Multiple Platforms El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

[Fusionist]

Official Site: http://elshaddaigame.com/

So anybody else interested in this? I admit I only took notice of this a few weeks ago, but it's been announced a couple of months ago for the PS3 and XBOX 360.



I've read that the gameplay is actually really easy, and that's fine by me. The trailers haven't shown any status bars yet, but there should be something

The graphics look amazing though. Wiki says the guy who worked on Devil May Cry and Okami is working on this.

The context also seems pretty interesting. The lead Enoch has to save humanity from god's wrath(?) by bringing in seven fallen angels. It's vaguely based of a religious story with the usual gloss of "wtf, that ain't right" improbabilities that's a-okay in video games.

I mean, the lead Enoch wear's denim jeans with some conch-like body armour, arch angels appear in the form of birds, and his guide is pre-fall Lucifer (well, Lucifel) who looks like he walked out of GQ magazine and isn't bound by time-and has god on his cellphone

 

[Sultan]

*facepalm* It's bad enough we had to deal with Bayonetta, now we're delving deeper into the madness? I mean seriously, video game world, don't we have enough of those rage against the heavens plots? If you're going to make another incoherent story (reference, Bayonetta..again..) then you might want to deal a more simple subject matter. Hell, at least the younger ones will only think you know what you're doing then.

And another thing, and this addresses the likes of Tatsuya Nemura, just because you took a universal term and use it in a different language, ie. not your own and not English, DOESN'T MAKE IT COOL. Geez you people are such dorks


Music and visuals are impressive.

 

[Fusionist]

*facepalm* It's bad enough we had to deal with Bayonetta, now we're delving deeper into the madness? I mean seriously, video game world, don't we have enough of those rage against the heavens plots? If you're going to make another incoherent story (reference, Bayonetta..again..) then you might want to deal a more simple subject matter. Hell, at least the younger ones will only think you know what you're doing then.

I haven't played Bayonetta (or that many in recent years actually), so I dunno, this biblical setting doesn't seem over done for me, and looking at the context, it doesn't seem to be biblical in the conventional sense.

Actually, I was just reading some comments explaining how the original story the game is based off of isn't even canon to the bible xD

But yeah, I don't think Enoch is taking on heaven here-he's going on god's behalf or something. It really doesn't feel all the relgious from what I've been seeing xD

And another thing, and this addresses the likes of Tatsuya Nemura, just because you took a universal term and use it in a different language, ie. not your own and not English, DOESN'T MAKE IT COOL. Geez you people are such dorks

What did Nomura do..? What words are you talking about?

And what do you mean in the context of El Shaddai?

 

[Sultan]

I haven't played Bayonetta (or that many in recent years actually), so I dunno, this biblical setting doesn't seem over done for me, and looking at the context, it doesn't seem to be biblical in the conventional sense.

Actually, I was just reading some comments explaining how the original story the game is based off of isn't even canon to the bible xD

But yeah, I don't think Enoch is taking on heaven here-he's going on god's behalf or something. It really doesn't feel all the religious from what I've been seeing xD



What did Nomura do..? What words are you talking about?

And what do you mean in the context of El Shaddai?

Okay, first of all, you're a dude sent by God to kill a bunch of fallen angels and Satan's got a crush on you. You know how these things usually turn out, plot twist, the good guys are the bad guys and vice versa. So yeah, I may be relying too much on speculation here and it may not necessarily be the case. still don't we have enough games that deal with the divine and unholy and religious subtexts? And honestly, from a narrative perspective, they usually do a crappy job with it, reference: Dante's Inferno, God of War 3, Bayonetta,

Spoiler

Lords of Shadow

etc. It's just a dumb gimmick of slapping these "big names" into a dumb action game to make it feel more "epic" and it's not. At least to me.

Speaking of dumb gimmicks, in the case of Nemura we have his awkward and forced way of naming his characters. I'm using him as an example of people that give their characters/games really stupid names. I bitched about him naming his character really corny names like oh, let's see .., Cloud, Squall, Lightning- as if their names add to the complexity of their characters. But wait, I know what will make it even cooler, how about I give them these corny ass fucking names but in languages I don't even speak, let's see here, Noctis, Layel (same meaning as Noctis, btw), Nabaat, Aqua, Ventus, Terra, and you get the point. Just because you give someone a name in a different language, doesn't mean it's cooler. So when you have them slapping the name "El Shaddai" onto the game when you can simply call it "God the Almighty" just appears a bit pretentious to me. " And obviously they're not being faithful to the source material or anything, again, Yakuza Lucifer.

I'm sorry, I'm just a little jaded when it comes to these things, obviously this game isn't even out yet and I'm stabbing it with a pitchfork xD. You know what who knows? Maybe I'm wrong about everything, so I guess I'll just wait and see.

 

[Rey]

Well Ill say one thing. The music on the official site is kick ass. But this just looks like a male version of Bayonetta and I dont like the way the graphics art style is one bit. So too me this is just another shitty Heaven game. They keep making games with Heaven in them. I personally liked Bayonetta alot. Also Grigori? Did they rip off Star Ocean TLH here? Ehh not my type of game. It looks quite boring imho. The music on the official site is really awesome though! This is this game basically A guy has to stop the leader of the arch angels wheras Bayonetta was pretty much the samething with stop all the grand cardinals of Virtue and then stop the leader Jubelius. The art style puts me way off tbh.

 

[Fusionist]

Okay, first of all, you're a dude sent by God to kill a bunch of fallen angels and Satan's got a crush on you.

*giggles* ♥

You know how these things usually turn out, plot twist, the good guys are the bad guys and vice versa. So yeah, I may be relying too much on speculation here and it may not necessarily be the case. still don't we have enough games that deal with the divine and unholy and religious subtexts? And honestly, from a narrative perspective, they usually do a crappy job with it, reference: Dante's Inferno, God of War 3, Bayonetta,

Spoiler

Lords of Shadow

etc. It's just a dumb gimmick of slapping these "big names" into a dumb action game to make it feel more "epic" and it's not. At least to me.

Okay, I can understand that. Again, it's just me personally who hasn't had a chance to play many games with those kind of themes. I'm not saying the religious premise is whoaing me or anything, but it's more about how they appear to be twisting it into something not quite as such. As far as I know anyways xD

Speaking of dumb gimmicks, in the case of Nemura we have his awkward and forced way of naming his characters. I'm using him as an example of people that give their characters/games really stupid names. I bitched about him naming his character really corny names like oh, let's see .., Cloud, Squall, Lightning- as if their names add to the complexity of their characters. But wait, I know what will make it even cooler, how about I give them these corny ass fucking names but in languages I don't even speak, let's see here, Noctis, Layel (same meaning as Noctis, btw), Nabaat, Aqua, Ventus, Terra, and you get the point. Just because you give someone a name in a different language, doesn't mean it's cooler.

Ah. Just for the sake of saying it, I don't think Nomura named Cloud, Squall or Lightning. The Versus characters likely, yes, and the thing with Terra/Aqua/Ventus, I think it was suppose to follow the pattern with Sora/Riku/Kairi-but yeah, I get what you mean. Although me personally it's not something that's been much of an issue

So when you have them slapping the name "El Shaddai" onto the game when you can simply call it "God the Almighty" just appears a bit pretentious to me. " And obviously they're not being faithful to the source material or anything, again, Yakuza Lucifer.

lol, I didn't even know that's what it meant! xD

Again, I definitely see your point, but I think it's usually the case of using foreign wording to sound more like a title to uninformed people like me. "God the Almighty" itself sounds a little pretentious to me. I couldn't imagine a game called just that. Furthermore, the "Ascension of the Metron" following wouldn't make sense. When I heard "El Shaddai" it sounded like the title of a story, not a statement, you know?

I'm sorry, I'm just a little jaded when it comes to these things, obviously this game isn't even out yet and I'm stabbing it with a pitchfork xD. You know what who knows? Maybe I'm wrong about everything, so I guess I'll just wait and see.

Hey, no worries. It could turn out this is just a cheap, flashy gimmick after-all

Well Ill say one thing. The music on the official site is kick ass.

The music does have some epic-ness to it, but I watched an interview with the creator(?) who mentioned that there should be a wider variety.

But this just looks like a male version of Bayonetta and I dont like the way the graphics art style is one bit. So too me this is just another shitty Heaven game.

I really should play Bayonetta one of these days...

They keep making games with Heaven in them. I personally liked Bayonetta alot. Also Grigori? Did they rip off Star Ocean TLH here? Ehh not my type of game. It looks quite boring imho. The music on the official site is really awesome though! This is this game basically A guy has to stop the leader of the arch angels wheras Bayonetta was pretty much the samething with stop all the grand cardinals of Virtue and then stop the leader Jubelius. The art style puts me way off tbh.

Again, I'm not really in the know with religious-ish games, but I can understand the theme starting to wane on people.

Lucifel's the top ranking arch angel, but I don't think he's a mastermind or anything here though. He appears to be genuinely helping Enoch with his task. Plus the whole control over time thing leaves doubt. If anything, I can imagine a more spontaneous sudden turn to the dark if Enoch would face him, if it will even happen in the game.

I guess he's one of the main reasons why I'm interested in the game. I'm a sucker for the fall from grace characters and their stories xD

 

[Setzer Gabbiani]

​

El Shaddai is an interesting beast of a game. I have been following the game since its striking visual style caught my eye a few months ago. A demo for the game just recently hit Xbox Live, and Ignition Entertainment really has something going.

Perhaps the closest game to related to El Shaddai is the Wii favorite No More Heroes. Not only does the game have a unique look but also features quite a bit of brawling to get your objectives done. It is also one of few games to actually be based off of religious texts, taking an inventive interpretation of “The Book of Enoch” from early Jewish literature.

You play as Enoch, a human tasked with apprehending fallen angels who have abandoned God’s kingdom. You are joined by Lucifel (Lucifer), voiced by Jason Isaacs, as your guide through the fantastic realm you will be exploring. Enoch battles hand to hand against enemies, but once they are weakened is able to steal and purify their weapons for combat. These weapons include the Arch, a sword-like weapon allowing for balanced meele combat, the Veil, a pair of gauntlets allowing for slow but punishing blows, and the Gale, projectiles that allow for quick movement and ranged attacks.

Combat is made up of quick attacks and rapid dodging. Enoch really does not have much health, as symbolized by his armor. As you take damage your armor breaks off, forcing you to fight in an everyday pair of jeans.

That little number is "The Arch"​

The game itself took a while to understand, even on normal difficulty. After learning the nuances of each weapon you gain a better idea of how the flow of battle works. What is most interesting about the game is that only three buttons will really be used often in a battle; attack, block, jump (and purify in a pinch). The combo system is once again similar to No More Heroes, opting for a single-button timing-based system. Depending on how quickly you hit the attack button and whether or not you hold it, you will get a wide variety of attacks suited for different combat situations. This is took a bit to get used to, but after a bit of practice the combat felt smooth and responsive. And then there is platforming, a fun diversion from your angel battling job.

This game is simply beautiful and bizarre​

When platforming from either a 3rd person or side-scrolling perspective, you begin to realize how stunning El Shaddai really is. The game is absolutely gorgeous: the cel-shaded visuals look absolutely amazing in motion, from the characters to the backgrounds. The looks of the game are from the mind of Takeyasu Sawaki the character designer for both Devil May Cry and Okami.

The game really is a delight to see in action and the sound compliments it well. The demo has launched itself from a rental game to a buy and I wholeheartedly recommend that everyone with an Xbox 360 download the demo and try it out.

http://gamerabies.com/preview-el-shaddai-ascension-of-the-metatron/

 

[Fusionist]

I just downloaded the demo off PSN today. It seems the game will have both English and Japanese audio tracks, which was an unexpected plus (the little I heard in English in the demo was actually pretty kewl) ^^

As for actually playing it, the demo was pretty short, but I did have fun with it. As mentioned before, the controls are very simple and I admit this does appear to be a button-masher game. The graphics though are...amazing and trippy at the same time. Like, the actual characters could've been a little more detailed like they were in event scenes, however the environment was really gorgeous with that trippy wtf imaginative element to it.

Though it was a little weird not to see any health bars or any status indicators on screen. I don't know if that's a demo-only thing, but I'm starting to think the game won't allow Enoch to die so easily. Like, when I fell off a platform, you hear Lucifel snapping in the background to indicate him controlling time in your favour and you start off at a previous point, if not the same one.

A little bit of the religious feelings came through (talking about God and whatever), but I'm still waiting to see how it will affect the over-all tone to the full game. I still plan to get it, for sure.