, released in the west as Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity, is a tactical role-playing game co-developed by Atlus and Pinegrow for the PlayStation 2. It was published in Japan and North America by Atlus, and in Europe by 505 Games. The gameplay, which is similar to that of Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth, has the player controlling six characters through story-driven tactical missions, revolving around positioning, assigned equipment, and the special skills of individual characters. The story focuses on Spero, a young man who is caught in the middle of a growing conflict between various religious factions, which in turn are being spurred by the advance of the Miasma, a force that will destroy all life. The game began production in 2002. The game's story was supervised by fantasy writer Ryo Mizuno, and focused on themes of religious conflict. The character designs and art direction were handled by Shigenori Soejima, who came onto the game after previously doing supporting work on the Persona series. Many parts of the artistic design revolves around realistic depictions of the world's setting, clothing and weapons. The game's music was written by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata, and its theme songs and vocals were performed by Japanese singer Reiko Ariga. Gameplay Stella Deus is a story-driven tactical role-playing game in which the player controls a group of characters both picked up during the course of the story and in side events. The world is navigated using an overworld map using point-to-point navigation, with a date system showing the length of time it takes to get to a selected location. Alongside the story missions, Towns can be visited, in which characters can customize and create new weapons and armor, sell existing equipment in exchange for money, and shop for items such as healing potions. In camps set up on a journey, characters can swap out weapons and armor, equip items such as healing potions and beneficial charms for future battles. Special items used in character leveling can also be crafted by the player. Alongside story-based missions, there is a special dungeon called the Catacomb of Trials, where characters can battle and gain experience levels, raising their general statistics. The number of available levels in the Catacomb increases as players progress through the game. Each character has a specific character class, which they keep throughout the game and continue to level up as they gain experience