Eternal Sonata Review.

Eternal Sonata Review.

XBOX 360

It’s been awhile guys, but I’m feeling up to blogging again.
I play a lot of games, on a lot of consoles, but you most likely won’t see me reviewing games like Dewy’s Adventure on the Wii, or Liar on the PS3.
Because these games aren’t really good, and don’t hold my interest for very long.
But here I am, once again reviewing a game for the 360. If I had the patience I could probably finish Heavenly Sword and review that, but I don’t, so it’ll be a little while longer until that review.

Here’s Eternal Sonata, a JRPG that blends a turn based system with real time combat elements.

Weird opening scene is weird.

What I mean by this is that each of your characters are given 5 seconds or so to run over and beat up your enemies with a simple attack, or earn enough “echoes” to do a hard hitting combo.
Early in the game you are also given “Strategic Time”, giving you a few seconds to plan out your attacks and combos.
But as you progress your party levels up…saying it’s “leveling up” is kind of misleading. The game actually strips you of certain privileges. Strategic Time is gone; you are given less time for attacks, etc. However, much later you are given the opportunity to pull of various neat moves and combos that you couldn’t do under lower level party circumstances.
The system starts of rather simple, but as you progress through the game you begin to form various strategies to handle certain situations.
For example the light and dark aspect of the game can change how you approach a situation entirely, because character combos vary depending on wither or not your character is in the light or in the dark.
The game does a good job at balancing the system; it takes things away but also gives you some neat advantages over your enemies depending on what takes place during the battle.
The battle system is fun, engaging, and different enough to hold your attention long enough to get through the game.
In many JRPGs combat feels like a chore, it becomes tedious as time goes on…This is something that does not faze Eternal Sonata.

Another thing about Eternal Sonata that is a breath of fresh air is how it manages character use.
The majority of the game your party is spilt up into two groups. It switches the game from the perspective of Allegretto and Polka.
In one chapter you’re playing with Allegretto and party, and the next your using another group led by Chopin.
This is good for many reasons.
It kind of forces you to play as characters you wouldn’t normally, erasing some of the sameness and tedium that might come forth is you use just 3 characters for the entire game.

Atheistically, the game is gorgeous, the art style is simply amazing, the environments and the scenery are absolutely awe inspiring.
Camera Angles and how the game presents these levels take a very cinematic approach. The game is gorgeous – and it knows it.
Its fun to just look at the world around you, take it all in. Eternal Sonata is perhaps the most beautiful JRPG to ever be released, and is one of the most stylized games I have ever played.
This reflects in both cut scenes and battle environments. They jump out at you, take you by surprise. It truly is profound.

The score is all inspired by Chopins music, all either remixes or something very similar to a piece he composed.
It’s all very classy- it’s all very appropriate.
The game gives you a very dreamy feel and scope; this is the case for pretty much everything in Eternal Sonata- The story, the characters, the environments. They all bare a dreamy feel to them. Very fitting.

The game is beautiful

The game as far as art, graphics, sound, design, etc. Does everything right for what the game tried to accomplish.
And while the story does jump around a bit, and changing perspectives from time to time does get a tad annoying.
The game is only about 20 hours – perhaps more if you choose to do an optional dungeon at the end.
Somewhat short by JRPG standards, and the story does take kind of a nose dive, and jerks you from place to place near the end.

The story is rather deep for a JRPG, and its premise is a tad weird.
But overall, Eternal Sonata is a deep engaging experience that all JRPG fans should check out.

It’s a tad linear, but the gorgeous art style and fun combat system make up for it.

I give Eternal Sonata two thumbs up.