Bandai Namco’s Eternal Sonata is a game that I was reluctant to play at first. It had amazing graphics, but I was worried about the content of the story. The mediocre reviews the game received gave me even less of a reason to try it. After a few months passed, a friend recommended it to me, and since he was a big fan of RPGs, I took his advice, and purchased the game. A couple months later, I finished what would become my favorite RPG on Xbox360.
Eternal Sonata is different than what most Xbox gamers are probably used to. On Microsoft consoles, we are accustomed to playing Western RPGs with non-linear stories, real-time gameplay, and oodles of customization options for your characters. JRPGs on the other hand tend to be linear, and feature well developed storylines and characters. They tend to have turn-based gameplay, but many JRPGs of late have been bucking this trend. FF12 had a hybrid real-time system, and Bandai Namco is known for producing RPGs that include real-time gameplay. They are known for their Tales RPG series, which includes fighting game style gameplay on a separate battle screen. Eternal Sonata was clearly influenced by the battle system in Tales, but it adds many unique features to make it a fresh gameplay experience. This game has many unique features, which I will discuss in turn.
Story- Eternal Sonata has a fabulous story about the famous, long deceased composer named Frederic Chopin. The story takes place in a dream world that Chopin created, while on his death bed. While the dream world is fictional, many of the events and themes in the story relate to actual events that occurred in Chopin’s life. In between chapters in the story, there are scenes that describe major events that occurred in Chopin’s life. These story segments not only include historical details, but are accompanied by famous Chopin pieces, and scenery of . Even if you are turned off by history, these scenes will be enjoyable to most gamers because they relate to the gameplay. The actual story of the game is excellent as well. It is divided into chapters, and takes you to various locations that have musical names. All the characters have musical names as well, such as “Viola”, “Beat”, and “Allegretto”. The story involves many themes that were not only relevant to Chopin’s time but also to the modern world, such as: environmental issues, human greed and warfare, helping the poor, having compassion for others, philosophy, music, and religion. The story isn’t as complex as some RPGs, but the delivery is flawless.
Characters- Most RPGs in recent years have included a relatively small cast of characters. Eternal Sonata has ten characters that are player controlled, and many other characters that play an important role in the story. All of the characters have unique personalities and fighting abilities. Allegretto is a relaxed, carefree guy who likes to help people but also tends to get into trouble. Beat is a young boy who is cautious, prone to irritation, and needs a leader to follow. Even though Chopin is the focus of the game, all of the characters have an equal amount of back-story. All of the characters’ thoughts and feelings are revealed throughout the course of the game. Most of the characters are likeable, and feel as if they could be real people.
Graphics- Eternal Sonata has phenomenal artwork. If you own an HDTV, be prepared to salivate at the eye-popping graphics on screen. While you don’t control the camera as in many recent RPGs, the camera angles are expertly done and maximize the visual impact of the environments. The character art is amazing in cutscenes, in battle, and on the field. Each of the characters are animated smoothly, have detailed physical features, and intricate clothing designs. Eternal Sonata has the most beautiful environments I’ve ever seen in an RPG. Despite the world of Eternal Sonata being a dream world, it feels like it could be real. The snow falls naturally, the forests are vibrant, and the cities are magical and teaming with life. The game is also animated expertly and there are no frame-rate issues.
Gameplay- The gameplay in Eternal Sonata is refreshing and unique. It is a semi-real time system, but it is implemented much more effectively than FFXII’s. Instead of being complex and convoluted, Eternal Sonata hands you new features in the battle system one step at a time. To fight enemies, you approach them in various locales, whether it is a mountain or tower, and then you enter a battle screen. There, you take turns with the enemies fighting. Despite there being turns, it is a very active system. You have full 3D movement, unlike Tales games where you run in a line, unless you press the free-run button. You move your character and you press different buttons to attack, perform special moves, and use items. Like the Tales games, you can do many attacks in a row, perform special moves, and link attacks. There is no magic unlike Tales however, but there are still plenty of attacks. Regular attacks can be used to build up a meter of stars, and when it is high enough, you can have a character use a powerful special move, and link other special moves. The battlefields also have natural shadows produced by the environment, yourself, and your enemies. You can do different attacks depending on whether you are in the dark or in the light area of the battlefield. This results in some interesting strategies. On defense, you can press guard at the appropriate times to negate some of the damage inflicted on you by the enemy. Later in the game, you are even able to counterattack with regular and special moves. Early in the game you have as long as you want to sit and plan out your turns, but later you have to move quickly, or your turn will be up before you get to attack.
Despite all the unique features of Eternal Sonata, there are some quips I have with the battle-system. In dungeons and fields, there are too many enemies for my taste. Battles quickly got old, especially since there were only four or five enemy types per dungeon. Luckily, the battles aren’t random so you can avoid them, but knowing that RPGs tend to be difficult, I usually fight as many enemies as I can. After completing the game, I realized that it may not have been necessary to fight as much as I did, since I found most of the game to be relatively easy. By the end of the game, I had characters with extremely high HP and attack power, which made the boss of the game a cakewalk. Still, it was a highly enjoyable experience, and there are a few sidequests in the game that offer a bit more of a challenge.
Sound- One of the features that sets Eternal Sonata apart from other recent RPGs is the amazing score. This game features Chopin piano pieces in the historical cutscenes, but the actual gameplay music is incredible too. All the pieces fit the environments perfectly, and make you feel the appropriate emotions at the right times. The quality of the soundtrack is amazing. Orchestral music and singers were used for many of the pieces. Much of the music is light-hearted fare, but it is tragic at times, much like Chopin’s pieces. The sound effects make the environments come to life, but the battle sound effects are standard fare. Eternal Sonata has fairly good voice work. Most of the characters sound natural and have plenty of expression, but a few such as Polka sound forced, much like Yuna in FFX. The voices are good for the most part though, and add feeling to the game. Thankfully, the battle voices are kept to a minimum, unlike many recent RPGs, so the characters never really get obnoxious.
Eternal Sonata has gorgeous graphics, a phenomenal score, a story that motivates you to improve the world, and enjoyable, innovative gameplay. This game can be enjoyed by children, adults, classical music fans, and philosophical buffs alike. If you have a 360, and enjoy RPGs, or even if you just like classical music, I highly recommend this game.