Eternal Daughter
Encyclopedia
Eternal Daughter is a freeware
action-adventure game
created by amateur developers Derek Yu
and Jon Perry and released on June 21, 2002 under their former pseudonym
Blackeye Software.
In her travels, Mia meets the enigmatic lizard-like Shulin, the slime-based Grodol warriors, a familiar
baby dragon named Elanduru, and several Dungaga dissidents. It is revealed that the Dungaga are controlled by the three sons of the dark god Baphomet
, who wish to summon him into the world. After defeating the three sons, Mia must rally the free people of the world, and obtain the blessing of the five gods, to strike at Baphomet's realm and defeat him.
The gameplay
of Eternal Daughter is based on a classic style of side-scrolling
platform action, with added features such as secondary weapons and growth elements that are otherwise common in role-playing games: Items found throughout the game increase the strength of the player character
's weapon or maximum number of health points. Also, as the game progresses, the player gains new abilities that can be used to explore areas of the game that were previously unreachable, progressively "unlocking" new locations within the game world.
Because of this combination of gameplay elements, comparisons are often drawn to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
and Super Metroid
, popular console
games that feature the same type of platform action combined with exploration-based adventure.
praised Eternal Daughter for its well-designed and smoothly animated characters, precise platform engine, and addictive non-linear gameplay. 1UP
highlighted the game's unique visual style and level of polish not usually seen in freeware games. Both reviews commented on Eternal Daughter's harsh-but-fair difficulty level. In 2006, 1UP.com included Eternal Daughter in a list of the 101 best free games on the Internet.
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
created by amateur developers Derek Yu
Derek Yu
Derek Yu is an independent game developer, game artist, and blogger.While he may be best known for his early work on freeware titles such as Eternal Daughter, Yu continues to make games...
and Jon Perry and released on June 21, 2002 under their former pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Blackeye Software.
Story
The introduction shows the Dungaga, an imperial industrialized race, conquering the more spiritual Lorian. The protagonist, Mia, is daughter of the Lorian priestess and an unknown father. Like the rest of her people, she is enslaved to do menial labor, under the supervision of her half-brother Hume. As she sees her Dungaga stepfather Gar hit her mother, she manifests a light-based magic that she uses to strike down Gar. At her mother's advice, she flees the village.In her travels, Mia meets the enigmatic lizard-like Shulin, the slime-based Grodol warriors, a familiar
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
baby dragon named Elanduru, and several Dungaga dissidents. It is revealed that the Dungaga are controlled by the three sons of the dark god Baphomet
Baphomet
Baphomet is an imagined pagan deity , revived in the 19th century as a figure of occultism and Satanism. It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century...
, who wish to summon him into the world. After defeating the three sons, Mia must rally the free people of the world, and obtain the blessing of the five gods, to strike at Baphomet's realm and defeat him.
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
of Eternal Daughter is based on a classic style of side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
platform action, with added features such as secondary weapons and growth elements that are otherwise common in role-playing games: Items found throughout the game increase the strength of the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's weapon or maximum number of health points. Also, as the game progresses, the player gains new abilities that can be used to explore areas of the game that were previously unreachable, progressively "unlocking" new locations within the game world.
Because of this combination of gameplay elements, comparisons are often drawn to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
and Super Metroid
Super Metroid
, also known as Metroid 3, is an action-adventure video game and the third game in the Metroid series. It was designed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, programmed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console...
, popular console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
games that feature the same type of platform action combined with exploration-based adventure.
Reception
Home of the UnderdogsHome of the Underdogs
Home of the Underdogs was an abandonware archive founded by Thai Sarinee Achavanuntakul , aka: Underdogs or Fringer on her own blog, in September 1998, and grew to be one of the most significant abandonware websites on the Internet, despite losing its domains to cybersquatters and then briefly...
praised Eternal Daughter for its well-designed and smoothly animated characters, precise platform engine, and addictive non-linear gameplay. 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
highlighted the game's unique visual style and level of polish not usually seen in freeware games. Both reviews commented on Eternal Daughter
See also
- Aquaria - A commercial game with graphics by Derek YuDerek YuDerek Yu is an independent game developer, game artist, and blogger.While he may be best known for his early work on freeware titles such as Eternal Daughter, Yu continues to make games...
. - I'm O.K - A Murder SimulatorI'm O.K - A Murder SimulatorI'm O.K – A Murder Simulator is a video game which was released as a free download by a group of people proclaiming themselves to be "3 alcoholics and a foreign exchange student" calling themselves "Thompsonsoft"...
- Another game with graphics by Derek Yu