''Time and Eternity'' ( Japanese: , sometimes called ''Toki to Towa'') is an animated

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

for the

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. It uses

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for backgrounds and hand-drawn 2D sprites for characters and enemies. The story is centered on a princess, Toki, and her alter ego, Towa. The theme of "time" plays an important role, and is also utilized in the game's action-oriented battle system.

Plot

Gameplay

Battle is based on use of different skills, which the player character learns as she progresses through the game. Enemies use skills to fight as well. Throughout the game, the player switches between controlling Toki and her alter ego Towa. The switch happens on each level-up or upon using certain items. Toki and Towa have different skills: Toki is skilled at long-ranged attacks, while Towa is better at close-range fighting. The battles take place in

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

Development and release

In January 2012, the game was announced in ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' magazine. At that time, it had been in the planning stage for two years, and was 45 percent complete. ''Toki to Eien ~Toki Towa~'' differs somewhat from many Japanese role-playing game by having a female protagonist, and by only having one playable character instead of a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

. Producer Kei Hirono said that "We wanted to break the mold and step away from the current trend of male hero... to have a female hero playable character who is strong." As for only having one player character, Kei said that this is both to highlight the uniqueness of the character switching mechanic, as well as to reduce animation work. Another key difference from usual JRPG fare is that ''Toki to Eien ~Toki Towa~'' eschews the epic "save the world" type storyline for the more personally relatable experience of marriage. Kei himself was getting married at the same time that the game was in development. In May 2012, Imageepoch's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, Ryoei Mikage, held a meeting to determine whether ''Toki to Towa'' would be released in English. A standard edition and a limited edition were released in Japan on October 11, 2012. The limited edition includes a 48-page artwork booklet, a soundtrack and drama CD, eleven custom PlayStation 3 themes, and a special storage box. Speaking at the 2012 Taiwan Comic convention,

Namco Bandai is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

's Kei Hirono confirmed plans to released the game in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. In late December, a trademark application confirmed the English version's title to be ''Time and Eternity''. On February 21, 2013, NIS America revealed that they would release ''Time and Eternity'' in North America on July 16 and Europe on June 28 in regular and limited edition. While some English versions of JRPGs alter the content, such as changing character names or plot details, Kei Hirono has said that "Aside from the language, it’s going to be the same as the Japanese version." The English version will also give players the option of either Japanese or English voices.

Soundtrack

The game's theme song, "Rewind", is performed by Japanese R&B and

J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...

singer

May J. , better known by her stage name May J., is a Japanese pop and R&B singer who made her major label debut under Sony Music Japan on July 12, 2006, with her first mini-album '' All My Girls''. She was born to an Iranian mother and Japanese father. ...

The music score is by

Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres ...

and

Takeshi Yanagawa Takeshi ( in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings *武, "warrior" *毅, "strong" *猛, "fierce" *健, "healthy" *剛, "sturdy" *彪, "spotted" *威, "intimidate" *壮, "robust" *丈, "length" *雄, "mascu ...

Reception

''Time and Eternity'' was met with negative reception by critics and maintains a 42/100 average rating on Metacritic, pooling reviews from 40 separate online sources. Elliot Gay, associate editor of Japanator, gave the game a very negative review, heavily criticizing the characters, animation, plot, and gameplay. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' gave it a 5.6, praising its unique combat system and character progression, but criticizing its dating simulator elements, technical issues, and repetition. Not all reviews of the game were negative; ''

'' gave the game a 32 out of 40 rating. Richard Eisenbeis of ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' highly praised it, saying, "if you like JRPGs, this one is a must-play", though he did note the animation's "lack of polish".

References

External links

*
NIS America's official ''Time and Eternity'' site
{{Satelight 2012 video games Fantasy video games Image Epoch games Bandai Namco games Nippon Ichi Software games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 3-only games Role-playing video games Satelight Single-player video games Video games about time travel Video games scored by Yuzo Koshiro Video games developed in Japan