An example comes from File 3 when Lappy, the officer who dresses up as Neuron’s dog mascot, keeps a stray cat as a pet in the base and Akira takes it away with the intent to dispose of it.
At times they can be pretty respectful and understandable, but other times, they aren’t the likable type. Akira, the player’s sibling, isn’t much better.
Just because a character is silent does not mean they have to be a blank slate. This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if it weren’t for other silent protagonists like Link from the Zelda games, Godon Freeman from “Half-Life”, or Byleth from “Fire Emblem Three Houses”, all of which are perfect examples of a silent, or at least near silent, protagonist with genuine character development and qualities. The player is silent, and doesn’t really exhibit any actually interesting or compelling character traits, whether they be conveyed via verbal or non verbal means. On a lesser note, the characters are pretty bland, underdeveloped, and unintriguing. There are also many upgrades and abilities that can be used to give your characters a boost or even a special move that add further complexity to the combat as you mix and match to fit your playstyle. Each are incredibly unique to play, and along with the officer, synch attacks, and other combat mechanics\ the possibilities are limitless. There are multiple different Legions to play as with different abilities and weapons, with the main ones being a sword Legion: great sword, bow and arrow, giant fists, and one that’s essentially a wolf. “Astral Chain” focuses on playing as two characters at once: your main character and a Legion. To say the combat is something different from most character action games would be correct. The game was directed by Takahisa Taura, the lead game designer for NieR Automata and was supervised by “Devil May Cry” and “Bayonetta” creator Hideki Kamiya. The entire career of the company comes from fast action combat that has drawn in fans from all over. The gameplay is the most important part of any game, especially one from Platinum. It’s also an outlier for a Platinum game as the framerate is at 30 FPS, 50 percent less than previous titles from Platinum that would run at 60 like “Bayonetta 2.” Usually, something like this happens due to a plethora of content where a framerate must be lowered to remain stable and accomodate for the power required to properly run the game, and boy, there sure is content. It’s eye candy at its finest and is easily Platinum’s best looking title yet. “Astral Chain” has incredible shading and lighting, with brilliantly designed character models and vibrant colors, mainly red and blue, giving off an aesthetic that truly shines above many others. On the positive side, this is one of the best looking games on the Nintendo Switch. It almost goes without saying, but if a movie, game, or television show has to tell and explain to you the world rather than showing you, then you might as well be reading a book. My only problem with the worldbuilding is that at times, it feels the need to tell rather than show, forcing exposition down your throat after the tutorial. It has an almost cinematic way of showing off the stylish environments that feel as if they came straight out of a page of manga. The world building is impressive as it showcases an intriguing techno neon sanctuary. This Chimera is called Legions, linked to the user neurologically via a device that connects the two with a neon blue chain referred to as the Astral Chain. To protect The Ark, an artificial island where humankind’s sanctuary rests on after the earth was nearly conquered by Chimera, Neuron develops a way to summon their own Chimera to fight back. The Chimera are creatures seeping in from voids opening throughout the planet bridging together your world as well as The Astral Plane for invasion. As the player, you are the newest members of Neuron, a special police task force with the mission to protect what is left of humanity from the Chimera. One of the twins can be named by the player and the other is named Akira by default. Released in late August, “Astral Chain” follows the journey of the Howard twins. One of their best collaborations has always been with Nintendo and the Wii U hits “Bayonetta 2” and “The Wonderful 101.” After nearly five years, Platinum returns to Nintendo on the innovative Nintendo Switch to bring the next big Nintendo Franchise.
Platinum Games is one of my favorite developers, and as a fan of fast paced action games such as “Devil May Cry” and “Yakuza,” Platinum’s titles butter my biscuits more than most other action games.