Atlus has made its name by finding idiosyncratic Japanese games and localizing them for American audiences, and its latest release, Eternal Poison, fits the bill exactly. It’s a deep, complex strategy-RPG featuring a gorgeous art style and a haunting storyline — the type of game that’s destined for cult status. Sure, the game has a few technical failings, but it’s got style and charm to spare, and enough solid tactical gameplay to keep any armchair general happy.

Eternal Poison begins, like so many other games have, with the kidnapping of a princess. In this case it’s the princess of Valdia, who disappears shortly after the sudden appearance of a land called Besek, which is home to the Majin, an evil race of disturbing creatures. The king puts out an open call for heroes to get her back, and promises any reward to the successful party. When the game begins you’ve got your choice of three characters to follow: Ashley, a young girl who fights for the church; Olifen, the leader of the kingdom’s knights and the missing princess’s betrothed; and Thage, a gothic, lace-clad witch who travels with a talking wolf. Each character’s storyline is unique, and only after playing as all three will you begin to understand what’s really going on with the game’s plot. Overall, the story is strong — the game’s got a compelling mystery to unravel, and as usual, Atlus has delivered an outstanding translation.

 
In each of the three story paths, you’ll encounter new characters
and events that shed a little more light on the game’s central mystery.

The gameplay will be immediately familiar to any fan of tactical RPGs — if you’ve ever sunk any time into a Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem title, you’ll know just what to expect. Characters and enemies take turns moving around the battlefield, trading attacks until one side has been defeated. Eternal Poison does bring a few unique elements to the table, though. If a killing attack greatly exceeds the enemy’s remaining HP, you’ll achieve an Overkill, which binds the defeated enemy to the battlefield. Bound foes can be captured (allowing you to summon them as a temporary ally in a future fight), or you can grind them up, which lets you convert them into equippable abilities or good old-fashioned cash. It’s a dark take on a Pokemon-style enemy capture system, and gives the player plenty of strategic choices on the battlefield—always a good thing.

 
Binding an enemy causes a huge pink cross to impale them in place,
so you can do with them as you see fit.

The game’s other distinctive gameplay elements go hand-in-hand with the overkill system. Like most RPGs, enemies in Eternal Poison have elemental affinities and weaknesses to exploit. But Majin are also categorized into five types — Starving, Wretched, Howling, Dreadful, and Infernal — which must be taken into account when planning your attacks. Characters also have the ability to Wait before taking any action during their turn, which essentially saves their turn for later. One character, your party’s leader, can use the Lead command to let all waiting characters act at once, or even combo their attacks against one enemy for massive damage.

 
By gathering around an enemy and waiting, your characters can attack
all at once — helpful for achieving Overkill.

One of Eternal Poison’s strongest points is its visual style — the game has a dark, gothic aesthetic that’s really striking and beautiful. And while the 2D art throughout the game looks superb, the 3D in-game graphics used in combat don’t really match up. The 3D isn’t terrible, just underwhelming, and it makes me wish that the entire game was done in 2D, since that’s where the game’s art style really shines. The soundtrack is similarly dark and beautiful, and the haunting orchestral tracks are good enough to justify the soundtrack CD packaged with the game.

 
The game’s 2D artwork is miles better than its bland 3D graphics.

The game does have a few sticking points that prevent it from achieving true classic status. For starters, the load times are truly atrocious, especially if you leave the battle animations on — expect a 20-30 second wait to see every attack unfold. Crucial information is often hidden deep in the game’s menu system, which can get frustrating when you’re looking for something as simple and necessary as an enemy’s weaknesses or a given battle’s win/lose criteria. The game’s high difficulty might be a good or bad thing, depending on how much of a challenge you’re looking for, but when you’re forced to replay a battle over and over until you stumble across the right approach it can be pretty frustrating.

Eternal Poison isn’t a flawless game, but it is a good game despite some missteps. The game’s technical and design problems don’t obscure the strength of its style and aesthetic, and fans of dark, gothic anime will love every second. For the rest of us, it’s a deep, engaging game that’s one of the better tactical RPGs on the PS2.

Gameplay: 8.3
Much of the gameplay is standard strategy-RPG goodness, but the game throws enough unique features at the player to stand out from its genre peers. Some minor issues, like an unwieldy user interface and terrible load times, aren’t severe enough to ruin the experience.

Graphics: 8.0
If I could judge the game on its art style alone, it would get a 9 or 9.5 easily — the dark, haunting artwork is truly some of the best in recent memory. But the game’s 3D graphics bring the visuals down, as they’re slightly drab and lack detail. They’re competent enough for a PS2 game, but not breathtaking like the game’s 2D art.

Sound: 8.5
The game’s music is just as haunting and beautiful as its artwork — this is one of the few game soundtracks that I’d actually listen to, so it’s awesome that the game comes bundled with a soundtrack CD. There’s also some quality voicework in the game, as is standard for Atlus releases.

Difficulty: Hard
The battles in Eternal Poison can get pretty tough. Enemies are brutal and unrelenting, and only by exploiting their weaknesses and using every advantage you can get will you make much progress in the game.

Concept: 8.8
Strategy-RPGs are plentiful on PS2, but Eternal Poison carves out its own niche with its unique style and mysterious plot. The battles are deep and fun, but the game’s artistic elements are its real strength.

Overall: 8.3
Whether or not you let the game’s little flaws bother you, there’s no denying that Eternal Poison is a unique, visually striking game, and the tactical gameplay is deep and engaging. While the PS2 might not be the most powerful system on the block, Eternal Poison shows that it’s still the king when it comes to strategy-RPGs.