Eternal Eden

Eternal Eden
Developer(s)	Blossomsoft
Publisher(s)	Blossomsoft
Series	Eternal Eden
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	December 11, 2008
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Distribution	download

Eternal Eden is a 2D Japanese-style RPG created for the PC by Blossomsoft. The game was created using RPG Maker VX. It is the first commercial product created using RPG Maker VX.

Gameplay

The player controls a child, Noah, who lives in a utopia called Eden. In Eden, all needs are provided for by Eden Tower and everyone lives eternally at their prime age. Noah wakes from a dream – the tutorial of the game – in time for the Princess's 900th birthday. Noah's friend Downey wants to present her with the best pie. He convinces Noah to take the forbidden Wisdom Fruit as an ingredient. The Princess eats the pie, turns into a monster, and escapes through a mysterious gate. Storms begin to rage, Eden Tower's door shuts and the land's magic is negated: people begin to fall ill and grow old. Noah, Downey and Downey’s rival Jean pursue the Princess.

The game is presented in a top-down tile-based view, and enemies are only present in dungeons and appear as puffs of smoke on the field. Touching a puff of smoke starts a battle. Enemies do not respawn once they've been killed. An exclamation point will emerge above the player's head whenever he finds a hidden item. Every dungeon has a Treasure Room in which treasures and bonus experience points can be earned provided a condition is met, such as "kill all the monsters on this floor".

Critical reception

RPGFan rates Eternal Eden at 90/100^[1] a few months later critic Neal Chandran awarded the game #1 of his Editor’s Pick choices of 2008.^[2] Gamertell praised the storyline of Eternal Eden, with its "message of redemption" and use of "religious archetypes".^[3] Game Tunnel highlighted the game's music and artwork, with "vivid and crisp" environments, and "massive, intimidating and detailed" boss battles.^[4] The gameplay of Eternal Eden, while typical of the genre, has drawn comparisons with classic JRPGs such as early Final Fantasy titles.^[3] However, reviews have criticized the English localization: the dialogue includes occasional grammatical errors and awkward delivery, with the game's JayIsGames review noting that the dialogue was "awkward" in places.^[5]^[3]^[4]

Direct sequel

Eternal Eden: Ecclesia is the direct sequel of Eternal Eden.^[6] There is currently no official release date for the game.

3DS version

A port of the game is in development with enhancements for the Nintendo 3DS.^[7]^[8]^[9] In addition, the game's developer has announced an intention to port the game to the Unity engine, along with the implementation of new graphical assets.^[10]

References