Astria Ascending is a lovely-looking RPG with some Final Fantasy talent
Long ago, the eight races lived together in Harmony
Newly announced Astria Ascending sure looks pretty, but that doesn't mean its world doesn't need saving. As you do when your fantasy land is being threatened by big bads, Astria developers Artisan Studio have assembled a squad of heroes. Their upcoming turn-based RPG features development talent of Final Fantasy fame to help bring its world together. You can catch more of Astria Ascending down here in its new announcement trailer.
Astria's story has a sort of fable-y quality to it, with a bunch of fantasy races who live together peacefully so long as they remember to eat their Harmelons. You'll play as a party of eight heroes called Demigods who've been selected at random from the population to serve a three year term as guardians of the peace. Despite its very fantastical setup, Artisan say it's "a story based around adult characters," and that it "offers a more mature experience and extensive dialog."
On the combat side, you'll take your party into turn-based battles where Artisan say you can summon legendary beasts as you fight through dungeons. You don't get a terribly close look at the combat in the announcement trailer up there but you can spot some turn-based staples you'll be familiar with—choosing attacks based on enemy weaknesses and the like.
Astria's story and dialogue are written by Kazushige Nojima, known for his involvement on multiple Final Fantasy games. Artisan Studio have also called composer up Hitoshi Sakimoto who worked on Final Fantasy XII for music and sound design. You can hear a bit more from the two of them in Astria's meet the creators video. It also features art from CyGames, who're known in part for Granblue Fantasy, a great RPG. Artisan Studio themselves previously developed Super Neptunia RPG. That sure sounds like a fully party to me.
Astria Ascending has just been announced, so it doesn't have a release date yet. You can keep an eye on it or wishlist it over on Steam in the meantime.