Eternal Fantasy
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese adult
visual novel
developed by Circus
, released on November 22, 2007 for the PC
, as both a standard edition and a limited edition. The gameplay
in Eternal Fantasy follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the main female characters, but differs from traditional visual novel in that the player is allowed to navigate in an overworld
map from a top-down perspective, and its utilization of a combat system.
The gameplay
in Eternal Fantasy utilizes three different styles of gameplay. The game features an overworld
map and a combat system, typical to console role-playing games, and a visual novel system. While on the overworld map, a scaled-down depiction of the game's fictional landscape, the player is allowed to navigate between locations from a top-down perspective. Upon entering locations in the overworld map, the game shifts to a visual novel-style gameplay. Gameplay in this segment requires little player interaction as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents either dialogue between characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonists. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. Gameplay pauses at these points until the player makes a choice, and depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress in a specific direction.
At times, the player will be engaged in combat. Combat in Eternal Fantasy utilizes a real-time battle system, with the player taking control of one member of the party, while other characters are controlled by AI
s. Each character and enemy has a certain number of hit points, players may reduce hit point
s by wounding targets using different types of physical and magical attacks, and may also restore their hit points by healing themselves using items. When a character loses all his or her hit points, he or she faints, and if all of the player's characters lose all of their hit points, the game ends, and the player may either restore their progress from a previously saved location or immediately before battle. Attacks from characters are restricted by a countdown gauge similar to Square Enix
's Active Time Battle system, and players can only issue attacks and place movements when the gauge is completely empty.
There are multiple plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience. To view all of the plot lines, the player will need to replay the game multiple times, access different areas and make different choices to progress the plot in an alternate direction. One of the goals of the gameplay is to view the hentai scenes
, depicting one of the protagonists having sexual intercourse
with one of the heroines.
Eternal Fantasy is the tenth game developed by Circus' Northern subdivision not counting re-releases, and is their first game not in the Da Capo canon since AR: Forgotten Summer. Eternal Fantasy is notable for having a large development team for a visual novel. The producer for the visual novel is Tororo, who has also produced and composed for most of Circus Northern's past titles. Planning and the original story was done by Futsumamu, who also contributed in character designs, along with Eko, Natsuki Tanihara, Soba Aki, Narumi, and Mochi Chinochi. Scenario work was split between six people, Masaki Sonoda, Fumihiko Kuwabara, Shingo Hifumi, Aiha, Mori no Me, and Shin Gotō.
released online on November 10, 2007, which introduced the player to the characters and the gameplay of the game through a short story sequence. The full game was later released on November 22, 2007, as both a limited edition, and a regular edition. The limited edition contained the game itself, a 64 page book containing development materials, a fully colored 20 page illustration book, a special original soundtrack disc, and a map of the Gladio peninsula; the regular edition did not contain the aforementioned extras.
titled D.C. to EF being produced by Onsen began streaming online on October 11, 2007. The show is based on Eternal Fantasy and Da Capo II, and is hosted by Ai Hinaki, Hijiri Kinomi, and Aya Tachibana, who voiced Locomoco, Farte, and Arcie in the visual novel respectively. Two sets of two CDs, each containing thirteen episodes previously streamed online and a special episode will be released on August 15, 2008.
. The main theme songs were accompanied by eight insert songs, six for each of the heroines, one for boss battles, and one played during the climax of the storyline. Arcie's insert song is "Trust My Way" and was performed by Yoshino; Farte's insert song is , and was performed by Hīko; Lyrica's insert song is , and was performed by Ceui
; Euretta's insert song is , and was performed by Aki Misato; Locomoco's insert song is , and was performed by Jun Miruno; and lastly, Pril's insert song is , and was performed by Yōsei Teikoku. The boss battle theme is "Last Fight" and was performed by Elefant, and the climax insert theme is , performed by Sena.
The first music album released was a maxi single
titled "Eternal Fantasy: Ai wa Sekai ni Amaneku Hana no Yōni", and was released on December 26, 2007 containing the opening and ending themes. The visual novel's original soundtrack was released on January 23, 2008 containing fifty-eight background music
tracks on two discs. It was later followed by a vocal album, entitled Songs from Eternal Fantasy released on February 27, 2007, containing the theme songs and the insert songs used in the game. An image song
album titled Destination for Arcie was released on March 26, 2008, containing six vocal songs, and four instrumental pieces. All the vocal pieces were written and sung by Sena, while Lavi composed the instrumental pieces.
Four image song singles were also released for the heroines featured in Eternal Fantasy, featuring the voice actors from the visual novel. The first single, for Arcie, was released on April 23, 2008; the second single, for Locomoco, was released on May 21, 2008; the third single, for Lyrica, was released on June 25, 2008; the fourth single, for Farte, was released on July 23, 2008; and a fifth single, for Euretta, will be released on August 27, 2008.
s during mid-September to mid-October prior to the release of the game. After the game was released, Eternal Fantasy premiered at the first place out of fifty during the month of November, and was then dropped to the twenty-eighth the following month, before dropping to the forty-sixth place the following month, making its final appearance on the charts.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese adult
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
developed by Circus
Circus (company)
Circus is a Japanese visual novel studio known for creating adult-oriented bishōjo games. In addition to the normal Circus brand name, there are other brand divisions including Circus Northern, Circus Fetish, Circus Metal, and Sanctuary...
, released on November 22, 2007 for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, as both a standard edition and a limited edition. The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
in Eternal Fantasy follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the main female characters, but differs from traditional visual novel in that the player is allowed to navigate in an overworld
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
map from a top-down perspective, and its utilization of a combat system.
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
in Eternal Fantasy utilizes three different styles of gameplay. The game features an overworld
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
map and a combat system, typical to console role-playing games, and a visual novel system. While on the overworld map, a scaled-down depiction of the game's fictional landscape, the player is allowed to navigate between locations from a top-down perspective. Upon entering locations in the overworld map, the game shifts to a visual novel-style gameplay. Gameplay in this segment requires little player interaction as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents either dialogue between characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonists. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. Gameplay pauses at these points until the player makes a choice, and depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress in a specific direction.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
s. Each character and enemy has a certain number of hit points, players may reduce hit point
Health (game mechanic)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
s by wounding targets using different types of physical and magical attacks, and may also restore their hit points by healing themselves using items. When a character loses all his or her hit points, he or she faints, and if all of the player's characters lose all of their hit points, the game ends, and the player may either restore their progress from a previously saved location or immediately before battle. Attacks from characters are restricted by a countdown gauge similar to Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
's Active Time Battle system, and players can only issue attacks and place movements when the gauge is completely empty.
There are multiple plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience. To view all of the plot lines, the player will need to replay the game multiple times, access different areas and make different choices to progress the plot in an alternate direction. One of the goals of the gameplay is to view the hentai scenes
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
, depicting one of the protagonists having sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with one of the heroines.
Development
Release history
Eternal Fantasy was first introduced as a free game demoGame demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
released online on November 10, 2007, which introduced the player to the characters and the gameplay of the game through a short story sequence. The full game was later released on November 22, 2007, as both a limited edition, and a regular edition. The limited edition contained the game itself, a 64 page book containing development materials, a fully colored 20 page illustration book, a special original soundtrack disc, and a map of the Gladio peninsula; the regular edition did not contain the aforementioned extras.
Internet radio show
An internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
titled D.C. to EF being produced by Onsen began streaming online on October 11, 2007. The show is based on Eternal Fantasy and Da Capo II, and is hosted by Ai Hinaki, Hijiri Kinomi, and Aya Tachibana, who voiced Locomoco, Farte, and Arcie in the visual novel respectively. Two sets of two CDs, each containing thirteen episodes previously streamed online and a special episode will be released on August 15, 2008.
Audio CDs
Eternal Fantasy has three main theme songs, the opening theme is , the ending theme is , and the grand ending theme is . The opening theme and the ending theme were performed by Sena, and was written by Tororo, while the grand ending theme was performed by Aki MisatoAki Misato
is a female Japanese J-pop singer from Saitama, Japan. Most of her songs are theme songs for anime and video games. She made her debut in 2004 with her first single Kimi ga Sora Datta , which was featured as the ending theme of the anime Mai-HiME...
. The main theme songs were accompanied by eight insert songs, six for each of the heroines, one for boss battles, and one played during the climax of the storyline. Arcie's insert song is "Trust My Way" and was performed by Yoshino; Farte's insert song is , and was performed by Hīko; Lyrica's insert song is , and was performed by Ceui
Ceui
Ceui is a Japanese singer–songwriter originally from Chiba, Japan, though she grew up in Fukuoka. Ceui's name is derived from the Portuguese word for sky, céu...
; Euretta's insert song is , and was performed by Aki Misato; Locomoco's insert song is , and was performed by Jun Miruno; and lastly, Pril's insert song is , and was performed by Yōsei Teikoku. The boss battle theme is "Last Fight" and was performed by Elefant, and the climax insert theme is , performed by Sena.
The first music album released was a maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
titled "Eternal Fantasy: Ai wa Sekai ni Amaneku Hana no Yōni", and was released on December 26, 2007 containing the opening and ending themes. The visual novel's original soundtrack was released on January 23, 2008 containing fifty-eight background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
tracks on two discs. It was later followed by a vocal album, entitled Songs from Eternal Fantasy released on February 27, 2007, containing the theme songs and the insert songs used in the game. An image song
Image song
An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album for an anime, game or dorama that is usually sung by the seiyū or actor of a character, in character...
album titled Destination for Arcie was released on March 26, 2008, containing six vocal songs, and four instrumental pieces. All the vocal pieces were written and sung by Sena, while Lavi composed the instrumental pieces.
Four image song singles were also released for the heroines featured in Eternal Fantasy, featuring the voice actors from the visual novel. The first single, for Arcie, was released on April 23, 2008; the second single, for Locomoco, was released on May 21, 2008; the third single, for Lyrica, was released on June 25, 2008; the fourth single, for Farte, was released on July 23, 2008; and a fifth single, for Euretta, will be released on August 27, 2008.
Reception and sales
According to a national ranking of bishōjo games based on amounts sold in Japan, Eternal Fantasy was placed at the fifth place for the most pre-ordered bishōjo gameBishojo game
A , or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive anime-style girls". These games are a sub-genre of dating sims targeted towards a male audience....
s during mid-September to mid-October prior to the release of the game. After the game was released, Eternal Fantasy premiered at the first place out of fifty during the month of November, and was then dropped to the twenty-eighth the following month, before dropping to the forty-sixth place the following month, making its final appearance on the charts.