A classic yet different RPG with loveable chatacters and a very interesting story.
The back drop for the game is the final dream of a dying music composer, Frederick Chopin. It makes for a pretty interesting setting, even though the game is stilled filled with your standard towns, forests, caves and swamps, the idea that it’s all a dream somehow separates it from its kin. Story
So far the story has been only slightly off of “run of the mill”. What saves it is the “dream” setting. The characters and story development are very good however; there will be times when some of the characters (especially Polka) will be so damn cute that it will kind of make you laugh. However, don’t think that this is a kids game, the characters are all very serious when it comes down to it and they all have pretty serious problems of there own (the impending death of Polka and Frederick, not a spoiler, you find this out within the first 15 mins of the game).
Graphics
Like I said earlier the game is filled with your standard forests and such, but behind the power of the Xbox360, the details, colors and general atmosphere of the game is quite rich. All of the colors in the game are rich and well painted without over saturating. The detail in the characters, monsters, environments and buildings is quite amazing.
All of the characters and monster have been designed in a “light” cell shade effect, what I mean by “light” cell shading is the black line that outlines all of the characters is very thin and almost unnoticeable. The “light” cell shading is very refreshing compared to let’s say the Digital Devil Saga series. Seriously, the characters look amazing.
While the game is rendered in full 3D, all of the environments are filled with 2D back drops, so there aren’t any places to run around an open field, so to speak, but you are lead along a path through the environments. However the battles take place in full 3D battle maps.
Battle System
The battle system is a nice mix of real-time combat and classic J-RPG turn based menu dancing. While there aren’t any “menus” to rush through, you do have different abilities assigned to different buttons on the controller and an “item slider” that you can assign different items to prior to battle. The entire fight is run by turns and a battle timer. At the start of the game the timer doesn’t move else you “DO” something, meaning move your character around the battlefield or attack, but as the game progress the battle system changes. By the second phase of the battle system, you have unlimited time to plan what you are going to do, but as soon as you move the battle timer starts and doesn’t stop until your time is up. Phase 3 basically gives you 5 secs at the beginning of the fight to decide what to do and then the battle timer starts. I imagine they will get harder and harder as the game progresses.
Your opponent’s turns work the same way. Additionally on their turns you can block and even counterattack by timing key strokes at the appropriate times. Getting good at blocking becomes quite necessary as the game progresses.
Now for the really interesting part: Light and Dark abilities. In “Eternal Sonata” the battlefield can be your friend or your foe, because all of your available abilities depend on whether or not you are standing in the light or in a shadow. This makes for some very interesting strategic battles, especially since some of the larger monsters and bosses cast their own shadow or radiate light. Generally your if your casters are standing in the light they have healing spells available to them and when in shadow attack magic. Your melee fighters however will have different attacks they are still just attacks, some will be more powerful in shadow than light and vice versa. Sound/Music
All of the music is very nice and most of it is actually music composed by Chopin himself. During battle, the music compliment the settings nicely and while running around between battles the music never becomes monotonous. All around the music and sound effects fit very nicely into the game.
Pros:
-Interesting Story
-Beautifully detailed and design
-Music is wonderful
-Loveable characters without being cartoon-ish
Cons:
-Lack of detail when it comes to weapons and armor (meaning you equip different weapons but graphically you tote around the same sword from start to finish)
-Blocking your foes attacks can become irritating since some monsters attack so fast that you don’t ‘really” get a chance to block, you almost have to block proactively rather than reactively, which requires battle the same monster many times to get their “rhythm” down
Overall:
“Eternal Sonata” is a graphical masterpiece with a well thought out and fast paced battle system that will keep you on your toes for start to finish, with adorable characters that have deep enough back stories that they will keep you interested throughout the game.