	Eternal Sonata
	Developer: Tri-Crescendo Publisher: Atari Release Date: Out Now Players: 1	Words By:
Eternal Sonata sounds like a musically inspired title, and indeed it is. Thankfully it’s not a sonata based around the appalling and thankfully defunct ‘90s pop trio from which Louise Nurding (sorry, Redknapp) sprang forth, but upon the 19th century composer Frederick Chopin. The thought of having “I wanna be the only one to hold you” as backing music for a game is indeed a terrifying one….. More interesting is the fact that this is actually a turn-based combat RPG set in a fantastical, imaginary world which may or may not be all in the creative mind of a bed ridden Chopin. It’s an extraordinary looking place and frankly I was blown away by the graphical style of the game straight from the off. Gorgeous emerald greens and turquoise blues tickle the eyes as the scene is set betwixt coastline and forest paths. It’s almost like the art direction of a Miyazaki animated movie with its wide eyed, waif-like characters and gorgeous, almost hand drawn landscapes that seem part of a living breathing world. The ears are also treated to beautiful orchestral tracks well in keeping with the central theme of the game and all of this seduces the senses into thinking that Eternal Sonata will be something truly great. The tutorial into how the combat works does nothing to change this opinion either. It’s an elegant system that you instantly know will be easy to pick up and you will enjoy using throughout the whole game. It’s a turn-based system it allows you to move and attack with each character in real time within the duration of a timed countdown. This gives you a good degree of control over your tactical positioning and always involves you in the fighting. Add to this the ability to have a go at blocking your enemies’ attacks during their turn and this makes for a pleasing experience that is more than just the usual stat watching. But unfortunately there are a few bum notes in this masterpiece. Nothing that spoils the symphony but for me they are long term irritations, a bit like having a trombonist in your brass section who smells of B.O. throughout the whole fourteen and a half hour performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. For starters there is the storytelling. The cut scenes look pretty but they drag on and don’t really move the narrative forward quickly enough, especially when the game switches between characters and locations. This means you have to endure more scene setting exposition straight after a closing piece of story that has already lasted five minutes. These can be skipped of course, but RPGs of this nature live and die by their story and how involved you are with it. When the occasional tidbits of information about Chopin’s real life are thrown in too it starts to grind and jump you out of the game. “I am not interested in reading an encyclopaedia entry on Chopin, let’s just play the damn thing!” was the cry from this reviewer on more than one occasion. And when you do play the game for several hours it dawns on you that for all its great looks, sounds and quirky philosophical ideas, Eternal Sonata is nothing particularly new or spectacular. It does not allow you the next-gen freedom and scale of an Oblivion, therefore it needs to tell a great story, have great characters and keep the player interested with variety. To the this extent it does try and occasionally succeed (I love wandering the locations such as the iridescent gem stone coloured stonework of Ritardando and the themes and characters have a nice coherency and likeability to them.). But constantly battling some rather unimaginative and bog standard creatures to level up can become a chore and the game has that crusty old failing of ‘characters standing around rooted to the spot until you talk to them’ syndrome which just feels tired in locations that look this swish. And the game is for the most part surprisingly linear with little room for deviation, modifications or sub questing. Nevertheless, any RPG enthusiast will find a lot to like here and there is plenty of game to explore and lovingly designed locations to indulge in. In fact if the game is approached as more of story and an experience then it delivers handsomely, providing you have the patience. It’s just a shame that as an RPG this is less of a grand orchestral arrangement and more of a narrow piano piece, beautiful but with far fewer notes than it could have had. But maybe that’s how Chopin would have wanted it…..

Best Bits
- Gorgeous fairytale graphical style
- Easy to grasp and versatile combat system
- Delightful music is a pleasure for the ears
- Detailed and varied environments are a joy to travel through

Worst Bits
- Over-lengthy and lethargic cut scenes make for an unexciting story
- Gameplay is generally one track and repetititive
- Uninspiring enemy and monster designs
- Little genuine freedom and physical interaction with your world


by: 4thy