Game: Astonishia Story
Developer: Daewon Media & Waycoder
Publisher: NIS America
Genre: Grid-Based Tactical RPG
Release Date: February 11, 2027
Platforms: Switch 2 · Switch · PS5 · Steam
Players: Single-player
Original: South Korea, 1994
Rating: ESRB Teen
⚔️ Astonishia Story arrives February 11, 2027 on Switch 2, Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam. NIS America announced the updated version of the classic Korean RPG at PAX West 2026, with enhanced visuals, refined mechanics, and a Special Edition bundling a soundtrack, card set and acrylic keychain.
⚖️ This Is a Genuine Piece of Korean Gaming History
NIS America call it a cult classic, which undersells it a little.
Astonishia Story (어스토니시아 스토리) first released on MS-DOS in South Korea in 1994, developed by Sonnori. It’s one of the foundational Korean RPGs — a landmark from the era when the Korean PC scene was building its own identity rather than importing one.
It was remade in 2002 for the GP32 handheld as Astonishia Story R, and that version is where the grid-based tactical combat came from, replacing the original’s more linear encounters. Windows and PSP ports followed.
So what NIS America are bringing west in 2027 is the latest step in a thirty-year lineage, not a curio dug out of a drawer.
Recover the relic. Regain your honour.
A stolen relic, an Elven Queen reaching for the powers of a god, and a knight with a reputation to rebuild. It is very 1994, and that is entirely the point.
Astonishia Story is coming west on February 11, 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam, published by NIS America. It’s an updated version of the Korean RPG with enhanced visuals at higher resolutions and refined mechanics.
You follow Lloyd von Reuental, a knight tasked with recovering a stolen relic and restoring his honour, in a story NISA describe as one of prejudice, manipulation and duty. The Elven Queen intends to claim the powers of an ancient god. Stopping her is, as ever, incidental to the job you were actually given.
A Second Shot at the West
🕰️ The 2006 Attempt Did Not Go Well
Here’s the context that makes this announcement more interesting than a straightforward re-release.
Astonishia Story has been to the West before. Ubisoft licensed the PSP version and published it in North America and Europe in June 2006 — the first time the series reached Western shores.
It landed badly. The PSP release scored around 48 on Metacritic and was met with mixed-to-negative reviews, and that’s the reputation the name has carried in English-speaking territories ever since.
Worth being fair about why. That version was a 1994 design, remade in 2002, ported twice, translated in 2006, and judged against 2006 PSP RPGs. Its problems were largely problems of presentation and localisation rather than of the thing Korean players had loved for over a decade.
A properly updated version with NIS America handling the localisation is the first genuine chance this game has had to be judged on its own terms over here.
Grid-Based Gambits
The combat is tactical rather than traditional turn-based. You manoeuvre units across a grid, fire off abilities, and manage positioning — the system introduced by the 2002 remake and refined since.
♟️ Grid Positioning
Every battle is a battlefield. Where your units stand matters as much as what they do.
🗡️ Optional Mercenaries
A plethora of recruitable allies, each with a unique skill set. Talk to everyone.
🎨 Updated Visuals
Completely updated graphics at higher resolutions than any previous version.
⚙️ Refined Mechanics
NISA promise the look and feel have been reworked for modern platforms.
The mercenary system is the part worth paying attention to. Recruits are optional and hidden behind conversation — you find them by talking to people rather than by following a quest marker, and each brings a distinct skill set that lets you reshape the party for a given fight. That’s a very nineties design instinct, and it ages considerably better than most.
One Odd Detail in the Small Print
🌐 Console Gets English Only. PC Gets Five Languages.
A genuinely strange split, and worth knowing before you pick a platform.
Console versions — Switch 2, Switch and PS5 — are listed as English only.
The PC version supports English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.
Which means that for a landmark Korean RPG, the Korean language option is PC-exclusive in this release. Anyone wanting to play it in its original language, or in Japanese or Chinese, needs the Steam version.
There’s usually a licensing or certification reason behind splits like this and it may well change before February. But as announced, that’s the position.
📦 The Special Edition
NIS America are offering an Astonishia Story Special Edition alongside the standard release, bundling:
• The Astonishia Story Original Soundtrack
• The “Astonishing Sights” Card Set
• An exclusive Acrylic Keychain
No pricing has been announced yet, and NISA note that item names and artwork are subject to change. Their Special Editions sell through their own store and tend to move quickly, so if you collect these it’s worth watching for the preorder window rather than assuming it’ll be around in February.
Platforms and Rating
🎮 Four Platforms, February 11
Astonishia Story launches on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam on February 11, 2027. No Xbox version has been announced.
It’s single-player, rated ESRB Teen for Fantasy Violence, Blood, Language and Use of Alcohol — a slightly heavier rating than the storybook art of NISA’s other PAX West reveal, and a reminder that this is a fairly grown-up 1990s fantasy story rather than an all-ages one.
No pricing has been given for either the standard or Special Edition.
⚔️ Tactical RPG
♟️ Grid Combat
🇰🇷 Korean RPG
📜 Classic
🧙 Fantasy
👤 Single-Player
Who’s Making It
🏢 Daewon Media & Waycoder
The updated version is credited to Daewon Media Ltd. and Waycoder Co. Ltd. — not original developer Sonnori, whose successor studio went on to make the well-received sequel known in English as Crimson Gem Saga. The IP has evidently changed hands somewhere along the thirty-year road.
🇺🇸 NIS America
Established in Southern California in 2003 as a subsidiary of Nippon Ichi Software. Alongside its parent’s catalogue it publishes other titles in the West, including The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak — so localising a decades-old tactical RPG for a Western audience is squarely in their wheelhouse.
🎪 Also Announced at PAX West 2026
NISA had a busy show. Alongside Astonishia Story they revealed The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster, The Eminence in Shadow: Phantom Echoes and Anomalith.
Astonishia Story arrives February 11, 2027. More details on pricing and the Special Edition are expected closer to release.
Hi there! I’m Marie, also known as CtrlQueen. I’m passionate about keeping up with the latest in gaming news and sharing my insights. RPGs steal my heart with their rich narratives and immersive worlds, but I also love unwinding with fun, casual games. Whether you’re here for deep dives into game mechanics or just to chat about your favorite casual game, you’ve found the right place! Let’s game and explore together.
