Eternal Anima is the time-twisting RPG revealed during the big September Nintendo Direct that looked like a Square Enix HD-2D game but isn’t. It is also the game with the “Never Strive For A Better Tomorrow” splash screen. After playing the game for roughly an hour within developer Marvelous Inc.’s Tokyo office, I eschew that line – I will, in fact, strive for a better tomorrow, if only so I can play more Eternal Anima one day.

The world has essentially come to its final act in Eternal Anima. Urvis Ael is the last remaining bastion of civilization in a flooded world. That said, living in Urvis Ael isn’t all that bad; just don’t strive for a better tomorrow or really any kind of change. Protagonist Wade breaks those rules and sets out on an adventure, feeling deep down that a better life is possible.

Wade is bestowed with the power of Psychometry, which lets him look into the past, view memories, and inherit abilities and classes for use in combat.…