A year later, this captivating role-playing game is still gorgeous to look at and fun to play.
In 2007, Eternal Sonata served up an unexpected treat to Xbox 360 owners, and was one of the most magical role-playing games to be released in recent years on any platform. Now, PlayStation 3 owners get their chance to roam through the game's beautiful, enchanting dream world, with some extra benefits thrown in for good measure: New dungeons, cutscenes, and tunes, as well as two new party members. These additions are lovely, though they don't change the game in any significant way. But that's absolutely fine. Eternal Sonata is full of joy and old-fashioned romance, and it's set in a gorgeous, fully realized fantasy world. Even better, that soft, chewy center is complemented by an action-packed battle system that continually keeps you on your toes. It will make you feel consistently warm and fuzzy, thanks to its big heart and total commitment to its subject matter.
If that makes the game sound sickeningly sweet, rest assured that it also possesses a good deal of maturity. Composer Frederic Chopin lays sleeping on his death bad as the clock slowly counts down to his last moments on earth. But the real story is in his mind, where he joins an alternate reality already in progress and multiple stories that eventually converge. His first friend is Polka, a loveable girl with awesome pigtails that can wield magic, but like other magic users in this world, she is destined to die young. Along the way, they are joined by other adventurers, such as street urchins Alegretto and Beat, and goat herder Viola. Two other characters, previously unplayable, also join the party: Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade. Together, they unite against the rule of the evil Count Waltz, who is turning the populace of Forte into mindless slaves, thanks to an untaxed, addictive mineral powder.
It's not the grandest, most epic tale ever told in an RPG, but it's a highly personal one. Chopin must discover what he is searching for in this moving, thoughtful journey. His travel companions are charming, multifaceted characters who develop strong bonds, including Alegretto's touching affection for ever-sweet Polka. You will care for these characters, and if their initial quest doesn't seem all that breathtaking, the passion with which they undertake it will win you over. The story also touches on topics that tie lessons of the past to current events. Blind devotion to the government, the separation of fact from fiction, social persecution, and other themes parallel our own world's political climate. The only problem with the narrative is the pace, which is broken up by narrated segments about Chopin's life and the politics of his own time. These interruptions feature photo stills of such cities as Paris and Warsaw, accompanied by Chopin's famous piano works. But the history lessons, as well intentioned as they are, just don't fit because they force us back into a reality the game does such a good job of letting us escape.
Developer Tri-Crescendo has created a beautiful world here. It's easy to get swept up in the French Impressionist color palaette and gorgeous lighting, but incredible artistry gushes from every aspect of the visual design. The clothing of your party members is richly drawn, with intricate stitching and other fine details. The interiors of cottages are filled with meticulously designed decor, from textured linens to finely crafted plates hanging on the walls. Environments are spectacular, even such traditionally cliché locations as swamps or forests, which use shadows and mild light bloom to create scenes you would expect to see in a Monet painting. In fact, they look even better on the PlayStation 3 than on the Xbox 360, because the colors seem to pop even more. But all of this 2D art does come at the expense of 3D exploration. You can't freely explore every nook and cranny, nor can you rotate the camera. So there are times you wish you could head off into the rolling hills to check out every valley and crevasse but are fixed to your narrow pathway. The PS3 version does suffer from some odd, occasional frame rate hitches, but make no mistake: Eternal Sonata is a visual triumph and a beautiful artistic achievement.
As you might imagine, music plays an important role in the game's production values as well, though Chopin's music is usually limited to the edutainment portions previously mentioned. But that's fine because Motoi Sakuraba's score (which features several new wonderful tracks exclusive to this version) is as exquisite as the visuals, using Chopin's romanticism as a starting point for a subtle but sweeping musical journey. The voice acting doesn't reach for the stars, but it is solid enough. Chopin and Salsa in particular come to life vividly, thanks to strong acting, though other voices get too syrupy after a while. Sadly, there are some scenes of extended dialogue that, for whatever reason, feature no music and minimal ambient noise. In a musical score, rests are as important as notes, but these extended silences are jarring.
Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.
I finished this in 46 hours and I'd be playing it again on the "plus" mode. The gameplay is what got me addicted in the game. KVO is right about the fantastic visuals because Eternal Sonata is an eye-candy throughout. The boss fights are both fun and challenging and the story's quite good. I love it!
Definitely one of the worst Jrpgs I have ever played.(Yes I have played star ocean 4). Horrible story that gives up half way and forgets what it was doing, and god awful awful repetitive gameplay, where you go in auto pilot after the first 40 minutes of knowing how to chain combos at the end of moves, then its just ambush 99% of the enemies from behind(which there are 4 of with 20 different skins through the game) then copy and paste the combo button then wait till 0.00 and use move, and you would be quite unlucky if a enemy other then a boss ever gets a turn to hit you in this game. Just goes to show which companies are paying gamespot big to highly rate these overrated trash games(cough cough ie, Halo, end of cough)
@symphony4flamez - I totally disagree with that. I'm an RPG lover and I really enjoyed ES. I agree that there are only a handful of enemies with different skins but it's a still a fun game. To say that there are only "4" types of enemies with different skins is an exaggeration, though.
