Overview
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 8/10
- Offline: 49/50 (985/1000)
- Online: 1/50 (15/1000)
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: 30+ hours
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 3 (Easy, Extra, Score Ranking).
- Number of missable achievements: None
- Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No Cheats
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes
- Glitchy achievements: None
- Unobtainable achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed?: None
Introduction:
Welcome to El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron! This game has 50 achievements for a total of 1000. The game is a hack and slash made by Ignition Entertainment that follows the priest Enoch as he is sent by God to return seven fallen angels or else the Earth will be covered by a great flood, destroying all of mankind. Enoch is assisted in his journey by Lucifel, the guardian angel who is sworn to protect Earth, no matter the cost. Enoch also has the company of four Archangels: Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel, and Michael who guide him around the depths of Heaven in search of these fallen angels. Enoch also uses different weapons on his journey, such as the Arch, the Gale, and the Veil, each of which has a different play style.
Breakdown:
Step 1: Easy Difficulty Playthrough-
At the beginning of the game, you will only have access to Easy and Normal. There are two other difficulties (Hard and Extra) that are unlocked after beating the game. Go ahead and play on Easy and make sure to get all the Bones of Ishtar on this playthrough (Refer to "I Will Mourn You" for locations) in order to get the Special armor after beating the game. You take no damage at all wearing this, making Extra difficulty a cake walk. Note though that you'll be unable to beat a higher score than S while doing Score Ranking. In this playthrough, you will be guaranteed to get all 12 Story achievements, "Angels," "What's Yours Is Mine," "Pushing the Limit," "Benevolent Missionary," and "Quite a Find." You should just try to enjoy this playthrough and not bother with "Living Miracle," but it you feel up to it, you can attempt to get it, but remember that you are only able to recover about 4-5 times per chapter before you get a Game Over. (On Easy, at least)
Step 2: Extra Difficulty-
Now that you have beaten the game on Easy, you will unlock Hard and Extra as well as Score Ranking Mode. Now select Extra Difficulty for this one and go through the game again. After beating Chapter 1, you will get "Battle for Honor." As stated earlier, you should've gone for "I Will Mourn You" in your last playthrough, so you can use the Special armor. Use it on this playthrough, so you will have no troubles at all and once you finish you will receive "Seraphim," "Dominions," "Principalities," and possibly "Benevolent Savior."
Step 3: Hard Difficulty + Score Ranking-
Now this is the part where the game gets interesting. Score Ranking Mode grades you on how many enemies you kill, how fast you beat the chapter, and several other things. Playing on Hard and trying to get G Ranking is somewhat of a challenge. You will have to make sure you keep combos up, always purify your weapon, take down many of the mini-bosses, find any secrets in the chapters, and beat it as fast as possible if you want to see that giant G at the stat screens. If you are up to the test and finish this though, you can say hello to the two scoring achievement "Adept" and "Conqueror."
Step 4: Mop-Up-
At this point, you should have about 24 achievements for 550. Since El Shaddai has a chapter select feature, you can go back to any chapter of the game in order to get the remaining achievements you are missing. The achievements you can go for now are:
-"Living Miracle"
-"Time In The Spotlight"
-"I'll take the best you have."
-"I Will Mourn You"
-"Out of Control"
-"Counterstrike Artist"
-"Good Listener"
-"Escape From The Darkness"
-"My Acrobatic Friend"
-"Hunter-Gatherer"
-"Indomitable Soul"
-"A Reliable Friend"
-"No Problem"
-"The armor okay? If not, I could..."
-"Martial Arts Master"
-"Rest in Peace"
-"The name is too long"
-"Show No Mercy"
-"Arch Master"
-"Gale Master"
-"Veil Master"
-"I'm Not Afraid of Watcher 1"
-"I'm Not Afraid of Watcher 2"
-"I'm Not Afraid of Watcher 3"
-"I'm Not Afraid of Watcher 4"
-"Lord of the Metatron"
Conclusion:
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a unique take on the hack and slash genre with amazing visuals and enjoyable gameplay. Like with most hack and slashes though, this game takes awhile to master and you will be playing it for quite some time in order to get 1000. With 4 difficulties and a Score Attack mode with leaderboards, there is plenty to do in this game. If you need help on certain achievements or just want some strategies to beat some of the tough areas of the game, look through the achievement guide below for the specific ones you need. Now get your angel weapons and get ready to take down those fallen angels once and for all!