This is the definitive version of a very musical RPG. A worthy purchase.
Originally released on the Xbox 360 back in 2007, PlayStation 3 users got an enhanced edition of Chopin's Dream a year later. Eternal Sonata (also known as Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume in Japan) was made by Tri-Crescendo, the folks responsible for the Nintendo GameCube RPG, "Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean", and it's prequel "Baten Kaitos Origins". Alas, I never had the chance to play either game back in the day. Therefore, I am new to Tri-Crescendo's RPGs.
Eternal Sonata has a fascinating plot, and was apparently based on a dream from Frederic Chopin (pronounced Sho-pan), a Polish romantic pianist and composer from the 19th Century. This dream was in the final hours of his life, while he lies dying of tuberculosis at the age of 39. The story is divided into chapters, with each chapter being represented by one of Chopin's compositions, and being related to events within his historical life. The story begins with a small group of characters wishing to meet with Count Waltz of Forte regarding perceived social injustices, but eventually evolves into a far-reaching tale, with political espionage and rebellion being a commonly explored theme. The story originally caused a bit of confusion due to a certain vagueness upon initial release, and was modified a bit, in particular the ending, for the PS3 re-release.
Like in any existing RPG, you'll come across a lot of cutscenes. Eternal Sonata definitely has a lot, especially those of the party stopping in a particular area, just to talk for a few minutes. While this may sound annoying, there are also some rather interesting cutscenes, which are significant segments of the story. There are also clips, containing information on Chopin's musical pieces, and the history of his life, every now and then throughout it.
Frederic Chopin is pretty much the main character in Eternal Sonata, but there are a couple of other "main characters" too. Polka is a 14-year old girl with a death sentence hanging over her head: she can use magic, a sign of disease in their world. Because of this, she is shunned by many, but still has a pretty upbeat and sweet personality. The third main character is called Allegretto. A 16-year old street urchin and orphan with a Robin Hood complex, willing to steal to feed the less fortunate. He's confident and strong, but not stupid. Other characters include Beat, a young orphan who hangs out with Retto (Allegretto); Viola, a farmer who wields a bow; Salsa and March, sisters who are guardians of the Agogo Forest; and many more characters will join you on your musical quest. (Note that all the characters are named after something musical, as well as locations and other pats of the game.) While I'm not a fan of the characters, they still hold some significance, as they are interesting. However, Beat annoys me.
The gameplay in Chopin's Dream reminds me a lot of previous RPGs, mainly from the 6th gen. The battle system is kind of like Breath of Fire V in a way. You take control of up to three party members, who fight up to three enemies. Battles are turn-based, but not in a Final Fantasy way. Characters can be moved, and have a time limit to do so. When the time reaches zero, it's the end of that character's turn. This applies for every character in a battle. During your given time, you are able to attack enemies, and use abilities (MP is absent, therefore abilities have an infinite usage). On the bottom of the screen, there are a set of buttons. The 360 version will have A, B, X and Y. The PS3 version will have X, Circle, Square and Triangle. The most interesting part of battles in Eternal Sonata is the light and dark areas of the battlefield. Abilities, and certain enemies vary on your whereabouts. When a character is in a light patch, your ability will be more light-based. When in a dark patch, such as the shade, your ability will be more dark-based. Light and Dark abilities can both be equipped your your allies, and you will learn more of both when they progress in Level. Enemies also have significant differences in light and dark. Sometimes, they can even shapeshift. A weird, but good example would go like this: An enemy may appear as an "onion" in the light, and would transform into a bigger one in the shade. There are a lot more interesting examples. Their abilities may also vary. The battle system in Eternal Sonata is great, and is something a bit new to the RPG genre.
Another thing I like about RPGs, is of course, the exploring. Eternal Sonata has some very beautiful locations, and some pretty cool towns and cities. When wandering around, it feels like i'm playing Final Fantasy X, due to the similar style of exploration. There is no "World Map", nor is there camera control. I'm a fan of World Maps, but I usually don't mind when I play an RPG with such a feature being absent. It didn't bother me too much with this one, and camera control wasn't needed either. What did bother me however was the lack of locations. Sure, there are some pretty good locations, but I thought there weren't enough towns and cities. The greenery was great, but there was a little bit much of it. You do come across a poison field, a snowy mountain, a fire volcano, and some dark dungeons, which are all great. I just thought that a bit more variety would've been somewhat cooler.
Eternal Sonata is one of those RPGs that doesn't require too much level grinding, but it is recommended for some of those harder and cheap bosses that you'll face. Don't worry though, I actually found this game to be rather addictive, even with the training involved. You shouldn't have any troubles with it. When it comes down to length, I can guarantee that you will spend at least 25-30 hours on the main story, if you are watching the cutscenes as well. There are also side-quests available, such as a secret dungeon and a secret boss. Even a New Game Plus feature. The length is pretty good.
A lot of RPGs these days, i've noticed have had some sort of cel-shading. I've been a fan of such graphics ever since I first put The Wind Waker into my GameCube back in 2003. Eternal Sonata has some pretty good cel-shade in it. While it doesn't have the most amazing artistic graphics ever, Eternal Sonata is still a very attractive game, with some great visuals in it, and a lot of colour variety. No matter what type of TV you have, you will still be impressed with the artwork, and graphics.
The soundtrack is pretty good. While Chopin's original compositions are performed by Stanislav Bunin, the rest of the soundtrack is composed by Motoi Sakuraba, who's music I seem to have taken a liking to lately. Sakuraba is also responsible for the soundtracks of the Star Ocean series, some of the Tales games, Valkyrie Profile and more. It's got a great soundtrack. Voice acting is decent. While I haven't heard much of the Japanese voices, the English voices are okay. Salsa's voice was initially a bit goofy, but thankfully, it grew on me. I hate Waltz's voice though. And Beat's too.
While the Xbox 360 version had a few unfortunate flaws, the PlayStation 3 version cleans a lot of the mess up, making it the definitive version to purchase. Trophies may not be available, like there are with Achievements, but the PS3 version adds two new playable allies, some new locations, and a much better ending. Eternal Sonata is a definite purchase for those who enjoy the RPG genre. It's addictive, beautiful, and it's great! The story and gameplay are also very good. That Chopin must have had an awesome imagination. Unfortunately, tuberculosis had to take him away. May he rest in peace.