Astlibra Revision... Reviewed!

Before I jump in, I have to give props to the one-man development team... Keizo, who has been working on this game for 15+ years! Yes, 1...5! I salute you, and may many other developers find inspiration in that because it's paying off with all the love and support this game is receiving 14 years went into the original game development and... 1.5 years was revision work. Shout out to Illustrator's Shigatake + Haku Tasufuchi as well, for the work they did on the revision art assets.

Story: Astlibra Revision features a young protagonist who was knocked out while escaping his town with a childhood friend during a demon attack. When he woke up... his friend was... gone (dun dun duunnnn), and so were the other humans. The only thing he had to keep him company was a talking bird during his journey to find his friend and his homeland.

The adventure is told in chapters, with various characters to meet between taking on massive God-like bosses and other huge baddies.

Gameplay: ASTLIBRA Revision is a side-scrolling action RPG game that has undergone a significant update, offering fresh mechanics and content. This is one of those sleeper hits that some of you may or may not have been aware of... delivering skills on top of skills to utilize dungeons, and a multitude of enigmatic secrets! Huzzah!

You're able to equip a slew of weapons, from clubs, swords, axes, hammers, knives, a common stick, etc. The same applies to shields, armor, and other things like rings. You aren't simply utilizing different-looking weapons with similar oomph either, you will notice a difference as seen in various other RPG games.

Your weapons will vary by Attack Power, Range, Handling, and Weight. Your shields vary by Defense Power, Guard, Weight, and Full Resistance. Armor varies by Defense Power, Max HP, Max ST, and Magical Power. You don't have to go back and forth to check on your current equipped item's abilities and effects either, because you get that info directly in the equip section showing the difference.

I think the way Keizo included the elemental spirit-conjuring attacks is... sweet. The conjuring can be activated with a simple combination of holding "Y" and D-pad presses (i.e. Up, Up = Fire Skill, Down, Down = Water Skill), and which ones can be activated.

Karon gives you the ability to utilize various skills activated by crystals, which include Icarus Wings that reduce the speed of falls, Jump Boots for double jumping, Air Ride, Magical Vision, Evil Vision, Third Eye, Dash, Coin Magnet, Force Magic, and many more.

Do you know what this game reminds me of, which is probably what others got the nostalgic reminder of? It almost feels like Suikoden 2, that game was so smooth, and had a ton of depth to it (I still can't believe I traded that game back in the day). While I reminisce, check out this first 30 minutes of  Astralibra Revision:

One drawback for me is the drawn-out script. Although you and speed up the dialog at the press of a button, I think a voice-over update would make this game even better. With the passion Keizo has... I think it's possible that we may see this added in one of these days to make the dialog more digestible. At some point some gamers just want to get back into the action, not read... and voice-overs would certainly help. Speaking of the music, I love the music you hear in the demo gameplay that prepares us for the main game's adventure, it almost reminds me of Samurai 7's outro.

Replay Value: This game serves up some major replay value, which is said to be around 60 hours or so. That's some serious game time, but I can see it when you have to obtain various materials to make weapons and so forth, but... I appreciate it because you're actually building up to something. You aren't just going to a massive battle with a stick and no armor, but at the same time, you're facing smaller threats in between that help you build up your exp and obtain items also. Outside of getting items out of monsters, you also have to mine and find treasure chests... but it will pay off.

Price: You can get Astlibra Revision for... $24.99. Is it worth the price? Heck yeah, it is. This is the duh of the day, especially for fans of anime and 2D side-scrolling action RPG games. As a matter of fact, you're technically playing a game that began development over a decade and a half ago, and here it is delivering in a way that rightfully deserves an overwhelmingly positive review.

Astlibra is available on PC and the Nintendo Switch.

Story 5

Gameplay 5

Replay Value 5

Price 5

5 out of 5 Cool Points

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Steam Deck OLED Or Nintendo Switch OLED? Need help deciding?

The new Steam Deck OLED or the... Nintendo Switch OLED, which should you get? Before you rack your brain trying to figure it out, it's important to identify what you prefer to play. If you love playing games like Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon, then that's a no-brainer, go with a Nintendo Switch because you can only get those games on a Nintendo platform. You can actually get the new Nintendo Switch bundle that includes Mario Kart 8 Ultimate, plus three months of Nintendo online for multiplayer for $299.00. That's going to be the most affordable option between these handheld dockable options.

There's also the $299.00 Xbox Series S Starter Bundle that launched October 31st, which includes 512 GBs of storage, and 3 months of Xbox game pass Ultimate + a wireless controller (duh of the day). We are talking handhelds here though, so I digress, I just wanted to mention another option at the same price point as the... Nintendo Switch.

On the flip side, if you have a Steam library full of games, your friends game on PC... or you just want to get into PC gaming in a portable way, then the Steam Deck is probably the best option for you.

You don't have to worry about rebuilding your library with a Steam Deck, and that's the most beautiful thing about owning one or a PC in general. Not only that, there are Playstation games you can enjoy on the platform as well, plus there is no paywall to play online multiplayer. The only paywall you're looking at outside of general internet service for your home... is Xbox game pass if you so choose to use the service. The bright side is that it doesn't stop you from gaming on your PC, it's just a particular service that you can access through your PC.

What helps the Nintendo look more appealing is the price tag, because the cheapest Steam Deck you're going to get is the LCD version for $349, that is, until they sell out, and then those are gone since Valve doesn't plan to manufacture anymore. The best LCD version will run you $449. The other side of that Valve coin is the new Steam Deck OLED that ranges from $549 for the 512GB version to the 1TB version for $649. While this might make you lean back like Smokey and Craig did on Friday, the Steam Deck isn't a handheld system that would require you to upgrade every console generation.

I have a Steam library with games over a decade old and I can play games from today and over a decade ago without paying extra because they're already in my account. So this device beats out the Switch in the long run if it lasts that long, but that boils down to care as well... plus you can switch out the parts. This model is said to be easier to repair and to mod, just make sure you know what you're doing. If you don't, no worries, iFixit... officially repairs these products and sells tools to repair + mod.

This doesn't write the Switch off, but once a new console is up and running from Nintendo, it would only be a matter of time before they pull the support on the Switch... unless they adopt Valve's biz model (which I doubt would happen). The Switch has been around for a while now... but hopefully they give it a bit more time before they consider a new console that requires an upgrade to play. Even if a new console emerges, this wouldn't change what you've read here... so I hope this helps you with your decision. Game on!

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The Steam Deck OLED is coming... November 16th!

The Valve Steam Deck has long been a head-turner among gamers thanks to its portability and power, especially for PC gamers. But now, the Steam Deck is back and better than ever before. The new OLED version boasts a high dynamic range screen, which means that colors are more vibrant and images are sharper than yesterday's model. This feature alone makes it worth upgrading to the OLED version when it comes to some gamers, but there are other improvements as well. Just like the Nintendo Switch, you have to really want that bump up in visual clarity to shell out more green, but at the same time, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I see collectors with various models of a system.

One of the most notable improvements is the longer-lasting battery. The OLED version can provide up to 8 hours of gameplay on a single charge, which is a significant improvement over the original version. This means that you can play longer without having to worry about running out of battery life.

In addition to the longer battery life, the OLED version also has faster downloads. This is thanks to the improved Wi-Fi hardware, which can download games and updates at a much faster rate than before. This means that you can spend less time waiting for your games to download and more time playing them.

Of course, all of these improvements come at a cost. The OLED version is available in two models, the 512GB version for $549.00 and the 1TB version for $649.00. This may be a bit steep for some gamers, but the improved features are definitely worth the investment for some gamers.

Parents in the market for gifts: If your teen doesn't have a Steam Deck, the upgrade could certainly be worth the investment... if you'd got it like that. It takes their existing games on PC (via their Steam account) and gives them the ability to enjoy their games on the go. If you're accustomed to buying them game multiple times throughout the year... the savings will ultimately surpass the initial investment if you're looking to get them a new system. They aren't locked behind a paywall with the Steam Deck if they want to play online. If you have internet, they have access to play online multiplayer.

If you choose to stick to discounted games... and a few new releases for the year, your gamers win because the Steam deals have a reputation of being crazy good. At the same time... I gotta keep it real, if you're big on Nintendo... you're saving some serious green if you get your hands on the Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle for $299.00, but they'll make that money back with the price of the games + that paywall (although it's fairly inexpensive). By the way, you get 3 months of online play included in this bundle.

Anyway, if you're not ready to upgrade to the Steam Deck OLED version just yet, don't worry. The original version is still available at a reduced price ranging from $349.00 to $449.00. This is a great option for gamers who want to try out the Steam Deck but don't want to spend too much money.

However, if you're a true gaming enthusiast, you might want to consider the limited edition Steam Deck OLED. This version comes with a see-through shell, which gives it a unique and futuristic look. Quantities are limited, so if you want to get your hands on one, you'll need to act fast before they're all gone.

Overall, the Valve Steam Deck OLED is an improvement over the original version. With its improved screen, longer battery life, and faster downloads, it should please those who score one. Steam Deck OLED is available November 16 If you want to take advantage of the lower-priced LCD version, get it before it's gone because the existing units are the last ones Valve intends to manufacture.

You won't get a big difference between processors in the LCD & OLED versions, but the refresh rates and response times are very different... along with some additional upgrades.

The LCD version serves up 60 Hz, has the OLED version delivers 90Hz w/ <0.1 ms, but... the LCD version has a 7" screen, the OLED has a 7.4" screen. 5.0 Bluetooth is in the LCD version while 5.3 Bluetooth is in the OLED version. See more... here!

Sophima | Guest Contributor

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