#acff: datamining

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: All Legions except Arrow have a mouth that is rigged to open.

However, the Raven variant of Arrow (Bowgun) does have a mouth! Here are the two side-by-side:

If you take off the armor pieces on their model, you can really tell they're just chimeras made to look cute and cuddly!

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Fun fact: Having Solitaire on the Legatus wasn't actually in the original Japanese translation. Jin is cut off before he can talk about it in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.

As such, Solitaire may not be canon in the Astral Chain universe.

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Fun fact: Despite shit and ass being used fluently throughout the game's dialogue, the common swear word "Fuck" does not make any appearance in Astral Chain.

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Fun fact: This is what Hal's "t-pose" looks like.

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Fun fact: In the localization notes included in the game's files, Hal's "Strange Drone" form is labelled as "謎のドローン/H9-T0".

And if we look on his backside, we can see a few of his stickers saying H9-T0! That's probably what he calls his drone.

Also, here's what Hal looks like without his stickers:

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Fun fact: There's a cheat code that lets you unlock PT Ultimate for all files, right from the title screen!

Here's how you do it:

Boot up the game to the title screen. DO NOT PRESS ZL + ZR.

Hold R and + until you hear a ping.

Press UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, X, B, Y, A

If you did it right, you'll get a jingle and a popup.

Have fun dying in File 01 :)

And for all those "it's Astral Chain's FINAL SECRET!" people out there... it's probably not. The buttons on the D-Pad don't make a "P" symbol (the platinum code is actually ↑ ↓ ↑ → ← X B Y A). There is actually one more place in the game's code that plays the Platinum Command sound effect (core_GUI_Platinum_Command), but I've never gotten it to trigger. Perhaps Astral Chain's final secret is still waiting to be found...

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: There exist two copies of each head gear in the game to fit the very slightly different head shapes of the two twins, with the exception of:

Cardboard Box

Lazy Cat Cap

Perching Raven

All of the Holomasks

Did you know? Headgear can't change colors-- hence why these police helmets are the default blue when exported out of the game!

The Raven armor is also equipment that changes between genders, except it's much more drastic. Can you spot all the differences?

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Fun fact: The official Astral Chain dev blog mentions this kid located in the Aegis Research Institute (ARI).

The kid is actually located in File 05's ARI section, but not where you'd think. He only appears before you watch the cutscene where you see Akira and regain full movement privileges.

Simply walk past Akira's room and turn left. He's in the corner:

Unfortunately, scanning him with your IRIS does nothing...

Internally, he's part of EmSet 26, named "イベント後消す" - "Delete after the event". Even though he isn't scannable, his IRIS data is actually in the game:

Kiyoshi Layard (short name "ARI Patient"), ID UBF005316

Born 2068-01-05

Gender: M

Height: 129.2

Weight: 36.8

Blood Type: A

Size: 69.7/54.5/68.7

He might be significant for something-- but he probably isn't! As far as I know, he does absolutely nothing. Yes, we've tried the Platinum Code...

Maybe you can figure it out?

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: Astral Chain still has support for displaying keyboard keys in the HUD, despite the game never being released on PC.

Above is core/coreui/TextTagSetting.bxm, responsible for displaying controller icons in the UI. Controller buttons are labelled as "BTN:", while keyboard keys are "KEY:". (Note that the texture for keyboard keys is no longer in the game.)

Perhaps it's a remnant of former PC support before Nintendo restricted them to the Switch? Or maybe it was just used for internal testing?

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: We all know that Jin trains you in File 03 when Max says no. But did you know the game contains an entirely unused training section with him that wasn't localized? He even talks about... using other officers' Legions?!

It gives a very "let's introduce the game in 5 minutes!" vibe, with Olive introducing the chimera threat before describing how you're one of the few "compatibles" that can wield a Legion. Max then butts in and runs you through various training exercises with different Legions, even discussing Sync Attacks, Legion Stances, Chain Binds...

Perhaps it was meant for beta testers?

The full transcript is below the cut. (Internal ID prefix NP_p0900_PV. It's completely in Japanese - translate if you want!)

(OLIVE) はじめまして、新人ちゃん。

特殊災害対策課ネウロンへようこそ。

私はオペレーターのオリーヴ。 今私たちが置かれてる状況、把握してるわよね？

地球は今滅亡の危機にさらされているの……

原因は、突如異世界から現れた侵略者キメラ。 奴らは、人や土地を変質させ、全てを異世界へ 飲みこもうとしているわ。

今や人類に残されたのは、ここ「人工島アーク」だけ。 そして、ここ���もキメラの魔の手は迫っている……

ネウロンは、そんな未来を阻止し、 キメラから人類を救う為につくられた組織よ。

……心配しないで。もちろん、一人で戦うわけじゃないわ。

だってアナタは、数少ない「適合者」……人類の英知を結集し 開発された最強の生体兵器……「レギオン」のね！

レギオンは、共に戦ってくれる仲間でもあり、 いつ暴走するか分からない危険な存在……

(MAX) だから俺たちが、レギオンと精神をシンクロし、 制御する必要がある！

(OLIVE) マックス隊長！？ 丁度良かった、戦闘に関する説明は隊長にお任せします！

(MAX) 新人、レガトゥスは装備しているな。 それが俺たちとレギオンを繋ぐデバイスだ。

今からお前には、戦いの基本を覚えてもらおう。

目の前の怪物、それがキメラだ。 来るぞ、気をつけろ！

お前が今手にしているのは対キメラ用に開発された 特殊な警棒……銃にも変形する優れモノだ。

一人で頑張るのもイイかも知れないが、対処に時間が 掛かっちまう……そう、そこでレギオンの出番ってわけだ。 呼び出してみろ！

いいぞ、それがお前のレギオン…… ソード・レギオンだ！

レギオンを呼び出すとき、戦わせたい敵に向かって放てば ぶつかった敵を勝手に攻撃してくれるぞ。

お前は状況を見極めて、手綱を引くだけだ。

もう一匹来たぞ！

お前とレギオンは二者一体。 互いの位置を把握し、どう立ち回るか見極める事が重要だ。

例えば、レギオンにキメラを任せておいて、その間に お前は離れた場所で傷を回復する、と言った風にな。

お次は、チェインを使った戦い方の説明だ。

レギオンを上手く操り、チェインでキメラをぐるっと囲むと…… 「チェインバインド」が発動して、対象の動きを封じられる。

突進してくる相手をピンと張ったチェインで上手く受け止めれば 「チェイントラップ」が発生、キメラを弾き飛ばし体勢を崩すことが できる。

どちらも成功すれば、一方的に攻撃できるチャンスが生まれる。 それを逃さず大ダメージを叩き込んでやれ！

レギオンと共に戦う上で最も重要なこと、それは…… いか��シンクロできるか、だ！

攻撃中、レガトゥスが青く光る時があるんだが…… 気付いていたか？

それが、うまくシンクロできている証だ！

青く光る瞬間、タイミングよくレギオンに命令すると、 完全なシンクロが起こり、通常とは異なる連携攻撃が発動する。

これを「シンクアタック」と呼ぶ！

シンクアタックが発動できるタイミングは様々だ。

連続攻撃の最中はもちろん、相手の攻撃を回避したときや タイミング良くレギオンを呼び出したときに発動することがあるぞ。

色々試して、発見した強力なシンクアタックで、キメラを蹴散らしてやれ！！

言い忘れていたが、レギオンは暴走の危険性があるため長時間 呼び出したままにはできない。

リミッターゲージが０になると危険を察知したレガトゥスが自動で レギオンをOFFしてしまうぞ。

そうなると、次に呼び出すまで時間がかかる。 こまめなクールダウンを心がけろ。

基本はこのぐらいにしておこう。 次はレギオンの戦闘スタイルについて説明するぞ！

開発されたレギオンは全部で５つ。それぞれ違う性能を持っている。

まずは、これまでも使ってきた「ソードレギオン」。 接近戦に強いスタイルだ。

アロー・レギオンは、弓のような武器で遠く離れた 敵を攻撃したり、空高く飛ぶ敵に有効なスタイルだ。

アーム・レギオンは、巨大な腕を活かした近接戦闘と、 全身に仕込んだ武装で中距離攻撃を得意とするスタイルだ。

ビースト・レギオンは、移動や攻撃のスピードが速いスタイルだ。 トリッキーな動きでキメラを翻弄することができるぞ。

アックス・レギオンは、守りを重視したスタイルだ。 カウンターで強力な一撃もお見舞いできる。

敵や状況を見極めて、スタイルを切り替えることで、戦いを有利に 進められるようになるはずだ。そのためにも各スタイルの特徴を しっかり覚えておくようにな。

さらに

各スタイルのレギオンと一体となって、 特殊なアクションを行うことができる。

ソード・レギオンなら、エネルギーの流れを切断する攻撃で、 相手の攻撃を一時的にとめることができるぞ。

アロー・レギオンなら、精細なエイミングが……

アーム・レギオンは、鎧のように装着して戦え……

ビースト・レギオンは、背中に乗って、そのまま駆け回ることができ……

アックスレギオンなら、お前も一緒に　 エネルギーフィールドの中で身を守ることができる。

これらの特殊アクションは、戦闘以外でも役に立つかも知れんな。 困った時はいろいろ試してみると良いだろう。

レギオンの能力を強化することも忘れるな。

各スタイルごとにスキルツリーが用意されている。

新しい技を習得するのも良し、攻撃力やスピードを高めるのも良し どのスタイルの、どの特性を強化するかはお前次���だ！

(OLIVE) どう、レギオンについて、しっかり覚えられたかしら？

じゃあ私からは、戦闘以外の仕事に役立つ情報を 伝えておくわね。

まず、捜査の基本、周辺の状況確認には コンタクトレンズ型デバイス「アイリス」を起動して。

警察庁のデータベースに繋がっていて、様々な情報が リアルタイムに立体映像として可視化されるわ。

それを手がかりにして、事件を解決しましょう！

それに、レギオンたちの特殊な力を使えば きっと事件の捜査に役立つはず！

レギオンが人に見えないという特性を活かして あやしい人物の会話を盗聴したり……

重くて、アナタだけだと開くことができないような 扉を開いたり……

警察犬のように臭いを辿って行方を探したり……

スタイルごとにできることが違うから、困ったときは いろいろ試してみると道が開けるかも知れないわね。

あら！？それは異世界に繋がるゲートよ！ そのままにしておけないわ。

チェインバインドで破壊できるはず、直ぐにやってみて！

お疲れさま！ レギオンのこと、もうすっかりマスターできたんじゃない？

これで、私たちの未来は……

(MAX) いいや、まだだ……ひよっこを甘やかしちゃいけない。

この先、俺たちの想像をはるかに超える脅威が 待ち受けていることだろう。

お前の力必ず必要な時が来る、その日まで死ぬんじゃねぇぞ！

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: Zone 09 Hal's Hideout (r800) and Zone 30 Maison Forest (r840) are internally in the same stage area (st8), despite being completely different places in the game.

The developers usually did this if the locations are nearby. For example, Zone 33 Harmony Square (r200) and Harmony Square Station (r240) are in the same area (st2).

Perhaps they were originally meant to be in the same zone? If you think about it, their architecture is oddly similar...

Note: the Highway arena in File 09 also shares this distinction with the police HQ (both in st9), but this makes sense as it's a one-off area you visit directly from HQ.

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: In the Archives, the English localization of Astral Chain gives the Vendor-3 personalities different names, such as "Vendor 3 (Rude)".

However, in Japanese (and Korean, Chinese), they keep them as just "Vendor-3"!

That's not to say they didn't have different names. Internally, the developers gave them their own names when designing their shop items:

ベンダー3　ノーマル (Normal) Vendor-3

ベンダー3　オドオド泣き虫 (Nervous crybaby) Vendor-3 (Shy)

ベンダー3　ツンツンおこりんぼ (Stuck-up angry) Vendor-3 (Rude)

ベンダー3　アッパーにこちゃん (Upper smiley) Vendor-3 (Giddy)

ベンダー3　クール (Cool) Vendor-3 (Fancy)

ベンダー3　病気 (Sick) Vendor-3 (Buggy)

ベンダー3　機械的 (Mechanical) Vendor-3 (Retro)

ベンダー3　ダウナーまったり (Downer, laid-back) Vendor-3 (Gloomy)

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Fun fact: Some File 12 cases contain unused waves of enemies that are usually much harder than the ones they actually went with in the final game.

The last case in File 12 against the post-game final boss was originally going to contain TWENTY FIVE WAVES! (The final game has just ONE!)

If you're feeling masochistic, I made a mod that restores this true test of skill (and mostly patience). You can download it here!

It also mods the progress bar (get to 90% to start the fight!) and adds supply crates that also went unused in the final level (YOU WILL NEED THEM). The music only starts playing when you fight the final boss, so enjoy fighting hundreds of chimeras in complete silence!

Here's the wave list if you're interested:

Protolegion (3x)

POW-C-30EB5-00 (Aloadae), WIG-C-985BE-01 (Ocypete), WIG-C-986BE-00 (2x)

ARR-C-4D9BC-00 (Artemis) (2x)

HUM-C-84DF5-00, HUM-C-F5DB3-00, ARR-C-44A41-00 (Hestia), BEA-C-AF063-00, BEA-C-E2921-00, SER-C-C85B9-00 (Hydra), SHE-C-4F413-00 (Ker), GEL-C-A68D2-00, GEL-C-9A7EC-00, GEL-C-B7904-00, WIG-C-F63C1-00 (2x)

HUM-C-16C28-00 (Hector), HUM-C-F5DB3-00 (2x)

Mini-boss wave: ELE-C-F67BD-00 (Deimos), SHE-C-2FF4ED-00 (Lampas)

HUM-C-6F3CD-00 (Astraeus), HUM-C-B8FE7-00 (Capaneus), GEL-C-CB186-01 (Poseidon)

HUM-C-60D27-00, HUM-C-84DF5-01 (Laius) (2x), HUM-C-6F3CD-00 (Astraeus) (2x)

WIG-C-E11FC-01 (Podarge), WIG-C-F63C1-00 (2x)

POW-C-8D1E4-00 (Kottos), POW-C-C5BD6-00 (Gyges), GEL-C-9A7EC-01 (Zeus), GEL-C-B7904-01

ARM-C-D51C6-00 (Arke), BEA-C-AF063-01, BEA-C-E2921-00

Mini-boss wave: Jena Aberrant, HUM-C-C460F-00 (Eris)

SER-C-1B050-00 (Scylla), HUM-C-84DF5-01 (Laius)

Hermit (4x), Hermit Aberration (2x), Protolegion (2x)

SHE-C-2FF4ED-00 (Lampas), ELE-C-D8790-00 (2x)

BEA-C-B37F9-00 (Teumessian), HUM-C-16C28-00 (Hector)

Raven Officer (3x), Type R Blade Legion

Mini-boss wave: Kyle Merkulov, HUM-C-5D0C8-00 (Astraeus-Capaneus)

Type R Wolf Legion, Type R Heavy Arm Legion

HUM-C-F5DB3-00, HUM-C-6F3CD-00 (Astraeus)

POW-C-75C4F-00 (Minotaur), GEL-C-CB186-01 (Poseidon) (2x)

SHE-C-2FF4ED-00 (Lampas)

POW-C-27E37-00 (2x)

Mini-boss wave: HUM-C-EA76E-00 (Agememnon), Jena Asymptote

Final Boss: Aether

And here's the final game:

Final Boss: Aether

See a difference?

[astralchainfunfacts]

Fun fact: In the tiny sliver of File 02 where you're searching for Captain Max in the Police HQ, every character's line is changed to specifically point you to where he is.

Brenda (> Chat): Do you need something? Ah, you're looking for Captain Howard. He hasn't stopped by today, sorry.

Hattori (> Chat): Captain Max? Nah, he hasn't been around here. A guy that big is hard to miss.

Roy: Captain Howard? I haven't seen him on this floor.

Mitsuru: Hey… The captain? He doesn't come around here very much… And I'd know.

Mike: Captain Max got on the elevator with Alicia. They're probably up on the roof. The captain looked kinda like a pissed off gorilla.

Alan: Yo, I got nothing to say to you, so…. huh? Captain Max? No idea where he is, but even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you.

Joey: What's with the face? Are you lost or somethin'? Lookin' for the captain? Sarah: … … ! Joey: She says the captain walked up to the heliport over there.

Sarah: … … ! Joey: She says the captain walked up to the heliport over there.

Kijima: Captain Max's whereabouts? One moment while I check the log. It looks like after leaving the command room, he took an elevator up to the roof.

Shizu: I haven't seen the captain. Or maybe… He can't be seen!

Avery: Hmm? The captain? Of course I know where he is! I saw him get on the elevator with Alicia with my very own eyes.

Li Fang: Captain? Haven't seen him.

Kay: Looking for Captain Max? Hmm… I saw him storming out of here, but who knows where he went after that?

Leona: Hmm? The captain? I think he got on the elevator. He looked out of sorts. Alicia was with him, too. I wonder if everything's okay?

Julia: If you're looking for the captain, he took the elevator just now… With Alicia… Ohh, could it be?! The captain is a bit slow when it comes to this sort of thing, so I could see Alicia taking the lead…

Tabitha: Captain Max? Can't say I've seen him. You might want to ask someone else.

Ted: Cap'n Max? Nope, haven't seen him today!

Tabuchi: Hey bud! The captain? Hasn't come by. Pretty sure he's on another floor.

What makes this impressive is that you have to talk to each character at least twice, since they introduce themselves on first talk.

Plus, the map icon literally leads you right to him, so I'm not sure who actually took the time to read all this dialogue!

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Fun fact: Here's every "scolding" line that can play in the game (i.e. by destroying property). Almost all of the Neuron characters have their own lines!

Try to trigger all of these in normal gameplay :^)

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Fun fact: In Astral Chain's staff roll, they show pictures you've taken over the course of the game.

But if you didn't take enough pictures, the game has 36 placeholder images that it subs in so you're not just looking at nothing. However, each photo is only 512x256. The game's in-game screenshots are taken at 720p!

Also, the last photo with Max has 3 different variations depending on what skin tone your character is!