Eternal Mythos series

Eternal Mythos is a series of action role-playing games by Multisoft. Inspired by titles such as Dragon Quest, The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy, the first game was released in 1989 for the Sega Genesis, which later led to twenty titles as the series evolved. The franchise also gained several spinoffs, in addition to branching to other media such as comic books and films.

The Eternal Mythos series consists of standalone stories, each set with different locations, plots, and characters. However, later installments reveal that they are all set in the same universe, with certain elements connected to the games.

## Common Gameplay

The overall Eternal Mythos series sustains the traditional action RPG format popularized by the likes of Landstalker and the Mana series. During the course of adventure, the player has the following options: Fight, Check, Skill, or Item. Enemies can be encountered regularly in the battlefield, where the player has the advantage to make the first move. Also, the player can switch the main playable character among a team of three or four (depending on the game). Tales of Conflict, the fifth entry in the series, introduces the Lock-On mechanic, granting the series at this point a few elements no different from run-and-gun shooters.

Common in RPGs is the process of gaining experience points, which Eternal Mythos also partakes in. These experience points can, at first, be only obtained by killing enemies, but Princess Alliance introduced collectible EXP, which can be found even outside of battle areas. Color of Heart was the only entry in the series where you could purchase EXP for a very high price. Meanwhile, Tricks of Deceit introduced the concept of "trading EXP" where you and another player can give each other some EXP via online connection.

Lastly, there is another RPG staple: Skills. How characters gain skills depend on the installment, but there are two types of Skills: Physical and Magical. Physical Skills range from Strike (with fists or a sword) to Shot (with long-range weapons). Meanwhile, Magical Skills are exclusive to elemental (which includes Earth, Air, and Water), force (includes Electricity and Explosive), holy (includes basic healing abilities), and dread (includes poison and curses). Other types of skills make an appearance in later entries such as Analytic skills, where you can analyze the enemy's stats, and Summon skills, where the player can call upon beings of another realm to aid in battle. These beings were known as Packlings, but they were also called Mirages or Altrions.

## Settings and Plots

The overall premise of Eternal Mythos is centered around the discovery of worlds different from our own in the galaxy. Because of this, each entry in the series takes place in a different setting. For example, Dream Rebellion is set in a fictional high-fantasy world that has been ravaged by the Death Malice, and Trinity Realms and Awakening Future take place in futuristic planets that take inspiration from the Star Wars franchise. There are even alternate versions of Earth, like in Mirrored, where it is based around the post-Great Depression era, and Megalomania, where there exist Mutants trying to make a living.

The conflict of the Eternal Mythos series focuses on a group of characters on a personal journey to decide the fate of their world. There are two types of forces in some games: one aims to remake the world into a law-abiding planet, while the other decides to grant freedom to the world but at the cost of any rulership. Both sides tend to be the antagonistic forces of the series, as opposed to most RPGs, where one side is good while the other side is evil. Keystones often play a central role in the preservation of life, and a majority of the Eternal Mythos games link keystones to a world's energy source. As such, possession over these keystones drives the main conflict.

## Games

### Mainline Titles

* Star Adventure (1989; Sega Genesis)
* Dream Rebellion (1990; SNES. Sega Genesis)
* Packlings (1992; SNES, Sega Genesis)
* Princess Alliance (1994; SNES, Sega Genesis)
* Tales of Conflict (1995; SNES, Sega Genesis)
* Mirrored (1997; Sega Saturn)
* Color of Heart (1998; Sega Saturn)
* Trinity Realm (1999; Sega Dreamcast)
* Dragonsoul (2000; Sega Dreamcast)
* Megalomania (2001; Sega Dreamcast)
* replication (2002; Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2)
* Revenant Days (2003; Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
* Lost Story (2005; Nintendo DS)
* Tricks of Deceit (2006; PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii)
* Awakening Future (2011; Nintendo Wii)
* Type:Rogue (2013; PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
* Dawn of Hearts (2016; PlayStation 4)
* Strangerealm (2018; Nintendo Switch)

### Spinoffs

* Eternal Mythos Origins (2007; Nintendo Wii)
* Tatakai!! Eternal Mythos (2009; Nintendo DS)