For what is a shadow without light? And what is light without a world to cast its brilliance upon? In the peaceful world of Asdivine, the balance of good and evil has remained at equilibrium for ages. Harmony reigned and humanity thrived. This all started to change one year ago.

A blinding flash of light in the heavens threatened to send what was once a humble world into the chaos of darkness. The land’s grip on reality is starting to slip. Monsters freely roam in the open and deities have now brought their divine battle amongst the good people who worship them. Will your efforts be enough to restore stabilization to the very fabric of civilization? Immerse yourself in the Kemco RPG, Asdivine Hearts and find out!

Developer: Exe Create Inc.

Publisher: KEMCO

10 Hours played // Digital // Nintendo Switch Version – Review Copy // Price – $12.99

Woah, things are getting intense but let’s take a quick step back! As mentioned above, Kemco is the publisher of this nostalgic top-down adventure, Asdivine Hearts. You may have heard of them. I’ve played many games growing up, and didn’t realize how widespread the reach of Kemco actually is! For those of you who didn’t know, here’s a quick rundown in bullet points of why you should know this name:

Kemco was originally established in 1984, and is headquartered in Kure, Hiroshima

Kemco has been a staple in publishing games for, and working with Nintendo

Here are some notable games from my childhood through today that Kemco has had their creative hands in:

SPY VS. SPY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_vs._Spy_(1984_video_game)

THE BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE (SERIES) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bugs_Bunny_Crazy_Castle

KA-BLOOEY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka-blooey

LAGOON https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagoon_(video_game)

TOP GEAR (SERIES) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(video_game)

PHALANX https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_(video_game)

TWISTED EDGE EXTREME SNOWBOARDING https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_Edge_Extreme_Snowboarding

MACHINE KNIGHT (iOS/ Android)

END OF ASPIRATION (iOS/ Android)

REVENANT SAGA (iOS/ Android)

SYMPHONY OF THE ORIGIN (iOS/ Android)

Many more that I unfortunately haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying yet!

Wow, just reading that list brought me back; the nostalgia is real! Now that we’re all caught up you may have some more ideas of games you’d like to play after indulging in the rest of this review! I want to approach this one a little differently than some of mine in the past… so find a comfy spot, sit back, relax, and enjoy my take on Asdivine Hearts.

We left off on a cliffhanger – the blinding flash of light, a conflict between the two Deities, and an unprecedented trip down from Eternia. The world of Asdivine is in disarray. The majestic Kingdom of Gutenberg and the surrounding towns are starting to realize things are changing. This is what you are presented with upon beginning your game.

Onto the adventure! Starting out we are introduced to the protagonist Zack. Zack is a bright-eyed orphan residing in the quaint Kaldia Orphanage. We quickly learn he has grown up there, alongside his childhood friend named Stella. Stella is a cute, quirky, and somewhat neurotic girl. The two are good-natured, naïve, and have a secret crush on each other (to which they would never admit).

While enjoying the day, they are given the task by Shannon (the group home’s mother) to quietly sneak away and go into the nearby forest. You see, unfortunately the group home is starting to get attached to a wild cat that one of the children brought home recently. Being as such, it is more suitable to its outside environment. Knowing the children will be sad, you are rushed into the lush greenery of the nearby Laigle Woods. Thus, your first mission begins.

What starts as a simple stroll through the trees launches into an unbelievable story! You are met with a powerfully magical entity that mistakenly inhabits the same cat you originally set out to release. The realization that this occurrence isn’t ordinary comes immediately when the entity, who reveals themselves as none other than the Light Deity, starts to speak through the cat! What would do in a situation like this? Run? Faint? Or would you name it “Felix” and take it home like Zack and Stella do?

Arriving home with Felix, their ‘new’ divine feline is a bit of a surprise (as one would expect) for the orphanage and for Shannon. However, the Lady of the group home, in all her spiritual wisdom seems to have just the answer. Apparently she has seen things like this before! There are stories of creatures infused with magic (albeit not commonly) that have been fabled to obtain the ability to speak. Shannon had immediately sensed the Light emanating from the Deity-infused mammal and comes up with a plan.

Surprisingly, the three are sent on an unconventional errand to seek audience with the beautiful Queen Gloria of Gutenberg Castle. This isn’t normally an easy thing to do, but with some confidence, tactical combat skills, and special permission from a personal friend (who just so happens to be the none other than Miss Shannon), they are able to make it.

Upon meeting with the Queen, she immediately senses it too. The Light Deity has graced Asdivine in the form of a feline! Knowing that this unprecedented presence explains the recent strange occurrences happening all around the land, Queen Gloria implores you to embark on a royal mission (also to search for her missing son) along with her most trusted advisor, Celine. This regal quest kicks off the adventure of a lifetime for young Zack and Stella! Will you be able to discover and stop what is turning your world into a dangerous place before it’s too late? Will you uncover the secret to the disappearance of the Queen’s son? It’s up to you to save Asdivine and restore balance to the universe!

What a journey you have ahead of yourself! Okay, so if you’re anything like me, you take the story for what it is and don’t question it. Don’t take it too seriously and suspend that disbelief! Enjoy embarking on a noble quest and meeting a great group of people with their own distinct traits. I personally enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing that their personalities grow throughout the story. It gave the illusion of progression from the story’s perspective. In the spirit of keeping this review a few words short of a novel, here are my personal evaluations of each of the main characters:

Zack – Stoic, yet stubborn. Orphan from Kaldia Orphanage filled with the spirit of Light (able to use Light abilities). Zack is still slightly naïve when it comes to consequences and thinking things through. However, he makes up for what he lacks with bravery and willingness to help in any situation.

– Stoic, yet stubborn. Orphan from Kaldia Orphanage filled with the spirit of Light (able to use Light abilities). Zack is still slightly naïve when it comes to consequences and thinking things through. However, he makes up for what he lacks with bravery and willingness to help in any situation. Stella – Neurotic, cute, and temperamental. Stella possesses the ability to harness shadow magic, but you could never tell just from looking at her. Stella has personal space issues that she deals with by flailing her trusty whip about. She makes up for her neuroticism by exposing her innocence and kind heart. She is very loyal and secretly (but not so secretly) in love with Zack.

– Neurotic, cute, and temperamental. Stella possesses the ability to harness shadow magic, but you could never tell just from looking at her. Stella has personal space issues that she deals with by flailing her trusty whip about. She makes up for her neuroticism by exposing her innocence and kind heart. She is very loyal and secretly (but not so secretly) in love with Zack. Uriel – Mysterious and hides a painful past. You meet Uriel by catching her essentially stalking you. Turns out, she thinks you are her savior from a destructive past event. Uriel is slow to trust with personal thoughts and life but takes immediately to Zack because of the fact she thinks you saved her from her hometown when it was destroyed. She makes up for her lack of openness with staunch loyalty to most of the group and lives hopelessly infatuated with Zack.

– Mysterious and hides a painful past. You meet Uriel by catching her essentially stalking you. Turns out, she thinks you are her savior from a destructive past event. Uriel is slow to trust with personal thoughts and life but takes immediately to Zack because of the fact she thinks you saved her from her hometown when it was destroyed. She makes up for her lack of openness with staunch loyalty to most of the group and lives hopelessly infatuated with Zack. Celine – Initially very professional and uptight as the trusted advisor to Queen Gloria. Celine is a devout believer and practitioner of religion. She can sense Light and Shadow very well. Celine comes into her own over time and relaxes in the group. Her mission is to restore balance to a world becoming unraveled with the help of the others.

– Initially very professional and uptight as the trusted advisor to Queen Gloria. Celine is a devout believer and practitioner of religion. She can sense Light and Shadow very well. Celine comes into her own over time and relaxes in the group. Her mission is to restore balance to a world becoming unraveled with the help of the others. Felix – AKA the Light Deity or Lumiere (the Light Deity’s true name). Felix is the eccentric Deity of Light, and one half of power that make up and brings balance to the world of Asdivine. Generally regarded as good, Felix tends to portray an inferiority complex having mistakenly inhabited the body of a wild cat. As a result, Felix has also take personality traits from a feline and is constantly emotionally torn between being a powerful, magical being and a common wild feline. Felix initially tries to maintain a spiritually authoritative tone and attitude but is constantly undermined. This leaves the Deity coming off more as condescending rather than majestic. Felix becomes intertwined in the group and enjoys the playful banter throughout the journey as he can take just as much as he gives (such as referring to Zack and Stella by the nicknames of pineapple head and ditz brain).

Now you should have a pretty good idea of the historic company behind the game. We’ve also engaged in a comprehensive review of the premise and setting of the story. I’ve personally laid out a complete breakdown with whom you will be traveling. To complete our thorough analysis let’s now discuss the game, Asdivine Hearts from a few technical standpoints.

Knowing what the story is about we can determine it’s definitely not out looking to imitate real life by any means. I love this! It exudes just enough humanity to be emotionally relatable, but far too much magic and inhuman powers to rate it on realism. I enjoy getting lost in an idea that is executed with a lot of dialogue, and this game will not short you on words (no matter how cheesy some of the situations and conversations become).

As for the gameplay, it takes the tried and true top-down overworld perspective and utilizes traditional turn-based RPG battle mechanics – with a slight twist. You battle on a grid, and take turns attacking based on each of your party member’s statistics. The faster you are (SPD), the quicker your turn to attack will arrive (as seen on the bar at the top of the screen). You can choose from the standard attack types (physical, skill, magical, guard, item, etc.), and choose a battle stance/ configuration. This allows a couple elements of strategy to take place.

Do you put tanks around your healers, or go all-out offense? Do you utilize skills that delay turns, or attack with debuffing passive abilities? Along with these options, as you fight your battles your special gauge will fill. Once charged to 100%, you are able to unleash an ultimate move that will have different outcomes depending on with whom you choose to utilize the move. Some restore all health and buff characters, some unleash brutal attacks. These types of situational plays will sometimes make or break the tough battles. Time it wisely!

Another aspect to the setup of your party was how you are able to power each individual member on your team. You may do so by tactically placing tetromino-shaped jewels into your rubix. A rubix is an item you equip to each character that imbues them with stats and abilities separate from your skills and magic-based maneuvers. The key is to fill up your rubix in order to max out the number of perks you can receive!

It is important to note there are different sizes for each rubix (small, medium, and large). In filling it up with as many jewels as can fit, you are able to enhance a player’s stats or abilities depending on the strength and buff denoted in the description of said jewel. Jewels could also be synthesized into stronger jewels with higher buffs containing better passive enhancements if you’ve found enough of them. This was an interesting factor to the game and added yet another facet to the gameplay that was simple but well-placed.

I feel the difficulty in Asdivine Hearts was right on pace with how the game progresses. It was nice never feeling too strong or too weak at any given point in the game. However, I will say there was a slight jump in the in the final stages that may require some grinding (had you not done so throughout the game). Be sure to upgrade any chance you can – whether it be leveling, or buying that new set of gear in the next town. Every battle felt like I had to actually put some effort into it, and very rarely did I ever utilize the ‘auto-attack’ functions that are available during skirmishes.

That being said, I believe part of the reason it feels so right is due to the fact that the game’s quests, towns, weapons, and armor are very cookie-cutter in nature. Every time you set off to travel the map, it was one direction from your current location. Each town offered a better set of armor that was usually exactly 20 stat points better than your current set. Each quest required making your way to one location, and return back to complete said quest. Each completed challenge then prompts you be sent to the next town over, rinse and repeat.

In regards to areas outside of towns, all forests entered introduce a maze with the same formula: one sure route, with repeating forks that veer off the beaten path to a treasure of some sort. At the end of every section was a boss with which you would engage in battle. Each bested boss reveals a bit more of the storyline. It started to feel a bit repetitive until near the end of the main story (which mixes it up ever so slightly).

Asdivine Hearts probably doesn’t have a ton of replay value. Mainly because it is an RPG with a pretty average premise. What I will say is that one playthrough took me a good amount of time! I was pleasantly surprised at how much time it took. After the main story there were still plenty of side quests left unfinished, an entire battle arena I still wasn’t even tough enough to beat (at the easiest level), lots of special weapons to acquire with arena coins, and uncharted areas of the map with some ridiculously overpowered monsters. You could surely spend some time in charming Asdivine.

The sprite animation is great! I enjoyed seeing the characters movements (idly and in motion) and also the hand drawn art that pops up with facial expressions based on the conversation – that was a nice little touch. Text was obvious and highlighted when something was important. The game was great about making things apparent.

Explanations were plentiful and gave the option to repeat a conversation once something was explained, just in case you didn’t catch it the first time. Everything was very user-friendly and I believe those individuals with little classic RPG experience would be able to pick up and play Asdivine Hearts just fine. There are options included to choose a difficulty when starting out as well. As great as all this is, Kemco’s game is not without flaws.

The only two real issues I have with the game are unfortunately the sound and stability. Not because they are bad per se, but more of a nuisance than anything. I realized the battle theme gets annoying pretty quickly, as you are fighting a good amount of the time. If it had some more diversity and added a few more tracks or maybe even a night and day cycle/ theme that would have been enough to help immensely. I found myself turning down the volume on my Switch or TV nearing the end of my play.

As for the stability, it wasn’t any UI or menu issues, or even glitching or crashing. The game ran relatively smoothly. This was all fine. Unfortunately my gripe is with the movement.

I very quickly stopped using the left joystick and stuck to using the d-pad (and buttons in handheld). I don’t know what it was but it was extremely hard to control with the joystick and only just manageable enough with the buttons. It seemed like maybe the character sprite moved too fast maybe?

I found myself having to constantly slow down and reposition myself when attempting to speak with NPC’s, opening chests, or navigating narrower paths. I promise my motor skills are perfectly fine but I still found myself overshooting everything. This was the most irritating part of my interactions with Asdvine Hearts.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with Asdivine Hearts. It’s a cute, light-hearted, 2D strategic RPG that embraces the classic Kemco style. You either learn to love it for what it is or brush it off as another generic-feeling RPG with subtle notes of potential. I enjoyed the strategic feel to the battles most of all.

Experimenting with different combat positions and finding which would suit my play style best was great. Discovering how to maximize those rubixes with jewels was a skill to practice. I made it a point to explore all corners of the map and found many hidden treasures containing all sorts of special weapons and armor that gave insane passive abilities. I can say that I would recommend this game to those who have experience with Kemco RPG’s or are intrigued by this review.

Think about it like this – if you grew up playing old school 2D role-playing games, you will understand. Reminisce back on your childhood… if many parts of it contained adventuring in mech suits or flying in airships, then you might enjoy Asdivine Hearts. Growing up did you traverse fantasy lands in a top-down perspective, meet with Kings and Lords, or fight turn-based battles that lasted well into the night? This is what Kemco aims to imitate, and what this game represents. It’s paying homage to the greats before and will always have a special place in my collection.

Thanks for reading all! What a time it has been. I want to thank all of you who found your way to this extended review in a format that is all my own. If you came for a passionate gamer’s perspective, you are in the right place! What we do here at Nindie Nexus is simply provide the best Nintendo Indie game reviews on this side of the internet!

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