What is Another Eden?
Another Eden Jikuu wo Koeru Neko revolves around the theme of time-travelling. The story is written by Written by Masato Kato (加藤正人), who also worked on Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Trigger, Another Eden features a rich story and detailed world. To fully immerse players into the universe of Another Eden, the game’s OP is composed by renowned Japanese composer Yasunori Mitsuda (光田康典).
Gameplay 4/5
Featuring a somewhat old-school JRPG core, Another Eden is seriously not bad. The map search system features random monster encounters and features quite a few hidden areas that make it worthwhile for completionists who just can’t stand having part of the map unexplored. With a heavy Final Fantasy vibe, it’s easy to spend a long time exploring the map and grinding EXP to give your characters an extra edge in the zones ahead.
In terms of game progression, Another Eden is pretty linear. The game is incredibly story driven, asides from doing the main quest, which contributes to unraveling more on the story, you can go around doing mindless optional fetch quests and monster exterminations which reward you in gems, materials, and EXP scrolls. Since the game is currently only available in Japanese, this could be a problem for those who aren’t exactly proficient in Japanese.
Players can get more characters through the Gacha system. Like most RPGs, heroes have different classes and rarity (stars). The main different in classes is the skills and stat growth nodes available in the skill tree feature. Unfortunately, the skill tree branches are quite limited, the difference between each different branches are so insignificant it doesn’t really require much thought. The same can be said with the game’s crafting system which is a little disappointing.
Graphics 4/5
Let’s be honest, 2.5D graphics isn’t the best you can get for a modern mobile game, but the art style falls right in place with the rest of the game.
The characters are well-designed, each character does look and feel different from each other. The enemies you encounter in different zones are quite relevant to the zone’s environment which made it more immersive.
Sound & Ambiance 3/5
The overall ambiance of the game is quite interesting. Following the game’s time-traveling theme, the game offers a diverse selection of environments from fantasy forests to sci-fi futuristic cities. The different soundtracks set a relevant mood to the locations and fights. Thrilling beats during boss fights and soothing melodies in safe zones adds more to player’s gaming experience and the sound effects aren’t out of the norm.
Everything works well in the game, but it isn’t particularly special.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for something new to try, Another Eden is definitely worth checking out. Another Eden is one of those rare mobile games that doesn’t feature any multiplayer but doesn’t feel empty.
The old-school JRPG elements of the game are quite enjoyable on mobile, and the auto-save feature really lets you play whenever you want for as whatever duration you want without having to worry about saving your progress. The controls of the game are very instinctive and doesn’t really require you to learn a bunch of stuff before you get the hang of it.
True, without knowing what the story is about, the game can be a little meaningless, but the character develop features and challenging boss fights still makes it a worthwhile singleplayer RPG.
