Taking mobile gacha games and spinning them into “full” RPGs has become quite the trend over the last few years, with Another Eden Begins being the latest addition. WRIGHT FLYER STUDIOs took their mobile gacha game, Another Eden, and removed all of the gacha elements, reworked systems, and added plenty of new endings for a robust New Game +. It may be simple, but Another Eden Begins is also really satisfying, with a fun core story written by JRPG legend Masato Kato, flashy systems, and plenty of content to check out.
Another Eden Begins picks up in the small village of Baruoki, where you play as Aldo. Aldo enjoys a peaceful life here, hanging out with his younger sister Feinne, helping townsfolk, and taking down simple monsters outside of town. Things quickly get turned on their head as the town is attacked by the Beast King, taking Feinne hostage in the process. Now, it’s up to Aldo to go find and save his sister… if only that were so simple.
“Combat is another strong point in Another Eden Begins, getting increasingly complex as the game goes on.”
When Aldo goes after the Beast King, he quickly loses the fight but gains a demonic sword that lets him fight back a bit. Right when things are starting to look up just a bit, Aldo gets sucked into a tear in spacetime, sending him hurtling 800 years into the future. What follows is a massive time-traveling adventure across multiple eras, with Aldo recruiting new allies and learning about the much greater threat to the timeline at large.
It’s a great setup reminiscent of Kato’s earlier works, very Chrono Trigger, but decidedly feels like its own thing. Aldo is a kind but straightforward protagonist with much more to him as his adventure continues. He’s supportive of his friends but not afraid to be real with them when the moment calls for it.
Another Eden Begins features 18 companions who can be found across space and time, each with their own quests and relationship-building activities that really shine. Each character feels distinct, from the confident and passionate Amy to the mysterious swordsman frogman Cyrus; each new addition to the party has their own backstory waiting to be uncovered.
Because of the number of characters, some do feel less important than others. The core crew is all fantastic, and the rest of the supporting cast does get fleshed out in their own side content, but pivotal story moments do disregard a lot of the other players. With Another Eden Begins being based on a gacha game, this is an inherent issue with the core narrative, as the game never knew which characters you’d pulled. It’s not a huge problem, but it is noticeable when party members are missing from cutscenes when you know they’re there.
Combat is another strong point in Another Eden Begins, getting increasingly complex as the game goes on. It starts simple, with a part of 3 to 4 for most of the early game. Turn-based combat, especially with the speed turned up, is fast and satisfying. Each character has their own abilities, a mix of attacks and elemental magic, that lets them lay into enemies. Enemies have their own weaknesses, and hitting them with the right move deals more damage and raises Chain Points (CP).
If you hit a certain threshold, CP allows other characters to trigger special abilities. Aldo, for example, raises CP with fire attacks, doing an extra attack when he hits 3 CP. Yuna, a mage, boosts CP by healing allies, and once she hits 3, she can make water attacks hit an enemy even harder. Each character has two upgrade trees that add new abilities and CP attacks, letting the player spec them as they need to for their party.
At a certain point in the story, you also gain the ability to set a backup party once you have enough characters to do so. Most JRPGs treat these extra units as reserves, but Another Eden Begins actually gives you reasons to use both parties. Over the course of the battle, Valor starts to build up. Using Valor Change, which swaps out the parties, actually comes with benefits, including attack or defense boosts. The longer you let Valor build, the greater the effect. It lets your backup party come in on better footing, making the art of build-craft even deeper as you consider balancing across two parties, not just one.
All of this blends together to make a satisfying and deep combat experience. Even if the actual battles can be simple, turn-based affairs, the amount of customization and choice to make each unit and party unique gives the player a lot of agency. In an area with a lot of fire enemies? Change out abilities and units that may be better for the occasion, or even go find new friends that can fill gaps in your team.
The only issue is that the opening hours until you unlock the full combat kit are definitely slower by comparison. Another Eden Begins takes a while to open up, feeling very much like systems added later to a gacha game that weren’t as deeply implemented across the entire experience. Narratively, it does flow and make sense, and when you get the full squad, Another Eden Begins really hits its stride.
These early game issues also impact how confined Another Eden Begins feels at first. Map design is fairly linear, mostly a series of linear spaces with offshoots for treasure. It opens up much more later when you’re allowed to freely travel across time to different eras, which really makes Another Eden Begins click in the back half. The first half is still plenty enjoyable, with some strong character writing and fun scenarios; it’s just that it gets much more interesting later.
Another Eden Begins is also really pretty, with a storybook chibi look that really works. The character designs are intricate and genuinely feel different across the ages, with each era also being visually distinct. These aren’t copied-and-pasted spaces with different filters on—every space, from a blazing volcano to a calm village on the water, feels unique and completely different from where you came before.
The other major addition to Another Eden Begins is a New Game+ mode, giving players a reason to keep playing after the credits roll. There are 10 endings to work through, all connected to different choices you make. Your characters and levels roll over, making the post-game in Another Eden Begins a great reason for returning fans of the gacha game to dive in.
Another Eden Begins is also really pretty, with a storybook chibi look that really works.”
Overall, Another Eden Begins is a great JRPG that gets better as it goes. Even if the front half is slower than the back, it’s consistently fun and charming. Battles are satisfying and quick, the story is interesting with some great characters, and the art design is beautiful. Returning fans will have plenty to dig into with New Game+, but new fans will have a whole world to fall in love with.
