Eternal Anima hands-on gameplay preview
One hour with Marvelous' new turn-based RPG.
Recently, I visited Marvelous at its Shinagawa headquarters for a one-hour preview of its upcoming turn-based RPG Eternal Anima. As a disclaimer, attendees were gifted a bottle of sake with an Eternal Anima-themed label, presented in a special wooden box engraved with the game’s logo.
The demo offered two save files set at points relatively close to each other in the story, both on normal difficulty (there are multiple difficulty options) during Chapter 3. The first let me explore a continent called Ambulis, including the forest village of La Boset, while the second picked up a little further along, after leaving the village and continuing toward a boss encounter.
I started by returning to the ship to explore, where I found several rooms that appear to serve different purposes as the game progresses. Characters and certain mechanics seem to become available here at some point during the story. During the demo, I found a cauldron for “Concocting” (crafting) items, as well as a blacksmith where you can craft weapons, armor, accessories, and “M.O.S. Components” for M.O.S., the robotic companion in your party.
Exploring the continent feels much like it does in a classic RPG, with towns and other areas to discover and enter, along with items to collect along the way. Only a handful of areas were accessible during the demo, including some that appeared to be entirely optional. Unlike certain older RPGs, where the world map is flat and open with cliffs and water serving as the main boundaries, Eternal Anima puts the player on more linear paths outlined by trees and other environmental objects, with paths on the ground helping to guide the way.
The optional areas I visited didn’t include any towns or NPCs, but were mostly natural environments consistent with the forest theme of the surrounding area, with enemies to fight and items to find. One optional area I entered was called the Vanishing Cave. Inside were signs providing cardinal directions (1. West, 2. North, 3. East), implying a maze-like puzzle. However, there was seemingly nowhere else to go in the enclosed space, so I wasn’t able to solve the mystery in my limited time.
Unlike many classic RPGs, Eternal Anima doesn’t use random encounters. Enemies appear directly on the map, and battles begin when you attack them or they attack you. You can avoid them, but you’ll need to be quick about it if they spot you. The areas aren’t entirely linear, either, branching off into different paths that may dead-end with items or loop around to other paths.
Combat is turn-based, with a particular emphasis on managing the order of turns. A timeline at the bottom of the screen shows when each ally and enemy will act. The protagonist, Wade (beating out contenders like John, Tom, and David), can manipulate time both in the story and in combat through an ability called Psychometry. This lets you see what enemies plan to do, giving you a chance to plan your moves accordingly. Psychometry also appears to serve as an in-universe explanation for several gameplay elements, including time travel, seeing upcoming turns and attacks, and learning new classes.
Regular attacks and guarding do not cost MP or BP (Boost Points), but special abilities require one or the other. Actions also differ in how much time they consume, meaning a powerful ability will leave you waiting longer for your next turn than a regular attack or guard. Characters can occupy either the front or back row, called the vanguard and rearguard, respectively. A tutorial explains that characters in the vanguard gain BP quickly but “draw more enemy attacks,” while those in the rearguard gain BP slowly and “draw fewer enemy attacks.” You can also equip Wade with different weapons that activate different classes once they’re unlocked, each with its own set of abilities and commands.
The timeline shows the order in which actions occur, with 10 dots along the line representing actions from left to right based on action speed. Icons above the player and enemy combatants show upcoming attacks and how much damage they will deal. Hitting an enemy’s weakness applies Knock Back (KB), delaying its turn. If its turn is pushed so far back that it falls off the timeline entirely, the enemy will be “broken,” canceling all of its actions for that turn.
As you highlight commands, the timeline shows when the selected action will take place, with the character’s icon appearing at the corresponding position based on the action’s speed, represented by a foot icon.
For example, selecting Slash for Wade shows an action speed of 4, placing his icon at the fourth dot along the timeline. M.O.S.’s Quick Laser has an action speed of 2, so it occurs before Wade’s Slash.
Boost Points are gained in battle by guarding, blocking, or defeating enemies. You can accumulate up to three BP at a time and use them to enhance attacks or perform abilities. BP doesn’t carry over between battles. Once you have three BP, you can perform a special move with a flashy animation called a Boost Surge. One example is Neria’s Rebel’s Rage, which deals 500 percent damage to one foe and can “inflict KB Res Bane.” I wasn’t able to determine exactly what the latter effect does.
Certain abilities can also change the “Terrain Attribute.” You earn BP by attacking with attributes that match the terrain, such as using an ice attack when the terrain has an ice attribute. It wasn’t clear to me during my demo whether matching the terrain affects anything else, such as attack damage or the effectiveness of other commands.
The area maps also feature treasure chests and holes that act as teleporters between locations. There are some simple environmental puzzles, too, such as manipulating the flow of water to cross a stream. Elsewhere, you can find items that unlock different classes for Wade to use in battle. One class available in the demo lets him specialize in a bow rather than a sword.
Equipping this new class, called Bowhunter, naturally gives Wade a bow instead of a sword, affecting his range and available abilities. His current class is displayed as an icon on his portrait during combat, and you can switch classes mid-battle with the press of a button. M.O.S. doesn’t have a class icon on his portrait, but Neria and Martii do. This may hint that they and other characters could gain access to additional classes like Wade, though neither could equip the Bowhunter class found in the demo. Wade’s default sword class is called Swordfighter, while Neria’s is called Rebel, and both can equip the same weapons. Based on what I saw, class switching appears to be a Wade-only feature.
Looking at Wade’s command menu side-by-side with the Bowhunter and default Swordfighter classes reveals a few differences. The Swordfighter’s main ability, Slash, deals 100 percent damage to one foe and has an action speed of 4, along with a clock-icon stat of 3. Bowhunter’s main ability, Bullseye, also deals 100 percent damage to one foe and has a clock-icon stat of 3, but its action speed is 4 and its description adds, “Can target the rearguard.”
Swordfighter also has the Cleave ability, which costs 4 MP, while Bowhunter has Sow Ice, which costs 8 MP. Cleave deals 200 percent damage to one foe, while Sow Ice deals 15 percent damage to all enemies and changes the terrain to the ice attribute. Both classes have access to the Guard command, but Bowhunter no longer has Cover. In short, classes can affect Wade’s range as well as the commands and abilities available to him.
The character models and 3D world have a chibi aesthetic. The character designs are by a French artist, if you couldn’t already tell from Martii’s freckles or Wade’s Verso-style hair. Several characters have white streaks in their hair, which may allude to some story element, unless the artist just really likes white streaks.
Cutscenes feature 2D character art alongside the dialogue box, which can be set to progress automatically or manually. The artwork is slightly animated with lip movements and blinking rather than being entirely static. Instead of cutting away to a separate presentation or background, dialogue plays over the gameplay, keeping the 3D models visible and allowing them to contribute to the storytelling.
For example, when Martii suggests taking M.O.S. apart to see how he works, M.O.S.’s 3D model throws his hands in the air and flees to quiver behind Neria in fear. As someone who isn’t a fan of static 2D images in visual novel-style dialogue, I think this system has the potential to deliver much better characterization and presentation within the given budget.
Visually, Eternal Anima does somewhat resemble the aesthetic of Team Asano games like Bravely Default. The color palette is difficult to describe, but everything feels a bit darkened, as though viewed through a slight brown filter. The use of black and gold in the user interface, along with the diamond-shaped icons used for item pickups, also gives me Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 vibes.
The demo introduces us to some of the main cast. Alongside player character Wade are Neria and M.O.S., short for “Magick-Operated-Sentinel,” which the characters decide to pronounce as “moss.” Neria is the leader of the group and has a strong personality with a touch of sass. Her attitude is epitomized by what she says when discussing helping Martii: “We’ll lend him a hand—he’ll owe us after.” M.O.S. is a robotic character called a sentinel who, unsurprisingly, speaks robotically.
The demo starts with the party encountering a “local youth,” soon revealed to be Martii, who is fighting monsters. There’s an implication that if he dies, the forest and his home will be destroyed, too. Martii is meek and soft-spoken, though he seems firm in his beliefs. If Neria’s personality can be inferred from her sharp eyes, smirk, and use of a sword, then Martii’s upturned eyebrows, uncertain frown, and role as a magic user suggest his demeanor visually.
The story segment focuses on Martii as he tries to convince the traditionalist elders of his village to embrace a new way to save Ambulis. While I wanted to say more about the main character, Wade, quite frankly, he isn’t given much characterization during this segment. He, like Neria, speaks British English, but otherwise, there’s little to say based on the few simple lines he’s given. A few other characters appear briefly, including Eri, Samolus, Azurea, and Florus, who seem to be crewmates aboard your ship. While the art style is mostly consistent, I can’t help but feel that Samolus’s design looks like it’s from a different game or art style entirely.
When I loaded the second save, I had little time to explore and instead rushed straight to the boss. That left me somewhat unprepared, and I ultimately failed to defeat it. That could be a good sign, though, as it suggests you can’t simply mash the attack button and expect to win.
Other notes and observations: there are side quests, as well as a simple fishing minigame. A tutorial explains that bubbles indicate where you can catch fish, which can be used as recovery items or for “Concocting” at a cauldron. You cast your lure and press A to reel in a fish when an icon appears over Wade’s head.
The settings let you switch between English and Japanese voice acting at any time, and there’s also a “Streamer Mode.” Its description says it changes some of the background music during gameplay, which confused me slightly, as this doesn’t seem like the kind of game that would have licensed music. The game also features fast travel, along with icons and other ways to track main and side quests. You can control the ship at sea on the world map, where you can fight enemies and salvage treasure using radar. Controls are fully remappable on both controller and keyboard-and-mouse.
As a JRPG fan, Eternal Anima neither wowed me nor put me off. It seems competently made, and I could see myself playing it at some point in the future. The controls and user interface are responsive and easy to read and understand, although the specifics of the battle system may take some time to fully grasp. Map traversal, dialogue, and the interstitial gameplay I experienced didn’t present any apparent issues.
It’s hard for me to fully judge the game based on this small slice of gameplay and story. This segment is clearly focused on Martii, and we’ll likely learn more about the main cast in other parts of the game. Still, I found Wade, Neria, and M.O.S. a bit flat and think their characterization could use some more depth. As presented here, Wade and M.O.S. both come across as robotic, while Neria has a slight touch of sass or edge that I feel the game could lean into a bit more (and not just because I like tough women).
I’m not a big fan of chibi models, brown-color filters, or static 2D art cutscenes, but, as mentioned, the cutscenes do a bit more than simply display static 2D images, which I think helps. The combat feels a bit more involved and interesting than that of something like Octopath Traveler. I can’t fully judge the Psychometry and turn-focused aspects because I didn’t entirely grasp them during my time with the game. However, as a fan of Final Fantasy X, which also focuses on turn economy, I can see the potential for Psychometry and the other systems to add depth and strategy to turn management.
Eternal Anima is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, and PC via Steam on March 4, 2027.
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