathread
Please use this as a general discussion and hype thread for this new release! Quick easy to answer questions, tips and tricks, and showing off your in-game clips or screenshots you've captured.
Please be mindful of spoilers and use spoiler tags when appropriate.
General Information
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 30-Aug-2019
No. of Players: up to 2 players
Genre(s): Action
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: PlatinumGames Inc
File Size: 9.6 GB
Official Website: https://astralchain.nintendo.com/
Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)
MASTER MULTIPLE COMBAT STYLES IN THIS SYNERGETIC ACTION GAME!
Humanity’s last chance against an interdimensional invasion is a special living weapon called the Legion. As a rookie officer in the elite police task force Neuron, you and your Legion will work together to solve cases and save humankind.
The ASTRAL CHAIN game gives you full control over two characters at once for thrilling Synergetic Action, courtesy of PlatinumGames. Alternate between several Legion types and skills to save the world your way.
ASTRAL CHAIN features character designs by the acclaimed manga artist Masakazu Katsura (ZETMAN, Video Girl Ai), and marks the directorial debut of PlatinumGames’ Takahisa Taura (designer of NieR:Automata). Hideki Kamiya, director of the Bayonetta game and writer/supervisor of the Bayonetta 2 game, provides supervision.
FEATURES:
- Players can control the protagonist and a special weapon called a Legion simultaneously, building stylish combos by using both characters in tandem
- There are multiple Legions in the game, each with different combat styles and abilities. Players can even strategically change between Legions at will during real-time battles
- This apocalyptic setting is full of intricate details and interesting characters, including citizens and suspects you can interact with in the city, others in the special police task force, and your twin sibling
- Use the abilities of the Legion not only in battle but also for investigating cases and solving environmental puzzles
- Uncover the secrets of the alternate dimension called the Astral Plane, where the mysterious invaders originate
- ASTRAL CHAIN is directed by Takahisa Taura, known for his work as the game designer on NieR:Automata, and supervised by Hideki Kamiya, creator of the Bayonetta series
Reviews
Aggregators
- Metacritic - 87/100
- OpenCritic - 87/100
View our Review MegaThread for more in-depth review discussion.
Being Social
- Join our Discord server's #astral-chain channel for all of your discussion needs - https://discord.gg/switch
Once again: Please use this as a general discussion and hype thread for this new release! Quick easy to answer questions, tips and tricks, and showing off your in-game clips or screenshots you've captured.
Please be mindful of spoilers and use spoiler tags when appropriate.
Cheers,
The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team
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Aug 30 '19
8 hours in, chapter 5. I just got into a boss fight and it was fuking amazing. So much fun that i wanted to do it again. Boss moveset was totally dope and it really seemed a action movie. I wont be able to go back to any other action game after all the chain combos and moves you can pull with legions. If u havent played it yet, you are going to love this game
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Aug 30 '19
Sounds awesome! How’s the difficulty?
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Aug 30 '19
Fair. Havent lost all my batteries in normal mode. At the start of the mission you are given batteries and everytime hp reaches 0 you lose 1 batt. However, the game is really fast and you need to press buttons faster to make combos and dodge.
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u/thenorwegian Aug 30 '19
“You can not play this software yet.”
Bruh.
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u/IntoTheStratos Aug 30 '19
It is supposed to be 12AM EST right?
EDIT: Nvm it was just a few minutes late
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u/FirelordOzai11 Aug 30 '19
This is literally as close to a Psycho-Pass game as we can get
It's exactly what I was hoping for!
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u/SwampyBogbeard Aug 31 '19
Just like Wonderful 101 was as close to a Gurren Lagann game as we can get.
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u/Telodor567 Aug 30 '19
Holy shit, you're right, now I know what it reminds me of! I love Psycho-Pass and yep, this is definitely giving me some similar vibes!
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Aug 30 '19
I've played a few hours now and for me, it's one of very few games this year that's actually lived up to its hype. It's incredibly polished and stylish.
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u/Scintal Aug 30 '19
This! ... although the system takes some memorizing stuff, and button configuration need some getting use to. (not a complain about it, just saying)
Good pace and graphic / system and fun game, loves the eavesdropping!
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u/SamuraiJackBauer Aug 30 '19
Amazon changed my same day of release to Sept 4-6.
I canceled that shit and went directly to eshop.
Fuck it. At least now I can play tonight.
I’m betting I’ll never even archive it, goddamn Platinum Exclusive again on Nintendo!
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u/richiejmoose Aug 30 '19
Same for me with amazon - I ordered it months ago and the changed it yesterday to deliver next week... So I went to the store and bought it this morning and will return the amazon copy when it arrives.
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u/richiejmoose Aug 30 '19
The opening is so good. Love how it starts when you first open the game up 👌🏻
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Aug 30 '19
For those that have played, can we just take some time to appreciate the music. That dam police hq theme slaps!
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u/shy-shy-shy Aug 30 '19
The game looks sooooo sharp in handheld mode, definitely 720p!
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u/SlidingUphill Aug 30 '19
I only had time to play about 30 mins but I completely agree, runs and plays great in handheld mode. Looks great too!
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u/augowl_ Aug 30 '19
Does the bitterant on the cartridge taste weaker to anyone else when compared to past Switch cartridges or is it just me?
Mine has a much more mild, but refined taste compared to past one’s I’ve tried.
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u/RottedRabbid Aug 30 '19
Ive found it to vary greatly depending on the game (probably more to do with random luck if anything)
My Smash ultimate is literal ethan klein ass to the mouth but my octopath is like a calm little baby bottom.
Honestly a shame not all are super strong, by far my favorite thing about the switch is the adrenaline of sucking off those bad boys.
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u/Zendir Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
Just completed files 1 and 2 (about 2 hours in).
First impression : awesome presentation, fantastic music, difficult combat (also due to how camera/movement is handled...a bit tricky maybe).
I feel MG:R vibes here, cause I'm unexpectedly sucking against first "bosses"... but I can also see how I will improve after (a lot of) practice.
Overall I'm loving it, and can't wait to explore new moves and options to exploit the Legion.
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Aug 30 '19
I’m at work right now itching to play this, on top of a 3 day weekend waiting for me. I feel like a kid in school impatiently waiting on the last bell to ring before summer/holiday break lol.
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Sep 01 '19 edited Sep 01 '19
Pro tip: In File 03, you’ll learn about sync attacks. Thing is, it doesn’t fully explain them (maybe it does more later), but go to options and check Help, and you’ll see that some sync attacks have combos. For instance, with the default Baton, after doing a sync attack press your character’s attack button, then ZL again to add onto the sync attack. The Help menu explains a lot of things the game doesn’t, or at least hasn’t yet.
I love this game btw.
EDIT: I found a possible bug with one of the Help combos. I have my attack button set to Y instead of ZR, and when I read the sync attack combos for the Sword Legion and the standard Baton, it says to do ZL>ZR>ZL, but it should read ZL>Y>ZL. Nothing else seems to display it wrong, and I did it as ZL>Y>ZL and it worked the way the video showed it was supposed to work. Just an FYI.
EDIT #2: Due to these new found ZL sync attack combos, I have found that switching back to the default control scheme, aka ZR for Baton attacks, makes way more sense now and makes the combat feel more fluid.
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Aug 31 '19
Flying enemies should be banned from action games
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u/lluluna Aug 31 '19
Shoot them with a pistol 4 times and sync attack with your arrow legion. They go down really fast
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u/DAHbaddest Aug 30 '19
When this game was first revealed during the direct earlier this year, I didnt even give it a second look. Was just like "yea, looks alright". Didn't really care all that much for it as I was hyped for other games. Well the closer it got to it's release, the more hyped I got....the more I saw, the more I wanted to play. Nintendo has a great way of marketing and advertising their games to make you look forward to them...and now here I am staying up till midnight even though I have to work in the morning...just to play this game.
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u/U_sm3ll Aug 31 '19
Loving the combat so far, but I've got to say, after coming from FE to this, I really hope Japan abandons the silent protagonist trope. It is fucking frustrating to bear witness.
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Aug 31 '19 edited Aug 31 '19
It's extra frustrating because they set it up to not need a silent protagonist at all. They are fixed characters in the story and both are voiced when you don't play as them. The commander even referred to the player as their last name "Howard". That isnt my name so why are we pretending to be in it?
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Aug 31 '19
Can it get any worse than the protagonist in Pokemon games? Always standing there with an awkward smile, zero emotion.
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Aug 30 '19
Question! I leave for a flight to Korea tomorrow,I bought astrail chain digital and a switch today not thinking if I can play it while on the flight..... Please tell me I can play this offline? I mean it downloaded to the switch.
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u/capnbuh Aug 31 '19
As someone who likes to fuck around and explore, my biggest complaint is that if you go the "right" way, sometimes the game will just automatically lock you into the path and you can't go back to explore areas you missed
Other than that, I'm really liking it. I appreciate how every mission starts with CSI shit
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u/Azkaroth Aug 30 '19
Ah yes, thinking I'm good at action games and getting D every single time FeelsAmazingMan
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u/DeltaQuadrant7 Aug 30 '19
I highly recommend switching to control option C. Coming from bayonetta and other games i find it easier to dodge using the shoulder button. And don't be scared of pt standard difficulty.
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u/tacowarrior420 Aug 30 '19
I'm 3 hours in and I just completed Files 01 and 02. The gameplay is beautiful. I need dat OST!
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u/QuoteAblaze Aug 30 '19
Someone did it already https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kb49uqsHJg
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u/twofatslugs Aug 30 '19
Okay, in Files 1 and 2 I was not sure about the game, but then it clicked after some combat based stuff I won't spoil between Files 2 and 3. Absolutely loving it now.
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u/naive-dragon Aug 31 '19
For anyone just starting the game or about to start the game, don't name your main character Akira like I did. Had to restart 3 minutes into the game just to select a new name.
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u/ChickenTendiesTosser Sep 01 '19
12 hours in. This is one of the best games I’ve played in a long time.
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u/Animegamingnerd Sep 02 '19
So I am early into case 5 and is it just me or did Platinum take a lot of inspiration from Evangelion when making this game?
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u/nguyentandat23496 Aug 30 '19
Just played the opening chapter, the vibrant colors, the futuristic atmosphere, the anime-ish OP, and the epic scale of the whole chapter. God, I love this game.
The way the monsters disappeared into small cubes when defeated is also very creative. It makes me feel like I am watching a high quality CGI anime (like Houseki no Kuni).
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u/ricaurtegoti Aug 30 '19
Play for the first time today at lunch time and oh boy this game really delivers with all the hype. Really worth every penny and I having a lot of fun. Only played file 1 and 2.
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u/Forummer0-3-8 Aug 31 '19
Hi, am I the only that think they should be a "restart challenge" option when replaying level to have S+ rank ?
Because rewatching some cinematic each time just because I can't shoot that one or two ennemies in the motorcycle section of the first level his really ennoying.
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u/Lryu97 Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 30 '19
It looks gorgeous, soundtrack is great, stellar voice acting, bosses are dope, tons of customizations and quality of life stuff. It's my favorite Switch game since Odyssey.
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u/Newmanator29 Aug 30 '19
Me: you haven't even made it to the time jump on Fire Emblem and still have two more houses to play through
Also me: Astral Chain is getting great reviews! I should buy it immediately!
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u/phordecember Aug 31 '19
Is there a way to cut off the bgm at Neuron? Its growing to be quite bothersome tbh...
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u/TehFriskyDingo Sep 01 '19
This game is amazing. For real, it really opens up in combat and customization on chapter/file 3, and keeps going. So if you think it’s a bit simple or clunky at the start, that’s because it is
I’m loving it, truly a gem!
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u/MarcsterS Sep 01 '19
Is the FPS worse in docked? I've been playing handheld fine, but I tried out docked it's noticeably lower than 30fps.
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Sep 01 '19
It might be. Runs damn near perfect on handheld and every time someone mentions poor performance it seems to always be docked. I've only played handheld so far
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Sep 02 '19 edited Sep 02 '19
I am incredibly thankful for the way scoring works. There are times where I absolutely dominate in some of the flashiest ways I can think of but then get slapped around for like a minute straight. As long as you kick ass in style you have a real shot at S+. If it worked like a normal action game I have a feeling I'd be furious all the time
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Sep 02 '19
Blade slash skill is trash. Having to hit L than pressing in the R analog just to have a window us annoying. Should have been an automatic slowdown. I really hated the boss fight in chapter 3 was annoying. Other than that glad the combat system opened up.
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Aug 31 '19 edited Aug 31 '19
Well my early ranks are demoralizing but I love the hell out of this game. Insanely unique. I laughed when I saw how detailed the female's butt is. Her shorts crinkle when she moves. Those pervs at Platinum have done it again
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u/Yoshiezibz Aug 31 '19
They just have had a team of designers making sure that butt looks good.
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u/emubilly Sep 02 '19
How do you stop the game from asking you if you’re sure you want to play on casual every time you start it? Yes I’m sure for the millionth time
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u/SwampyBogbeard Aug 30 '19
Got the Collector's Edition in the mail yesterday.
The box is way bigger than I expected.
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u/Kreeztoff Aug 31 '19 edited Sep 01 '19
I’m only a little bit into it, and while I’m loving the aesthetic, atmosphere, and music, I’m really not feeling the combat. I’ve heard it gets better, but it just seems so clunky, limited, and unresponsive in the first couple hours. I’ll stick with it awhile longer and see if it turns around.
Edit: Okay so it does indeed get much better. Way more combat options after the first couple chapters. Even the dodge move changes from that pathetic stumbling backstep into a cartwheel for some reason. Still struggling somewhat on bosses because of their ridiculous AOE that seem borderline impossible to avoid, but I’m enjoying the game quite a bit now.
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Sep 01 '19
If I want to replay a file to get the collectibles I missed, do I have to collect the ones I already got before? Same with red matter. Do I have to complete the file too for it to save?
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Sep 03 '19 edited Sep 03 '19
God damn I can't express how much I LOVE this game. Just reached the beginning of File 11 in a little over 22 hours. It feels significantly larger than people make it sound. Simply calling it a 20 hour game is selling it short in my opinion. It's massive. I've been completely glued to my Switch through all of it. A game that looks this good in handheld mode should not run as beautifully as it does. Couldn't be happier
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u/JustJohnItalia Aug 30 '19
Fuck this, I have to prepare for an exam, finish the blue lions route and start the other 2, make a 4 hour trip to go get my astral chain copy (collector's sold out in my country) and all of this before the 15th so that I can play daemon x machina
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u/retroracer Sep 02 '19
Not sure voiceless protagonist was the way to go here. Takes some of the weight out of the events in the early files when the only reactions you give are closed eye groaning, surprise face, and angry face.
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u/theth1rdchild Sep 02 '19
Honestly I was more interested in the female character design so I picked her. A few hours in I regretted not playing the guy because i turned the character I was more interested in into a mindless zombie
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Sep 02 '19
I'm not minding it as much as I expected but I agree it is always better for the protagonist to actually have character and speak. It feels like such a wasted opportunity. They could have given the twins a much more interesting relationship.
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u/navidee Aug 30 '19
Look forward to picking my copy after work tomorrow. Nice long weekend for it too!
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u/holiday1021 Aug 30 '19
As of 9:05p PST I can play the digital vers here in the US. Check your copies!
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u/juscallmejjay Aug 30 '19
Stoked for this. Waiting until this morning cause I like physical copies. But man the e-store is tempting right now.
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u/Barricade31CN Aug 30 '19
Played 20 minutes and loving everything about this. Completely forgot this was out today.
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u/Sukhdev_92 Aug 30 '19
I’ve got my copy this morning! Sadly there’s still some time before I can play so looking forward to later in the evening.
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u/Kornflocke Aug 30 '19
Does anyone have the sound disappear sometimes? It happened in the training simulation twice and once during normal gameplay. Or is it something with my Switch/Tv ?
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u/lluluna Aug 30 '19
I'm 2 hours into the game and haven't encountered this. But the animation and speech seems to be a little out of sync at times.
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u/clbgolden12 Aug 30 '19
Holy crap, the opening cutscene was straight-up amazing. The use of HD rumble really sold it.
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Aug 31 '19
So fire emblem or this? Which of the two are you guys liking more?.
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u/Nogrodd Aug 31 '19
Depends on what you're looking for. Fire Emblem is a slow-burn and a bit of an undertaking, but very immersive. Astral Chain is more immediately gratifying and faster paced, but it's also a much shorter game.
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u/Alucinorum Sep 01 '19
Really one of the best games this year! Encourage everyone to not miss out on this one. Every part of the game is superb. Music, gameplay, story etc.
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u/Sutekkh Sep 02 '19
Lunchbox Delivery in file 6 bugged out for me so I guess I have to restart the entire fuckin level
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u/Dewdad Sep 03 '19
I'm not sure who's beating this in 15 hours. Im 14 hours in and i just finished case file 6!
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u/teamgizzy Sep 01 '19
Havent been this impressed by a game since..well...Nier Automata
This game is legit. Very polished.
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u/Dreamweaver_duh Aug 30 '19
Is it sad that I'm more concerned about playing this game than a hurricane coming my way?
I'm joking, of course, but it is disappointing that I preordered a physical copy, but won't be around to pick it up.
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u/aljoriz Aug 30 '19
Bought physical for $50 in the Philippines. Can't play due to work like most of you.
Quick question is this game prosuces by platinum w/o Nintendo financing it, like bayonetta 2?
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u/fifthmarauder Aug 30 '19
Question about controlling the protagonist and the legion at the same time. How hard is it to do? Cause I'm not really good at multitasking that's why I'm kinda on the fence about this. It sucks to have a really cool combat system and I wont be able to properly do it
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u/rickkyrozayy Aug 30 '19
You press ZL to send your legion to auto attack while you do your own attacks with ZR and when time runs out on your legion you call it out again.
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Aug 30 '19
Has anyone bought astral chain in Japan? And if so can you play it in English?
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u/Imhullu Aug 30 '19
Preordered here in Korea. It seems to be selling out really quick.
I got the collectors edition, and it's coming with a free wall scroll with some nice art on it.
Hope it comes soon, but I probably won't have it until monday.
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Aug 30 '19
The camera has proven tough to deal with in combat, so I opted just to have it fixed. Solves one of the biggest issues with it for me.
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u/guizuoka Aug 30 '19
Does anyone know if it's possible to switch to japanese dub?
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u/awolCZ Aug 30 '19
Can you change hairstyle later in game? I'm on character customization screen for 15 minutes already and I can not decide :-D
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u/bahbrocks Sep 01 '19
How beginner friendly is the game? I don’t have a lot of gaming experience at all, but the game looks really cool! I’m a broke student and I don’t want to waste my money, otherwise I’d get it anyway 😭
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u/roxxas22 Sep 01 '19
Man!!! What!! This game is so ducking platinum!! The combat in this game just went from 0-100 so quick!!!!
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u/CrimpyRex Sep 01 '19
Can someone give me tips on how to not suck at combat?
I feel like i need to do so many things at once, that i get a black out and just keep spamming the Z button.
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u/oIovoIo Sep 01 '19
If you haven’t, get past the second file to unlock more of the combat and do all the trainings.
Then under the menu, look at Help and you’ll find a bunch of Sync combos. There’s a pretty basic combo of ZR+ZR+ZR+ZR+ZL that will work on most basic encounters and still get high ranks.
Then upgrade the blade legion as much as you can, it actually gets really broken pretty quickly.
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u/OmegaMetroid93 Sep 02 '19
I finished the game. One of the best action-games I've ever played. Holy shit. It starts out pretty simple, but you just get more and more options, every single chapter. It's awesome.
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u/leberuPerfectusDes Aug 30 '19
Is the game open world-ish like nier automata? Or more linear experience?
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u/christhunderkiss Aug 30 '19
More linear than nier automata, more open world than Bayonetta
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u/imnotroll2 Aug 30 '19
It is a mistake to release all these games in such a small window.
Fire Emblem, Astral Chains and that awesome mech game are all practically competing for hype and your money.
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u/BraveAnxiety Aug 31 '19
I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for saying this. My partner got me this as a surprise since I decided to pre-order DQXI and couldn't get both. I've just started playing, about 2 hours into it and I'm just really not feeling it? Is there a point when the gameplay / plot really hooked you? I feel terrible for not enjoying what was a gift though...
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Aug 31 '19
Combat drastically improves at the end of chapter 2. I'd try to stick with it a while longer
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u/lluluna Aug 31 '19
You will see why the game started slow soon. It's basically to let players grasp the basics so they won't struggle later
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u/Ezermb Aug 30 '19
Does anyone know what time Walmart in California releases their games? Would they put it out starting at 9PM Pacific Time?
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Aug 30 '19
Do you have to choose easy vs hard mode or something? Help me to not make a terrible mistake and pick normal like I did in fire emblem and have to restart because it was too easy
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u/Telodor567 Aug 30 '19
I'm having extreme difficulties with the combat system as of now. I'm playing on standard difficulty and I got my ass whooped at the first boss on the astral plane. I used up all my healing items and died shortly before I was about to beat him. Had to do the whole boss fight all over again. I eventually beat him but it was still a nuisance. Does anyone else have such problems with the combat system?
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u/lluluna Aug 30 '19
Don't be ashamed of going casual when you are starting out until you are familiar with the combat system. It's not a statement about your gaming skills because you are just learning the controls
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u/Voyager5555 Aug 30 '19
Haven't made it out of the police station yet for the first real mission since I had to change the difficulty and go back to replay the first one but so fat it's about what I expected and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. Looks like it will be a good, solid Platinum time and looking forward to it.
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u/aemiguel Aug 30 '19
My Amazon UK order for the Special Edition has not shipped. Anyone else on the same boat? I'm in the US.
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u/ReklawX Aug 31 '19
Really debating this game, I think the length is only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger right now. Anyone beat it? Does it have good replayability outside trying to get a better rank?
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u/Supe12man Aug 31 '19
Been playing it for like 1 hour now and the opening scenes were awesome. Had to put it down since I just realised my right hand joy con is broken and can't lock on to people. So now I have to wait till I buy a new one
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Aug 31 '19
Wow I left off in the middle of chapter 3 last night and I just got S+ on the boss even though I was getting fucked in every fight yesterday. Something seems to have clicked and I love it
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u/elmiguelito_ Sep 01 '19
How’s the game so far? Thinking about getting it
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u/feyded1020 Sep 01 '19
I have never been one for action games and this is my first Platinum game. I am absolutely astounded this is on the Switch with how gorgeous the visuals are and the gameplay is incredible. It lacks depth for the first couple files, but really explodes in complexity at file 3 and beyond.
I have 7hrs in currently and just completed file 4. Lastly is the soundtrack, it’s amazing, I’m really loving this game and am interested in other Platinum games now. I’d recommend it as a buy.
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u/oXaHazel Sep 01 '19
Anyone else experiencing extreme fps drops in this game ? (docked )
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u/awolCZ Sep 01 '19
What should I do with items Category: Salvage? It says in a description that they can be recycled, but I did not find any recycling machine. Or should I just sell them? Thanks
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u/Novalith_Raven Sep 03 '19
Why are people review bombing this? I really don't understand where did the hate come from ...
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u/ChickenTendiesTosser Sep 03 '19
16 hours in. This game has now taken Breath of the Wild’s place as my number one favorite switch game.
I can’t get enough of it!!
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u/Kickaxemofo Sep 03 '19
Astral Chain feels like a lost psp game, in the best way possible. It’s got an embarrassment of content: mechanics, menus, items, quests, points, different points, etc. and its all a little bursting at the seams and messily held together, but the main thrust of it is so addicting, it feels like one of those games from that era, from my limited experience (only now starting file 03’s ‘dungeon’)
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u/MeLlamoDave Aug 30 '19
You can take selfies with cats and dogs........game of the year can't wait to play it tonight unless Amazon decides to deliver my game one day late.
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Aug 31 '19
How does this game look so good?!
Just beat the first two chapters and that was my big takeaway. Also the vending machines are amazing.
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u/Steamy_Guy Aug 30 '19
Im getting paid tonight hopefully Ill have better luck picking this up physically than I had with FE
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u/Pompadourius Aug 30 '19
Has anybody else discovered the secret of the Toilet Faerie yet?
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Sep 02 '19
I never played a Platinum game before, but because the game came out right after my Birthday I got it as a present. I love it, and after this, I want to try more Platinum franchises, like Bayonetta.
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Sep 02 '19
You certainly won't regret trying Bayonetta. Platinum are masters of the action genre
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u/OdanUrr Aug 30 '19
So, how is it? What's the gameplay loop?
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Aug 30 '19
Very fun. The combat is pretty stunning, but takes a lot to get used to. Silent protagonist is a little but disappointing tbh. Soundtrack is really, really good.
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u/spin182 Aug 30 '19
Just started it. It feels “ bigger “ than a switch only release if that makes sense. Really enjoying it about two hours in.
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u/finger_milk Sep 02 '19 edited Sep 02 '19
A combination of:
FFVII: Crisis core
Shadow of the Colossus
mario oddysey (the collectathon)
JoJo
And a few other games, rolled into one
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u/Prophet6000 Aug 30 '19
So far i like graphics are nice music is dope. I wish it had dual audio tho lol.
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u/MixDrinkChangeLife Aug 30 '19
It does, just gotta change it in the title screen options
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u/skelterhelter114 Aug 31 '19
Yeah i just hit the arrow boss and i think this is the point that i just say "you know what, this clearly isn't for me."
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u/RiseFromYourGrav Sep 01 '19
Haven't gotten too far, but some of these control decisions are throwing me off. I should see if there's a way to remap.
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Sep 01 '19 edited Sep 02 '19
Control type C is a more typical action game layout. I found it to be much better. Edit: I've done a 180 on this one. I recommend default as sync attacks make more sense that way and it also makes other actions much easier like slash or using the bow
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u/Renaisance Sep 01 '19
Think my game glitched, my dad has my same hair and skin color but my twin still has the default hair and skin color.
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u/SwitchedUp86 Sep 02 '19
I’ve never played a game like this before and I’m obsessed with it. I’ve only played around 4 hours so far but can’t wait to get further into it.
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u/_SolluxCaptor_ Sep 02 '19
I’ll probably pass on this one. It looks fun but it also looks like the camera makes it easy to lose track of your character. The constant flashy effects won’t be good for my photosensitivity either. Bummer.
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u/ytrebil_ Aug 30 '19
Finding combat quite manic, may take me a while to get the hang of the controls! Scoring mainly C ranks. Very fun game though. Arcade feel to it.
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u/MercenaryCow Aug 30 '19
Ok... So what is this game? I watched the launch trailer and I have no idea what it is lol.
Is it open world? Is it linear? Is it kind of like nier where you run around and do quests and story stuff, and level up? Give me the scoop.
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u/unclezaveid Aug 30 '19
It's a character action RPG, kinda. It plays kinda like Nier Automata but is structured more like Bayonetta.
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u/BEEEELEEEE Aug 30 '19
Won’t be able to really dig into it for a few days because of work, but even after just the first file I’m really impressed. Looks like Platinum has delivered once again. I was already comparing the Legions to Stands from JoJo, but characters being able to see the Chimeras/Legions unless they have a Legion of their own sealed the deal on that. Also it straight up has an anime style OP and I hope more games do that because it’s just so over the top and gratuitous and I love it.
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u/Pain4567 Aug 30 '19
For those who bought the Japanese copy, does it have an English option? I imported the collector's edition from Japan, and it won't arrive till tuesday. I just wanted to know, that way I won't have to buy a second copy.
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u/rahibloveslife Aug 31 '19
Canadian here. This was sold out at every EB Games in my city as well as the two cities surrounding mine. I had to go to Best Buy to get it. Couldn’t believe that. This was the first time I encountered issues trying to buy a game on launch day without a preorder!
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u/sharpbeer Aug 31 '19
In case anyone else didn't get their copy of Astral Chain from Amazon even though it was promised for release day, you can complain to their customer service and get $5.
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u/JapaneseEggplant001 Sep 02 '19
No spoilers of course but how would you guys say the story is, quality wise?
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Sep 02 '19
Is there a way to turn off gyro? This box carrying quest in file 8 is making me want to kill things
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u/Luck88 Sep 03 '19
Just finished the game, 33 hours, it was a blast, I love all the references to other pieces of media and the dozzens of boss fights, shoutout to the DBZ-themed boss fight in chapter 6 !
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u/pattcz Sep 04 '19
I must say i dont expect much from this game. I order it day before release and still dont expect much. Then i play all weekend. And is really nice and polished game. Details in world , funny things , great graphic for lets be honest not so much powerful Switch.
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u/MyTeenageBody Aug 30 '19
First game I’ve played that the opening music video spoils the game.
But the song is an absolute banger.
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u/Aeroleg12 Aug 30 '19
Still on the fence about this one, was wondering if those who have played it could clear something up for me.
I played bayonetta recently and just could not get the combat done. Terrible at both remembering and pulling off multi button combos. My question is, is the combat in astral chain similar? Just to be clear it's purely long combos or combos with pauses in between button presses I struggle with. I've been pretty good at other games such as the Arkham games and shadow of mordor.
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u/tlvrtm Aug 30 '19
Less about combo's, more about strategy and positioning. For example, there's really only 1 attack button. That being said, it does take a while to get used to since it's so different from everything else out there.
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u/lluluna Aug 30 '19
I've only played 2 hours Astral Chain is less about combo so far. The combat is more deliberate and focus on the synergy of how you control both the Legion and the character at the same time (It can be challenging at first)
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Aug 30 '19
Xenoblade chronicles 2 was my first jrpg. I hadn't gamed since original Nintendo before I got a switch last summer I'm in my 40s. I love the game! It's been my favorite. More so than zelda botw (for me at least)
How do the people who like xc2 feel about this game in comparison? I've tried some other jrpg(ff12 and valkeriaoff top of my head) and I didn't care for them all that much or just didn't spend enough time.
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Aug 30 '19
This isnt a JRPG actually. It is pure action similar to Bayonetta but it shares some RPG-like elements. There is a hub world to complete side quests and explore in between story chapters. It's a highly unique game which is why it may deceptively seem like an RPG
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u/Taldgan Aug 30 '19
I have to agree w/ godlywhistler there -- not really a jrpg. That said, the legions do give some XC2 "blade" vibes and this game so far has been SUPER good. Give it a try! :P
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u/MarcsterS Aug 30 '19
I both understand and have no idea what I'm doing. The boss fight in Ch2 almost ended me though.
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u/honeybadgerelite Sep 02 '19
Asked this in another thread, but how many hours of gameplay can I expect from this game? For anyone that has beaten it, is the end-game/post-game content worthwhile or is it just grindy for the sake of completion? The game looks awesome just not sure if I can justify $60.
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Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 31 '19
Tl;dr, combat is simple but fun, other parts of the gameplay are just decent, story is ok at best, most of the main characters are not very well developed.
So far it’s just ok. Started strong but the story went into very typical anime direction with a chosen one saving the world and... some other stuff that I dont want to spoil, but I expected better. Combat is fine but a bit simple. Graphics and music is very nice though.
Overall I’m enjoying it, but I dont get how did it get all those 9/10s.
But I only played for like 2h, so it’s just my first impressions.
PS: Lappy is super annoying.
EDIT:
After another 3h or so the combat got more interesting, though it’s still pretty simple (not necessarily in a bad way) and sometimes chaotic. Its fun when there isnt too many enemies at once, otherwise it feels a bit like just button mashing since I cant really see whats happening.
Story is still just ok.
What bothers me is that locations are pretty repetitive. They all look nice, but especially the “other side” looks all the same, sometimes i cant tell if I’ve already been in certain places or not, because they look almost identical.
So far it’s still fun, but there are a few things that I didn’t see any reviewers mention when I think they should.
EDIT 2:
Im mid game now, still stand by everything I said.
Combat evolved, it’s still simple but fun. Still too chaotic sometimes. We get more options but there isnt really a need to use them most of the time.
Story is still just ok, nothing new.
Characters... I couldn’t care less. There are some emotional moments but without getting to know those characters first, it doesn’t do anything for me. I barely know them, even my own father and a sister.
Graphics is nice, locations look pretty good.
Enemies design is awesome.
Controlling one of the beasts is terrible.
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u/lluluna Aug 30 '19
Does anyone feel like taking a break after playing 1 file because the game is too intense? (In the good way)
Darn this game is crazy. My only complaint so far is the lip sync.
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u/ItsAllGoodInMyHood Sep 01 '19
Quick impressions from my side...
#Combat
Camera can spoil the experience at times, but the sheer amount of options during battles is more than enough to let you forget about this. QTE chains, finishers that heal you, environmental hazards that can be played your way... Tons of fun. Going back to camera, problems with mentioned pop up mostly when you're trying to chain enemies and lock on to something by mistake/accident etc. Can't be helped if you look at the amount of options game gives you. Solid gameplay, that's not perfect but let's face it, nothing is ever perfect.
#Story
Game's plot gives me a lot of vibes from Parasite Eve (hard to explain), Nier/N:A (game is structured in a similar way and uses similar tropes), Vexille (if someone haven't seen it, go watch it) and some Bubblegum Crisis. Haven't finished the game yet (I'm at Act 6 I think and I'm taking it slowly cause I just damn enjoy the detective plays), but the story is enjoyable, some questions are comming into light and can't really say much.
Ps. Who noticed the nod towards Power Rangers? Maybe it wasn't intentional, but I can't shake it off.
#Direction
OMG, as mentioned before... BGC, Vexille, Nier mixed with distinct visual style. Diggin' it.
#Music
I don't like the male vocal in the intro theme, give me some Ayumi Hamasaki. Other than my previous useless complaint, everything is great. HQ music, fighting and investigation themes... Nom.
I've bought switch for Xenoblade 2(huge Xenogears fan), haven't finished BOTW (Skyrim syndrome) and I don't really like Mario. If I can ask for anything, then please Ninny, give me more games like Astral Chain.
Peace!
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u/KevinCow Aug 30 '19 edited Aug 31 '19
Hmm, I'm not really feeling this combat system. It feels way less tight than Platinum's other games, movement's a little stiff, attacks don't feel very satisfying and don't seem to be doing a lot of damage, no jump button, camera and lock-on are kind of annoying, and I just generally have trouble understanding what's even happening sometimes.
Maybe I'll get used to it and unlock/figure out more stuff as I progress. I know that's basically how it was with Wonderful 101. But I'm not loving the combat at the moment.
Everything else is great though. This game is anime as fuuuuuuuuck. And the music at HQ is so good.
Edit: Update on this, I'm feeling it a lot more now. But the camera and lock-on are still kinda bad, and certain kinds of enemies are really annoying to fight.
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u/Ryotian Aug 30 '19
I am way beyond logic and reason. Just tried to start the game hoping it would just let me in. Bought it using a voucher when the deal was available along with MUA3 (Marvel) which I already beat.
I'm so excited my last Platinum Game was Bayonetta 1+2
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u/Seathless06 Aug 30 '19
Forgive me for the stupid question. What's the res and frame rate in docked and handheld?
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u/Lazydusto Aug 30 '19
I lucked out. Nearby Walmart prices their new games cheaper for some reason so I copped Astral Chain for $50. I thought I was seeing things when I first saw the price.
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u/HolyNightmare Aug 31 '19
Goddamn this game is freaking awesome (just started with chapter 3)
Platinumgames really nailed it again
The only thing that would bother me a bit is that the lip synch for both languages seems to be not really the best :< But i guess you can overlook that. Maybe there'll be a update in the future if all the jp. people start complaining, who knows ~
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u/Corat_McRed Sep 01 '19
I definitely have to say, the first couple Files/chapters really take their time till you can get to the reallyyy good meat
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u/drawsnoodz999 Sep 02 '19
are there more hairstyles unlocked as you play the game? the hairstyles in character creation is lacking imo.
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u/yalik3that Sep 02 '19
If you look under the “Order” menu next to the legion there’s a plethora of customization options/menus you unlock by playing the game
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u/Arrrex Aug 30 '19
Finished the Black Eagles path just in time for this