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 game was released on June 14, 2007 for the Xbox 360 in Japan under the title Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream. The game 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. 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.

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.

Story

Eternal Sonata 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 as he slept on his sickbed in his final hours, Chopin dreamed of a fairy-tale land in which people with incurable diseases have great magical powers. The game frequently throws subtle allusions to the player that elements of the world are in fact, Chopin's dream, and could have their material forms influenced by Chopin's life.

The first six chapters of the game are also inspired and named for Chopin pieces with story elements related to the piece mentioned. For example, Chapter 2, "Revolution," is named for the Revolutionary Etude, and during the chapter, the player is introduced to Andantino, a rebel group. There are also segments in which Chopin's pieces are played along to a high-res photo slideshow accompanied by a history lesson on a part of Chopin's life when he wrote the corresponding piece. It should also be mentioned that almost every main character and locale in the game is named after a musical term, such as "Polka" or "Chorus Plains."

The story also focuses around a 14-year-old girl named Polka, who is apparently the victim of an incurable illness that grants her magical healing powers as a side-effect. She bears a strong resemblance to Chopin's younger sister who also died at 14, and her hometown of Tenuto may be an allusion to the town of Zelazowa Wola where Chopin was born.

Polka is selling floral powder for a living at the game's onset, a hand-made medicine from her hometown of Tenuto, for a living in the nearby city of Ritardando, but finds that her business has been completely lost to a new medicine called mineral powder. Apparently, mineral powder is a cheap medicine and the only good that is not taxed by the government, who, coincidentally, also manufactures and distributes the medicine which apparently works faster than floral powder.

After meeting Frederic (Chopin), who believes the world is his dream, the two decide to head to Forte City, where Count Waltz resides, and ask him to lower the tax on floral powder. On the way, however, they are assaulted by Fugue, a servant of Count Waltz, who nearly kills them and leaves them for dead.

It happens that two other people, Allegretto and Beat, two young orphans from Ritardando, are also heading to Forte to ask the Count to remove the tax from bread, which they have been forced to steal to help feed other orphans who live in the sewers under the city. The pair eventually meets Polka and Frederic in Agogo Forest, where one of the area's twin guardians, March, has given them shelter. Apparently, Polka had been saved by small creatures called Agogos that normally were shy around humans. One of them approaches Polka and glows upon doing so, a phenomenon that is unfamiliar to the forest's guardian.

Along the way, the four meet a goatherd named Viola, who is battling people that have been turned into mindless monsters due to overuse of mineral powder. It should also be mentioned that Fort Fermata, Forte's only line of defense and only entrance from way of Ritardando, is unmanned and filled with mineral powder-made monsters.

Upon reaching Forte Castle, the group is assaulted by Tuba, another of the Count's goons and are thrown into the castle dungeon. There, they meet Salsa, the other guardian of Agogo Forest, who claims that she was jailed because she would not reveal the secret of glowing agogos to Count Waltz. The glowing agogos would apparently increase the strength of the mineral powder a hundred-fold, allowing Forte's army to grow stronger and in rapidly growing numbers.

The party escapes through a secret passage used by Andantino, a rebel group that plans to overthrow the Count. Their leaders, Jazz, Claves and Falsetto, decide to join the group and work together against the Count, but before reaching the city again, they are encountered by Tuba yet again, who, upon defeat, commits suicide by destroying the bridge to Fermata and sending the party down into the river.

Separated from the others, Allegretto, Viola, Jazz, Claves and Falsetto decide to head to Andante, the rebel city. On the way, Allegretto warns Jazz that a spy may have infiltrated his ranks and for him to use caution. He initially believes the spy to be Falsetto, but Claves convinces him that evidence suggests that Falsetto is not the culprit. After Jazz departs, Claves is assassinated by Rondo, who works for Count Waltz, for betraying the Count by revealing her purpose. Before dying, she sends a carrier pigeon, initially used for correspondence with Forte, to Baroque. Claves had apparently fallen in love with Jazz and thus decided to protect him. Claves' death weighs heavily on Falsetto, who also loved Jazz, because now "he'll never get over her" and she wanders off to an unspecified location.

Meanwhile, Polka, Frederic, Beat and Salsa have found themselves saved by a Baroque ship, captained by Prince Crescendo, the leader of Baroque. While onboard, the ship is attacked by pirates led by Captain Dolce, and the party defeats her, though she re-appears as an optional boss three more times in the game.

Crescendo reveals to the group that he has been aiding Andantino, but, with the suggestion of his wife, Serenade, he has decided to stop supporting the rebels for fear of provoking Forte into all-out war. He asks the group to deliver this message to Jazz personally. After the group leaves, the Count receives Claves' last message: Serenade is a spy. However, the Prince believes that Serenade's feelings are true, and that she did what she did out of love for her home country.

Arriving in Agogo Forest, the group meets Fugue once again and defeats him. Afterwards, Agogos appear around Polka, all of them glowing. Rondo, in hiding, sees this, and leaves to report deliver this information to the Count.

Most of the group reunites later in Ritardando, though Allegretto soon leaves to go find Polka in Tenuto. He finds a stone on a beach identical to a keepsake that Polka has had since childhood, that came from her "true love." He gives it to her in Tenuto without knowledge of the keepsake, which Polka threw into the ocean. It becomes obvious that feelings have developed between the two, though neither bear the courage to express such emotions.

Upon return to Baroque, the group learn that Jazz has pleaded with the Count make a decision on the escalating situation with Forte. As he deliberates, the party is advised by a priest to seek out "the light" at nearby Aria Temple. Arriving there, the party finds that they have been cornered by Rondo, who plans to take Polka away. However, Falsetto returns to aid the party, and they defeat the assassin.

However, Crescendo and Serenade have left Baroque so they may surrender unconditionally to Forte to avoid the destruction of their homeland. The party uses the castle's warp device to reach to attempt to reach the two, but on the way, they meet a fortune teller who has met Polka before, though she does not remember her. She draws a fortune that portends "bad luck," and the group continues on.

After catching up to Crescendo and Sereande in Mount Rock, where mineral powder ingredients have been mined, the group is confronted by Count Waltz himself, and his servant, Legato. When Crescendo attempts to surrender, Waltz claims he does not desire Baroque, but simply "the girl," referring to Polka, and promises to treat her kindly. When she goes to Count Waltz in an effort to save her friends, the servant Legato takes a glowing agogo and adds it to a batch of mineral powder, confirming Waltz's suspicions on strengthening the powder.

When Waltz strikes Polka, the party attacks him and ultimately defeats him, leaving Legato cornered. He decides he "has no other choice," and drinks the enhanced mineral powder, transforming into a giant beast called Ruined Body that is apparently so powerful that it is able to tear a hole through time and space.

The group follows Legato to the Elegy of the Moon, where the souls of people who used mineral powder have come to rest, unable to reach the afterlife. After conquering Xylophone Tower, a trial for those who wish to proceed, they reach Double Reed Tower and confront the transformed Legato.

After defeating Legato, the group reaches the end of the earth, where Frederic confronts them, saying that the entire world is his dream, and that upon reaching Death, one must face their very own soul before moving to the afterlife. The party faces Chopin in the game's finale, and upon defeating him, he thanks them, as his soul is now free to move on the afterlife.

Polka then approaches a cliff and tells the party that Death has always been her fate, that her mother has prepared her for this, and that her light would illuminate the darkness of the world upon her jump into the unknown. She leaps, leaving Allegretto mortified and their feelings for one another apparently unrealized. Then, Chopin's eyes open and he realizes that the world is not his dream, after all.Vorlage:Or

However, after a Staff Roll for the sound team and voice cast, a cinematic occurs that shows Polka's young self hovering down into her mother's arms. Chopin is proclaimed dead at approximately two o'clock in the morning afterwards. As the game's second opening cinematic occurs again, the player hears Chopin claim that Polka should be free to live her life and not be left to a fate of death. The young Polka then tells her mother that someone is calling her, someone "whose light matches (her) astra" and she leaves with her mother's blessing.

Rising back out of the abyss, surrounded by glowing Agogos, she sets foot on the ground, which turns into a field of flowers, and embraces Allegretto as they run into each other's arms.

Back in the "real" world, Chopin's soul rises from his body and approaches the piano and begins to play. As the melody ensues, a woman who has been by Chopin's side through his ordeal begins to sing along with his posthumous performance. Though the girl is not named, she could be assumed (and is hinted earlier in the game) to be Konstancja GładkowskaVorlage:Or, his first love and the woman who inspired Chopin to put voice into his works.

Gameplay

Combat

Eternal Sonata employs a turn-based combat system. When a character's turn begins, in the lower Party Class Levels the player has a limited amount of time called "tactical time" with which to plan what to do. Once tactical time is over, the action gauge will begin to decrease, giving the player only a few seconds to perform actions, such as moving the character around the battlefield, attacking using normal or special attacks, and using items.

As a character performs normal attacks, a gauge along the right side of the screen will fill with "echoes". The more echoes that fill the gauge, the stronger the next special attack performed will be. When a special attack is performed, the gauge will empty. Later in the game, when the player has gained the ability to perform "Harmony Chains", the player may perform multiple special attacks in succession.

The specific rules of combat are further defined according to the player's current Party Class Level, of which there are six in all. The Party Class Level defines certain aspects such as the amount of tactical time that is available at the beginning of each turn, the amount of time that is available in the action gauge, and the ability to perform Harmony Chains as well as their maximum length. In general, higher Party Levels provide the player with more attack advantages at the cost of less time to perform actions. Enemies are affected in the same way as playable characters by Party Class Levels.

Another aspect of combat is the usage of light and shade. Depending on where a player character is standing, the special attacks of that character will change. For instance, while standing in the sunlight, Polka can use the light special skill Orange Glow to heal an injured ally, but when she is in the shade, her special skill might change to the attack Shade Comet, depending on what skills she has equipped. In addition to shadows cast by geographical features, shade can also be generated by clouds shifting over the battlefield or the shadow of another player character or enemy.

When it is the enemy's turn to attack, if the target of the enemy's attack is not turned away, the player will be given a chance to defend against taking full damage. As the enemy prepares to attack a player character, "Chance" will appear over the character's head, giving the player a split second to press the guard button. If the guard is successful, the character will block a portion of the damage, as well as protect against attack effects such as knock-back. At higher Party Class Levels, the player will on occasion be given the opportunity to perform a counterattack instead of a normal guard. This is signified by the "Chance" icon appearing as a weapon rather than a shield. If successful, the enemy's turn will be interrupted and the player character will go on the attack.

Score pieces

Throughout the game, the player may find items called score pieces hidden in random locations. A score piece is a sampling of sheet music. If the player comes across a non-player character in a town or dungeon that is also in possession of a score piece, the player may choose to play a session with that NPC. The player must then select one of his/her collected score pieces and allow it to play alongside the NPC's score piece. The resultant melody is then graded on a scale ranging from F (lowest) to S (highest). If the player manages to earn a B, A, or S, the NPC will reward the player with an item.

Photography

The character Beat has a special ability to snap photographs during battle. Used in the same manner as a typical special attack, the player must aim the camera reticle at an enemy and snap photographs before Beat's action meter depletes. The quality of the photograph is graded depending on how much of the enemy is in the frame, the distance from the enemy, and the angle the shot is taken from. Photographs can then be sold at shops for potentially large sums of money.

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:

Frederic Chopin

Sex: Male

Age: 39

Weapon: Baton

Japanese Voice: Mitsuaki Madono 真殿光昭

English Voice: Patrick Seitz

"Death is a reality that is far too real."

His full name is Fryderik 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

"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

"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

Age: 26

Japanese Voice: Houko Kuwashima

English Voice: Megan Hollingshead Vorlage:Or

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

Age: 8

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

Age: 8

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

Age: 27

Weapon: Blade

Japanese Voice: Jouji Nakata

English Voice: DC Douglas

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

Age: 22

Weapon: Knuckles

Japanese Voice: Tomoe Hanba

English Voice: Julie Ann Taylor

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

Age: 24

Weapon: Rapier

Japanese Voice: Mie Sonozaki

English Voice: Tara Platt

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

Age: 16

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.

Japanese Voice: Minagawa Junko

English Voice: Liam O'Brien

Legato

Sex: Male

Age: 59

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.

English Voice: Jamieson Price

Rondo

Sex: Female

Age: 24

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.

English Voice: Nicole Karrer

Fugue

Sex: Male

Age: 26

Weapon: Katana

English Voice: Johnny Yong BoschVorlage: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

Age: 42

Weapon: Mace

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.

Prince Crescendo

Sex: Male

Weapon: None

The prince of Baroque, and captain of his fleet ship. He is a man who seems easily toppled by others ideals, yet he is not easily deceived. He is engaged to a beautiful young lady, Serenade, though their marriage might bring peace or destruction.

English Voice: Cam Clarke

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 on Xbox 360.

External links

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