yeah, another short review. This is among the games I want to play on 360, unfortunately the stock was out in Play-Asia. So I immediately bought a copy of the game once it was restocked. Unfortunately the time was quite inconvenient for me, because my exam was approaching. So in the end I have to content with playing bits of the game, and continue after my exam is over.
quoting my favorite site wiki;
GAMEPLAY: 8/10 (nice)
Basically it's a mix of real time and turn based system, where we're given limited time to act on free-roam battle field. Action in battle comprises of Y (special attack), B (guard/counterattack), A (Attack) and X (item - need to be set first). So there's no menu in battle, everything need to be done with quick thinking. The limited time given went according to Party level - another feature of Eternal Sonata which increases battle efficiency (along with minor setback which aren't really a problem once you get used to it) as the level increases. Hit combo is count as "Echo", and as the hit combo increase, the power of followed Special Attack also increase. There's also Harmony Chain which was available on Party level 4 onward, which allow you to chain multiple Special Attacks. There is also element of "dark" and "light" field which influence the type of Special Attack that a character perform. This means when a character was in a shadow, s/he will perform dark-based special attack and vice versa.
STORY: 4/10 (zzzzz)
Maybe this is just me, but I really think the story are poorly made. First Chopin adamantly tell it's all a dream for him, then it focus on the conflict happening in his "dream", the fight against Count Waltz. Surprisingly the count and his follower Legato aren't even that significant in the story. We beat them and there's nothing more of them after that, not even dying scenes. Then back to Chopin's rant and the ending, which I don't really bother to watch wholeheartedly. Truly boring and nonsensical. I feel that Chopin's past is barely related to the story, and to claim that everything is mere dream by Frederick's point of view, it's like getting an F grade in your essay because you write a thrilling story, but end up with "owh, it's just a dream after all".
GRAPHIC/MUSIC: 7/10 (beautiful)
One thing I could praise Eternal sonata is the fantasy feeling delivered with the beautifully designed settings and characters. It's pretty much what you've seen in Tales series, the art was easy to the eyes. The special effect used in battle is also beautifully made. As for music, while most of the music are also soothing, I think there's not much variation from place to place, although overall it's still satisfying.
OTHERS
The theme of the game is centered toward musical play. And interesting enough, all character's name except Chopin are named after musical items - Polka, Claves, Falsetto, Jazz, you named it. There's also 28+ musical sheet provided in the game for those with music sheet knowledge to test them, albeit I don't think any of them is interesting.
And one more thing: This game is also made for PS3. Daaaamn I hate 360 version. Do want Crescendo and Serenade in muh parteeeehhhh!!!1
Overall, the game was fairly easy, even in the secret dungeon Mysterious Unison. The damage proportion in this game is massive, a single Harmony Chain of 6 combos can easily rack up close to 700k damage. My main party is Allegretto, Falsetto and Viola, then replace Viola with Claves after arrived in Mysterious Unison. Give all of them Burst+increase combo/action time accessories and they are ready to pawn all the monsters in a single turn. Even the so-called hardest boss (Annihilator) isn't really that much of a threat. Even gold is so easy to get (for a certain Soul Shard that cost 99,999,999 gold (no, it's true it's cost shit expensive))
*image courtesy of gamefaqs
quoting my favorite site wiki;
Eternal Sonata (トラスティベル ～ショパンの夢～, Torasuti Beru Shopan no Yume?, Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream) is an original role-playing video game created by Tri-Crescendo, one of the developers of Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins. The Microsoft Xbox 360 version of the game was released on June 14, 2007 in Japan, September 17, 2007 in North America, and October 19, 2007 in Europe. The game was also released on the Sony PlayStation 3 with additional content as Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream - Reprise (トラスティベル ~ショパンの夢~ ルプリーズ, Torasuti Beru Shopan no Yume Rupurīzu?) on September 18, 2008 in Japan, and in North America on October 21, 2008 (release date announced as of 9-15-08), and in Europe (with the original name 'Eternal Sonata') on February 13, 2009.
The game is centered on the Polish romantic pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 39. The story envisions a fictional world dreamed by Chopin during his last hours that is influenced by Chopin's life and music, and in which he himself is a playable character, among others. The game features a selection of Chopin's compositions played by pianist Stanislav Bunin, though most of the in-game music was composed by Motoi Sakuraba. The game's battle system centers on musical elements and character-unique special attacks. Light and darkness plays a part in the appearance and abilities of enemies on the battlefield, as well as the types of magic that can be cast.
GAMEPLAY: 8/10 (nice)
Basically it's a mix of real time and turn based system, where we're given limited time to act on free-roam battle field. Action in battle comprises of Y (special attack), B (guard/counterattack), A (Attack) and X (item - need to be set first). So there's no menu in battle, everything need to be done with quick thinking. The limited time given went according to Party level - another feature of Eternal Sonata which increases battle efficiency (along with minor setback which aren't really a problem once you get used to it) as the level increases. Hit combo is count as "Echo", and as the hit combo increase, the power of followed Special Attack also increase. There's also Harmony Chain which was available on Party level 4 onward, which allow you to chain multiple Special Attacks. There is also element of "dark" and "light" field which influence the type of Special Attack that a character perform. This means when a character was in a shadow, s/he will perform dark-based special attack and vice versa.
Eternal Sonata sample battle video
STORY: 4/10 (zzzzz)
Maybe this is just me, but I really think the story are poorly made. First Chopin adamantly tell it's all a dream for him, then it focus on the conflict happening in his "dream", the fight against Count Waltz. Surprisingly the count and his follower Legato aren't even that significant in the story. We beat them and there's nothing more of them after that, not even dying scenes. Then back to Chopin's rant and the ending, which I don't really bother to watch wholeheartedly. Truly boring and nonsensical. I feel that Chopin's past is barely related to the story, and to claim that everything is mere dream by Frederick's point of view, it's like getting an F grade in your essay because you write a thrilling story, but end up with "owh, it's just a dream after all".
GRAPHIC/MUSIC: 7/10 (beautiful)
One thing I could praise Eternal sonata is the fantasy feeling delivered with the beautifully designed settings and characters. It's pretty much what you've seen in Tales series, the art was easy to the eyes. The special effect used in battle is also beautifully made. As for music, while most of the music are also soothing, I think there's not much variation from place to place, although overall it's still satisfying.
OTHERS
The theme of the game is centered toward musical play. And interesting enough, all character's name except Chopin are named after musical items - Polka, Claves, Falsetto, Jazz, you named it. There's also 28+ musical sheet provided in the game for those with music sheet knowledge to test them, albeit I don't think any of them is interesting.
And one more thing: This game is also made for PS3. Daaaamn I hate 360 version. Do want Crescendo and Serenade in muh parteeeehhhh!!!1
Overall, the game was fairly easy, even in the secret dungeon Mysterious Unison. The damage proportion in this game is massive, a single Harmony Chain of 6 combos can easily rack up close to 700k damage. My main party is Allegretto, Falsetto and Viola, then replace Viola with Claves after arrived in Mysterious Unison. Give all of them Burst+increase combo/action time accessories and they are ready to pawn all the monsters in a single turn. Even the so-called hardest boss (Annihilator) isn't really that much of a threat. Even gold is so easy to get (for a certain Soul Shard that cost 99,999,999 gold (no, it's true it's cost shit expensive))
*image courtesy of gamefaqs
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