Another Eden Begins isn’t what I expected. It isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t necessarily great. It’s a reworked version of the ongoing gacha mobile game, with gameplay adjustments and new content; on paper, that’s great, but in execution, it leaves a lot to be desired.
I’ve been pretty impressed by Square Enix’s taking its existing free-to-play titles and elevating them into coherent single-player titles. Octopath Traveler 0 and Final Fantasy Resonance are sort of the gold standard (one is out, and the other has been received extremely well thanks to a demo) right now, and I hope more developers transitioning their end-of-life games look at those titles.
Another Eden Begins Has Good Bones
Wright Flyer Studios’ Another Eden Begins is Masato Kato’s answer to Chrono Trigger. A lot of the same elements, like time travel, are front and centre, but how much of it actually works?
Aldo, a young man living a peaceful life in the village of Baruoki with the man who took him in and his younger sister Feinne, has his circumstances change soon after the story begins, sending him into a rift and on a journey through different points in time. His cursed sword also enters the mix, and a plot unfolds in the background, leading to a conflict far beyond his original comprehension. Yet, with help from various allies and a better understanding of the truths surrounding his initial journey, he manages to find some guidance.
The story you’ll experience in Another Eden Begins is not the full story of the series. Instead, it covers just a chunk of the mobile game, but I’m curious whether we’ll see more story arcs added as content, or another follow-up game in a year. Either way, there’s enough content to tide you over, but some of the stuff you experience happens far too quickly to really let it breathe.
Combat lacks challenge.
Combat is familiar to genre fans, and each character differs enough that even a little padding is justified. Aldo is a traditional knight, while Riica has supportive abilities to complement her range of attacks, giving her a more monk-like feel. All characters have four basic moves that you can customize into a fairly simple loadout, and they also have a Chain Skill that automatically triggers after a certain number of attacks. You get most of these moves from an excellent, though not extremely complicated, ability list.
The issue, though, is that the challenge drops off as you get stronger. While you’re facing enemies and growing in power, enemies stay the same and slowly lose their allure. Instead of wanting to power through and fight them, I looked for ways to bypass them entirely because I could wipe them out so easily. Normally, I’d like having enemies to scale alongside me or provide a way to skip battles entirely, but that’s not something you can do here. It forces you to fight enemies when you should be exploring.
You can also recruit around 18 characters, with many relegated to side quests you can complete. It is reminiscent of Chrono Trigger, where you recruit people of various ages and then complete quests for them to join you. I will say, even with so many optional characters, I had fun getting them onto my team. And yes, while not every character is crucial to the overall story, some are worth adding to your team.
Recruit them all
Sidequests tie into most of your party, and most of these quests have you revisit locations to watch a scene or two, then move on before a battle happens. I didn’t really run into any hurdles adding to my roster, and the quests are fine, but they don’t really have any challenge tied to them, since no enemies scale with your party. But again, the characters make up for this oversight by being actually worth recruiting.
Characters also have a few skill trees you can use to help them grow stronger. While I appreciate the inclusion, again, so much gets left on the wayside when you can effectively wipe enemies out without thinking about how you want to engage them. Some moves are incredibly flashy and cool, but how many times do you think I chose a skill over an attack?
Each character has their own unique Chain Skill. As combat unfolds, your party of four can dish out attacks and skills. You can see the order of actions in battle, then the Chain Skill option your character gets when specific conditions are met. Aldo can use Blazing Sword; Feinne can use Shimmer; Amy can use Somersault; and so on.
While I do enjoy the adventure Another Eden Begins presents, it doesn’t do enough to keep my attention. I’ll tune in to story beats and sidequests, but once I hit a certain strength threshold, it became much harder to focus while I wiped the floor with enemies. That’s where I feel like more work could’ve been implemented – in the challenge of it all.
There is, of course, New Game Plus available with over 10 different endings; you’ll definitely want to return to see what you missed. You can keep your gear and what you’ve already unlocked, but the new endings are worth exploring.
Verdict
Another Eden Beginsis a great step in the right direction for the series, but once you become strong enough, the challenge falls to the side. The cast you meet is great, and the game shows some strong elements, from the environments to the music. I had a blast exploring the places I visited and grew an earworm from the music. But that isn’t enough in today’s industry, and I wish they’d do something to bring a worthwhile challenge to the forefront.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: Switch 2
Another Eden Begins Review
Summary
Another Eden Begins is a great step in the right direction for the series, but once you become strong enough, the challenge falls to the side. The cast you meet is great, and the game shows some strong elements, from the environments to the music. I had a blast exploring the places I visited and grew an earworm from the music. But that isn't enough in today's industry, and I wish they'd do something to bring a worthwhile challenge to the forefront.
