First impressions look good, with some rather decent graphics (although just how much of it is generic from RMVX is unknown). Everything is clear, concise and to the point, with an image which relates to the 16 bit era (SNES, Genesis etc.) The landscapes are colourful, as are some of the images used when the narrative needs to push itself. The spell effects are nice too, but in spite of all this, you see some bits where you just feel that a different approach would have made all the difference.
A perfect example of this is the battlefield. The enemies you fight have no animation to them at all and make you feel like you’re sitting at a Dungeon & Dragons convention, but the thing about these fights which is almost unforgivable is the lack of a decent background. A lot of games of this type will, AT LEAST use a simplified version of the map or something similar to the area you’re in. Eternal Eden just uses a circular pattern which thinks it’s still in the twilight zone with a bit of Mode 7 style scrolling going on. Sure it’s because the rest of the game looks good, but if it CAN be like that, why couldn’t the bad bits be?
The sound also bases its roots in the days of the SID chip and MIDI file and for the most part accompanies the work pretty well. It’s certainly more pleasant on the ear than some of the other RPG’s of this generation ever were so credit to the musician. The sound effects aren’t too bad either and offer both functionality and substance to proceedings.
