For a game packed with Final Fantasy veterans, you better believe that there will be some interesting minigames associated with whatever they are working on. If you liked Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII or Tetra Master from Final Fantasy IX, then this might be of interest to you.
I know that I spent an obscene amount of time collecting and playing both card games in their respective games years ago and got swept up in the enjoyment of beating each opponent only to take their best cards for my own deck. I’ve always been drawn to these minigames within the universe that you hear NPCs talk and gush over, and from the looks of it, J-Ster looks like a fun time, but it’s still a bit early to confirm how fun it is.
In J-Ster, you will make strategic choices by placing your tokens on the board, trying to steal your opponent’s tokens. From the trailer, we can see enemies being turned into tokens as well, which is a pretty interesting mechanic. Somehow, I’ve avoided playing Gwent, it’s never spoken to me and while I know it’s become a popular game with The Witcher, getting a proper spin-off, this feels more in line with my tastes for minigames. Perhaps Astria Ascending will be able to pull me in and have me sink hours into its minigame.
Astria Ascending launches on PC, Switch, PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Game Pass on September 30, 2021.
