Eternal Sonata

"In Eternal Sonata, Chopin and charm go hand in hand"

Eighteenth and nineteenth-century composers have not exactly been a plot staple used by the video game industry, and with good reason. Don't get me wrong, Bach made beautifully melodic minuets and Mozart made operas, but as much fun as Die Zauberflote might be to watch, it doesn't especially lend itself to a killer beat ‘em up. Chopin, whose "Fantasie Impromptu" was featured in the Capcom survival-horror, hide-and-seek fest Clock Tower 3, has remained a relatively nameless entity to most players, who can more easily identify Halo's Truth and Reconciliation Suite before any one of Chopin's twenty-seven etudes.

Then there came Eternal Sonata.

While the Polish were out botching the Two Worlds experience, the Japanese company Tri-Crescendo stole the Eastern Europeans' beloved icon and created a role-playing game that has that essential element Blue Dragon was lacking: Heart. And before the Sakaguchi fans grab their guns for my slandering his good name, surely they must have felt it too, once the final “yay, we defeated evil” celebration was complete and the screen faded to a whitewash of credits. Yes, there were our five plucky protagonists, but you can't say many felt a sincere connection to the rite of passage journey any of them experienced. We gather a few hintings at love, sure, a few individuals' drive towards responsibility and selflessness and other virtuous qualities that all other spiky-haired heroes are required to share, but there's little that makes me think of Jiro or Zola or Shu beyond their skill on the battlefield. Eternal Sonata does have its share of RPG standbys - a corrupt government, a morally-driven underground resistance movement, children who readily jump in to save the day - but at the same time there's something special that these characters possess that makes you want to play through another dungeon, another town, another - well, you get the idea.

It's difficult to portray something like charm. It‘s such an abstract, subjective quality and yet I don't think you can rouse much resistance to that opinion; Eternal Sonata does indeed radiate charm and Tri-Crescendo has worked diligently to achieve this quality through impressive technical handiwork. Part of it comes from the graphics, where the characters' faces deliver a wide array of realistic expressions. Brows quirk and eyes narrow as our heroes assess dangerous situations, dangerous foes, or even each others' motivations as base incentives are brought into question. Mouths open to perfect-circle ‘O's' when in shock, and they soften to smiles while laughing during the game's various lighthearted moments. Part of it comes from the voice work, which is handled well in both English and Japanese. Yet again, this point stems from a personal preference, and undoubtedly there will be those who believe Salsa to be nothing more than a bossy Southern belle with a goofy sombrero, or that Beat's inquisitive outlook makes him sound more moronic than innocent. Conversely, most everyone should be able to find a favorite character voice, whether it be Chopin's or Allegretto's, or Viola's. And finally, part of the game's packaged charm comes from the dialogue, which, although stiff at times, furthers character development well. There is a clear maturation process that most of our heroes undergo at some point in the game. Let's take Polka as an example. She opens the story for us as a naive flower seller, whose personal obstacles cause anger to well up inside her. But as the story progresses she begins to understand her place in the world, and… wait a minute. Haven't we heard this one before?

The plot, regrettably, can be fairly formulaic in places and completely linear. Yes, I know that the whole story is supposed to take place in Chopin's dream, and I think that's a wonderfully novel starting point for the game to have. It's unique. It's intriguing. The composer's biographical details weave into the storyline, and that's a fantastic development as well. But I'm sure that you'll feel the unmistakable stab of deja vu when the nefarious Count Waltz is introduced, or the virtuous thieves, or the calm, collected leader that Jazz proves to be. And although the towns sometimes infuse drops of originality - Ritardando's violin-shaped pool, Baroque Ship's stained-glass exterior, the sparkling cellos used as save points - the dungeons are still the standard variety. Ghost-infested cemetery? Check. Cave chock full of molten lava and baddies? Check. Pirate ship? Prison? A maze-like ruins that take an hour of backtracking and cursing to trudge through? Oh, yeah. Eternal Sonata's got that too.

But despite that lack of creative freshness, each area looks beautiful. The watercolor backgrounds spring to life through soft shadows and vibrant colors, windmills that turn and fountains that bubble with water. Gulls fly past the screen in Ritardando. Leaves slowly descend to the ground in Hanon Hills. The characters, too, are so well modeled that you can literally count the stitching on some articles of clothing. And if you have an HDTV? Then I have one word for you: Orgasmic.

Additionally, the music is handled extremely well, though that's to be expected in a game that features the late Chopin as a playable character. However, with the piano virtuoso acting as lead, you would think there would be more times that his music was actually played. Yes, the more famous pieces are performed by renowned pianist Stanislav Bunin during the brief biopics that run between the game's six chapters, but beyond those handful of moments, all the music in the game is originally orchestrated. Motoi Sakuraba does a fantastic job at arranging the score, a strings and woodwind affair that assimilates itself seamlessly into the background of the numerous cutscenes. Additionally, you can access your favorite fanfares any time during the game; just hit the Y button to pull up the menu and all the pieces will be neatly listed for your aural consumption. The score itself contains echoes of another Sakuraba project, Tales of Symphonia, though this arrangement still succeeds in sounding fresh, with a song fitting suitably with every mood the game has to offer. The only complaint one might have is that this music doesn't really sound like Chopin's. Sakuraba relies heavily on a full orchestral ensemble, and in the end it sounds like his polished music and not like the nineteenth-century composer's more emotionally-impulsive own.

Let's acknowledge the negative: The game is short. Like the original games in the .hack saga (the original series) short. Most people should be able to finish their first run-through in under twenty hours, which is virtually unheard of in modern RPGs. However, there are two things working for Eternal Sonata. One: You won't be forced to do much backtracking in the game. There's no world map to amble through and the main side quest comes in the form of an additional dungeon at the end of the game. And two: The game has a relatively high replay value. In order to obtain all the achievements - and come on, let's be honest, a good number of you will - you'll need to revisit Chopin's dream world a second time. You can choose to play co-op with a friend this time through, or maybe you can set your heart on finding all those elusive score pieces that people have stashed in barrels and desks and… uh, snowmen. Go figure.

Or maybe you just enjoyed battling, which is handled fairly well in this game. If you have ever gotten a hold of another Tri-Crescendo work, you'll notice the striking similarities between it and Eternal Sonata. Each battle begins with "Tactical Time", which initially works like it did in Valkyrie Profile 2, where the player has an infinite amount of time to plan out his attack given that their characters do not set one foot forward. Like Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, the battles all occur in real-time, though unlike the former, Eternal Sonata allows you to control all three combatants instead of relying on commands you issue out to your AI allies. Each character has a standard attack, which builds up "Echoes". The more Echoes you have, the more potent your special attack will be, which changes depending on whether you're standing in the shadows or light. When the enemy attacks, you can mitigate damage by blocking; when it's your turn again, you can choose to heal. The battling is easy to master, and it's fun to execute, as the fights are relatively quick and leveling up your characters is rewarding. And if you don't want to fight? Not to worry, as it's just as easy to evade your on-screen enemies in the dungeons. The combat has two sticking points, one more severe than the other. One of these issues is that there are only a few different enemies you'll encounter during the course of the game. Little variation in enemies = little variation in enemy tactics. More annoying is the fact that the camera is fixed, meaning that you might hit a point where a tiny Florite Mouse is stationed behind a colossal boss. Or maybe you positioned Falsetto a little too far from a Scourger so that her attack is rendered useless; a similar situation will happen to you, and when it does, you will be irritated. Trust me, I know I was on more than one occasion.

It's difficult for me to review this game because of my mutual love of Chopin and all things video game related. Combining these two elements is like a dream come true, honestly. But you‘re probably not like me, and you probably will find small annoyances in the way the game plays out: some technical polish here, a little less pausing in the dialogue there. If you can live with these few shortcomings though, you will be handsomely rewarded. Eternal Sonata is a wonderful addition to any role-playing fan's library because it's wonderfully charming, and that's something that not many recent games can lay claim to. Is it fun? Yes. Is it beautiful? Yes. Is it revolutionary? No, and for those of you who were wondering, that's Twelve Etudes, Op. 10, No. 12 in C Minor.


Pros:
- Charming and likable characters breathe heart into one of the better JRPGs in recent years.
- Beautifully and artistically rendered game that pays fine attention to detail and the color palette.
- Voice acting, on the whole, is well executed, with many performers accurately expressing a wide range of emotions.
- Story contains a few refreshing snippets of originality, most notably its loose incorporation of details from Chopin's life into the fantasy world.
- Solid soundtrack that features a few songs of Chopin's, as well as an original orchestral score composed by Motoi Sakuraba.
- Combat contains a few nice aspects, like light/dark attacks, Tactical Time, and emphasis on working up Echoes to execute stronger special attacks. Battles are fast-paced and have a short learning curve.
- Collecting and performing score pieces with other NPCs can provide a fun break from exploration.
- Short load screens.
- Replay factor is fairly high.

Cons:
- Game is on the short side, taking about half the time that most role-playing games take to reach the final boss battle.
- Characters, although novel in some respects, sometimes revert to the old RPG formulas. This most notably happens with the villains.
- Fixed camera angles sometimes make battles more challenging than they should be.
- Few different enemy types to encounter.
- Dungeon areas are typical to the RPG: snowy mountains, underground cave, and a vast plain you encounter early on.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/07

Game Release: Eternal Sonata (US, 09/17/07)