User Reviews (1 - 11 of 27)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Eternal Bliss

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 43 / 44
Date: September 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

There aren't a lot of JRPGs on the XBOX360 and what ones there are aren't as special as promised. Eternal Sonata is a different story. It's a grand game that hits all the right notes. It has a few minor issues, but nothing that keeps it from being fantastic.

Fredric Chopin is terribly sick and dying. As he lies unconscious in bed he has a dream where he is in a world unlike any other. In this world, those who are sick with incurable diseases can use magic, but is it really a dream? Or is it another reality? This world has its own problems, however, the people are being taxed and a man named Count Waltz is slowly enslaving everyone. It doesn't sound like much, but the story is surprisingly deep and is full of several themes. There are also many music references throughout the game. From the characters who have names like Allegretto, Polka and Beat. To some of the places you'll be going like the Chrous Plains.

The story is told through cutscenes voiced by the characters. The voice acting isn't the best in the world. They've got the right voices for the job, but a lot of the actual voice acting is dry. Luckily, if the English voice overs are annoying you, you have the option to switch the voices to Japanese. The story jumps between Chopin's life and the dream world which the gameplay centers in. Also, throughout the game, you'll get to learn a little about the real Chopin. The game gives you some historical accounts and during these moments will play his beautiful music. This is all great, but sometimes these historical segments come up at inappropriate times. The good news about these historical segments is that they do relate to the overall story. Also, as good as the story is, it's rather slow to start. On the bright side, the cast of characters are really likeable.

The game isn't all that different from your traditional JRPG. There's a field mode and a battle mode. Outside of battle you'll run around on the field gathering treasure and talking to denizens. Battles are contact based which means you can easily avoid battles you don't want to bother with. Battling in Eternal Sonata is quite fun, though.

The battle system is perhaps one of the most inventive battle systems in the genre. Your characters and enemies have what's called an "action" gauge. When a character takes his or her turn in battle they'll have what's called an "action gauge" on the left hand side of the screen which will count down. Within the allotted time, you can pretty much do anything you want. Either attack normally, use items or special attacks. You'll have to plan well, though. It's a simple battle system to grasp, but it's hard to master. This is because the battle system never stays entirely the same throughout the journey. You have what's called party levels, and the higher your party level the more difficult battles will be. For example, at Party level 1 the action gauge decreases only when you move, and stops decreasing when you stop. When you hit party level 2, however, the action gauge never stops. Just when you're positive you've mastered the battle system, it throws another twist at you, via the party level.

The battle system works well because it relies not only on real time, but strategy as well. Special moves are an important part of combat. There's no limit to how often you can use them, but even here there's a twist. Your party has what's called echoes. The more hits you score in battle the more echoes you get. These will increase the power of your special attacks and are shared by the whole party. While it's tempting to end every combo with a special attack, it's even better to save them until you've acquired enough echoes. Just the same, Eternal Sonata will give you quite a challenge, especially in the boss battles. You can also block your enemies attacks by pressing B at the right time. This doesn't mean you can just mash on the B button when the enemy attacks as your character will guard prematurely and take the full extent of the damage. These timed presses take a long time to master.

Another really big aspect of the games battle system is the use of light and dark. Special attacks change based on whether or not you are standing in light or in shade. That's not all light and shade have an impact on. Some enemies change form depending on where they are. Some enemies will also throw you for a loop because they can provide their own light. The game is very touchy on this as even standing in the enemies shadow will cause you to use a dark special attack instead of a light one. It's pretty amazing stuff.

The only major issue with Eternal Sonata is that there simply isn't much to the game. There's a sidequest where you can collect and play musical pieces, but for the most part, it's quite linear. There's no overworld map either, so there's not much of a chance to really explore anything throughout the game. Another big issue with exploring the environments is that the camera is at a fixed angle and you can't shift or rotate it. In some moments when you're traversing behind scenery, it'd be nice to be able to shift the camera to see what was in front of you.

Another smaller issue involves the story itself. While it is good, there are moments when it rambles and even (to a certain extent) preaches to you. A lot of the cutscenes are long, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. You can skip them.

Those issues aside, the game is absolutely gorgeous looking. It's not the greatest looking game on the system, but it's beautiful and artistic nonetheless. This is one of the most beautiful looking cel-shaded games out there. It also doesn't suffer from terrible load times or framerate issues. The best part about Eternal Sonata is its beautiful music soundtrack, which sounds nothing short of fantastic. It's absolutely remarkable. The fact that they also play some of Chopin's music is also really nice.

Eternal Sonata is easily the best JRPG available on the XBOX360 at the moment. It has a surprisingly deep story and is a burst of creative energy. All minor problems aside, it's an enjoyable game.

Pros:

+Surprisingly deep story
+Very well defined characters
+Some historical background on Chopin's life
+Very inventive battle system
+A good challenge, and the game only keeps getting harder as you go
+Very gorgeous game
+Remarkable soundtrack, some of Chopin's actual music is also used

Cons:

-Very linear
-Historical moments sometimes show up at inappropriate times
-Slow story
-Bad voice acting
-There are moments when the game is just all out preachy

Most fun RPG I've played in a long time.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: September 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have just a few things to add to Sean's excellent review.

One thing a lot of people miss is that you can play this game coop with up to 2 other friends. This is unusual for an RPG. The fighting is great fun - my wife and I have pretty much played this game from start to where we are now (about 12 hours in). We absolutely love this game.

We have never had any issues with items, in fact we rarely use them. Maybe this will change later on when things get harder. Personally, I like the item limitation as the game would be too easy if they were limitless.

We like the linearity of the game. It's a matter of taste I guess. Since this game is coop, the linearity works in your favor when you are playing with friends (who wants to watch you figure out mazes and backtrack all over the place trying to figure out where to go next?). The game moves at a very brisk pace.

We thought the voice acting was excellent with a few minor exceptions. The main characters were played perfectly.

And I would like to doubly highlight that this game has one of the best soundtracks to date. It is absolutely magnificent. Probably the best soundtrack that I've heard this entire generation.

If you like Japanese-style role-playing games, you cannot go wrong with this game. You will love it.

"Classically" awesome.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Just got this today for the X-Box 360. I hate to be a graphics whore, but the art and graphics for this game is amazing. I've never seen anything look so good through my HDTV, and that's saying a lot.

The game is fairly unique in that it's based off the last few hours of composer Frederic Chopin's life, in the hours he was unconscious and near death. While in this state, he enters a realm of high-fantasy that contrasts sharply from the dark and dreary surroundings of old timey France.

Since this involves Chopin, the game revolves a lot around all things musical. Even the characters in your party are thusly named; Allegreto, Beat,Polka etc.

The gameplay is just as unique, as depending on whether you sneak up on enemies from behind, from the right side, from the left, or head on, it makes a difference in the battle. Yeah, that's not so unique, but while in battle light and shadown play a big role. Some monsters are weaker or stronger depending on whether you fight them in the sunshine or lure them into the darkness. Monsters can also mutate into other forms depending on if they are in the light or shadow. Battles are sort of real time, when you start a meter starts counting down and you can attack until that meter runs out. Every time you hit an enemy, it fills some of that meter back up. So it's in your best interest to attack fast and furiously as it gives you more time to attack. There's also numerous ways to use "Echo points" in every battle which make your special attacks more powerful. There is one thing I didn't like about the combat, and that's the fact that your average run of the mill enemy is easy to somewhat easy to kill, but the boss battles, and there are many of them, are long and hard. I'm 3 hours into the game and have fought 4 or 5 boss monsters already, most of them nearly wiped out my party by the end, and the latest one I've tried 5 times and have yet to beat him. I'm sure he has some weakness I'm not exploiting, but it still seems a bit uneven compared to regular battles.

The complaint about assigning items I didn't find a problem either. It reminded me of how you had to use items in a very limited space in Odin Sphere for the PS2. Once you get used to it, it becomes another strategic gameplay mechanic.

Some have said that the story isn't up to par, and while you're in the fantasy world it is pretty cliche, but there's a lot, a TON of backstory and character development, so you get to know your party members fairly well, even early on.

I'm quite surprised that over the last few months most places rated Blue Dragon higher than Eternal Sonata higher than Eternal Sonata. Blue Dragon is a great game, but I find Eternal Sonata a lot funner and more in-depth than Blue Dragon.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This was a really fun and interesting game. It was definitely addictive and had me playing nearly every day until I finished it last night. Very good story and they did a great job with making you care about the characters. I really enjoyed the art as well, which was full of pretty colors and anime style characters. I did feel there a few loose ends that weren't tied up as neatly as I would've liked at the end, but overall, it was an extremely enjoyable game and story.

A beautiful drem... but a let down as well

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 16
Date: September 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First off, this is a great game. There are alot of great aspects but as i got far in the game and eventually beat it, there seemed to be more cons that just led to very mixed feelings. (mainly a consequence from the near political messages that constantly pop up in this game)

Ive been waiting a long time for this game. Final Fantasy has always been my favorite game cause I love story so of course when I heard about this game, I was excited. The creative aspect that you're in the dream world of one of the greatest pianists ever, Chopin is a gret idea but if you are to include such a respected man and put him into a JRPG fantasy world, you have to be real careful and to be honest, I dont think this game does a great job portraying Chopin... But then again, can you really put a man like Chopin into a corny JRPG and accurately portray him?

The first 5hrs of the game, I thought it was going to be my all time favorite game. call it slow if you want but I thought the beginning of the game was near perfect. Alot of effort was put in to build up the main characters and show how they meet. I love how Chopin was introduced and the music is amazing. I couldnt put the game down but after about 6hrs, the newer characters were less creative and joined the party in less creative ways. It got to the point where the party would meet and the new character would say: "you saved my sheep. I will join you"... and so she did. It just didnt stay as cool and inventive as it started out to be.

The game's base is pretty awesome: you are in Chopin's dream. This is one reason the first 5hrs of the game is so creative: you are introduced to the world and the awesome idea that its a dream... but unfortunately after you get past that point, its almost as if that creative aspect dissapears. Chopin starts to accept that this "dream world" is real, the mystery and enchantment starts to dissipate and the game just turns into a regular old JRPG with a bland story with a pianist as a character. The concept is cool but the actual story that takes place in this fantasy world isnt anything great and new. An evil guy that looks like he's 13yrs old named count waltz wants world domination (wow thats new) and he's selling a medicinal herb that turns people into bad guys to achieve his goal. So as you can guess, our band of heroes goes to stop this crazy teenager.

The best things about the game have to be the graphics and the battle system. The game looks so great. The environments are lush with movement and captivation and the characters are very detailed. If you have an HD tv, you're in for a treat. The battle system is great. Its turn-based with a mixture of action and strategy. When its your turn, you have a time limit to make your decisions, move around the battle field and act. The only thing I found irritating about the battle system is that it evolves as you level. In translation, the battle system gains levles and gets harder by giving you less time to act, changing the way you use special attacks, etc. I think this to be a great idea but I didnt think it to be necessary.

As for the overall game, The story is surrounded by corny lines (which most jrpgs have) mediocre voice acting and the the WORST thing about the game... messages that have to do with war, peace and the environment..... Did al gore write this game??

Thats right... All through the game you get little messages about how war is bad and how mankind is just destructive towards the environment... Now if those are your beliefs, thats great but I dont think a fantasy RPG is the place for them and I will think twice before buying a bandai videogame next time. I want to slap whoever had the idea of doing this... By the end of the game, i felt like I had been tricked into buying a liberal game when I thought I was getting a fantasy adventure revolving around my favorite pianist. I guess the infection of politics moves from movies now to games... its a shame.

So if the game would have reamained as creative as it started, the voice acting was better and there was NO little messages, this in my opinion would be one of the greatest games out there.

Zank's Review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Story: Aside from the aspect of everything being Chopin's dream, the story is pretty decent. It runs on many clichéd ideas, but the main point is what matters and I judge it for what its worth. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I loved the story, but it wasn't really all that unique or original aside from the initial point; Chopin's dream.

Music: This game has got to have the one of the best soundtracks in any RPG or game, for that matter. It's full of beauty and really gets you to feel the area. Sometimes, I would find myself stopping everything to just sit back and listen to the music of the current area. The remix of Revolutionary Etude is something you don't want to miss either!

Battle system: When playing Grandia III, I didn't think turn based battle systems could get anymore addicting or exciting. But after playing Eternal Sonata, I realized I was wrong. This, by far, has one of the best turn based battle systems I have yet to play. Though, that may be because it's a hybrid of real time and turn based mechanics. Its easy to understand and the learning curve is pretty quick. But by far, my favorite aspect is how it changes slightly throughout the game as you get `Party Level Ups'. This, for the most part, ends up changing many of your strategies and can push you to the limits if you aren't careful. Each Party Level introduces something new, and keeps things interesting. All in all, it's the most addicting battle system (in general) since Tales of the Abyss. At least, in my opinion.

Graphics: I never knew that cell shaded graphics could look so beautiful. In this game, you will see some of the most fluid and smooth cell shaded graphics and characters. If there was never a reason to get an HDTV, there is one now. The entire game is full of vibrant colors; beautiful all in their own regard. Even one of the first dungeons, which takes place in a sewer, is just full of beauty.

Aside from those categories, I really enjoyed the characters. Some of the voice actors weren't to my liking, but for the most part, I was satisfied with them. But for those who enjoy the Japanese voices over the English ones have the option to switch between them! Which is a lovely feature in a game like this. So either way, you should be pleased with the voices.

There wasn't an area I didn't like, and there wasn't a moment I didn't love. My only gripe is how short the game is. You can easily beat it in a good 20-30 hours. For everything it had to offer, I only wish it was longer.

A Brillant Dreamscape with a Beautiful Soundtrack

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I haven't played video games in such a long time because it is very difficult for me to find games that I like (being that I am a girl that is not into sport or war games). This game is exactly what I have been looking for and it was worth every penny, it has brillant graphics that pop on an HDTV and beautiful music throughout. I am not a classical music fan but this game was fantastic. I actually enjoyed the little history lessons throughout about Chopin's life. Some of the actual story scenes dragged on especially in the opening scenes, and the voice acting was not all that great. I never skipped them, however, because I wanted to drink in all the beautiful scenary surrounding the characters. Gorgeous game!! I highly recommend!

Once you can't your hands on it, you won't be able to stop.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Although its music is amazing and its environments are stunning, what is really great about Eternal Sonata is the gameplay. The battle system us a hybrid of turn based battles and hack and slash action. This gives you the opportunity to run around and attack in battle much like the Tales games, but since only one character moves at a time, you avoid the chaotic atmosphere of Tales games. As the game progesses, the rules on the battlefield change, such as the amount of time for attacks and chaining combo attacks. This keeps battles fresh til the very end. As the rules of battle changes through the game, you will be forced to think strategically about characters' strengths and weaknesses, and about what set of characters can best complement the others. AGain, Eternal Sonata manages to avoid getting stale as you shuffle your party around throughout the game. Exploration in Eternal Sonata appears shallow, but the linear movement of the game makes the experience relaxing and enjoyable. Because of its linear design, Eternal Sonata makes a great RPG for those who are put off by overwhelmingly complicated games. It's relatively short completion time (~35 hours) also may be appealing for those who want a great RPG experience, but don't want to spend 100 hours in front of their 360.

Overall, Eternal Sonata is unavoidably fun.

ES: A Great & Fun Musical Adventure

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Eternal Sonata is probably one of the best JRPGs out there for the X-box 360 currently to date. There are some negatives and positives to the game, but over all, the game mixes music and JRPGs together to create something fun and enjoyable.

Story: The story of Eternal Sonata is basically about Frederic Chopin dreaming about a vivid world as he lies on his deathbed. You basically play through his world that crosses between dream and reality. The story is something that piqued my interest when I first saw Eternal Sonata and I thought it was interesting. The only problem I had with the story is that it moved to fast sometimes and that some parts were irrelevant -- like getting water for a flower. Another problem I had is that the game was short --- I finished it in about 29 hours.

Graphics & Music: The graphics and the music of Eternal Sonata are just suburb and beautiful. The graphics is unique and is one of the highlights of the game. Furthermore, the music is just stunning and I could listen to it everyday.

Gameplay: One of the most fun things of Eternal Sonata is the battle system. The battle system is a "Shared-Time/Real-Time Battle System." Basically meaning that as characters attack the enemy, the game moves in real time only in the time allotted to each of the characters. It's pretty easy to understand and has a unique system of light/dark where depending on where you are, your attacks change or the monsters change.

Characters: You have a choice of 3 out 10 characters to have in your party. The characters all have unique designs and have their own story to be said. The sad point of the game is that you really don't get to know the characters, especially the bad guys --- you know them for one second and then that's it.

Others: The game is of a linear aspect, there really is no exploring of the map. Also, there is very little side quests in your first play through. In addition, the camera is a set-view and you cannot change the camera to your liking. These points really didn't bother me though.

Overall, Eternal Sonata is a great game that I would recommenced you to play if you like JRPGs. I had a fun time playing it even with it's negatives.

Great game and original RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: October 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I loved this game since I first played the demo. Music is classic and RPG play is very original.

What I like about this RPG is that the battle system is creative, and the game runs continually and smoothly. What I mean by this, is that unlike other RPGs in the past, you don't have to purchase a zillion items to advance through the various stages of the game, and also buying items is extremely easy.

The spoiler for having lots of money in this game is taking pictures and selling them at item shops. They pay pretty good money for even a C rated picture. Money you can hardly get from defeating enemies in battle or finding items in different places.

I'm not a great art and music fan. It's just not me, but I love some of the music of this game, and you learn from Chopin's life in a kind of biography, as that is what the game is about... his dream.

Review Page: 1 2 3 Next 

Actions