Eternal Sonata Review
Now this is a good example of when an RPG must have all of its elements or it fails to hold interest. Maybe it’s nitpicky but when I play an RPG there are requirements that are to be expected such as; a decent storyline, well-developed characters, enthralling dialogue scenes, a badass fighting system and I guess on the side a good soundtrack is pretty awesome. I mean, when you play an RPG…it’s kind of what you expect and with series like Final Fantasy, Grandia, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger and the list could go on…you get the point. Unfortunately, Eternal Sonata manages to hit three key elements…and that’s it…just three.
Now I’ll be fair and do a constructive criticism sandwich. I didn’t mention graphics because in my mind, a good RPG doesn’t have to revolve around amazing visuals (though sweet when it is), and Eternal Sonata manages to hit that pretty effectively with vivid colours and soft serene locations that are appeasing to the eye. It’s imaginative and has the feeling of entering a fairytale.
The saddest part of it all is the concept of this game is incredible. The idea is that you are Frederick Chopin and you are in his dream…Chopin himself on his death bed in reality. I mean everything in the world is named after something musical, like the characters (Polka, Beat, etc.), to the area’s you encounter and even to the chapter names themselves which are named after Chopin’s masterpieces performed by Stanislav Bunin. Knowing all that you have to admit it’s inspired by a really beautiful idea living Chopin’s final dream while he lay in his death bed re-thinking his masterpieces. This is where it get’s bad though.
The story is driven by characters that are so annoying and embarrassing to listen too, that you can’t take this idea seriously. The chapter endings are wonderful and end with some brief history on Chopin’s life with the song that themed your chapter. What was appropriate about it was there was nobody reading the brief bio to you….and my point. That’s how the whole game should have been or at least with WAY better dialogue.
The voices alone are piercing with the main character possessing a shrill to her that will destroy your ear drums, Beat sounds like he’s going to piss himself every five seconds, and Count Waltz….Diva. I’m sorry the characters just didn’t say anything of real interest that kept me wanting to continue. Every cut scene (which there was WAY too many of) was a chance for me to grab some food or skip through the scene, completely ignoring the storyline (which IS DEFFINITLY ignorable). Once again I stress though, the concept is beautiful… it just felt like the storyline couldn’t deliver enough and with drab characters performing bad dialogue… It felt as if they were slapping Chopin in the face.
I told you...Diva...
I will say that the character’s actual abilities are interesting and they give you many to choose from your 12 different characters… each having their own unique skills to them and giving you that strategy component of how you want to party your fighters.
The battle system is by far the greatest achievement in this game but in the same, fails to deliver in variety. The system works with using the light and shadows to change your different attacks…not only that but certain monsters you face change form depending on whether in shadow or light. This makes for strategy on how you want to set up your characters on the battlefield. Along with that, as you progress through the game your player level increases making the game more restrictive and yet allowing more freedom. In the beginning you start with five seconds to attack an opponent and the seconds only deplete through moving allowing you to plan an attack…but….as you continue it becomes less seconds with less time to think but the ability to use more items and more powers on the battlefield. It’s a smart way to keep the battle system fresh and keep you on your toes about forming a quick battle plan. Another cool feature is the harmony chain, which can build up using regular attacks to unleash deadly combos on foes.
As I said though it fails to deliver in variety meaning each area that is inhabited by monsters is usually only about two or three, which can be dull when you experience terrible dialogue for twenty minutes and then fight the same creatures over and over for fifteen minutes. It just feels kind of unfair…sure you can skip the scenes but it’s the principles. Why so few monsters in each area?
Dr., why does my husband's dream have such unappealing characters in them?!
There’s replay ability because many achievements you can’t unlock unless you play through it a second time…but that’s if you can take it. I personally could not.
If you idolize Chopin and could play a game dedicated to his works and life …this game will ROCK your world! With an amazing soundtrack and an innovative battle system Eternal Sonata might have been something had it delivered on such a beautiful concept. Not the worst RPG…but definitely not eternal.
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Thanks for the review, I have heard people saying this is mediocre at best. I hate it when games have weak voice overs. RPG used to stand for Role Playing Games now-a-days it seems to stand for Really Poor Games. Who will keep the RPG ship afloat? Great review.