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Eternal Potpourri

  • Dyhalto
  • 02/25/2016 01:44 AM
  • 1032 views
Preamble
I first played this game back in 2011 when it was fairly new. Some years later, I had an urge to replay it, but discovered that a lot of the soundtrack had been changed. This irked me because I liked the previous BGM selection.
So out of resentment I put it off for another few years; basically until now. In this latest playthrough, I can attest to Ephiam putting a LOT of rework in to make a more polished product.

Visual: 2.5/5
I'm reminded of my recent playthrough of Boss Project IV, which is kind of like a garbage can for all the ideas not implemented in Eternal Paradise. Having plowed through the dull maze in that game, the floating island of Venaitura is a pleasure to experience, except that, god dammit, I forgot how the first half of the game is spent in some dopey alternate dimension, complete with vast acres of blandness and nothingness.
After sloughing through that part, the latter half is a much more scenic and satisfying adventure. It also doesn't hurt having the exposition done and being well into the climactic "let's go get those guys" phase.

Sadly, there's a lot of slop in the visuals department, and most of it is due to sheer laziness. Exclusively using Star Ocean rips to maintain conformity in the cast was a good idea, but those tails really should have been sprited out. Then, all of the on-map enemies are either ghosts or hellhounds. Why only the two? And when did the main villain's sprite turn into the RTP little boy? It wasn't like that during my 2011 playthrough.
Even the most basic practice for handling ropes and ladders went ignored.


Come on, man... I should still be facing up when I climb down a rope.


Audio: 3.5/5
I was bothered by the change in music selection that happened somewhere between 2011 and now, but must grudgingly admit that it was a stylistically better choice. The old version had different genres of BGM happening, whereas the new Eternal Paradise employs a much more uniform soundtrack, tending to a traditional orchestra flavor.

Still. With all the games Ephiam has made, you'd think he would have learned to make his music properly repeat by now, or at least not fade out in the middle of heated combat. I think a crash course in Audacity is in order.

Storyline: 5/5
jRPG story scopes generally fall into one of two categories. The full scale world-crawling epic which commands most of the genre, or the singular compact yet memorable adventure like Wanderers from Ys III. Eternal Paradise is the second type.

It begins with four heroes ascending to the floating island of Venaitura in order to achieve various degrees of revenge against the person who's ruined their lives. Plot Twists 101 reminds us that all is definitely not as it seems, but the villain, Ephiam, lends credence to the basic premise for much of the game, and what the actual circumstances turn out to be end up far and away from expectations up until then.
Adding character to the core plot are several instances where the heroes confer amongst themselves, be it by sharing the sad stories of why they're here or suffering from sudden anxiety attacks borne out of their fears. After playing through his series of Boss Projects, I'd forgotten that Ephiam (the gamedev, not the villain) is actually a good writer.

I really wish villain Ephiam's sprite hadn't been botched, though. It's a real immersion breaker.


Stewie Griffin's plot to take over the world slowly coming to fruition.


Gameplay: 4/5
A complaint that I, and many others from what I've read, have with Eternal Paradise is in being given a party of Level 40s. Funnily enough, in spite of their uber levels, the actual starting equipment and skills are more fitting of a level 4 or 5 party. Nonetheless, that glaring 40 adds the subliminal idea of "someone else's party". Bummer.

Otherwise, the game boasts some exquisite handling of the default RM2k3 systems. While there aren't any custom Steal or Blue Magic systems to speak of, the complete equipment & skill selections are available from the beginning and arrayed to suit strategy needs instead of the usual graduating difficulty curve. To facilitate this playstyle, every battle is distinctively challenging in it's own right, and that aspect includes the regular enemies as well (all touch encounter, might I add).
The maps get pretty gigantic too. One of my exploration tricks, following the wall/boundary on my party's right, was foiled a few times. Treasure is abundant and worth finding, and most of the areas are structurally different for variety's sake.

But I'd say the best part was that, if you know what you're doing, you can beat all the main bosses without any grinding on the small fry. I'll have to try a Low Level run someday.
There's also a New Game+ for completion's sake, and a New Game++ for those into masochistic boss runs. Bring an appetite for Game Overs.

Overall: 4/5
Ephiam is no aesthetician, but he knows how to make an RPG challenging and charge it with a lively story. Eternal Paradise is one of his better endeavors to date, though sadly underappreciated.