Developed by Arcfinder Studios, Eternal Remnant: The First Chapter is a turn-based RPG that pays tribute to the classic top-down Japanese role-playing games of the past, like the older Final Fantasy entries and Lunar: Silver Star Story, to deliver a brisk tale of grief and discovery. Set in a mystical fantasy setting, Eternal Remnant is centered around Vera and Arin, a pair of siblings who must journey across the land toward the city of Sunspire – battling fearsome monsters and learning the secret of a mysterious curse along the way.
Game Rant recently spoke to a developer at Arcfinder Studios to learn more about Eternal Remnant: The First Chapter and how its gameplay harkens back to retro JRPGs like Final Fantasy. They also went into detail about the game’s twists on the tried-and-true JRPG formula like its team-up Limit Breaks, its emotional story of how people process death and loss differently, and the meaning behind Eternal Remnant’s subtitle and what it could mean for Arcfinder’s future. This interview has been edited for clarity.
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The Origins of Eternal Remnant Explained
Q. Can you talk a little bit about how the idea and development of Eternal Remnant began? What’s the past year also been like working on this project?
A. I remember the exact moment, actually. Not long after my father died at the end of 2016, I was thinking about the ephemeral nature of life, and how important it was to spend it doing something I wanted to do, regardless of how anyone else felt about it. I’ve always liked creating and telling stories, and I used to tinker with RPG Maker-type software in my early teens. On top of that, I liked to engage with modding communities around games like Age of Empires, Operation Flashpoint – anything I could find that had some kind of built-in editor you could mess with.
Over a decade later, the epiphany struck me that perhaps I could return to it, more well-equipped with some narrative skills I’d learned in film school. Coupling that with some life experiences, I was compelled to tell a story about dealing with loss, but in a fantasy environment where I could introduce fun conflicts and “what if?” scenarios that would be too unrealistic to exist in the real world.
The past year has been a rollercoaster of trying to get The First Chapter finished and dealing with responsibilities stemming from work and family life. The finish line is certainly in sight though, and I’m very much looking forward to it!
Q. What are your goals for Eternal Remnant in the coming year?
A. Certainly to have development on The First Chapter complete. I have an arrangement with a publisher for porting to all major consoles, and I expect that to take some time. But even to be able to lock off the build, send it away, and update the demo so folks can see what’s changed since the early stages of the game… that would bring me a tremendous sense of achievement (and relief!)
Q. What led you to develop a classic-style fantasy RPG? What do you think the main appeal of this genre is?
A. In terms of my personal enjoyment, I think a classic-style fantasy JRPG like 90s Final Fantasy, Lunar, and Wild Arms is just where I get the most immersed. Particularly with older games, the technical limitations of what they could do led to abstractions of much larger ideas and forced a suspension of disbelief. And in that very specific space, the player is guided to create their own version of events, their own vision of the world. I think it enriches the experience.
I feel the same way about working in this genre as I do about playing it. The same sense of awe and magic is there, and ultimately, I believe that the love you put into creating something often resonates with other people when they get around to experiencing the end result.
Developing Eternal Remnant
Q. When it comes to developing features for this genre, what has inspired you the most?
A. I think I’ve worn it on the sleeve a bit with the demo – those who grew up with JRPGs from the 90s will see a concoction of elements that won’t be unfamiliar. I haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel, but rather add twists to the ways these well-known mechanics such as Active Time Battle and Dual/Triple Techs play out.
I’ve had the privilege of working with some dedicated JRPG veterans throughout this journey, too. I can only describe their approach to the genre as scholarly, and taking their design ideas and feedback on board has certainly helped shape the game into what it is. The best ideas and inspiration have generally come from discussions with people who, in my mind, are among the most well-versed in this genre and for whom I have the utmost respect.
Q. The game’s art style combines traditional pixel art with blended elements. What challenges and inspirations came from taking this mixed approach to visuals?
One of the most daunting things about starting out with all of this was ensuring I could execute the kind of vision I wanted to pull off. I loved tile-based pixel art from the NES and SNES eras, but I’m also equally enamored with the pre-rendered background phase of the original PlayStation era. I wanted to strike a balance between the two and try my hand at “high-fidelity” top-down environments that mixed pixel art with a blended, painterly style.
So that involved a lot of experimentation with image-processing programs until I could come up with a process that was at least somewhat replicable each time.
More recently, the challenge has been balancing out the extra visual effects we’ve added over the last year and making a functioning visual ecosystem out of them. Our blur, lighting, and water effects are now complementing the pre-rendered backgrounds as we envisioned, and really help bring this world to life.
Q. What are Eternal Remnant’s core themes and pillars?
A. Everything comes down to coping with the loss of a loved one and, by extension, recognizing how fleeting our time here is. I’ve always struggled with the finality of death and found it difficult to come to terms with the void left in its wake.
All of the characters in the story have a different relationship and experience with death, with Arin in particular being the vessel that absorbs all these perspectives and tries to assemble them in a way that makes sense to him. On the one hand, he has Vera, his sister – who fears relationships because of the inevitable pain that endings bring, and on the other – someone like Bryn who, despite witnessing a great deal of horrors, doesn’t seem to take his own mortality particularly seriously.
The story follows Arin through this process of discovery as he strives to answer the question of what happens when we die, and what becomes of those of us left behind.
Q. What can you tell us about Arin and Vera regarding your approach to their narrative and character designs? What other “classes” or archetypes can players also expect in the future?
A. Arin, Vera, and their father Jonas have been forced to isolate themselves from nearby communities to stay hidden from those who hunt them. As a result, the family has to be self-sufficient, and what they know of the world is all second-hand information from either books or stories from their father.
This serves as the primary influence for their character design – Vera’s outfit is patched and stitched together and her bow was hand-crafted by her father when he was teaching her to hunt. Similarly, Arin’s clothes are hand-me-downs and he sports a poncho knitted together from his late mother.
Vera’s skill set aligns with that of a hunter, with traps and archery techniques fleshing out her repertoire. Arin has some basic abilities with a slingshot, but his strength comes from his affinity with an unseen magical force, which we learn a little bit about as the story progresses.
A third party member, Bryn, functions as more of a sentinel-type, a bit like Auron from Final Fantasy 10. He has some neat abilities that focus on defensive prowess – whether that’s weakening enemy defenses or strengthening your own.
Q. How would you describe the combat and its relation to classic fantasy RPGs?
A. The basis of Eternal Remnant’s combat takes inspiration from a classic ATB approach, so those familiar with the systems of yore such as those in Final Fantasy 6 will understand the basic principles. The reason I took the combat system in this direction is because I feel in the mainstream we’ve left ATB in the rearview mirror, in spite of it being a playground ripe for further exploration and fun. There are many different ways to mess with ATB and create some engaging mechanics that don’t just rely on AGI or status effects like Haste and Slow.
The core identity of how we’ve utilized ATB Priority has us flesh out commands into different execution speeds and let some of them be interrupted if enough damage or a well-timed status effect falls on the user. This enables the player to look for opportunities to disrupt an enemy’s actions or windows where you squeeze in a powerful skill of your own.
Let’s say that while exploring the tunnels near Dawnbreak, the party runs afoul of a tough brute enemy, like the Mauler, that’s on the cusp of wiping them out with a heavy attack. A well-timed Quick-Fire Shot from Vera can cause the Mauler to falter before it can act, giving your party a window to heal before its turn comes back around.
By contrast, in the depths of Blackwood the party may find themselves besieged by a swarm of Orisbanes. Arin begins channeling Storm Bolt for a powerful burst of lightning, but with so many enemies, he risks getting interrupted. Bryn can then Provoke the swarm to target him instead, buying enough time for the spell to cast and strike them all down!
I want to give players a sense of agency in controlling the flow of battle through moments like this. Each character that joins the party gives you new tools while new enemies will find ways to challenge that control. Encounters become much more dynamic when this tug-of-war happens between sides and the player can respond to changes in active time.
Q. Combining Limit attacks is a novel touch. Where did this idea come from?
A. There’s something about team attacks that players just love, in both turn-based and action gameplay. I think it’s right at home in the JRPG genre.
I wanted to encompass the satisfaction that comes with “boosting” a character’s power (such as Limit Breaks, or using Boost Points in Octopath Traveler) as well as combining these characters for combo attacks. Those two elements operating in parallel would potentially introduce a lot of permutations, which could make the scope of development pretty tricky. As a solution, merging the two seemed to be an achievable design scheme.
What this all culminates in, is multiple ways to handle a character’s Limit Break. They can either utilize their increased speed for the duration of that Limit, cut it short by using an ability that causes big damage, or even focus on putting other characters into Limit so the party can execute a Dual / Triple Limit ability which can offer other advantages as well as offensive domination.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to share?
A. For folks wondering about the mention of “Chapter” in the title, this is so that we can tell a broad story through different games similar to [The Legend of Heroes:] Trails In The Sky. The idea is that when players start the Second Chapter, they can import their save profile from the first game or use a default profile. However, it’s important to note that it will be a standalone game and won’t rely on DLC for the chapter aspect. The Second Chapter and beyond will be standalone games just like the first. Please follow us on our socials if you’re interested in getting updates!
Also – if you’re interested in more indie titles like this one, there’s a wealth of games out there in the retro space that are also doing some really cool stuff – like 8-Bit Adventures 2, Chained Echoes, and Quartet!
- Released
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2025
- Developer(s)
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Arcfinder Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Arcfinder Studios