If you walked into a GameStop in 2010 and picked up a copy of End of Eternity, you probably had no idea what you were getting into. Most people didn't. In the West, Sega rebranded it as Resonance of Fate, but the cult following still calls it by its original Japanese title. It’s a weird one. Honestly, it’s one of the most mechanically dense JRPGs ever made by tri-Ace, the same folks behind Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile.
It’s about guns. Lots of guns.
But it’s also about a giant mechanical tower called Basel that acts as a life-support system for a dying world. The atmosphere is thick with industrial grime and Victorian aesthetics, yet the gameplay feels like a rhythmic puzzle. It’s not your typical "press X to attack" affair. If you try to play it like Final Fantasy, you will die. Fast.
The Tri-Attack System is Totally Bonkers
Let’s be real: the learning curve for the End of Eternity game is less of a curve and more of a vertical brick wall. You have three main characters—Zephyr, Vashyron, and Leanne. They don't use swords or magic. They use handguns, submachine guns, and grenades.
The combat revolves around something called "Scratch Damage" and "Direct Damage." It sounds simple, but it’s actually a headache until it clicks. Submachine guns deal Scratch Damage, which turns the enemy's health bar blue. This doesn't actually kill them. You need to follow up with a handgun or a grenade to deal Direct Damage, which converts all that blue health into actual, permanent damage.
You spend most of your time mapping out "Hero Runs." You literally draw a line across the battlefield, and your character sprints or leaps through the air in slow-motion, John Woo style, blasting away while you manage a ticking timer. If you run out of "Bessel Cells"—the little glowing gems at the bottom of the screen—your team enters "Condition Critical." This is basically a death sentence. Your characters start cowering, they can’t aim, and even a stray bullet from a low-level mob can end the game.
It's stressful. It's rewarding. It's unlike anything else.
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Why the World of Basel Actually Works
The setting is a massive, multi-layered tower. The rich live at the top in "Chandelier," where there’s actual sunlight and greenery. The poor live in the "Cranktown" slums, surrounded by rust and gear-grinding noise. It’s a literalized class structure.
What’s fascinating is how the game handles world-building. It doesn't dump lore on you through endless cutscenes. Instead, you learn about the world by literally "unlocking" it. The world map is made of hexagonal tiles. You have to earn energy hexes of different shapes and colors to clear the fog and connect different sectors. It’s a puzzle game disguised as an overworld.
Sometimes you’ll find yourself grinding for specific colored hexes just so you can reach a side quest or unlock a lift to a new floor. It sounds tedious, but there’s a strange satisfaction in "repairing" the world as you go. You aren't just a hero; you're a glorified maintenance worker with a very high-caliber pistol.
The Customization Rabbit Hole
Wait until you see the weapon customization. It is absurd.
In most games, you add a scope or a larger magazine to a gun. In End of Eternity, the physics of your weapon don't have to make sense. You can attach six different scopes to a single handgun by using a series of rails and adapters. You end up with these "Franken-guns" that look like a pile of scrap metal but have a +200% fire rate.
- You start with a basic pistol.
- You find a barrel extension.
- You add a sight.
- Suddenly, you're looking for a way to mount a second grip on top of the first one.
There is no limit to the visual stupidity of these weapons as long as the stats keep going up. It’s a tinkerer’s dream. If you enjoy spending forty minutes in a menu to gain a 5% edge in combat, this game was made specifically for you.
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It Isn't Just Gritty; It's Actually Hilarious
Despite the "end of the world" vibes and the melancholy soundtrack, the End of Eternity game is surprisingly funny. The chemistry between the three leads is peak banter. Vashyron is a womanizing goofball who acts like a big brother, Zephyr is the moody teen with a dark past (standard JRPG fare), and Leanne is the heart of the group who often has to keep the boys from killing each other.
There’s a famous scene involving a photoshoot that is purely slapstick. It breaks the tension of the overarching plot, which involves the "Zenith" system and the predestination of human lives. This tonal whiplash shouldn't work, but it does. It makes the characters feel like real people living in a weird, mechanical cage rather than just archetypes moving toward a final boss.
Fashion is the Real End Game
Forget the plot for a second. Let's talk about the clothes.
Unlike many JRPGs where your character's outfit is locked for the entire 80-hour journey, this game has a full-blown clothing boutique. You can change every single piece of clothing on all three characters. Jackets, shirts, pants, shoes, hair color, and even contact lenses.
The best part? These changes show up in every single cutscene. If you decide to dress Vashyron in a bright pink leather jacket and reindeer antlers, he will wear those while delivering a serious, dramatic monologue about the nature of God and machines. It’s glorious. You can spend hundreds of thousands of "Rubies" (the in-game currency) just to make sure your squad looks like they just walked off a Parisian runway before they go out and shoot some mechanical monsters.
Technical Realities: The HD Edition
If you're looking to play this today, you don't need to dig out a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360. There is a 4K/HD Edition available on Steam and PS4. It’s basically the same game but with much cleaner textures.
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The high resolution helps because, honestly, the original was a bit blurry. Those gear-filled environments look much better when you can actually see the individual cogs turning in the background. However, be warned: the HD Edition doesn't fix the difficulty. It’s still going to kick your teeth in during the first five hours.
Moving Past the Complexity
Is it for everyone? No. Definitely not.
If you want a relaxing story where you can zone out, stay away from the End of Eternity game. But if you’re tired of the same old turn-based tropes, this is the antidote. It demands your full attention. It asks you to think about geometry, timing, and resource management all at once.
The game doesn't hold your hand. It barely even gives you a map of where to go next. You have to talk to NPCs, pay attention to the floor numbers, and manage your "Energy Hex" inventory constantly. It’s a game that respects your intelligence, even if it occasionally feels like it’s laughing at your frustration.
Actionable Tips for New Players
If you're jumping in for the first time, keep these things in mind. They’ll save you a lot of "Game Over" screens.
- Visit the Arena Early: There is a tutorial section in the Arena. Do not skip it. I repeat: do not skip it. It’s the only place the game actually explains how "Tri-Attacks" and "Resonance Points" work.
- Focus on SMG Levels First: Your character’s total level is the sum of their Handgun, SMG, and Grenade levels. Since SMGs deal the most Scratch Damage, they level up the fastest. Swap weapons between characters to keep everyone's total level high.
- Jump Often: When you're in a Hero Run, jumping in the air allows you to bypass obstacles and sometimes deals damage to multiple body parts of an enemy. It also looks cool.
- Don't Fear the Hexes: Use your energy hexes to unlock the paths to terminals. Terminals provide buffs like "2x Drop Rate" or "Fire Damage Up." If you link these terminals to the combat zones where you're grinding, the game becomes significantly easier.
The End of Eternity game is a relic of a time when developers were allowed to be experimental and "too difficult" for the mass market. It’s weird, it’s stylish, and it’s deeply satisfying once you stop fighting the mechanics and start dancing with them.
Go to the clothing shop in Ebel City. Buy the most ridiculous outfit you can find. Then, go out and master the art of the airborne gun-toss. Basel is a big place, and someone has to keep the gears turning. You might as well look good while doing it.
Start by mastering the "Scrap" farm in the lower levels; selling those parts is the fastest way to afford the high-end weapon parts you'll need for the mid-game spikes. Once you can consistently trigger a Tri-Attack with three or more Resonance Points, you’ve essentially passed the game's biggest test. From there, it's just a matter of how much lead you can put in the air.