I’m a fan of mangaka Hiro Mashima; his work, Fairy Tail, was an anime I thoroughly enjoyed, regardless of it being quite flawed. His art style is engaging, and his message of family and the power of friendship is universal. His execution is also quite emotional. So when I got a review code for Edens Zero’s first video game adaptation, I was excited. Now, after playing it, I have come away with several thoughts.
Edens Zero is set in a fictional universe where space travel is commonplace. We follow Rebecca and her companion cat, Happy (a stalwart of Mashima’s work), as they try and become B-Cuber stars. One day, they land on a planet filled with robots, and there they come across a lone boy called Shiki. Shiki is a rare individual with a powerful skill gifted to him by his late grandfather. He can manipulate gravity with this “Ether Gear”. When tragedy strikes Shiki, Rebecca and Happy strike off into the universe for adventure and the goal of friendship
Your adventure has just begun. Now, where will your own two feet take you?
The theme of Edens Zero is adventure, and it runs strong within the video game. The game is broken up into two modes, Story Mode and Exploration Mode. Story Mode is then broken up into chapters that go through the story of Edens Zero as you meet the characters, build up your team and fight bosses. The game style is action RPG; this style suits Edens Zero’s kinetic energy. I did feel restrained by the fact that the Story Mode is a tunnel level design. It’s a real shame because you’d expect something more from a PlayStation 5 game.
The Ether Gear gives each character a unique playstyle. My particular favourite is Shiki’s gravity abilities, where he pushes and pulls enemies around the battlefield. You can also enhance every character’s abilities as you level up, which is a lot of fun. There are also customizable appearances for each character, which is something I just love in RPGs. It adds a lot of personality, in my opinion, to the characters.
The Exploration Mode is a lot of fun, though, with players getting to utilise vehicles and Shiki’s gravity abilities to traverse the massive world of Blue Garden. Flying across across Blue Garden is a thrilling experience, and you get to complete sidequests, which can get you special equipment as well as level up your characters.
With all these elements working together, Edens Zero is a lot of fun, especially for fans of the manga and anime. Unfortunately, it still falls into the pitfalls of many anime adaptations. The animation, though decent, is not up to the levels of a PS5 game. In fact, at times it feels and looks like a PS4 game, at times even a late PS3 era game. Also, the game omits several key emotional moments that were important to the narrative of the story.
I did enjoy Edens Zero despite these flaws. With a large cast of playable characters, with interesting abilities, and a simple but effective combat system, the game is a flawed but enjoyable anime game. I recommend this for fans of Mashima’s work.
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