Review
Eternal Sonata (aka Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream) Review (PS3)
Making its debut on Xbox 360 in October 2007, Eternal Sonata is a brave RPG title in that it tells a story that may only appeal to one or two gamers out there, yet it succeeds in being a highly compelling game. Upon its initial release, Eternal Sonata received wide critical acclaim, which is more than likely the reason for now porting the title to PlayStation 3. This is no mere lazy rehash though, as Eternal Sonata on PS3 ships with a host of new features that improve upon what was already a fantastic game.
What hasn’t changed from the original release are the bold, vibrant graphics and majestic orchestral soundtrack that makes Eternal Sonata such a pleasure to play. However, even in spite of the quality clearly inherent throughout Eternal Sonata, your enjoyment of the game could quite possibly hinge upon your ability to digest the unorthodox narrative. Recounting the story of Polish composer Frederic Chopin and his final moments on his deathbed, Eternal Sonata unfolds within his fantastical dreams, which explains why the game world is filled with a whole raft of musical references. Most players may be completely turned off by the intermittent history lessons, where we learn about the real Chopin’s life in staid, watercolour-effect stills with slow subtitles that you can’t speed up and the protracted cut sequences that reflect upon all manner of philosophical and existential fluff. These can last a fair few minutes and although they can be skipped in their entirety they are often quite interesting, although we can’t imagine many would agree with us.
While the story is unique in that it takes place in the fevered mind of a dying composer, the gameplay itself is a bit more familiar. Starting off in the verdant green fields of Tenuto Village, you initially control Polka, a young girl who is manifesting magical powers that are indicative of her slowly dying from an incurable illness. As you’d expect, she has a very melancholy outlook on life and poor sales of Floral Powder aren’t helping. Thus the motivation for her journey to Forte Castle to confront the nefarious Count Waltz is to have the taxation of Floral Powder abolished as the non-taxed Mineral Powder – which you soon find has some adverse side-effects – sells throughout the land unabated. If you’re yawning at the prospect of Eternal Sonata’s story already, then fear not. It’s not nearly as dull as it sounds and gradually develops into an engaging tale of good and evil (that old chestnut, yes).
All of the traditional JRPG staples are present and correct in Eternal Sonata, tied together with an involving battle engine that enables you to strategise and execute actions on the fly. Combat is turn-based, but for each turn you are given a stringent time bar in which you can deal out attacks. As you progress and level up, the time bar is reduced and your thinking time before the bar begins to elapse is eventually eradicated altogether. Thankfully, the game allows you plenty of time in which to learn the battle system before unlocking the next level and making things tougher, so it feels like a natural evolution rather than an unfairly steep learning curve. During each turn, you can move about freely and choose where to mount your assault. Some characters like the pint-sized Beat or the archer Viola have both ranged and melee attacks, so knowing how best to exploit the strengths of your four-person band becomes paramount, especially during the boss battles. Again, much of the enjoyment in Eternal Sonata will depend on whether you prefer this more hands-on approach to RPG combat rather than the more common turn-based mechanic seen in such RPGs as the Final Fantasy series for instance.
For our part, we found Eternal Sonata’s battles to be deeply involving, the action-oriented approach lending them a different kind of strategy. There are also twelve characters that will join your party during the course of the narrative - two more than the Xbox 360 version - giving you plenty of options for when you assemble your team of four. Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade are now playable, joining a host of new inclusions for this definitive PlayStation 3 version. There are new quests, dungeons and customisation options that don’t necessarily expand the overall experience all that significantly, but they are welcome additions to an already highly polished and accomplished RPG title nonetheless. We only wish more lately ported conversions were as considered as this.
Eternal Sonata has an arresting art style and stunning soundtrack that when combined can’t fail to charm you into its offbeat dream world. While the characters mostly conform to classic RPG clichés, they nevertheless have a unique appeal that somehow forces you to empathise with them, which in turn can’t help but pull you into the story. It may be a little too twee and sickly-sweet for some tastes, but they’ll be missing out on one of the most interesting RPGs we’ve played in some time.
It’s by no means perfect and as we’ve already mentioned, the cut scenes can grate over time and the narrative often descends into complete nonsense, but we were willing to forgive these annoyances, as Eternal Sonata is clearly a labour of love for tri-Crescendo. And it shows in all of the tiny details and magical dreamlike moments that all conspire to make this the most inoffensively innocent game you’re ever likely to play. Now I like most gamers love curb-stomping the Locust in Gears of War and putting a bullet between the eyes of a zombie, but Eternal Sonata offered a welcome break from the copious gore and gratuitous swearing (which to reiterate, I still love) usually featured in the majority of games that I regularly play. For this alone, Eternal Sonata is well worth checking out if you haven’t already enjoyed the Xbox 360 version. For PS3 owners yet to sample the realms within Chopin’s wildest dreams however, this is nigh on indispensable.
Top game moment: Having a ‘eureka’ moment during one of the complicated dungeon sections, solving the puzzles and finally escaping after hours of patience wearing exploration. Oops, did we forget to mention that?
What hasn’t changed from the original release are the bold, vibrant graphics and majestic orchestral soundtrack that makes Eternal Sonata such a pleasure to play. However, even in spite of the quality clearly inherent throughout Eternal Sonata, your enjoyment of the game could quite possibly hinge upon your ability to digest the unorthodox narrative. Recounting the story of Polish composer Frederic Chopin and his final moments on his deathbed, Eternal Sonata unfolds within his fantastical dreams, which explains why the game world is filled with a whole raft of musical references. Most players may be completely turned off by the intermittent history lessons, where we learn about the real Chopin’s life in staid, watercolour-effect stills with slow subtitles that you can’t speed up and the protracted cut sequences that reflect upon all manner of philosophical and existential fluff. These can last a fair few minutes and although they can be skipped in their entirety they are often quite interesting, although we can’t imagine many would agree with us.
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 |
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| The game's representation of Chopin isn't entirely accurate. | Princess Serenade is now a playable character in the PS3 version. |
While the story is unique in that it takes place in the fevered mind of a dying composer, the gameplay itself is a bit more familiar. Starting off in the verdant green fields of Tenuto Village, you initially control Polka, a young girl who is manifesting magical powers that are indicative of her slowly dying from an incurable illness. As you’d expect, she has a very melancholy outlook on life and poor sales of Floral Powder aren’t helping. Thus the motivation for her journey to Forte Castle to confront the nefarious Count Waltz is to have the taxation of Floral Powder abolished as the non-taxed Mineral Powder – which you soon find has some adverse side-effects – sells throughout the land unabated. If you’re yawning at the prospect of Eternal Sonata’s story already, then fear not. It’s not nearly as dull as it sounds and gradually develops into an engaging tale of good and evil (that old chestnut, yes).
All of the traditional JRPG staples are present and correct in Eternal Sonata, tied together with an involving battle engine that enables you to strategise and execute actions on the fly. Combat is turn-based, but for each turn you are given a stringent time bar in which you can deal out attacks. As you progress and level up, the time bar is reduced and your thinking time before the bar begins to elapse is eventually eradicated altogether. Thankfully, the game allows you plenty of time in which to learn the battle system before unlocking the next level and making things tougher, so it feels like a natural evolution rather than an unfairly steep learning curve. During each turn, you can move about freely and choose where to mount your assault. Some characters like the pint-sized Beat or the archer Viola have both ranged and melee attacks, so knowing how best to exploit the strengths of your four-person band becomes paramount, especially during the boss battles. Again, much of the enjoyment in Eternal Sonata will depend on whether you prefer this more hands-on approach to RPG combat rather than the more common turn-based mechanic seen in such RPGs as the Final Fantasy series for instance.
For our part, we found Eternal Sonata’s battles to be deeply involving, the action-oriented approach lending them a different kind of strategy. There are also twelve characters that will join your party during the course of the narrative - two more than the Xbox 360 version - giving you plenty of options for when you assemble your team of four. Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade are now playable, joining a host of new inclusions for this definitive PlayStation 3 version. There are new quests, dungeons and customisation options that don’t necessarily expand the overall experience all that significantly, but they are welcome additions to an already highly polished and accomplished RPG title nonetheless. We only wish more lately ported conversions were as considered as this.
 |
 |
|
| Poor little Polka is a young girl with a terminal illness. Eternal Sonata isn't all smiles. | The usual pyrotechnics are in full force during Eternal Sonata's battles. |
Eternal Sonata has an arresting art style and stunning soundtrack that when combined can’t fail to charm you into its offbeat dream world. While the characters mostly conform to classic RPG clichés, they nevertheless have a unique appeal that somehow forces you to empathise with them, which in turn can’t help but pull you into the story. It may be a little too twee and sickly-sweet for some tastes, but they’ll be missing out on one of the most interesting RPGs we’ve played in some time.
It’s by no means perfect and as we’ve already mentioned, the cut scenes can grate over time and the narrative often descends into complete nonsense, but we were willing to forgive these annoyances, as Eternal Sonata is clearly a labour of love for tri-Crescendo. And it shows in all of the tiny details and magical dreamlike moments that all conspire to make this the most inoffensively innocent game you’re ever likely to play. Now I like most gamers love curb-stomping the Locust in Gears of War and putting a bullet between the eyes of a zombie, but Eternal Sonata offered a welcome break from the copious gore and gratuitous swearing (which to reiterate, I still love) usually featured in the majority of games that I regularly play. For this alone, Eternal Sonata is well worth checking out if you haven’t already enjoyed the Xbox 360 version. For PS3 owners yet to sample the realms within Chopin’s wildest dreams however, this is nigh on indispensable.
Top game moment: Having a ‘eureka’ moment during one of the complicated dungeon sections, solving the puzzles and finally escaping after hours of patience wearing exploration. Oops, did we forget to mention that?
Videos
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Eternal Sonata (aka Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream) Japanese Bonus Disc Trailer
02:52 | 3,222 views | 0 comments -
Eternal Sonata (aka Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream) Japanese Trailer
02:25 | 1,193 views | 0 comments
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