Eternal Sonata is a Japanese role-playing game created by a development team known as Tri-Crescendo. The team were responsible for the early Tales games ? a series that, nine games in, is still going strong. The game was published, on a single disk, by Namco for the Xbox 360 in 2007 and later for the Playstation 3 in 2008.
Personally I actually bought the game after hearing a single song off the soundtrack, composed by Motoi Sakuraba. Those of you (if any) who have read any of my previous game reviews will know I value music in a game as one of its biggest strengths and / or weaknesses, and as such will always attempt to include my thoughts on a games music in these reviews. Mainly because unfortunately many Role playing games are yet to remove grind entirely out of the game; even though some (such as Lost Odyssey) have created systems in an attempt to do so. What?s this got to do with music I hear you cry, well if a game has an amazing battle piece (such is the case with Eternal Sonata) then grind becomes a lot less of a chore. So, anyway, I bought the game based off a single piece of music, which I have placed in a spoiler at the end of the review so you can guess widely if I am crazy.
Another well done aspect of Eternal Sonata is one that is key to my playing experience, the story. Now I am too young and too inexperienced at these games to act like one of those grouchy people I often see in message boards complaining that every JRPG they play has a near identical story. Yet this game attempts to be somewhat innovative, or so I am told. The story is told inside the head of Fredric Chopin, a brilliant Polish composer ? who was unheard of in my case until I had played this game. The game offers some back-story into his life confidently explaining how sequences in the game are relevant to what he did - and are backed by some of the pieces he wrote. The information was all written by an official Chopin society and is rather intriguing, if a little monotonous at times. The games story is based around an illness Chopin gained, and the bulk of the game takes place inside his head. His dream. As Chopin attempts to discover which world is reality, pondering to himself as to what we perceive as reality. He is joined by a large group of interesting and diverse characters ? the main additions to the group being Polka, a young girl who is fatally ill, but as a result can cast magic. Allegretto and Beat, a pair of street orphans that maintain an air of righteousness and have a unique sense of humour also attend. Overall there are 13 ?main and secondary? characters within the game ? all bar Chopin are named after musical terms.
The games developer, Hiroya Hatsushiba, had the following to say on the subject ? a message that in my opinion shows games can be more than just fantastical adventures.
The graphics and art design are all well done. The game uses cell shaded graphics similar to that of the recent Prince of Persia instalment. I personally like this type of design and it works very well in this game ? environment are interesting to look at ? at times I felt annoyed that the stubborn fixed camera (that never gets in your way and always gives you a clear view of the road) didn?t show me as much of the scenery as I would have hoped ? but it?s a little nit-pick. Enemy designs are also interesting, and it?s a good job they are because the player is forced to fight only a handful off different types each area, and in the later areas generic enemies are identical to previous fights but with more hit points and different coloured skin. It?s not the best of moves but the boss fights in particular are all visually appealing because they are all so different.
The combat system is the main bulk of the game, as the player will engage in battles along the linear paths to the next boss battle. There is an obvious pattern that, if you?re not engaged in the story, can soon become repetitive. There is an obvious pattern that, if you?re not engaged in the story, can soon become repetitive. There is an obvious pattern that, if you?re not engaged in the story, can soon become repetitive. Ok, joke over; so you fight a boss, run through a mostly linear set of roads fighting generic enemies, and then there might be a plot point before fighting a boss and moving on to the next area. As I said, it?s a good job the combat is worth it.
The battle system is turn-based, but not in the way you might think ? all battles are found in real-time ? they aren?t random and you can mainly avoid generic enemies along the linear paths. Each character can move around in real time whilst all others stand still, during the brief time they can do this the character can attack an enemy, use a pre-set item or use a special ability. The problem comes with the short amount of time the player is offered. Combat is fun, and the addition of a guard system (a timed button press will decrease the enemies attack damage) is well implemented, even if it is very difficult to consistently get the timing perfectly. Special moves are the main focus point of the combat - some offer large combos, others heal allies ? but the one thing they have in common is the fact they change depending on your position on the field. Yes the game uses a clever strategic system of light and dark and changes your special attacks based around this system. Enemies may transform depending on their position ? some becoming far stronger. The system works well, and is used to great effect within later areas. The combat also changes as you progress so it does not become boring or frustrating.
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Towns are often rather small, and although visually pleasing, don?t offer much of an epic feeling, the same could be said of the menus which appear to appeal to a younger audience. The game is also educational, thanks to the use of a music ? link system, the player can ?play? the piece of music and learn about rhythm, music theory and music history in the process. It?s an enjoyable experience and one I hope to see more of in the future.
As such, I highly recommend Eternal Sonata ? its excellent music, fun visuals and surprisingly deep storyline morph to create on of the best RPG?s I have played ? its cartoony aesthetic may not appeal to all gamers but those who try it will find a superb game they will want to play again and again due to its new game+ mode.
Buy it.
Personally I actually bought the game after hearing a single song off the soundtrack, composed by Motoi Sakuraba. Those of you (if any) who have read any of my previous game reviews will know I value music in a game as one of its biggest strengths and / or weaknesses, and as such will always attempt to include my thoughts on a games music in these reviews. Mainly because unfortunately many Role playing games are yet to remove grind entirely out of the game; even though some (such as Lost Odyssey) have created systems in an attempt to do so. What?s this got to do with music I hear you cry, well if a game has an amazing battle piece (such is the case with Eternal Sonata) then grind becomes a lot less of a chore. So, anyway, I bought the game based off a single piece of music, which I have placed in a spoiler at the end of the review so you can guess widely if I am crazy.
Another well done aspect of Eternal Sonata is one that is key to my playing experience, the story. Now I am too young and too inexperienced at these games to act like one of those grouchy people I often see in message boards complaining that every JRPG they play has a near identical story. Yet this game attempts to be somewhat innovative, or so I am told. The story is told inside the head of Fredric Chopin, a brilliant Polish composer ? who was unheard of in my case until I had played this game. The game offers some back-story into his life confidently explaining how sequences in the game are relevant to what he did - and are backed by some of the pieces he wrote. The information was all written by an official Chopin society and is rather intriguing, if a little monotonous at times. The games story is based around an illness Chopin gained, and the bulk of the game takes place inside his head. His dream. As Chopin attempts to discover which world is reality, pondering to himself as to what we perceive as reality. He is joined by a large group of interesting and diverse characters ? the main additions to the group being Polka, a young girl who is fatally ill, but as a result can cast magic. Allegretto and Beat, a pair of street orphans that maintain an air of righteousness and have a unique sense of humour also attend. Overall there are 13 ?main and secondary? characters within the game ? all bar Chopin are named after musical terms.
The games developer, Hiroya Hatsushiba, had the following to say on the subject ? a message that in my opinion shows games can be more than just fantastical adventures.
The story itself is rather interesting, as the small band of characters move from city to city and eventually world to world, in an attempt to undercover political espionage. What is remarkably well done is the way the story truly explains the characters motives ? only one or two made me feel as though they were simply there to make up the numbers, due to the characters love of conversation, backstory is frequent. Said conversation could be a problem for some people, as cut-scenes, although well done are often very long-winded and frequent. Usually hammering a morale idealology or plot point two or three times before pressing on ? a way of going about things that soon becomes tedious, there is even an infamous death scene that clocked in around 10 minutes. I?m not exaggerating; and by the end of said scene any feeling I had towards the character and any emotion I was supposed to feel was replaced by rage at not being able to play ? sure I really do enjoy a good cut scene, but if they are not epic or interesting 10 minutes is a long time to waste.
The graphics and art design are all well done. The game uses cell shaded graphics similar to that of the recent Prince of Persia instalment. I personally like this type of design and it works very well in this game ? environment are interesting to look at ? at times I felt annoyed that the stubborn fixed camera (that never gets in your way and always gives you a clear view of the road) didn?t show me as much of the scenery as I would have hoped ? but it?s a little nit-pick. Enemy designs are also interesting, and it?s a good job they are because the player is forced to fight only a handful off different types each area, and in the later areas generic enemies are identical to previous fights but with more hit points and different coloured skin. It?s not the best of moves but the boss fights in particular are all visually appealing because they are all so different.
The combat system is the main bulk of the game, as the player will engage in battles along the linear paths to the next boss battle. There is an obvious pattern that, if you?re not engaged in the story, can soon become repetitive. There is an obvious pattern that, if you?re not engaged in the story, can soon become repetitive. There is an obvious pattern that, if you?re not engaged in the story, can soon become repetitive. Ok, joke over; so you fight a boss, run through a mostly linear set of roads fighting generic enemies, and then there might be a plot point before fighting a boss and moving on to the next area. As I said, it?s a good job the combat is worth it.
The battle system is turn-based, but not in the way you might think ? all battles are found in real-time ? they aren?t random and you can mainly avoid generic enemies along the linear paths. Each character can move around in real time whilst all others stand still, during the brief time they can do this the character can attack an enemy, use a pre-set item or use a special ability. The problem comes with the short amount of time the player is offered. Combat is fun, and the addition of a guard system (a timed button press will decrease the enemies attack damage) is well implemented, even if it is very difficult to consistently get the timing perfectly. Special moves are the main focus point of the combat - some offer large combos, others heal allies ? but the one thing they have in common is the fact they change depending on your position on the field. Yes the game uses a clever strategic system of light and dark and changes your special attacks based around this system. Enemies may transform depending on their position ? some becoming far stronger. The system works well, and is used to great effect within later areas. The combat also changes as you progress so it does not become boring or frustrating.
.
Towns are often rather small, and although visually pleasing, don?t offer much of an epic feeling, the same could be said of the menus which appear to appeal to a younger audience. The game is also educational, thanks to the use of a music ? link system, the player can ?play? the piece of music and learn about rhythm, music theory and music history in the process. It?s an enjoyable experience and one I hope to see more of in the future.
As such, I highly recommend Eternal Sonata ? its excellent music, fun visuals and surprisingly deep storyline morph to create on of the best RPG?s I have played ? its cartoony aesthetic may not appeal to all gamers but those who try it will find a superb game they will want to play again and again due to its new game+ mode.
Buy it.
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin was Polish. (Incidentally, the Japanese version uses the Polish version of his name, not the frankicised version).
