Astria Ascending by Final Fantasy Writer & Valkyria Chronicles Composer Gets New Animated Trailer

Today Artisan Studios and Dear Villagers released a new trailer for the upcoming RPG Astria Ascending.

This time around, we get a hand-drawn animated trailer introducing the setting of the game.

You can watch it below.

Astria Ascending will come for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Game Pass on Sept. 30, 2021.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, the story is written by Kazushige Nojima, who previously worked on Final Fantasy VII (Remake included), VIII, X, XIII, XV, Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom Hearts II.

The music will be composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, known for the Valkyria Chronicles series, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Final Fantasy XII and Tactics, & more.

There are also big names involved on the art side, handled by Akihiko Yoshida and Hideo Minaba’s CyDesignation studio.

While Quebec-based Artisan Studios isn’t a Japanese developer, they certainly are quite familiar with working with them, as they worked on Super Neptunia RPG for Compile Heart.

Here’s how the developers describe the game. You can also read our preview.

“An epic adventure with the charm and pedigree of a classic JRPG, Astria Ascending tells an expansive story of fate, sacrifice, and new beginnings. The game was developed in partnership with publisher Dear Villagers and boasts contributions from world-class JRPG developers, with a narrative written by Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy VII Remake), score by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII, Vagrant Story), and art from CyDesignation (Akihiko Yoshida and Hideo Minaba).

In a world where chaos looms, players take control of the Demigods – a motley crew of eight heroes charged with the fate of the world. Each character has their own story explored across five cities, 25 dungeons, and 30 hours of gameplay (or up to 50 hours for players pursuing 100 percent completion). Along with the finely tuned turn-based combat, players can try out a range of side quests and mini-games, including an original fantasy-themed token game.”