Eternal Sonata reviews

I have waited a long time to have this game so I was pretty excited to have this as a gift from my girlfriend. So what about this game makes it great? Well, there many reasons but I will give you the reasons that made me choose this game.

First, the graphics are awesome on this game. Everything from the characters, to the environment and the creature design is so good that it makes the gamer feel as if he's inside a living, breathing world. The game is just visually breathtaking. Next, I shall discuss the gameplay. While still on the border of being a classic RPG, Eternal Sonata has its own unique elements which can really make the game engaging. From full character customization to the “Light and Dark” elements in the game makes the player carefully plan his moves eliminating the hack-and-slash feel of the game. And I think the greatest selling point for Eternal Sonata is the storyline. At first glance, you might think that this game is all but a kid's game and I tell you, you're definitely wrong. I find that underneath the vibrant setting of this game lies a dark and mature plot that all RPG enthusiasts will love. It's a truly different take on the life of the famous musician Frederic Chopin.

Eternal Sonata is an amazing experience every RPG lover should have. It also will provide a good past time while we all wait for Final Fantasy. So is Eternal Sonata a worthy Final Fantasy rival? Possibly. But is Eternal Sonata a great gaming experience? A big and resounding YES.

After investing 40+ hours into this game, thought I should write something here about the game for you who are sitting no the fence :P

Well there's no word describes this game better than the word standard. If you've played Legend of Heroes, Grandia, the older Final Fantasy or 100 other titles out there, you'd know what this game is like. Town-->Maze-->Town-->Maze with some cutscenes in between and a choice of handful cartoon characters, this game works well but offers no surprise.

However is it a poorly made game? Definitely no. And here are the pros. The visuals are pretty especially if you like the anime style. Game is filled with soothing and beautiful music that consists of both original tracks and Chopin's works. A fair storyline that would appeal to younger players. There are some clever designed puzzles/mazes. And best of all, yes, it offers a rather engaging battle system, which requires quick planning and reflexes, especially some of the boss fights can be very challenging. (Oh and of course the game runs well, there hasn't been any noticable bugs or other quality issues).

The cons, you won't be expecting an emotional memorable ride here. The whole plot would be explained in 100 words and it is very slow-paced and frequently repeated for younger players. And as the game goes the story develops even more slowly, huge portion of the game is just maze after maze, its fun if you are a casual gamer and invest less than an hour playing this once a while, but the battle gets rather repetitive and dreadful if you are trying to rush through the game. For players with much JRPG experience, the entire 50 hours of play time will be no different from the first five minutes.

In conclusion, if you want some casual, lighthearted fun and you are rather new to classic JRPG, this would be a good title to own.

I bought this game cos i love Chopin and RPGs. After a while of playing, I cannot put down my controller… because it was just too fun to stop.. Few things i want to say: The battle system: It's amazing, it's new and creative, you don't expect to see a brand new way of fighting in RPGs these days cos there are so many of them. BUT! utilizing real time, the classic turn based fighting and the battlefield's lig­ht/darkness areas made it a whole new exciting experience, it also doesn't get boring and repeatitive as other games, cos as you advance further into the game, your party level goes up and new things are added to the fighting, like echoes, harmony chains etc.. and loading time..... wow, so fast from normal to battle screen. Music: Music is great, every town every areas have their own unique music that fits perfectly to the mood and story. Also, you get to listen to some of Chopin's master­pieces, and learn about Chopin while listening to it. Simply astounding music. Graphics are great and story is very absorbing… i'd write more but i don't want it to look like an essay lol. Get it and find out how great this game is XD

At first I had a bit of a struggle due to the terribly cheesy voice acting, however once I switched it to Japanese language with English subtitles I found it much better. The Japenese voice acting is excellent, and the body language and mouth movements fit together. The environment is very pretty, the characters and costumes are very detailed and superbly rendered. Lots of fun all round

…and my 5 year old daughter loves it.

I suppose like a lot of you, you might say that i've played a lot of RPG games over the years but this one in particular really stood out with me.

The plot was rather thought provoking at points and added a sort of mystery element to the game in a sense.

The graphics i thought were really pretty and almost ‘cute’ in my sense of the word. As for the music perhaps the only element that could rival the plot of this game is the marvelous music that accompanies it.

Truly a game worth playing.

This is an awesome game. Visually stunning with a good plot. If you like rpg's like I do then you will like this game.

Yes this game has a very good storyline, its like your watching a very good anime DVD and your playing Final Fantasy style.

I would agree with the comments of the first two reviews. This game is great as it combines interesting gameplay with beautiful graphics and a gorgeous soundtrack. There are many Chopin tracks out there that I had mistaken to be Mozarts work instead so it turned out to be a bit of a learning experience for me.

The story is so so. Unfortunately the main character Polka (the girl in the red & white dress) is really annoying and stupid. However the other characters make up for her lack of depth. I nearly returned the game because of all her cheesy conversations but I'm glad I held on to it because its been amazing so far.

This game has really surprised me just like Valkyria Chronicles. I would definitely recommend anyone who enjoys RPGs to try this game esp on the PS3 since it has extras etc.