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| Eternal Sonata |
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| RPG |
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| Tri-Crescendo |
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| Namco |
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19th October 07 |
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17th September 07 |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Eternal Sonata is based around the death of composer and pianist Frederic Chopin who died from tuberculosis at the age of 39. The premise looks at the mythical dreamy state some people encounter prior to death and it was said that Chopin himself entered this state and dreamt of a fairy tale land in which people with incurable diseases were also blessed with magical powers. In Chopin’s dream world he meets a young girl called Polka who also has a terminal disease. Her boyfriend Allegretto hunts for a way in which to convert her magical power into a cure.
It all sounds rather morbid but as you probably can tell makes great storytelling for a role playing game (RPG). The game will feature music by Chopin himself and will thrust gamers into a lush world full of all the ingredients that make a good RPG.
A demo was released recently on the Japanese marketplace, where the game has the title Trusty Bell Chopin’s Dream. In the demo players take control of Allegretto, Polka and Beat as they track down a boss in the forests beyond the village of Tenuto.
The first thing you notice about the game are the rather impressive visuals and whilst the character model of Allegretto looks rather small on screen the amount of eye candy is enough to draw you in to this compelling World. The camera is fixed unfortunately and pathways are pretty restrictive; although a flower field in the village offered a more open area. The art style is very much on the anime side of things and to be honest everything looks sickeningly cute. However this isn’t such a bad thing in an industry full of macho guys and scantily clad femme fatales. The character design is very Japanese and I think will win gamers over for the fact that they don’t fit into the usual assortment of characters us Westerners are used to. On a side note, if you leave the game on the main menu then demo movie sequences play from the game using the game engine and show off the very detailed characters and give some insight into the story.
The battle system is something that is rather unique and the way in which battles are instigated means that gamers who hate random turn based battles might be interested here. As you travel across the lands enemies are displayed in real time. You now have a choice of sneaking behind them to instigate an attack or tackle them head on. The other option is to sneak past them if you so choose – which as I said is a godsend for gamers who hate random battles appearing every few steps. Once you have instigated an attack then the game switches to a typical battle mode; however things are still turn based but players remain in full control of the character whose turn it is. Each turn has a timer and so within the time limit you have the option to move around (to get the best attack position) and then unleash some devastating attacks in real time (by hammering the A button). As characters unleash hits on opponents a power meter fills which is shared amongst the three characters. By pressing the Y button this unleashes a special attack which becomes more powerful as your power meter grows. Therefore it’s up to gamers to decide when to unleash special attacks or to build up the power meter first.
What is also interesting is the use of light and dark areas in the game. For enemies when they move into light or dark areas their form changes as do their abilities. An example of this is a very scary looking (NOT) coconut type enemy which is small, green and easily sliced and diced. When it steps into the darkness it transforms into a towering imposing looking brown coconut that is tougher to take down. The light and dark element isn’t restricted to just the enemies as Allegretto, Polka and Beat get different special attacks based on whether they are in light or dark areas too. What is also worth noting is that some areas are naturally void of light and vice versa and so this affects game play in varying ways.
The demo features Tenuto village (including the usual loafers) which looks like your typical safe haven found in practically every RPG known to man. You can enter buildings and talk to the inhabitants (who reply in text) and even search through items that don’t belong to you. The boss battle at the end of the game features a large beast that rams you and tries to kick your ass. However at level 5 I was able to take down this foe with ease; what is worth noting is you can revisit areas you’ve have passed through and encounter more enemies allowing you to level up your character. I’m not sure if there is a cap in the demo but either way the option is there should you wish to improve your chances against the demo final boss.
Eternal Sonata sounds like an interesting game that will surely add more meat in the full game. As it stands it certainly looks the business with its anime inspired look. I think with the non tedious and involving combat non RPG fans might get more enjoyment here than the typical turn based madness associated with RPGs from Japan. If not for the distinct but cutesy graphics the demo is well worth a download if you can, and with the full game being available this September I am now eagerly looking forward to it as I’m sure many others are also. I’m pretty sure the same demo (which is strangely all in English) will make it to US and European marketplaces soon. If there was a demo that could sell a game to gamers rather than turning them off then I think Eternal Sonata hits the mark. Good stuff.
Preview By: Robert Cram
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