Eternal Anima Sets March 4, 2027 Release With Future Prediction Battle
The battle system removes the randomness usually used to create tension in turn-based RPGs, betting that visible outcomes and player deliberation can supply the drama instead.
Key Facts
- ETERNAL ANIMA will release on March 4, 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, with the Steam version arriving March 5 at 3:00.
- The standard edition costs 7,678 yen including tax, and the Digital Deluxe Edition costs 8,778 yen including tax.
- Marvelous announced ETERNAL ANIMA on September 9, 2026, after first showing the project in 2023 under the name PROJECT LIFE is RPG.
- The protagonist Wade uses Dokushijutsu to read memories in objects, and the game's Future Prediction Battle shows enemy actions, damage, and turn order before a command is confirmed.
Reporting from 5 sources: 4Gamer.net, Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark, and 1 more.
Marvelous will release ETERNAL ANIMA, a new turn-based JRPG, on March 4, 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, the Steam version arriving March 5 at 3:00. The title was first shown in 2023 as PROJECT LIFE is RPG and was formally revealed on September 9, 2026. Players control Wade, who uses the ability Dokushijutsu to read memories left in objects and travel between a submerged world's past and present. Combat runs on Future Prediction Battle, which displays enemy actions, damage, and turn order before a command is locked in, with no random damage or evasion. Striking a weakness pushes an enemy back on the timeline; repeated hits cancel its turn in a Break. Jobs and skills come through Wisdom Inheritance from relics. Director Katsuhisa Higuchi and producer Makoto Shiota spoke about the system in interviews published alongside hands-on previews.
Creative staff assembled for the project include Keisuke Makino on story concept, Kazushige Nojima on scenario, Max Berthelot on character design, and Basiscape's Hitoshi Sakimoto on music. Higuchi said he approached Nojima and Sakimoto through connections from his time at Square, and brought in Makino and Berthelot based on their past work.
Several team members carried over from Frederica, Higuchi's 2023 release. Yuichi Nakamura voices protagonist Wade, the same actor who played Larc in Marvelous' 2009 Wii RPG Arc Rise Fantasia. Producer Makoto Shiota called the repeat casting "a sense of fate." Sumire Morohoshi voices Marti, the naturalist Wade meets on Ambris, and also plays Marti's descendant Mayaka later in the game.
Shiota framed the target audience around players who grew up with late-1980s and 1990s JRPGs. "Even if it is not flashy," he told Automaton, "I would be happy if people who want to sit down and carefully enjoy battles and character development... would say, 'This kind of thing is good too.'" The standard edition is priced at 7,678 yen and the Digital Deluxe Edition at 8,778 yen, both tax included, for packaged and download versions.
Higuchi said the original plan had multiple jobs for characters besides Wade, but that made the Future Prediction Battle "more monotonous," so job switching was limited to Wade. The game includes multiple difficulty settings, one Higuchi compared to a shogi endgame puzzle and another for players who want to focus on story. Boss designs include one that summons minions to redirect damage and others built around debuffs and status ailments.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 5 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- 4Gamer.net コマンドの“結果”がすべて見える――そこに“考える手ごたえ”が生まれる。マーベラスの完全新作RPG「ETERNAL ANIMA」先行プレイ＆インタビュー
- Automaton 新作RPG『エターナルアニマ』は、「JRPG歴40年ベテランクリエイター」の集大成だった。「ランダム要素排除」を盛り込んだ、JRPGファンへのチャレンジラブレター
- Denfaminicogamer 『FF』のバトルシステムを手掛けた樋口勝久氏による完全新作RPG『エターナルアニマ』先行プレイ＆開発者インタビュー。40年に渡ってJRPGを作り続け、「JRPGの面白さはバトルで決まる」と語る樋口氏の本作における狙いを聞いた
- Game Spark 過去に戻り、未来を変えるバトルに挑む『エターナルアニマ』は“大人になった自分たちが遊びたいJRPG”として始動！ キーワードは「継承」と「未来予測」【インタビュー】
- Inside 『エターナルアニマ』は「1ターン先の未来」を変革する戦略的RPG！ボスの行動すら「キャンセル」して勝利を勝ち取れ【試遊レポ】