Eternal Sonata

Vorlage:Infobox CVG Vorlage:Nihongo is an original RPG created by tri-Crescendo, one of the developers of Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins.

The story takes place in a dream world which centers around famed piano composer Frédéric Chopin, who died at the age of 39 due to tuberculosis. The plot centers around the concept that three hours prior to his death, Chopin dreamed of a fairy-tale land, in which people with incurable diseases have great magical powers.

In the dream world, Chopin meets a young girl in the Village of Tenuto, Polka, who also suffers from an incurable disease.

Eternal Sonata features a battle system centered around musical elements and character-unique special attacks. Light and darkness plays a part in the appearance and abilities of enemies on the battlefield, as well as the types of magic that can be cast.

The game features a selection of Chopin's compositions played by pianist Stanislav Bunin, though most of the in-game music was composed by Motoi Sakuraba.

The game was released on June 14, 2007 in Japan under the title Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream. It will be released on September 19, 2007 in North America. While no exact release date was given for Europe or Australia, it is known to be Autumn and Spring 2007 respectively.

Although the Japanese version of the official Xbox website lists it as "Only on Xbox 360", as of April 23, 2007, the ESRB's site listed it as being rated T on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. As of this writing, there have been no official comments regarding this event, so it is not known if the game is a "timed exclusive" or if this was a mistake on the ESRB's part. On April 25, 2007, however, the game was removed from ESRB's listings completely.

Characters

Playable Characters:

Chopin

Sex: Male

Age: 39

Weapon: Baton

Japanese Voice: Mitsuaki Madono 真殿光昭

"I can basically use all kinds of magic. I am dreaming up this world, after all."

His full name is Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin. Born in Poland in 1810, he is known as the "poet of the piano". Of weak constitution, he nevertheless has a deeply sensitive and subtle personality. In particular, the loss of his 14-year-old sister Emilia to tuberculosis left a deep scar on his heart. Chopin can see traces of her in Polka, also 14 and destined to die. While knowing that the world in which he meets Allegretto and Polka is just a dream he is having on his death bed, gradually he becomes more and more confused by how real the world feels. He begins to question where his true feelings lie. All the words he speaks come out as poetry.

Allegretto

Sex: Male

Age: 16

Weapon: Sword

Japanese Voice: Hiro Shimono　下野紘

"It doesn't make sense! In this world the people with shining hearts are the ones who suffer! ...That's supposed to be okay?!?"

A boy who works as a bread thief in the port city of Ritardando to provide food for poor children. Though he knows what he is doing is wrong, his strong sense of justice refuses to let him abandon the children. He uses rough language and occasionally even hits his young friend Beat, but in reality he is deeply emotional, and thinks of his young friend as a little brother. With the contradiction of a world where the gap between rich and poor lying especially hard on his mind, Allegretto sets off on journey. He is captivated by Polka, who makes light of her own tragic fate while living each day with earnest, and resolves to save her.

Polka

Sex: Female

Age: 14

Weapon: Parasol

Japanese Voice: Aya Hirano　平野綾

"I want to use this limited life of mine to give everyone happiness."

A girl who lives with her mother in the village of Tenuto, on top of a hill overlooking the port of Ritardando. She makes her living by selling Floral Sealing Medicine, extracted from Tenuto's unique flowers. However, due to the circulation of cheap government-recognized Ore Sealing Medicine, lately she has been unable to sell any medicine at all. In a world where magic is a side-effect seen in those cursed by a fatal and incurable disease, death is always close to a magic-user such as she. Added to such a cruel fate are rumors flying about that the disease is transmitted simply through contact, leading Polka to be shunned by humanity and causing her to lose all trust in others. However, after meeting Chopin, she decides to use what little remains of her life to help others.

Beat

Sex: Male

Age: 8

Weapon: Clarinet Gunhammer

Japanese Voice: Yumiko Kobayashi　小林由美子

"Why is bread this expensive? If it were a little cheaper, we could just buy it..."

Works as a bread thief with Allegretto in the port city of Ritardando. Beat calls Allegretto "Niichan" (big brother) and adores him like an older brother. A camera that is the only surviving memento of his father is his treasure. Beat is short for his age and is bothered by his height. Sporting a bright and cheerful personality, he is able to talk to anyone and everyone freely. Though he does not usually think very hard, in many cases his sincere words come surprisingly close to the real truth.

Viola

Sex: Female

Weapon: Bow

Japanese Voice: Houko Kuwashima

A young woman who lives in a house in the middle of Chorus Plains and spends her time tending her goats. Viola is always accompanied by her pet squirrel, Arco. She has an outgoing, cheerful personality and an independent spirit. An expert with the bow, Viola lives off of rabbits and other small animals. She prefers a quiet life in the countryside to the crowded and noisy cities.

Salsa

Sex: Female

Japanese Voice: Mika Kanai

A young girl who has grown up surrounded by nature in Agogo Village. Salsa is full of energy, extremely self-confident, and very opinionated. Because of this, she has rather antagonistic relationships with Beat and Viola. Salsa has a tendency to jump to conclusions that are completely incorrect. She often brings humor to serious situations, without being completely aware of it.

March

Sex: Female

Japanese Voice: Chiwa Saitou

Salsa's twin sister. March is an introspective and kind young girl with a great love of nature. She often worries about Salsa's aggressive attitude and behavior but still admires her. Unlike her sister, March is soft-spoken and calm; she can truly get along with anyone. March is also very mature for her age, so she is able to understand difficult concepts with surprising ease.

Jazz

Sex: Male

Weapon: Blade

Japanese Voice: Jyouji Nakata

The leader of an anti-government group called Andantino. Jazz has a serious and determined personality. These characteristics help him make clear decisions in any situation, which is why he is a good leader. Jazz's only weakness is the blind spot he tends to have in regards to the people who are closest to him.

Falsetto

Sex: Female

Weapon: Knuckles

Japanese Voice: Tomoe Hanba

A young woman who is a member of Andantino, and a childhood friend of Jazz. Falsetto has romantic feelings for Jazz but has never been able to summon the courage to tell him. In part because of this, she is very antagonistic towards Claves, and often speaks to her in a sarcastic tone.

Claves

Sex: Female

Weapon: Rapier

Japanese Voice: Mie Sonozaki

A member of Andantino, who is also Jazz's lover. Claves is very dedicated, but often has trouble remembering complicated strategies. She knows that Falsetto doesn't like her. However, Claves is also jealous of Falsetto because of the longtime friendship she shares with Jazz.

Development

Says director Hiroya Hatsushiba: Vorlage:Cquote

Reception

Vorlage:Sect-stub Anticipation for the game seemed high prior to release, with the game having reached number four in Amazon Japan video game pre-orders not long after a demo was made available on the Japanese Marketplace, and even number one on Amazon Japan's video game charts not long before the game's release. Famitsu rated the game 9/9/9/8, for a total score of 35/40. During its release week, the game reached second place on the Japanese sales charts. The following week, it had placed 35th. [1][2]

At E3 2007, it won GameTrailers.com's award for Best Role-Playing Game and IGN's award for Best Artistic Design.

External links

• Official Site (Japanese)
• Official Site (English)
• Endless Nocturne: The Official Community for Eternal Sonata (English)