ASH is a game that I would say is unpolished. Made for the DS by Mistwalker it has some interesting gameplay decisions with having 3 members per squad (like SMT: Devil Survivor) but having them move separately and having an action point bar that if it goes lower than 50 AP will leave you unable to fight enemies. Intriguing in concept, but unfortunately, in practice it makes the gameplay feel like a slog. Having to move nine different characters every single turn can get tedious real fast.
Secondly is the limited enemy pool. Throughout the 30 hours of gameplay, you will fight with about 15 to 20 enemies that get recycled, and that's it. And each stage will bombard you with reinforcements that will prolong it even more. Chapters usually have a generic end requirement (either defeat everybody or go to the end of the stage). That wouldn't be that big of a problem if the combat were quick, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Same for the OST of the game. It has a good OST or is at least serviceable, but having the same battle theme play each time gets very tiring. The final boss fight theme is fantastic, in my opinion, and that was the thing that made me want to play the game in the first place. It's a great song and worth a listen.
The story is interesting at first, but through the game, it gets a bit more cliched and murky as to what exactly is happening, though that could be because of the translation, so I can't be sure. Lastly, the characters are nothing to write home about, but they are serviceable and aren't a detriment to the story or overall experience, but I can say that they don't make the experience any better as well. The art direction and the graphics are pleasing, especially for the DS.
In conclusion, if the gameplay were faster and had a bit more variation on the soundtrack, this would be a fantastic hidden gem made by the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sadly the risks they took in the gameplay department made the game too slow for me plus the limited Ost made it a chore to get through.