Aramation Games

Eternal Sonata is not another generic RPG from Japan. It is set in the dream world of Chopin, the famous composer as he lies in his deathbed. The biggest strength of the game is the incredible visuals and audio afforded by the setting. Intermixed with the game’s original scores are very recognizable Chopin piano pieces: as a fan of Chopin and having played all of these masterpieces, it was a delight to hear them so intricately used in a video game.

Game mechanic mixes turn-based combat with real time battles. You control a party of 3 characters and on your turn, the timer kicks in and you need to make your moves such as move, use items, attack and use special attacks. When it’s the enemy’s turn, you need to block and later in the game, counterattack when you’re prompted to do so. This mechanic is interesting, but it gets pretty annoying very fast as you continue your grind. The difficulty sometimes spikes but it’s generally a pretty easy game. You won’t die too often and you won’t need to hog too many healing items.

The biggest downfall of the game is the storyline. Even though the dream world of Chopin afforded an interesting world, the characters in it are shallow, one dimensional and irritating. Worse, the story of a nation bent on war vs. a nation trying to avoid war at all costs is interesting but doesn’t lead to any resolution. In fact, the ending of the game has infuriated me as I was expecting something better to resolve the stories. Throughout the game, Chopin wonders if the dream world is real or if his real world is a fabrication. But by the end of the game, Chopin doesn’t reach the conclusion of that debate and the game finishes abruptly.

This pretty linear game could have definitely used another or two script revisions as the setting deserved better characters and more fleshed out storyline. As it stands, the game’s innovative combat system that relies on real-time reflexes and light/dark mechanic is the saving grace.

Rating: 55%
Buy Eternal Sonata for Xbox 360 on Amazon.ca

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