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 for the Xbox 360 in Japan under the title Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream. It was released on September 17, 2007 in North America. While no exact release date was given for Europe or Australia, it is known to be before the end of 2007. The game will also be released for the PS3 sometime in 2008.

Characters

Vorlage:Prose Eternal Sonata features ten playable characters (listed below) as well as a group of colorful villains. All the characters are named after music-related terms, and some of their weapons even resemble musical instruments (such as Beat's gunhammer having the shaft of a clarinet).

Playable Characters:

Chopin

Sex: Male

Age: 39

Weapon: Baton

Japanese Voice: Mitsuaki Madono 真殿光昭

English Voice: Patrick Seitz Vorlage:Or

"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

English Voice: Sam Regal Vorlage:Or

"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

English Voice: Erin Fitzgerald

"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 Powder, extracted from Tenuto's unique flowers. However, due to the circulation of cheap government-recognized Mineral Powder, 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

English Voice: Mona Marshall Vorlage:Or

"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

Weapon: Sun Rings

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

Weapon: Moon Rings

Japanese Voice: Chiwa Saito

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.

Non-playable Characters:

Count Waltz

Sex: Male

The Count who oversees Forte. Count Waltz is responsible for the raise in taxes that has made life difficult for the citizens of Forte. He is very self-assured and power hungry. It is suspected that Count Waltz is preparing for a war with Baroque.

Legato

Sex: Male

Count Waltz's close advisor. Legato handles the everyday tasks involved with running Forte for Count Waltz. He is completely loyal to Count Waltz and obeys his every command.

Rondo

Sex: Female

Weapon: Two Swords

A cold-hearted young woman who is working as a spy for Count Waltz. Rondo is an excellent fighter with finely honed battle skills. She is also an expert tracker and assassin.

Fugue

Sex: Male

Weapon: Katana

English Voice: Johnny Yong Bosch Vorlage:Or

A sarcastic, clever and confident young man who is on a secret mission for Count Waltz. Fugue enjoys inflicting pain and will start fights with people just for the fun of it.

Tuba

Sex: Male

Weapon: Lance

The Captain of the guard at Forte Castle, Tuba is also one of Count Waltz's minions. Not particularly bright, Tuba uses his strength and large size to intimidate people.

Development

Says director Hiroya Hatsushiba: Vorlage:Cquote

For the localization, the game's text was proofread by the Frederick Chopin Society in Warsaw. The localization team wanted to be as historically accurate as possible, without losing the original message of the script.

On April 23, 2007, the ESRB posted their rating for Eternal Sonata listing the game as being intended for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. However, when news of this quickly spread, the ESRB removed the listing entirely. On September 11, 2007, Bandai Namco's official site listed Eternal Sonata as coming soon to PlayStation 3, yet also listed the Xbox 360 version as being "available now." Again, as news quickly spread, the information was removed. The following day, scans from Famitsu were released, confirming the game as being released for the PlayStation 3. On September 14, 2007 Bandai Namco officially announced Eternal Sonata was coming to the PS3, during Spring 2008 in Japan.

In addition, Namco Bandai stated that there will be features exclusive for the PlayStation 3 version. This includes new playable characters, Crescendo and Serenade, who played a major role in the Xbox 360 version, but were never playable. It will also include a new clothing system, in which the player can freely change his/her character's costume, which implies an increase in costume variations.

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: A Community for Eternal Sonata