When Marvelous Entertainment showed off role-playing game Eternal Anima during a Nintendo Direct showcase in September, it had the familiar hallmarks of a retro JRPG. There was its handsome, mysterious (and, of course, amnesiac) hero Wade, a cast of colorful, magic-wielding supporting characters, and a world on the brink of ruin. There was also a massive, steampunky ship, upon which Eternal Anima’s group of freedom fighters sail across vast oceans.
The most unique component of Eternal Anima is its time-traveling mechanic, which sends Wade into the past to seek the powers of ancient heroes, allowing him to change the future. The most intriguing aspect of Eternal Anima’s time-manipulation theme, however, comes in the game’s turn-based battles, which offer a compelling new perspective on classic RPG gameplay.
After spending an hour with Eternal Anima and coming to grips with how unique the time-based battles are, I found it has quickly become my most anticipated RPG of 2027.
What is Eternal Anima?
Eternal Anima is set in a fantasy world named Urvis Ael, officially described as “a false paradise where hoping for a better future is a capital offense.” Protagonist Wade serves as a soldier in Urvis Ael, but he wields a powerful ability called Psychometry, which lets him read memories embedded into objects from the past and foresee events that will occur in the future.
Branded as a heretic for his gifts, Wade throws himself in the sea in search of answers. He does so by journeying to past events across multiple continents, where he’ll alter the past to change the future.
The game’s Psychometry mechanic manifests in two ways:
- Inherit Wisdom, the power to absorb classes and abilities by recovering memories embedded in artifacts and other objects. As I explored the diorama-like world of Eternal Anima, this power granted Wade the skills of an archer at one point in the story, but it sounds like he’ll be able to combine various classes (or jobs, if you like) to create a customized play style. This will let players complement the other members of his party.
- Future Sight, the power to see enemy actions and their predicted outcomes during a turn-based battle. This is represented in the battle UI on a literal timeline, showing exactly when an enemy (or enemies) will perform certain moves or attacks. Based on the events laid out on the timeline, players can decide whether to choose a defensive posture, attack, or prep a healing or revival spell knowing that an ally will be badly damaged.
What makes Future Sight more interesting is that, based on players’ actions, they can push an enemy’s attack further forward on the timeline, disrupting the chain of events. This is called Knock Back. Should they concentrate an attack on a foe, they can push the enemy action so far forward that it kicks them off the timeline entirely — essentially eliminating their entire turn.
Future Sight forced me to rethink how I approached a turn-based battle in an RPG. I actually found myself strategically guarding and using less powerful abilities that took less time — and thus occurred earlier on the timeline — so that another character could step in later on the timeline with a more powerful ability. It also made it much easier to predict calamities in battle. I could opt to buff or preemptively heal a character to keep them healthy and in the fight.
Eternal Anima boasts a cast of compelling heroes
Speaking of characters, the supporting cast is an eclectic mix. During my hands-on time with the game, I met and fought alongside characters like the unwavering freedom-seeking warrior Neria; the sentient automaton Magick-Operated Sentinel (MOS), who gives big Alan Tudyk vibes; and the rebellious and idealistic magic-user Martin. These fully voiced and smartly designed characters bring the game ample personality, and I look forward to digging deeper into their respective stories.
While some of Eternal Anima feels incredibly familiar — the developer says its world is “dedicated to all JRPG fans” — that feels highly intentional. The theme of inheritance and bridging eras applies to the game’s setting and story, as well as the design of Eternal Anima itself. With its retro flavors and forward-thinking battle design, it feels like it could be one of next year’s sleeper hits.
The staff behind the game includes Katsuhisa Higuchi, who previously worked on Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy: Origins, and Monster Hunter Stories; and scenario developers Kazushige Nojima, Keisuke Makino, and Hironao Fukuda, whose expertise spans franchises such as Final Fantasy, Persona, and Phoenix Wright.
Eternal Anima will be released on March 4, 2027, on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
