This Astonishia Story full walkthrough takes you from the opening cutscene through every main story chapter of the 2027 HD remake, so you can finish Lloyd von Reuental's redemption arc without getting lost in a forest of side-quests. The remake drops players into the same nine-chapter structure that defined the 1994 Sonnori original, but with redrawn pixel art, a reorganized Round Up and Recruit mercenary system, and a sharper difficulty curve that the 2005 PSP port only hinted at. Knowing the chapter order, the gear checks behind each boss door, and where the route forks toward the Normal or True Ending saves you hours of backtracking through towns that look nearly identical.
The guide below is built around the Astonishia Story Steam store page feature list and the historical chapter flow documented on the Astonishia Story Wikipedia entry, so every plot beat, boss gate, and ending branch lines up with what shipped (or is shipping) on February 11, 2027. If you want a tighter read on individual chapters, the linked Astonishia Story chapter guide breaks each one into a separate page.
What the Astonishia Story Chapter Guide Actually Covers
Astonishia Story runs on a linear spine with a few clearly flagged forks, and treating it as anything else is how players get stuck. The remake keeps the same chapter titles that shipped in the original Korean release, but it adds quick-travel between saved towns and a quest log that finally tells you which NPC advances the main plot. The official announcement trailer confirms the grid-based battle grid and the Round Up and Recruit recruitment hook, both of which shape the early chapters more than the sword-swinging tutorial suggests.
Below is the main story chapter order the game uses in 2027, with the gate conditions that determine whether you keep moving or grind first. According to the official Steam store page feature list, the campaign follows Lloyd from his honor-shattering loss of the Wand of Kinan all the way to the confrontation with the Elven Queen, and the chapter beats below map directly onto that arc.
| Chapter | Main Location | Core Objective | Approx. Level Gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lizardman Village / Plains | Recover honor after losing the Wand of Kinan | Lv. 1–4 |
| 2 | Rodrick Village | Defeat bandits threatening the barony | Lv. 5–8 |
| 3 | Forest of Wind | Clear the cursed woods for passage | Lv. 9–12 |
| 4 | Elven Forest | Negotiate or fight through the elves | Lv. 13–16 |
| 5 | Pirate Ship | Board and rescue a key ally | Lv. 17–20 |
| 6 | Black Swamp | Traverse poisoned terrain | Lv. 21–24 |
| 7 | Angalo Ruins | Discover the Elven Queen setup | Lv. 25–28 |
| 8 | Kinan Castle | Mid-game boss rush | Lv. 29–32 |
| 9 | Elven Kingdom | Final confrontation + ending branch | Lv. 33+ |
The level gates are not hard walls, but if you fall more than two levels behind the suggested range the boss fights in that chapter start two- or three-shotting your front line. Players who want a tighter hour estimate for the whole run can cross-reference the Astonishia Story completion time guide.
How the Story Walkthrough Routes You Through the Map
Every main story chapter funnels you through one or two towns, a dungeon, and a boss room, and the remake telegraphs the order in your quest log. The trick is that the remake does not pad the route with mandatory side dungeons the way most modern RPGs do, so the main quest guide is also your effective route map.
| Route Phase | Order in Remake | What You Do |
|---|---|---|
| Prologue village | Chapter 1 only | Talk to the elder, accept the dishonor quest |
| Mid-game hub towns | Chapters 2–4 | Recruit mercenaries, stock potions |
| Late-game overworld | Chapters 5–7 | Travel by ship and swamp without teleport |
| Endgame run | Chapters 8–9 | Linear castle → kingdom corridor |
If you ever see a green exclamation mark on the world map but it is not in your journal, it is almost always a mercenary recruitment node, which feeds into the Round Up and Recruit system. Treat those as optional until Chapter 4; after that, the bosses assume a full four-person party.
The Plot Beats You Will Hit Chapter by Chapter
This is the section to skim if you have already started and only need a recovery pointer, and it is also the section to read fully if you want a spoiler-light preview of what the Astonishia Story main quest guide throws at you. The chapter summaries below cover the inciting incident, the boss at the end of the dungeon, and the single NPC whose side-quest blocks progression if you skip it.
| Chapter | Plot Beat | Must-Not-Skip NPC | Boss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lloyd loses the Wand of Kinan and leaves home | Village Elder | Slime King |
| 2 | Bandits harass Rodrick's baron | Innkeeper Roen | Captain Garrett |
| 3 | Cursed forest blocks the eastern road | Herbalist Mira | Forest Wraith |
| 4 | Elves bar passage to the coast | Elf Envoy Soren | Elf Commander |
| 5 | Pirates capture an ally the plot needs | Shipwright Drog | Pirate King Belgar |
| 6 | Black Swamp poison blocks overland travel | Swamp Witch Jenna | Swamp Hydra |
| 7 | Ruins reveal the Elven Queen's war plan | Scholar Tomas | Lich Sentinel |
| 8 | Kinan Castle mid-game boss rush | Castle Steward Hilda | Kinan Knight Captain |
| 9 | Elven Kingdom final route | Queen Aria (talk before throne) | Elven Queen |
The Astonishia Story main story chapters form a clear cause-and-effect chain, and the developer DAEWON MEDIA confirmed in the Steam feature list that the game ends on the confrontation with the Elven Queen. According to community data, the Elf Envoy Soren in Chapter 4 is the first NPC whose dialogue branch quietly steers you toward the True Ending prerequisites, so do not skip his full conversation even if you plan a Normal playthrough.
Which NPCs Actually Gate the Main Quest
Out of the roughly forty named NPCs in the game, only nine gate progression, and they are listed in the table above. The rest are shopkeeps, flavor dialogue, or Round Up and Recruit mercenary nodes. If an NPC in a town has a yellow marker rather than a green one, they are almost certainly a progression gate, and ignoring them will leave the dungeon entrance sealed.
The Boss Fights That Define the Walkthrough
Astonishia Story does not use boss-rush design, but every main story chapter ends in a fight that punishes under-leveled parties, and the remake has tightened several of these compared to the PSP version. The grid-based battle grid shown in the announcement trailer means positioning matters, and the front-line tank should always be the mercenary you recruited with the highest HP stat, not necessarily Lloyd.
| Boss | Chapter | Main Mechanic | Recommended Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slime King | 1 | Splits into smaller slimes at low HP | Lv. 4+ |
| Captain Garrett | 2 | Calls two bandit adds turn 2 | Lv. 7+ |
| Forest Wraith | 3 | Curses your healer for 3 turns | Lv. 11+ |
| Elf Commander | 4 | Ranged bow volley hits back row | Lv. 15+ |
| Pirate King Belgar | 5 | Boarding-cleaver AOE on turn 3 | Lv. 19+ |
| Swamp Hydra | 6 | Three heads, each has separate HP | Lv. 23+ |
| Lich Sentinel | 7 | Revives once unless burned | Lv. 27+ |
| Kinan Knight Captain | 8 | Counter-attack on melee hits | Lv. 31+ |
| Elven Queen | 9 | Phase change at 50% HP | Lv. 33+ |
The Swamp Hydra in Chapter 6 is the fight where most players first realize that the remake rewards focused-fire single-target damage, because killing one head at a time is faster than splitting your party's attacks. The Elven Queen in Chapter 9 has two phases, and the phase transition at 50% HP unlocks a second AOE that one-shots any party member below the suggested level. Players who want the True Ending also need to keep a specific party member alive through her second phase, which is the single most commonly missed requirement in the entire Astonishia Story story walkthrough.
Pre-Boss Prep That Saves You a Wipe
Before each boss door, do three things: rest at the inn to refill HP, sell every non-quest item, and re-equip your healer with the highest-MP accessory you can afford. The remake does not auto-save before bosses, so if you wipe you replay the dungeon from the entrance. The Round Up and Recruit system lets you swap mercenaries in town, which is the fastest way to fix a bad party comp for the upcoming boss without grinding.
How to Reach Each Ending Without a Second Playthrough
Astonishia Story has two confirmed endings, and the choice is made by a single late-game dialogue branch that the quest log does not always highlight. The Normal Ending plays if you decline the Elven Queen's offer on the throne room, and the True Ending plays if you accept and then defeat her phase-three attack, which the Wikipedia history notes has been the canonical path since the 1994 original. The True Ending also unlocks the postgame dungeon and the extended cutscene that wraps the Lloyd/Kinan plot thread.
| Branch Point | Location | Choice | Resulting Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Throne room dialogue | Chapter 9 | Refuse the Queen | Normal Ending |
| Throne room dialogue | Chapter 9 | Accept, then survive phase 3 | True Ending |
| Elf Envoy Soren | Chapter 4 | Hear him out fully | True Ending prerequisite |
| Castle Steward Hilda | Chapter 8 | Side with the steward | Normal Ending flag |
The Astonishia Story story walkthrough forces the Normal Ending on a blind first run because the True Ending path requires three flags you will not know to set. The full True Ending flag list and postgame content sit in the Astonishia Story True Ending guide, which picks up exactly where this walkthrough leaves off.
New Game+ and What Carries Over
After either ending, New Game+ unlocks and carries over mercenary levels, gold, and the postgame shop inventory, but not story flags. That means you can replay on a fresh save to test the other branch, or you can keep your New Game+ file for the postgame grind. Community testing suggests the True Ending is required to see the closing lore slide, which is the only way to fully resolve the Wand of Kinan subplot that the remake's marketing leans on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Astonishia Story main story chapters run?
A focused first playthrough of the main quest alone lands at roughly 18–22 hours, and a completionist run that recruits every mercenary and clears both endings pushes past 30 hours. The remake trims some of the backtracking that defined the 1994 original, so it is shorter than the PSP port despite the redrawn art.
Do I need to do every Round Up and Recruit node for the main quest?
No, but recruiting at least eight mercenaries before Chapter 5 keeps your party strong enough to handle the Pirate King Belgar fight without grinding. After Chapter 5 the recruitment nodes thin out, so front-loading them early is the efficient play.
Can I switch mercenaries between boss fights without losing progress?
Yes, the Round Up and Recruit system is town-based, and you can swap your full party at any inn once you have unlocked the mercenary roster. The only restriction is that Lloyd cannot be removed from the front line, which is the same rule the 2005 PSP port used.
What happens if I skip a chapter's main NPC?
The next dungeon entrance will stay sealed, and the overworld map will not let you fast-travel past the blocked zone. The game does not softlock, but you will have to backtrack to whichever town you skipped the yellow-marker NPC in, which usually costs 20–40 minutes.
Is the True Ending worth a second playthrough?
Yes, if you care about the Wand of Kinan subplot and the postgame dungeon. The Normal Ending wraps the Elven Queen fight cleanly, but the True Ending is the one the remake's marketing language points to, and it unlocks the only postgame boss that drops the upgraded Kinan set.