Game Reviews

Eternal Sonata Best Review

Sometimes, being a good girlfriend means sitting on the couch and watching him play a game or playing a game together. I’m a moderate gamer; the new controls are generally more complicated than I’m willing to commit to. He is a hard core gamer. Some games are easier to watch than others, and some are easier to play. This review is not for the hard core gamer. This review if for the girlfriend (or boyfriend, who am I to judge?) that sits on the couch and watches.

I’m not going to discuss the storyline or the premise of the game, as several other reviewers have done that in great detail. I will say that the animation is beautiful and the cut scenes, of which there are many, play like a movie. Now, for the important thing….GUYS…LISTEN UP….if you have been trying to convince your girlfriend that video games can fun, despite the fact that the controller has way too many buttons and things have gotten complicated beyond belief, this may just be the game that does it. I sit on the couch and watch Mike play games all of the time, and previous to this, the extent of my involvement was collecting and shooting stars as the second player in Super Mario Galaxy. Imagine the wave of panic that spread across my body when he told me this game was multi-player. When he handed me that brand new Xbox 360 Wireless Pink Controller it was out of my hands, as there was no way I could say no.

3-D gaming freaks me out. I would end up wandering around the board, lost and confused. Even watching the game, I can never remember where I came from and where I need to go. Luckily, that is a problem the primary player has to deal with. I was player two, happy to sit and watch, until battle time. The early battles were very easy, target an opponent, press a button. And while it did get a little more complicated as the game went on, it was a natural progression that I was easily able to follow. I feel like without this game as a starting point, the next game we tried out together, Tales of Vesperia, would have been a bit overwhelming if it were not for the fact that this game slowly let me enter the waters of RPG gaming….and a controller that was more than a joystick and a huge red button. (I miss my Atari, even though I was no better at that than I am at games now.)

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Eternal Sonata Feature

• Custom Made for Next Gen Enjoy amazing high-definition anime style cel shading and high quality textures shine to truly deliver an awesome next gen experience
• Innovative Battle System Battle using a unique hybrid turn based action RPG system that combines free roam and turn-based action Up to three players during battle
• Dynamic Enemy Transformation Adjust your battle strategy in the ongoing struggle between light and darkness Beware of enemies lurking in the shadows as their stats attacks and potency will change as will their physical form
• Dramatic and Evolving Storyline Experience a deeply moving story focusing on the enduring struggle between good and evil all while taking place in a dream during the final 3 hours of world-famous music composer Frederic Chopin’s life
• Mesmerizing Music Listen as world renowned pianist Stanislav Bunin performs Chopins original compositions which are a key element in the environment and story of Eternal Sonata

Eternal Sonata Overview

On his deathbed, Chopin, the famous composer, drifts between this life and the next. In his dreams, happenstance encounters with a young girl facing a terrible destiny and the boy who will fight to save her, leads to Chopin’s discovery of the light that shines in each of us in this enduring tale of good and evil, love and betrayal. With gorgeous next gen visuals and style, a unique battle system, and a captivating story, Eternal Sonata promises to give Xbox 360 fans the RPG they’ve been waiting for.

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Customer Reviews

I don’t understand - Lewis Samari -
*Spoilers Through out* First off, I’d like to say that I love RPG/JRPG’s in general. I found out about this game a while back and searched high and low for about a month until I found it at a local used game store. Being that I had been reading about how amazing this game was I thought I would be absolutely blown away. I was mistaken. This game is so shallow it makes me want to throw up a little bit. The battle system consists of mashing the Attack button for about 89% of the game. Then when you reach a certain point in the game, you can mash the Attack button then hit another button to switch characters, then mash some more. How awesome. What a deep, immersive battle system. I am amazed.

Then there’s the story, which is usually the meat of any RPG. Not here. It starts with chopin, which is cool i’ll admit, but then we meet a tween girl who’s about as smart as a box of raisins, and it all goes down hill from there. I started to suspect that it was going to be a typical “Coming of Age” story that plauges alot of JRPG’s but no, it just meanders and rambles like a drunk, picking up characters and random scenarios like a homeless man looking through a garbage can. The “story” involves characters that are all under the age of 14 (with squeaky voices to match) with the exception of chopin who just sits in the back and boomingly waxes poetic at random. All of the “storytelling” is done through cutscenes that range from 5-35mins long, usually filled with repeated information and disjointed conversations about bread. Nothing happens for a long, long, time until you meet some terrorsists, and join them. (Sweet!) But then nothing happens again. You find out there’s a war brewing involving magic powder or some such rot and then some people die, and then it ends with the most pretentious piece of drivel i’ve seen since the local film festival. For one thing it’s about an hour long and just when you think it’s all done, you can get your achiviements and get it over with, you’re forced to watch the credits which are 20-30mins long with a creepy pseudo-philosphical PSA playing in the background! Jesus christ if I wanted to hear vague statements directed at me by wide-eyed unblinking children, I would have gone down to the evangelical church during sunday school. But I digress.

The game IS amazingly beatiful, I will admit. The graphics are truly breathtaking in HD and I hope their graphics and animation team go on to do bigger and hopefully better things. But thats the only redeeming thing about this game. I suggest you watch a trailer and call it good, because that’s the best you’re going to get.

An average game with boring story and shallow battle system - Dark Dreams - Houston, TX
I played half of this game (up to chapter 4), hoping that it would get better, as some other reviewers suggested. Then I gave up. Here is why,

First of all,a good story is a key element in RPGs. In Eternal Sonata, the story seems creative at first but it progresses very slowly. There are lots of cutscenes that don’t go anywhere. At least half of the cutscenes from the first 10-12 hours (the parts I played) seemed redundant. They did not further the story or help giving the characters more depth, just idle talk. I didn’t find them funny or interesting either, so the game got boring.

Second,the game is shallow in terms of character customization and battle mechanics. The combat is fun and interesting initially, but then you realize that all you are doing is to build up a multiplier by mashing one button and then do a special move with another button. Also, depending on whether your character is standing under light or shadow, your special move changes. That’s about it. I don’t see how this is innovative or strategic.

Third, character customization is also minimal. Your characters level up and their stats improve automatically as in most JRPGs. There is no skill point allocation or control over stats. You also learn different special moves as you level up, however again you have no control over what your characters learn. You just pick two special moves to use in combat for each character. That’s all you’ll get for character customization.

Last, the game has very tedious puzzle/maze sections. You pull a lever, backtrack several screens, pull another level etc. Because these sections also happen in large areas, it is more about trying to figure out where things are rather than solving the puzzle. You know what to do next, but you don’t remember where it was, which gets frustrating.

On the other hand, the game has very nice visuals. The sections about Chopin’s life at the end of each chapter are great, and it has multiplayer. However, these don’t make Eternal Sonata a good RPG. It is just an ok game. If you are interested, try Tales of Vesperia instead, which is a far better game.

A Great Title for RPG Fans - Hilary -
For anybody looking for a great rpg for the Xbox 360 or PS3, Eternal Sonata will deliver.

Pros:
An interesting battle system that requires you think faster on your feet as your party levels up.

Characters have a lot of personality.

The final battle will make your jaw drop.

Bits of history on Chopin’s life interspersed with game play are great for those interested.

Cons:
The game can get a little preachy at times.

Many people (myself included) have found the ending scene somewhat confusing. However, a quick Google search can remedy this, and it shouldn’t be a reason to avoid such a great game.

The history lessons mentioned above have the potential to bore those who just want to play a game.

For those searching for a great game to immerse themselves in, Eternal Sonata is definitely worth a second look.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 06, 2010 10:46:19