Eternal Sonata is quite possibly the most unique JRPG to come out in years. Gone are the clichéd stories of evil rulers threatening to destroy the world, overly flamboyant male leads, and “OH NO MY HOME TOWN WAS DESTORYED!” stories, Eternal Sonata is far more complex than those clichés. The game starts with 19th century pianist Frédéric Chopin on his death bed stricken down with tuberculosis. Chopin has three hours to live, and the actual story of the game takes place in his dream world where people that have incurable diseases are blessed (or cursed, depending on the way you look at it) with the power of magic. It is in this dream world that Chopin meets a young girl named Polka (all the characters have music related names) who is an outcast in the town she is living in due to the fact that people associate magic (which she possesses) as a disease (also which she possesses.) Chopin forms a bond through sympathy with her, starting the story that deals with things such as good and evil, disease, love, existentialism, and all that good stuff. Throughout the game you will encounter at least 10 (of which I know of) playable characters that will come and go at key points in the story, much like some of the characters in older Final Fantasy games. Eternal Sonata is a JRPG, and with JRPGs come battles. Some games have battle systems that can be too simple, to complex, too active, too boring, and other issues, but Eternal Sonata’s mix of turn based and real time action finds a perfect balance of battle systems. The best way to describe Eternal Sonata’s battle system is a mix between turn based games like Dragon Quest and real time action games like the Tales series. All the characters and enemies have turns but when a turn comes around you can wait for a bit to plan out what you’re going to do, then start to freely move around in order to approach and enemy and attack them in real time. When you start moving, a timer starts so you have about five seconds to get your attacks in before your turn is over. As you advance through the game, you don’t have unlimited time to wait and plan forcing you to make decisions on the fly. While fighting, you have the chance to block attacks, every time an enemy is about to attack, a icon will come up on screen saying “chance” if you press B when that icon comes up you will block the attack taking less damage. Another interesting mechanic in the game is the light/dark mechanics. The battle ground is covered in a mixture of light and shadow, and depending where you are standing, your attacks will be different. Some enemies are weaker against light attacks and stronger against dark. Enemies will often change forms entirely going from one side to another. The earliest enemy you see do this is this little onion like thing where if it goes into the shadow it becomes a behemoth larger than anyone in your team. With the turn based real time action and the light/dark mechanics, the battle system is definitely a breath of fresh air in the JRPG world.
In the visual and audio departments Eternal Sonata is absolutely beautiful. Visually, the game is amazing. There is not one bad thing I can say about it. The character’s cell shading is without a doubt the best cell shaded graphics ever made, and all the environments are visually outstanding. All the colors in this game really pop out at you and make this game one big piece of eye candy. The soundtrack is also just as amazing as the visuals. A lot of the music is Chopin’s actual compositions or original music made in the vein of Chopin. The music sets the tone perfectly for whatever is happening in the world, fights, wondering, or walking around a town. In the end, Eternal Sonata is flat out amazing. The unique story, the fun game play, and the amazing audio/visuals make this game a must buy for any JRPG enthusiast.
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