RPG delight at its best, but don't expect rocket science
GAMEPLAY
In the beginning of the game you are introduced to only a few characters and limited spaced environments. There is a fair share of items hidden within the colorful world that can assist you in side quest in such, but nothing critical to finishing the game. Taking part in battle early on might seem a bit tedious, but for all the level grinders out there its well balanced thanks to enemies actually walking in the open. If you want to smash some cute bunnies, bash until your hearts content. If you can't stand the repition feel free to manuver around them, but heed my warning when I say baddies get much tougher in the later parts. Leveling up characters once they join your party is not difficult since every one gains experience, even when not in battle. Finding a fearsome team of three characters is easy, especially with various skills at your finger tips. Once in battle, you'll be mighty happy to see your patience pay off with a very intuitive system that rewards you well for using your characters and their abilities to the max. It may seem uber at times, but the boss battles can get a bit unfair if ill prepared.
VISUALS
This game may not be on par with something like Gears of War detail, but its artistic value is rich. Right away you'll feel welcomed in the world that is bright and colorful, but not too intrusive. Environment designs are simple due to keeping the player focused on tasks at hand, yet they offer wonderful interiors and exteriors worth taking a few moments to appreciate. One big flaw I noticed from start to finish in the game is the stale animations. I personally enjoy overly animated characters who express themselves in body language, sadly ES is not that kind of party. Besides characters having a stiff performance during cut scenes, dialogue exchange is a painful reminder why acting coaches even exsist in any area of entertainment. Once over this hurdle, you might find enjoyment in such small details as character expressions and environment structures.
AUDIO
If anything was to be considered "next-gen" in RPG's, it would have to be actual audible dialogue during cut scenes. It may be my years of reading endless amounts of text boxes that merits such a feeling, but after long stretches of venturing, nothing beats setting the controller down for a bit and hearing story unfold. Whats really cool about the dialogue is even after feeling like you've heard every possible line coming from a mile away, every so often you hear a response that sounds genuinely human. Being able to skip such cut scenes is okay, but mid way thru the game you begin to really identify with some of the cast thanks to such scarce moments.
EXTRAS
With very little selection for the 360 in the area of RPG's, something Microsoft seems to suffer greatly from, this game is meant for a RPG lover and not a gamer addicted to acheivements. No doubt will you gain a decent hundred or so from one play thru, but any game that scatters items and treasures about in hopes that you actually play a second time is designed for the dedicated. Discovering items such as score pieces which is music you can play for NPC's helps in unlocking goodies that can't be aquired any other way. Fitting as a entertaining deterent from the main story, its far from a must to enjoy the game. If you are looking for something to hold you over until the next big adventure, a second play thru can be valuable to small bits within the overall story and very rewarding achievement wise.
OVERALL
I had a lot of hope for a game that took great care in emulating a battle system similar to greats such as Grandia and adding their own twist to it. And in no way did they fail. I would have prefered for a lot more attention to small things such as smoother voice acting and character animations, yet wonderful graphics and harmonious music themes from start to finish compliment this game in a big way. The part that pleases me even more in spending money on ES is it fits into a category of games in a genre that seems too focused on cattering to what people want rather than developing something to be proud of. That may come off as a big statement from a mere gamer, but after years of enjoying numerous RPG's I like to think my judgement isn't too far off base. If you seek a worthy adventure Eternal Sonata is worth checking out.