cars to designing spatulas. But when you're talking about video games, you also have to

take into account playability. Not just how the game looks and how the game works, but

how those two come together, moment to moment, to make an experience. Time and Eternity looks

really good. Its mechanics are unique, engaging, and interesting. But they really have trouble

coming together, almost like they're two sides of a coin with no edge. And that's a shame.

I really wish this one played as good as it looks.

You play as bog-standard cocksure JRPG protagonist man #106, default name Zack but your hair

isn't black so I ain't buyin' it, gleefully awaiting tomorrow's wedding. Y'see, it's your

own wedding. And your bride-to be is not just adorable, she's also a princess. Yeah. that

usually ends well. So you sit and tolerate your mutual circle of friends-slash-anime

character archetypes, until the big day arrives and... BAM. ASSASSINS. And to your credit,

you look moderately badass, claiming the life of the bastard who ran you through with a

sword and... wait, why did her hair color just change? And why is she kicking copious

amounts of ass while you're just lying there bleeding? And why is she talking to herself?

Did she just jump back in time six months, to when an oracle foretold the attack? Does

she notice you're totally scoping the oracle out? Not like you'd have a chance anyway,

pal, because you're now Mr. Comic Relief Insatiable Lech Dragon Pet companion. Basically P-chan

with wings. And Akane's got a gun.

Turns out there's two sides to your bride: Toki, the cheerful redhead you fell in love

with, and Towa, the blonde bombshell who's got absolutely no qualms about shanking any

SOB what stands in her way. They're two souls inhabiting the same body, but they differ

in style: Toki prefers ranged attacks, while Towa specializes in melee combat. Which one

you use in battle is a matter of range between you and the target, with two planes to navigate

and real-time combat consisting mostly of attacking, dodging, and spamming special attacks.

And here's where we get to the crux of the game: Yeah, this looks really, really good,

almost like some weird JRPG attempt at Dragon's Lair or Space Ace. Unfortunately, for as good

as it looks, actually getting that beautiful animation to respond with timely dodges and

attacks is kind of a pain in the butt.

And it's mostly downhill from there. The audio's plagued by bad muxing and abrupt, awkward

cuts, the environments are kinda irritating to navigate considering so much of the screen

is occupied by Toki or Towa's back, the minimap can't zoom out and, y'know, be useful, the

game hands out cash with an eyedropper... oh yeah, and Toki and Towa switch with each

other every time they level up, whether you want them to or not. And to give either of

them new abilities, you have to spend Gift Points to unlock nodes on a tech tree, that

don't actually activate until the next time they level up. But wait, there's more. Not

only are you dealing with the usual numbers game that's expected of an RPG, but there's

also - of course - an Affection meter. Of course there is. Depending on your actions,

and which event scenes and sidequests you choose to see with whom, one or the other

girl will be favored. And there may be painfully-acted moments of indulgence.

Time and Eternity tries to be interactive anime, but while it's certainly got that WOW

factor up front, it doesn't last for the duration of an RPG. You can do really awesome art and

animation in this space - just look at Ni no Kuni for a shining example of just what

I'm talking about. But this isn't Studio Ghibli-class, despite its aspirations. It's not Honey and

Clover-class, either. It's not even Toradora-class. It's a little more crass, a little more exploitative,

and a bit more eye-roll-worthy, and it can't even skate by as a quality game. And that's

really unfortunate because, on paper, this is exactly the kind of game I want to work:

a JRPG with significantly more visual flair than just the standard oversized sprites staring

to the left or right. Cute girls with rifles don't hurt, though.