Eternal Sonata

"First must have JRPG on the 360"

Eternal Sonata is the second jrpg to come out this year for the 360. The other being Blue Dragon which I've also reviewed. What Eternal Sonata has going for it besides the best cell shading that's been seen is its mixture of fact and fiction, the real world into a dream world. But does it pull it off?

As Chopin lies dying we enter the world he dreams of in his last hours. A corrupt government is selling an item that is driving people mad. A ragtag group of people end up meeting and setting out together when they realize their goals are the same. What's pleasant is that the characters get developed rather well in this game and with jumps to the real world it shows us where the game may or may not be heading. Will it go down the clichéd path of so many jrpgs or will it tread new territory. Sadly it doesn't do much with what it has and despite one of the longest game endings out there it all feels a bit heavy handed.

Graphically Eternal Sonata is beautiful game. Vibrant colors, nicely detailed and cell shaded character designs. The villages and locations all look grand, sadly the battlefields never change in an area but each area has its specific layout. The enemies are also a bit lacking with about 15 or so normal enemies and then a new coat of paint to make them "new". I really hate when games do that.

The sound in the game is very pleasant as well. The voice work either works great or it hits a sour note but thankfully that rarely happens. There is a lot of voice work though which is also a nice addition. Music is split between some of Chopin's work and some new music created for the game. They blend together nicely and with a game where music plays such a key part it's nice that it all keeps the classical feel to it. Sound effects are pretty basic. Yells, thumps and roars are about it but it sounds nice either way.

The game has a very user friendly control setup. Walk around with the left analog stick. A is used to search or talk to people. In battle you use X for an item and you cycle through your items with the L and R bumpers. A is attack, Y is special and B is guard but let me warn you that near the end of the game some of those randomly switch around but it isn't too bad.

Eternal Sonata sticks with a basic jrpg premise. Run from area to area to town to area. No world map which might be a let down but you just move from these locations as if you were there and not just walking on a barren map. It works nicely and until this review I never gave it a thought.

The battle system is where this game shines. At the start of the game you have a few seconds before each characters turn to think about what you want to do. Then you run around to an enemy and attack. You have a normal attack and a special attack. You need nothing for special attacks. The thing is that it's all timed and each attack takes so much time.

It sounds simple and it is but as you advance in the game your delay time vanishes and you must think very fast and still be able to survey your surroundings.

Everything is turn based but you can delay turns by doing a ton of damage. There are a few key elements to it all though. Within every playing field is a lit up area and a dark area. It changes and sometimes you must rely on an enemy to for its shadow or its light. See, light and dark play a role in the game play. Your special attacks depends on what you're standing in so a healer will need to be in the light to heal but people need to be near for the heal to affect them.

So you really need to pay attention, no real button mashing here. As you advance you'll notice a combo meter on the side. Those are echoes and later in the game you can combo off of your characters if the echo is high enough.

So the battle system is deep but it slowly evolves itself so the player can get in a real comfort zone. Not only that but the game itself while linear does offer items and other stuff that might be missable if you don't talk to everyone. It's been a long time since an RPG had me talking to everyone.

The game isn't exactly long but if you're into achievements you will need to unlock a secret dungeon and advance though some of the toughest enemies you'll meet in the game. Besides that you can't get everything unless you beat the game twice as the second play through is tougher and has items and other stuff that can't be gotten in the first play through.

Eternal Sonata is the best JRPG on the 360. While that isn't saying a whole lot I do feel it's right up there with Oblivion as the best of the next gen role playing games. Rent it if you must but jrpg fans are in for a real treat.

Story - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 9/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 10/10
Replay Value - 7/10

Final Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/07

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