Cartridge 3: Eien No Filerna (永遠のフィレーナ)

Name: Eien No Filerna (永遠のフィレーナ)
Type: Fantasy RPG
Available Languages: Japanese

Today we take yet another jaunt down 16-bit memory lane. I found myself at a bit of a loss as to what to write after my last post’s dating sim rant and decided that it was time to return to the Super Famicom for a while. We are once again looking at a game that I have no previous knowledge of, which was chosen purely because the box art intrigued me. Eien No Filerna (Eternal Filerna), the game which I am prodding with a stick today, appears to have been based on a series of Japanese light novels and anime. We’ve seen this before, I believe. So after shaking off the dregs of inactivity, it’s once more into the breach!

After getting the usual scrolling bit of backstory text common to games of this era, we dive right into the game proper. You begin this game as the titular character Filerna (which is how I shall spell her name, as that is how she writes it on her diary), a young woman who, according to the accompanying manual, is masquerading as a man. She is a slave from the ocean country Firosera known as a Kurechia, who is forced to be a Battler for the entertainment of the empire Debisu. After being given a bit more backstory on the Battle Show that the empire is so fond of, Filerna, age six, is thrown into a training battle against a man named Zena. Apparently Filerna has no choice but to train to prepare for life as a Battler among the men, so it’s time for this little girl (and us) to grow stronger.

After some more background information on Battlers, whose lives sound about as miserable as you would expect, we find that ten years have passed. As Filerna is now old enough to become a Battler in truth, she faces one last training battle against Zena, and this time we’re at the controls. After a fight in which neither opponent does much in the way of damage to one another, Zena gives Filerna some last minute advice, as her debut is tomorrow. He then gives us some equipment to make our survival more likely, accompanied by a tutorial on weapons and armor. Zena then tells Filerna that he has trained her because she has an important mission, which is exactly what she needs to be discussing the night before her first gladiatorial battle, when she should be more concerned with her impending doom. He then shoos Filerna off without another word, telling her to rest. I’m sure she’ll be able to sleep wonderfully, given that she has no pressure on her or anything.



Filerna makes some new 'friends'.

Now that we are free to roam around, we can enter the menu proper. There, we can see that Filerna is most certainly too pretty to fool anyone into thinking that she is anything other than a sixteen year old girl. After seeing that Zena’s lovely new equipment is indeed set, it’s time to rest. After lying in bed for all of two seconds, Filerna gets up and is called before the imperial commander who is in charge of the Battle Show that we are to be a part of. It seems that he has brought all of the Battlers who are to take part in tomorrow’s fight before him so that they can survey one another before they try to commit murder for entertainment. There are no words. What follows is an exercise in posturing, during which all of your potential opponents tell you exactly how they intend to kill you. Then the commander calls in a bunch of women and offers them up to the Battlers. I repeat, there are no words.

Filerna has the taste and the sense to leave her companion for the evening behind. She returns to her room to rest. Unfortunately Rira, the girl in question, doesn’t seem to be able to take a hint. She walks right through the door and begs Filerna to have sex with her. Wow. Filerna’s reaction is much like mine, a long line of ellipses. It seems that Rira is so set on them sleeping together because it is her duty, and that something bad will happen to her if they don’t. I repeat, wow. Whatever Filerna’s plan is to take down the empire, I’m on board one hundred percent. Filerna tries to worm her way out of the situation as nicely as possible, but the inevitable happens and Rira loses her temper. After calming her down by complimenting her beauty and saying that she can sleep in her bed, they turn in for the night. Rira awakens Filerna with a scream and a hilarious bug-eyed animation as she realizes that her companion is a girl. Filerna tells Rira that she has been raised from birth as a boy, although she doesn’t know why. Poor Rira tells Filerna that she was raised from birth in preparation to sleep with men. So after another bizarre and awkward conversation, Rira agrees to keep quiet about Filerna being a girl and a friendship is formed. Being a Kurechia is quite possibly one of the most awful things I’ve run across in videogames in quite a while.

Rira discovers that Filerna is a bit more...er...top-heavy than she originally expected.

The next day the commander comes to collect Filerna and, when asked about Rira, he tells her she’ll find out if she lives. Thanks for nothing. Since there is no putting this off, Filerna allows herself to be escorted to the arena with the other Battlers. A priest comes out, babbles about how the Battlers have the courage to offer up their lives, and calls upon Debisu’s god for them. Because clearly being a Kurechia is a completely voluntary vocation, from what we’ve seen so far. Now it’s time to get this show on the road. Filerna’s first fight is against a Battler named Big Elephant, whose armor clearly gave him his nickname. The fight is quite easy, and while I take no pleasure in this particular victory, the announcer’s surprise at Filerna’s survival is rather offensive. Filerna passes out soon after winning and awakens in a nicely appointed room, where Rira awaits us. It seems that this is Filerna’s new house, which she will get to keep for as long as she remains breathing, and that Rira has taken up the mantle of Filerna’s wife. Nice cover. Now if only Zena had told Filerna more about this supposed mission of hers. You’ll just have to play the game to find out!



Rira decides that she and Filerna should pretend to be a couple, even though she thinks it's a bit perverted.

The game’s combat system is simple enough. You can have up to four characters in your party during battle. There is a gauge next to each of the character’s names, and when that gauge fills, it is your turn. A collection of four icons appears above your character’s head when it is that character’s turn. You have the option to attack, defend, use items, or run. Where it gets interesting is that when you attack, instead of using a simple offensive tactic, you are ushered into a stock menu. Here, you are shown the weapon that you possess and the special techniques that it is capable of. You can stock up to three different weapons and items, including healing items, making for some very interesting tactical planning.

I can’t say very many positive things about this game on the appearance front, though. The game looks rather average overall, which they had absolutely no excuse for with what the competition was able to produce in 1995. Your tiny sprites stare up at giant enemies in the classic format, but other than several interesting enemy designs, there isn’t much to write home about here. Some of the major rooms are decently accented, as you can see that some thought was put into making them look lived in, but that is certainly not consistent throughout the game. The music is neither good nor bad, made up of the kind of tunes of the era that you filter through your brain without really listening to them, but that you don’t dislike enough that they become repetitive. I wish that I could find something stellar in this game’s design to point out to make up for accusing it of being somewhat underwhelming, but if such a thing exists, I haven’t found it.

In the end, Eien No Filerna felt like a rollercoaster ride between greatness and mediocrity. The story was interesting and the battle system was innovative, and yet the music was dead in the water and the appearance of the game was occasionally lacking. This game has so much to offer and yet it will be overlooked by many wholly on its lack of flashy graphics and memorable music. It really is a shame, as I actually really like this game and hope that people will play it regardless of its flaws. There is a lot of amusement to be found playing Eien No Filerna if you’re willing to look for it.

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