RockTheCasba
07-31-2007, 01:32 AM
game looks interesting i will probably rent it before i make a decision.
Eternal Sonata Blow Out
Everything you need to know about this beautiful RPG.
by Erik Brudvig
July 30, 2007 - Frederic Chopin, pianist and composer extraordinaire, is on his death bead; his frail body finally giving way to sickness. It appears to be the end, but this is where the story of Eternal Sonata begins. That's because this Japanese role-playing game from developer tri-Crescendo and publisher Namco Bandai takes place within a world of fantasy and music that Chopin has dreamt up in his final hours. It's a beautiful and lovingly crafted universe that is about to emerge from under the shadow Blue Dragon has cast over the Xbox 360 audience.
Here at IGN, we're big fans of the art style and attention to detail in Eternal Sonata. After roughly 10 hours of play, it appears that the story and combat have the goods to back it up. That's why we've put together more Eternal Sonata coverage than you can shake a stick at. If you aren't a fan of reading, take a look at the video preview below. Today also marks the first entry into the official Namco Bandai Eternal Sonata blog, so swing by and give it a read when you're done here. And for those that are just reading this preview for that one oh-so-precious bit of information, the answer is yes. You can switch the audio dub from English to Japanese at any time.
The immediate draw of Eternal Sonata comes from the excellent visuals. While the art style is reminiscent of JRPGs of the past, it comes off as feeling wholly unique thanks to the great attention to detail. Eternal Sonata makes full use of the color palette to add minutiae where other games deem unnecessary. The red needlework on red cloth, woven pattern on an all green rug, and shades of violet that give legitimacy to forest undergrowth are just a few examples of the visual flair that has not stopped impressing us since we first picked up the controller. Things get even better during the cutscenes and during battles when the camera swings in close and you realize how much work was put into the graphics. Our biggest complaint with the look of the game actually comes from wanting to see more and not being able to. In the overworld, the camera is fixed, preventing you from rotating it around to enjoy the world.
Once the visual appeal has drawn you in, you'll find the story and themes have had just as much time spent on them. As this is Chopin's dream, the musical influences are a dime a dozen. Every major character has a musically inspired name, as do most items, towns, and weapon designs. Allegretto, one of the characters in your party, fights with what looks like a sword crossed with a violin. Angel trumpets revive fallen comrades. And the villain resides in one Forte Castle.
But the folks at tri-Crescendo went a step farther than just naming things after musical items and using a Chopin-inspired soundtrack. The story itself has been loosely woven into Chopin's real life, just as a dream you or I had would have a passing relation to events that occurred to one of us. The first chapter of Eternal Sonata is titled "Raindrops." The story at this point in the game deals with sickness and coming to the aid of others. The chapter closes out during a rainstorm. Now, most people may not know how this relates to Chopin's life. To help you, a series of static pictures and text tell you the tale of Chopin and how he was sick with tuberculosis while author George Sand (That's a pseudonym. Sand was a woman.) stuck by his side while a storm raged outside. This tale is told while a piece Chopin composed is played. It's fun and educational while at the same time giving you a better appreciation for how much thought was put into the intricate story.
The downside to this detailed world is that it takes a lot of time to construct it. This is probably the reason Eternal Sonata is a largely linear experience 10 hours in, with very little in the means of side quests or exploration to be done. The dungeons themselves have a nice layout with branching and overlapping paths, but they're still straight paths that you can't walk off of. And, in the end, there is only one way in and one way out of each area as the game pushes you from one point of interest to the next. Another thing we've noticed is that each dungeon area only has a few enemy types populating it. While solving the puzzles or exploring the few side paths, the same couple of copied enemies keep popping up. Even the towns, while nice to look at, only take a few minutes to fully explore.
It certainly does look nice.
The combat, though, isn't as limited as the creature type. In fact, for a JRPG it has a surprising amount of depth to it. The turn-based/real-time hybrid is quite unique and builds from a basic setup to one that is more involved and active. It's all based around an action bar that resets for each character's turn. At the beginning of the game, the action gauge only drains as you are moving or attacking. By the time you get to where we are, it begins ticking the seconds down as soon as your turn begins and never lets up, giving you just a few seconds to move and attack. From there, it only gets tougher.
The basic actions are mapped to the face and shoulder buttons on the controller. Attacking, performing special moves, blocking, and using items requires just one button press from the face buttons while cycling through your equipped items is done with the shoulder buttons. Performing attacks is simple, but to succeed you'll need to work within the system. Each character has two attack types; a basic strike and a special move. Strings of the normal attack can be put together by just repeatedly tapping the attack button. Put a chain of enough together and you'll build up your echo meter which will amplify special attacks. The more powerful special moves can be done at will with no limit and do more damage than the normal attack, but they take more time and are best used with a semi-full to full echo meter.
Of course, things are not that easy. Depending upon whether you're standing in the light or shade, your character will perform a different special move. As you progress through the game, you'll be able to map more light and dark special moves to each character, giving you more options yet. This is just the beginning of what shadows do to the combat.
One of our favorite locales, so far.
Enemies, too, are affected by the light. Many even take on different forms depending upon whether light is shining on them or not. Things get further complicated when enemies begin carrying light or dark sources around with them, casting status effect spells on your team that bathe them in light or darkness, or when they get so big they can cast their own shadows. Yes, in addition to trees, clouds, or other objects casting shadows that shape the battlefield, enemies can block sunlight enough that you'll end up think carefully about which angle to attack them from. With areas of light and dark constantly shifting, positioning on the battle arena is quite important.
There are ten playable characters in Eternal Sonata that comprise your party, but you'll find the group splitting apart and coming back together constantly as the story unfolds. Three at a time can go into battle while the rest remain in reserves, but you can swap out which three are active at any point outside of a fight. Those who don't go into battle won't gain experience, but with the available members shifting constantly we haven't had the chance to play favorites and leave one character at a low level. If you have a kid brother or sister, or are a parent yourself, Eternal Sonata also offers an offline-only co-operative multiplayer mode that can be activated at any time. Simply plug in two or three controllers and you and your friends can each take control of one of the three characters in a battle. Player 1 still controls the overworld exploration, but the active blocking and attacking nature forces every player to stay on their toes during combat.
Viola's bow should not be messed with.
Perhaps a more compelling reason for making use of every character comes from the fact that each has a unique style of battle. Beat has a ranged attack that can build up echoes quickly and a special move that snaps a picture of enemies which can later be sold for big bucks. Viola also has a ranged attack, but hers requires you to actively aim. This extra amount of work is rewarded by giving her bow more strength the farther away from an enemy you are. Mixing and matching available characters to play to each other's strengths in terms of building up echoes quickly and unleashing powerful special moves is worth the effort, especially given the fact that some of the boss fights can be pretty tough if you're not prepared.
The linear nature and limited exploration that Eternal Sonata offers might not be for everyone, but on a console traditionally starved of quality Japanese RPGs this game looks like it may end up being a breath of fresh air. Whether the combat holds up in the long run or the story pans out remains to be seen, but the first 10 hours of Eternal Sonata are indeed promising.
Eternal Sonata Blow Out
Everything you need to know about this beautiful RPG.
by Erik Brudvig
July 30, 2007 - Frederic Chopin, pianist and composer extraordinaire, is on his death bead; his frail body finally giving way to sickness. It appears to be the end, but this is where the story of Eternal Sonata begins. That's because this Japanese role-playing game from developer tri-Crescendo and publisher Namco Bandai takes place within a world of fantasy and music that Chopin has dreamt up in his final hours. It's a beautiful and lovingly crafted universe that is about to emerge from under the shadow Blue Dragon has cast over the Xbox 360 audience.
Here at IGN, we're big fans of the art style and attention to detail in Eternal Sonata. After roughly 10 hours of play, it appears that the story and combat have the goods to back it up. That's why we've put together more Eternal Sonata coverage than you can shake a stick at. If you aren't a fan of reading, take a look at the video preview below. Today also marks the first entry into the official Namco Bandai Eternal Sonata blog, so swing by and give it a read when you're done here. And for those that are just reading this preview for that one oh-so-precious bit of information, the answer is yes. You can switch the audio dub from English to Japanese at any time.
The immediate draw of Eternal Sonata comes from the excellent visuals. While the art style is reminiscent of JRPGs of the past, it comes off as feeling wholly unique thanks to the great attention to detail. Eternal Sonata makes full use of the color palette to add minutiae where other games deem unnecessary. The red needlework on red cloth, woven pattern on an all green rug, and shades of violet that give legitimacy to forest undergrowth are just a few examples of the visual flair that has not stopped impressing us since we first picked up the controller. Things get even better during the cutscenes and during battles when the camera swings in close and you realize how much work was put into the graphics. Our biggest complaint with the look of the game actually comes from wanting to see more and not being able to. In the overworld, the camera is fixed, preventing you from rotating it around to enjoy the world.
Once the visual appeal has drawn you in, you'll find the story and themes have had just as much time spent on them. As this is Chopin's dream, the musical influences are a dime a dozen. Every major character has a musically inspired name, as do most items, towns, and weapon designs. Allegretto, one of the characters in your party, fights with what looks like a sword crossed with a violin. Angel trumpets revive fallen comrades. And the villain resides in one Forte Castle.
But the folks at tri-Crescendo went a step farther than just naming things after musical items and using a Chopin-inspired soundtrack. The story itself has been loosely woven into Chopin's real life, just as a dream you or I had would have a passing relation to events that occurred to one of us. The first chapter of Eternal Sonata is titled "Raindrops." The story at this point in the game deals with sickness and coming to the aid of others. The chapter closes out during a rainstorm. Now, most people may not know how this relates to Chopin's life. To help you, a series of static pictures and text tell you the tale of Chopin and how he was sick with tuberculosis while author George Sand (That's a pseudonym. Sand was a woman.) stuck by his side while a storm raged outside. This tale is told while a piece Chopin composed is played. It's fun and educational while at the same time giving you a better appreciation for how much thought was put into the intricate story.
The downside to this detailed world is that it takes a lot of time to construct it. This is probably the reason Eternal Sonata is a largely linear experience 10 hours in, with very little in the means of side quests or exploration to be done. The dungeons themselves have a nice layout with branching and overlapping paths, but they're still straight paths that you can't walk off of. And, in the end, there is only one way in and one way out of each area as the game pushes you from one point of interest to the next. Another thing we've noticed is that each dungeon area only has a few enemy types populating it. While solving the puzzles or exploring the few side paths, the same couple of copied enemies keep popping up. Even the towns, while nice to look at, only take a few minutes to fully explore.
It certainly does look nice.
The combat, though, isn't as limited as the creature type. In fact, for a JRPG it has a surprising amount of depth to it. The turn-based/real-time hybrid is quite unique and builds from a basic setup to one that is more involved and active. It's all based around an action bar that resets for each character's turn. At the beginning of the game, the action gauge only drains as you are moving or attacking. By the time you get to where we are, it begins ticking the seconds down as soon as your turn begins and never lets up, giving you just a few seconds to move and attack. From there, it only gets tougher.
The basic actions are mapped to the face and shoulder buttons on the controller. Attacking, performing special moves, blocking, and using items requires just one button press from the face buttons while cycling through your equipped items is done with the shoulder buttons. Performing attacks is simple, but to succeed you'll need to work within the system. Each character has two attack types; a basic strike and a special move. Strings of the normal attack can be put together by just repeatedly tapping the attack button. Put a chain of enough together and you'll build up your echo meter which will amplify special attacks. The more powerful special moves can be done at will with no limit and do more damage than the normal attack, but they take more time and are best used with a semi-full to full echo meter.
Of course, things are not that easy. Depending upon whether you're standing in the light or shade, your character will perform a different special move. As you progress through the game, you'll be able to map more light and dark special moves to each character, giving you more options yet. This is just the beginning of what shadows do to the combat.
One of our favorite locales, so far.
Enemies, too, are affected by the light. Many even take on different forms depending upon whether light is shining on them or not. Things get further complicated when enemies begin carrying light or dark sources around with them, casting status effect spells on your team that bathe them in light or darkness, or when they get so big they can cast their own shadows. Yes, in addition to trees, clouds, or other objects casting shadows that shape the battlefield, enemies can block sunlight enough that you'll end up think carefully about which angle to attack them from. With areas of light and dark constantly shifting, positioning on the battle arena is quite important.
There are ten playable characters in Eternal Sonata that comprise your party, but you'll find the group splitting apart and coming back together constantly as the story unfolds. Three at a time can go into battle while the rest remain in reserves, but you can swap out which three are active at any point outside of a fight. Those who don't go into battle won't gain experience, but with the available members shifting constantly we haven't had the chance to play favorites and leave one character at a low level. If you have a kid brother or sister, or are a parent yourself, Eternal Sonata also offers an offline-only co-operative multiplayer mode that can be activated at any time. Simply plug in two or three controllers and you and your friends can each take control of one of the three characters in a battle. Player 1 still controls the overworld exploration, but the active blocking and attacking nature forces every player to stay on their toes during combat.
Viola's bow should not be messed with.
Perhaps a more compelling reason for making use of every character comes from the fact that each has a unique style of battle. Beat has a ranged attack that can build up echoes quickly and a special move that snaps a picture of enemies which can later be sold for big bucks. Viola also has a ranged attack, but hers requires you to actively aim. This extra amount of work is rewarded by giving her bow more strength the farther away from an enemy you are. Mixing and matching available characters to play to each other's strengths in terms of building up echoes quickly and unleashing powerful special moves is worth the effort, especially given the fact that some of the boss fights can be pretty tough if you're not prepared.
The linear nature and limited exploration that Eternal Sonata offers might not be for everyone, but on a console traditionally starved of quality Japanese RPGs this game looks like it may end up being a breath of fresh air. Whether the combat holds up in the long run or the story pans out remains to be seen, but the first 10 hours of Eternal Sonata are indeed promising.