Ben-DutkaJRPG fans can always count on NIS America. In the days when “genre confusion” is a very real and very frustrating reality, old-school followers of the niche genre must be selective. Thankfully, NIS and a variety of Japanese developers, such as Gust, Level-5 and Image Epoch, continue to cater to that crowd. A great example of that would be the upcoming Time and Eternity , which features beautiful hand-drawn artistry and a surprisingly unique theme. The gameplay will be a blend of traditional and real-time role-playing elements, and the adventure should prove to be awfully entertaining.
At the start, you are about to get married. That may be an odd beginning but intense drama is right around the corner… Before Toki, the flame-haired fiancé, can say “I do,” a mysterious group of assassins crash the wedding and attempt to take her down. At that moment, Toki turns into a blonde killing machine who eliminates the attackers without breaking a sweat. Thus begins a strange but hopefully engrossing quest where you control Toki and Towa, the two “dual souls” of the former bride. The man who was to be her husband finds himself inside Toki/Towa’s pet dragon, Drake. So yeah, there’s some weirdness going on, but that’s to be expected.
Toki/Towa will be able to switch back and forth at some point during her adventure, and each side of her soul will have special abilities. As you progress, you will earn more control over each side of this complex individual. As for Drake, the player won’t directly control him; the useful dragon will contribute to combat whenever – and however – he sees fit. The battles are in real-time and you can control Toki/Towa’s distance from her foes. She will have access to ranged and melee commands, while she can block, access fresh commands from a pop-up menu, and dodge with the left analog stick. Your success will be partly predicated upon your ability to react to anticipate your opponent’s moves.
Fans of the genre will enjoy the gorgeous presentation, which is a blend of the aforementioned hand-drawn animation and standard 3D environments. Characters should look pretty damn great, and some of the artwork is pretty impressive. What will be even more interesting is learning about how the relationship between Toki/Towa and her former groom (now in the dragon) progresses. It’s an interesting twist to the clichéd “save the world” theme found in many JRPGs and hopefully, the writers really focus on that particular element. As for the combat, I’m more of a fan of hybrid systems that aren’t quite so cemented in real-time action, but this mechanic obviously has lots of promise.
Time and Eternity will release exclusively on the PlayStation 3 on July 16. For those of you who enjoyed games like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and titles in the Atelier series, this should be right up your alley. Remember that micromanagement and strategy will go hand-in-hand with reaction time and dexterity, as there are combined elements here. The game might almost start to feel like an in-depth fighting game due to the reported speed and stylish presentation of the combat. However, beneath that flashy exterior is a world map, traditional RPG exploration and character development, and what should be a compelling plot. It might be a great way for JRPG fans to escape the summer gaming doldrums.
I've read some negative things but I don't care, I still want to play this game. It looks fresh and I like crazy anime stuff. I want to see those hand drawn visuals in action too.
Speaking of NIS I just picked up Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory and it is a real gem. I didn't expect it to upgrade much from Mark 2 but it is all sorts of better. It's the culmination of a series that started out rough and became realized over time. More games need that time and sequels to get better before they get canned for not bringing in huge sales.
Also bought Mugen Souls, which takes some getting used to but is still pretty fun.
I've had to go extra niche to get my fix, but it's out there and the effect has been to expand my horizons of what anime I watch so it's all a net good.
I just couldn't do Mugen Souls. 🙂
But I always wanted to try Victory.
Victory is much more alive than the previous titles, I dig it.
Love me some NIS! Time and Eternity will be a day 1 purchase for me. The back end of this generation is looking good for JRPG's on PS3. With Ni No Kuni, Hyperdimension Neptunia V, Time and Eternity, Tales of Xillia, Disgaea D2, South Park: The stick of Truth, and Final Fantasy X/X2 HD I'll be busy well into the PS4's life span. I know there are some smaller NIS JRPG's as well but these are the titles I will for sure own. Can't have them all.
@WorldEndsWithMe
Glad to hear you say positive things about Hyper Neptunia V. I have yet to pull the trigger on a purchase but have heard good things from other sites like PSU which said "Hyperdimension Neptunia V is a solid, deep, and well written RPG that shows what the genre is all about". PSU went on to give it a score of 8.5/10. I do own the first title but did not get mk2. Do you recommend playing mk2 before this title?
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 5/10/2013 10:05:00 AM
You don't need to but I do recommend it just because mk2 is a big improvement over the first game and you get to follow the story all the way through. Nepgear is not as fun as a protagonist and it isn't as comical as the first game as far as the script goes but the combat is much improved. The game can drag a bit though so I wouldn't worry if you prefer to just skip ahead to the better game, you'll get a story recap at the beginning anyway.
Cool! Thanks for the feedback. I'll probably just grab both titles. If MK2 is a decent upgrade over the first title that's a good enough reason for me to pick it up.