This episode fueled by hateraide and rageohol!
Here it is at last, folks: the conclusion of the Backlogger's journey into Asura's Wrath! Julian and Angelo are once again joined by internet gamer sensation and all around pleasant person Erika Szabo. There's lots to talk about, so let's jump right in.
Things kick off with the one-two punch of the dumbest episode in the game and the most epic episode in the game. The crew talks at length on the hilarity of a hot spring scene and the insane and awesome implications of battling on the moon. Yes, the freaking moon!
The episode by episode recap focuses on how super cool (and dreamy) Yasha is, Julian's new-found frustrations with the one on one battle mechanics, and the incredibly interesting Buddhist elements that infuse this over the top action game. The conversation gets deep at times, something nobody on the show was expecting.
Things wrap up with a spirited debate over the "true" ending to the game. Is it ethical? Does it really ruin the accomplishment of finishing the game when there's a hidden cliffhanger that leads into DLC? And how is that DLC, exactly? Julian gives it an assessment, and both he and Erika try to convince the (very) grumpy Angelo of its merits.
We hope you enjoyed this series of Backloggers! Come back next time as Angelo and some fresh faces discuss Alundra for PSX.
I like the Hindu references, right down to Asura having "exta arms" during certain attacks much in the same way the Hindu gods are portrayed.
A part of me wanted to get Asura's Wrath but it seemed a bit QTE heavy so that dissuaded me somewhat. Still, the story seems phenomenal!
This game certainly gave you a lot of content to digest and talk about. I still don't know what the hell the game is about? Something about a moon? From listening it seems like the game is terrible. Is it a bad game you played for laughs? Just wondering.
Man, I kind of feel like we failed now. Asura's Wrath is a cinematic action game (operative word being cinematic) with roots in classic anime tropes. It's not a bad game, but parts of it are bad/frustrating, mainly because CyberConnect2 doubled down on the spectacle and didn't focus much on the direct gameplay. We all enjoyed this game, and I'm a little bummed that for some reason that wasn't communicated in this Backloggers series. Just like the first time I played it, I find myself thinking about it fondly, and wishing there was a sequel in the works.
I didn't play this game. I don't want to play this game. You have made me want to watch it, but not as a game. I want an anime of this game without the button prompts and such.
May actually try Alundra. Not sure what to play at the moment, may as well try it.
Hey everyone, thanks so much for doing this podcast series. I really enjoyed listening to all your comments and your tastes regarding anime. I too love all the tropes the game unashamedly incorporates.
I was surprised that no one mentioned how Olga was solely responsible for killing the village girl that Asura thought resembled his daughter. This led to a strong motivation for Asura to want to take her out, but he lost his mind in the process. It also showed that Asura truly embodied the title of a Guardian General because he cared about the well-being of the humans. In one of the illustrations, they talk about the Black Wrath Asura went on a rampage attacking both Gohma and soldiers, but didn't harm the villagers.
I was pretty annoyed about the DLC Ending process as well. The way I justify it in my mind now is that the game wasn't a big enough hit to make a sequel, so they just released a small expansion in place of a sequel. That's probably not the truth, but it's easier to digest. After playing Part IV though, the last 2 episodes trump all prior episodes combined for me and makes it all worth it.
The gameplay was definitely clunky, and playing Episode 18 over and over again to unlock stuff was such a chore. Playing a lot of DMC and other Hack n Slash series made the combat pretty standard and not too difficult, just tedious.
If I can get a capture card, I plan on playing through the game with the Blind Master gauge, because this seems to be the closest way to portray the game as an anime as it removes the hud. Now if only they could patch it so we could record our gameplay andremove the button prompts.
Thanks again, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. It's nice to hear others that appreciate all the small details.
That's a great point about Olga. Due to the way we played the game in sessions that were pretty spread out, I think we just forgot about that part. I still ended up forgetting about Olga in general simply because I think she was the least fleshed out character by far.
Thank you so much for listening, and for giving us some interesting things to weave into this final discussion. I hope you'll stick around PixlBit and check out some of our other shows and articles. Oh, and tell your friends! 
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