Aselia the Eternal: The Spirit of Eternity Sword

About

Aselia the Eternal: The Spirit of Eternity Sword is a tactical RPG where you play as Takamine Yuuto, an ordinary boy who is summoned to the fantasy world of Phantasmagoria. With 21 playable characters, you'll fight to save Yuuto's sister and protect the land from evil, with your choices determining one of nine unique endings. The game features over 50 hours of gameplay, with 38 towns across 23 tactical missions, and hundreds of skill upgrades to unlock.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Aselia the Eternal: The Spirit of Eternity Sword screenshot

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 55 reviews

story26 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Engaging story with well-developed characters and multiple routes that enhance replayability.
Challenging tactical gameplay that requires strategic thinking and careful resource management.
Unique blend of visual novel and strategy elements, providing a rich and immersive experience.

Outdated graphics and some clunky controls can detract from the overall experience.
The pacing can be slow, especially in the early stages, which may frustrate some players.
Gameplay can become tedious and repetitive, particularly during longer missions and subsequent playthroughs.

story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
4%
The story of "Aselia the Eternal" is a rich and engaging narrative that combines elements of medieval fantasy with deep character development and multiple routes, offering significant replayability. While the pacing can be slow at times, particularly in the early stages, the plot thickens as the game progresses, leading to a mix of emotional and strategic moments. However, some players noted that gameplay often overshadows the story, and certain narrative resolutions may feel anticlimactic or underdeveloped.
- “The story is rich and deep, allowing you to build close connections with almost all the characters in the game.”
- “The story has everything you would hope for from an epic tale: touching moments, hype moments, and great characters.”
- “The story is absolutely amazing and memorable.”
- “When the story does finally return in full force, it unfortunately fails to deliver, mainly because it resolves earlier conflicts anticlimactically and has some really unconvincing attempts at creating sympathetic antagonists.”
- “During the final act it falls apart even further as it abandons any pretense of developing its villains and expands the scope of the setting far beyond what its fairly short plot can utilize effectively.”
- “After 44+ hours I honestly feel unsatisfied and like I spent a lot more time being frustrated by the bad gameplay than enjoying the story and world-building the game had to offer.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
59%
9%
The gameplay of "Aselia the Eternal" combines story-driven visual novel elements with tactical strategy, featuring base building and combat mechanics that can be both engaging and challenging. While some players appreciate the depth and strategic planning required, others find the interface clunky and the gameplay repetitive, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers a unique experience that may appeal to fans of tactical RPGs, though it may not be for everyone due to its linearity and difficulty spikes.
- “The story is interesting, the gameplay is engaging, and the characters actually make you care.”
- “The gameplay is fun for the most part, but subsequent playthroughs will make the combat a bit of a chore, although you can play at the same difficulty in New Game Plus, which lets you pretty much rush through the game.”
- “When they finally gave me some gameplay beyond the visual novel, I was quite surprised by the depth of the tactics and planning I had available to me.”
- “The gameplay is nothing short of a trial and error fest; after reading the tutorials offered by the game carefully and trying most combinations (which aren't that many), I didn't feel like I had improved or was performing better at all.”
- “Way too slow and monotonous gameplay; the strategy section was boring as can be (just use the main character, a green spirit, and a blue spirit, repeat all day), and the story loved to go on and on and on and on...”
- “After 44+ hours, I honestly feel unsatisfied and like I spent a lot more time being frustrated by the bad gameplay than enjoying the story and world-building the game had to offer.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
50%
38%
The graphics have been widely criticized for being outdated and of low quality, with some sprites deemed unacceptable even for early 2000s standards. While battle graphics receive a slightly better reception, the overall art style and design have left many players feeling disengaged. Despite these visual shortcomings, some reviewers suggest that the gameplay experience can still be enjoyable.
- “Don't be put off by the graphics; despite the age, this is a top-notch game.”
- “Graphics: the overall quality of the sprites is simply unacceptable even for something from the early 2000s.”
- “Music is mildly forgettable and graphics... well for an 11-pound game, it's pretty bad.”
- “The artwork is pretty mediocre, but you can forgive it if it's fun to play.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it amazing and fitting for the atmosphere, others describe it as repetitive and forgettable, with a limited number of tracks. Voice acting is generally praised, but the overall musical experience varies significantly among players.
- “This visual novel is easily one of the best I've played, not just because of the story, the music, the atmosphere, the way it handles the whole 'transported to another world' aspect, and the way it's written, as well as the strategy elements involved that force you to think hard, because every mistake you make could set you back for the rest of the game (unless you reload a save).”
- “The music, while limited to about 20 songs, is amazing despite its decade-old age.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing!”
- “Not too many musical tracks, and they get repetitive quickly.”
- “Music: completely forgettable.”
- “Music is mildly forgettable and graphics... well for an 11-pound game, it's pretty poor.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, with one reviewer noting it took around 100 hours to complete a single route. The lack of clear branching points for saving exacerbates the monotony, making the strategy feel repetitive, especially during alternate routes. Overall, the prologue is described as boring and cliché, leading to a lack of motivation to continue.
- “Took me like 100 hours to finish 1 route; maybe less if I didn't have to do so much grinding, and there are 8 routes, so yeah...”
- “The strategy can become a bit tedious, especially when playing through alternate routes as there are not clear branching points to save at.”
- “Moving units around became tedious at the end.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while it features an epic narrative with potential for depth, many players felt it lacked impactful moments and character investment. However, the introduction of an emotional scene in the new game plus mode adds complexity to a previously one-dimensional character, enhancing the overall emotional experience.
- “The story has everything you would hope for from an epic tale: touching moments, hype moments, great characters, and yet it is only the opening of the Eienshinken series.”
- “When you start your first NG+, the game adds an emotional scene that finally makes the bully something beyond a one-dimensional rival because they know you already know about this exchange.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The game's optimization is crucial, as resource management in base building significantly impacts the difficulty of later tactical combats; players who fail to optimize their resources may struggle against stronger enemies. Overall, the gameplay experience hinges on effective resource utilization to ensure success in the late game.
- “The gameplay is actually separated into base building and tactical combat. While the first few fights are quite easy, if you don't optimize every resource, you will have a really hard time later on. Resources are finite throughout the game, and the late-game enemies are quite strong, even with the best squad you could create.”
- “The gameplay is actually separated into base building and tactical combat. While the first few fights are quite easy, if you don't optimize your resources, you will have a really hard time later on. Resources are finite throughout the game, and the late-game enemies are quite strong, even with the best squad you could create.”
- “The optimization of resources is crucial; otherwise, you will struggle significantly in the later stages of the game.”
- “If you fail to manage your resources effectively, the game becomes nearly impossible to progress through as you face increasingly difficult enemies.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
The atmosphere of the game is described as initially promising, featuring an oppressive tone that enhances the storytelling and characterization. Players appreciate how the atmosphere, combined with the music and strategic elements, immerses them in the experience of being transported to another world, making every decision feel impactful.
- “The story starts off somewhat promising for the first hours with a fairly interesting premise, decent characterization, and a rather oppressive atmosphere.”
- “This visual novel is easily one of the best I've played, not just because of the story, but also the music, the atmosphere, and the way it handles the whole 'transported to another world' aspect.”
- “The atmosphere starts off somewhat promising for the first few hours with a fairly interesting premise, decent characterization, and a rather oppressive feel.”
- “The atmosphere in this visual novel is easily one of the best I've experienced, enhancing the story and the 'transported to another world' aspect.”
- “While the game has its strengths, the atmosphere ultimately falls flat and fails to maintain the initial tension and immersion.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The game offers significant replayability with seven distinct routes that alter the story, providing a coherent narrative while enriching the lore with each playthrough.
- “There is a significant amount of replayability, as there are 7 possible routes that change the story quite a bit each time, while still remaining coherent and providing more lore.”
- “The game offers incredible replayability with multiple endings and choices that make each playthrough feel unique.”
- “With various character paths and decisions to make, the replayability factor is high, encouraging players to explore different outcomes.”
- “There are also quite a lot of replayability as there are 7 possible routes that change the story significantly each time, while still remaining coherent and providing more lore.”
- “The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless since the outcomes are often the same.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play again, as the variations in story routes didn't feel substantial enough to warrant a second playthrough.”