Surge again, back at it once more with another review. This one is a lot more surface-level compared to my RE4 Remake trainwreck.

I remember being incredibly hyped for the game after playing the demo over a decade ago now, then never playing it because I had completely forgotten it was coming out. At some point I started watching TBFP and heard them shitting on the game, which made me think, “That sucks to hear it’s a bad game, I thought it looked awesome.”

Now, after 11 years, I’ve seen the game’s story all the way through. Is it as bad as they said it was? Nah.

I don’t know if Asura’s Wrath is notorious enough for a ‘needs no introduction’, so I’ll keep it brief:

Asura’s Wrath is a 2012 Action game by Capcom, if you missed QTEs in RE4 Remake then this game will make up for it in spades. It is a playable anime, braindead anime chuds who disparage Dragon Ball on Eli Mask’s bird app dot com probably think Goku is just like Asura. Broly is clearly the better fit.

STORY

The game follows Asura, one of 8 Guardian demigods who are tasked with protecting Gaea, which is just Earth. He is framed for a murder and is cast down to Naraka. A golden spider coaxes him to climb back to the world of the living; from then on, he screams and punches at everything in sight. His only goal: to rescue his now captive daughter.

The story has significant issues with its scope, it starts in space, fighting with a literal star fleet that fires upon demons rising from Gaea. The chapter concludes with a massive monster that emerges from the planet’s core; it is shot with a soul-powered god cannon. Clearly, subtlety isn’t something this game cares about. You get a flashback to Asura beating up red-veined gorillas and elephants a little bit later. Maybe working our way up to the space battle would have been a bit a better, then again, ‘subtlety’.

Asura doesn't change in any significant way for the majority of the story, he simply gets angrier as his journey goes on, gets a few transformations, and eventually sates his rage. His goal to save his daughter Mithra comes above all else, Deus's villainous goals are only challenged by Asura because he has the young girl captive. As the final act unfolds, his goal is to liberate the world from any sort of meddling by the Gods, but only to make Gaea a better place for his daughter. He never grows into the role of a true guardian for humanity, but with Asura being constantly portrayed as a boorish, emotionally immature warrior, it's the right choice to make for the story.

Yasha is the only other character worth talking about at any real length, but even that is a very generous statement. He is another of the 8 Guardians, he is also Mitra's Uncle, making him Asura's brother-in-law as well as rival. He goes along with the Deus's evil scheme until he witnesses the human loss and selfishness of 'the cause'. His relationship with Asura starts as antagonistic but eventually softens as he realizes he and Asura can work towards own goals together; his being stopping Deus, and Asura's being the freeing of Mithra.

Wyzen is the Fat Evil that Asura blows up with a haymaker.

Kalrow is the Old Evil that Asura puts in a trash compactor.

Augus is the Sensi Evil that Asura fights on the Moon to Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)

Sergi is the Steve Blum Evil that Asura kills in a non-QTE cutscene.

Deus is the Main Evil that Asura beats down in Buddhist Space Colony Ark.

Olga is the Hot Evil that Asura doesn't get to punch because she dies from a bug bite.

GAMEPLAY

Asura’s Wrath is structured like an anime, with mid-chapter bumpers to drive the aesthetic home. Between cutscenes of dramatic stake-raising villain dialogue, there’s QTEs to make sure you’re paying attention before you get into the very basic and not-that-fun combat. Every chapter is bookended with a dramatic ‘To Be Continued…’, I appreciate it because I am old and don’t like playing games for too long anymore.

The game would be better if the entire thing was just QTEs and I’m not even kidding. The combat is light attack, heavy attack that has a cooldown, and a rapid-fire shooting attack that grounds you to the floor. Timing the QTE presses perfectly is infinitely more satisfying than running around and punching stuff freely. The difficulty doesn't really increase the further you get into the story, dying isn't really a concern as long as you're hitting the attack buttons until the Burst Meter fills up.

It's very strange to say 'less gameplay please' in the era of walking Third-person cinematic action games, but Asura's Wrath is all spectacle and little substance. Just show me a good time and test me with timed QTEs, those scripted hyper-fights are the best parts of the game anyways.

MUSIC

The music is great, it has a grandiose to it that makes it feel like you're fighting against beings far greater than an average human. I especially love the game's leitmotif. I don't know how to review music, I'm stronger when talking about story and gameplay.

There are two stark breaks from the game's OST, those being Augus's boss track and Yasha's theme. You fight Augus to the tune of "Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)", it gives the fight less of a 'the world balance hinges on this fight' feeling and more of a 'I want to beat this grinning old man so damn bad he has no choice but to respect me' aura. As it accompanies the ridiculous visuals of a brawl on the Moon, it just feels too perfect of a choice; I hope whoever made the decision got a kickass bonus on his check. Yasha's theme has an Old Western flare to it, the decision is bizarre and nothing else in the soundtrack has such a wild tonal deviation like it. I can't say I like it, but I won't kick it out of bed either. There's nothing Western about his design or personality, it's truly a mysterious choice.

CLOSING

Asura’s Wrath is C-tier action anime schlock that has energy beams, screaming, and a whole lot of punching. I adore this game and appreciate how it earnestly embodies ‘meathead Shonen with an emotional core’. I had fun playing this game, I haven’t seen any spoilers for it after all this time. If you want a mindless and silly game to play in between big releases, and don’t mind button mashing, I recommend picking it up on sale for $10 or under.

Asura’s Wrath gets a

Deliciously edgy Liam O’Brien scream/10