Eternal Eden Review

Graduates of the old-school, listen up. If you yearn for the days of Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, and if these newfangled RPGs are too complicated and confusing, then look no further than Eternal Eden. Hailing from developer Blossomsoft, Eternal Eden is a modern, yet decidedly old-school RPG that is similar to the kingpins of the genre, but with a few twists that set it apart.

The story is mostly your typical RPG yarn, with a few twists - but it's nice to see something besides the "get all six glowing crystals and save the world" plot, even if it isn't necessarily groundbreaking (still "saving the world," just not quite in the typical manner). The world of E.E. is a paradise where everything is provided for its inhabitants (including immortality) thanks to the Tower of Eden and their Father. This blessing is unconditional except for one rule: no one may eat the 'wisdom fruit' at the top of the Tower (Biblical reference? I think so).

Of course, the heroes ignore this warning and bad things ensue. Their princess is transformed into a horrible beast, and the quest begins as a journey to find and save their beloved ruler. The plot thickens as the party is transported to a much bleaker version of their world that is dubbed "The World of Shadows," they figure out a way to reverse the damage done to the princess, and the world becomes happy again. Until the princess demon-ifies again and their world is once more thrown into chaos.

The gallant heroes set out once more to find out just what's going on with their world. The journey ends up becoming a "save the world" epic, as they journey to far away lands and encounter danger, ect. Like I said, not mind-blowing, but not too shabby - I like the Adam and Eve plot device, for example.

The gameplay is much like most others of the genre, but it does it in a very polished and thought-out manner. The battle system is par for the course: fight or flee, regular attacks, skills, magic, so on and so forth. But if it's not broken, don't fix it, right? At least it's done right. Nothing is unnecessary: no weird character growth system/item equip system ("you can't wear these socks because your 'sock skill' isn't leveled up enough" or some rubbish like that), no strangely complex statistics and battle commands, and while the characters are all pretty specialized (no juggernauts that are good at everything), none of them ever will seem worthless or purposeless. The menus, which are abundant, are easily navigated and clean.

Travel is interesting, and is made more interesting by the addition of hidden items. In Eternal Eden, special emphasis is put on scouring the environment for items. When the main character walks over a hidden item an exclamation point will pop up over his head and you'll be one item richer.

During your travels, you'll come across a few puzzles, as well. They're not super difficult, but you'll scratch your head for a while as you try to solve them.

In fact, the game itself isn't brutally hard, either. But it isn't easy enough that you can just breeze through it without any kind of strategy or planning. Those looking for a mindless romp through some dungeons will be sorely disappointed.

Since its old-school, Eternal Eden consists entirely of 2-D visuals - and they are glorious. As an avid fan of two-dimensional graphics, I wholly appreciate the art in this game. The colors are vibrant, and the environments are vivid and crisp. The sprites are nice too, and while the battle animations aren't incredibly sophisticated, they look fine and get the job done. The bosses are my favorite; massive, intimidating, and detailed beasts that simply look impressive.

I also enjoyed the music. It was arranged to fit the mood very well, and the pure variety of tunes was nice. And of course, they're all composed with synthesizer instruments - old school and a joy to my nerdy little ears. There were some that were pretty catchy, too.

I've had a surprisingly hard time finding things wrong with this game - there's so much that can go wrong with an RPG, and Eternal Eden manages to over almost all of them with ease. In fact there's only one thing that stuck out during my experience.

Since it's an RPG, there's lots of dialogue. It's clever and well written most of the time, but there are some issues. Sometimes it's a little awkward in its delivery - the wording is a little clunky at times. This is excusable, though, once you consider that the writer's native tongue is French rather than English.

To wrap it up, Eternal Eden is great. Even though it will mostly appeal to fans of the golden oldies, there's plenty to enjoy even if you're not into nostalgia. While it's not exactly blazing a new trail or breaking any boundaries, it does what it does very well and doesn't try to be something it isn't. So, if you're itching for an old-school RPG, Eternal Eden is about as good as it gets.

Graphics:
The 2D graphics are very vibrant and the sprites aren't too shabby. Bosses and environments are the standouts.

Sound/Music:
While they aren't super-sophisticated, they fit the game well. And it can be pretty catchy, too.

Gameplay:
Old-school to the core, the gameplay eschews complexity for a polished and well-refined experience. Not groundbreaking, but so well done that it sets itself apart.

Concept:
Eternal Eden is not mind-blowingly unique, conceptually speaking. Since it's made using an RPG maker, it's very similar to most everything else on the old-school RPG market; it just outperforms them all.

Value:
If you're dying for an RPG, you'll get your fix with Eternal Eden. If you're not a hardcore RPG fan, you'll probably find yourself entertained - but it won't leave a lasting impression.

Fun:
Brilliant pacing keeps you from getting bored, which can be a problem when you're playing a lengthy RPG. The not-quite-conventional plot keeps you involved and gives you incentive to keep playing, and the gamplay's focus on giving most everything a purpose is nice, too.

Overall:
For any RPG fan that's said "back in the good old days," your silent pleas have been answered. If you're looking for a reasonably deep game that will keep you entertained for many hours, Eternal Eden is a fine choice.