Eternal Sonata - Xbox 360

All in all, this is a wonderful game. The art style and detailed graphics are a sight to see. The story is a breath of fresh air in the stale business that video games has become. On the Pros: The ability to play the game using English or Japanese voices is great (I recommend Japanese). The anime art style is well done and you will come to genuinely care about the characters. On the Cons: The game is incredibly linear, the dialog (especially in English) can be very cliche, and most zones don't vary further than two different enemy designs. Special Author Note: Do not buy this game for its battle system or even as just a game. Buy with an open mind and you will enjoy it for the art piece it is.

Eternal Sonata is your average anime-like RPG with adorable characters a decent fighting system and irritating dialog. The story is pretty neat but some parts will leave you a little confused and wishing the characters would talk more sensable or show a little more emotion. The fighting system is decent, like I said but you have to train ALOT at some points which is tiring and watching the characters do their special moves also gets a little annoying after a while. Tactic time begins when you start to run, triggering your turn to attack, I got used to being timed for my turns (The enemies are to) But didn`t like it much and some enemies get stuck behind some object on the feild and have a hard time getting around them to attack you and then you have to run around the object to attack them wasting your valueable seconds in your turn. I`m on the verge of saying I woulden`t recomend this game but I do just barely because it does leave you to wonder what happens next, it`s great in short doses. The game also straggles off into something about a composer called, "Fredrick Choppin" after every chapter or so and I didn`t really want to read the mass of text about him since I could get through the game easily without doing so, so I didn`t, there was no point in my opinion.

I was excited to pick this title even before it came out, and I am happy to say that I am NOT dissapointed. Pros: The game is gorgeous even in SDTV, I cannot even imagine its beauty in HD. The action oreinted gameplay will appeal to both RPGers and Action fans alike. Since the game is about the composer Copin, its no wonder that the soundtrack is simply stunning. The writing and localization for this game is fantastic and the voice acting is some of the best in recent memory. Cons: Their are a few cons, one of which is the camera. Here you are in this amazing world that you want to zoom in on and look around, and you can't becuase its a fixed camera. This really takes away from the game becuase its is just so darn good looking!! The other con is that the store is exceptionaly linear. Its a lot of go here, now here, now here. You don't have the chance to just wander where you want until very late in the game and even then its not a lot. Because of this there is a major lack of side quests. Except for a few twards the end, and the trading game there really aren't any. Overall: Overall I give this game a 4. If you are a fan of Rpgs, and more specificy Japanese RPGs, then this game is for you. The story, music, graphics, and gameplay FAR out weigh the negatives.

If you have ever been told that video games can not be considered art, then the person who told you that has probably never seen anything like Eternal Sonata before. Eternal Sonata has a very rich, vivid, and detailed environment as well as an equally well designed set of characters that are completely unique from one another. As you travel the world of Eternal Sonata, you will find yourself gazing out at its beauty just as the characters do from time to time. It almost seems as if you are trapped in the moment and don’t want to let it go. The vast area in which you cover is truly amazing. You see the lush greens of Hanon Hills to the bubbling red hot lava of Wah Lava Caves and the icy wilderness of the Celesta Forest. All of it is utterly breathtaking. On top of the scenery, is the character illustrations that are detailed. While not being a realistic look that we so often see today in video games, Eternal Sonata has chosen the path of anime, which adds to its artistic beauty. And then being able to see all of the characters and scenery move in sync with each other, it will leave you breathless! So if anyone ever tells you that a video game can’t be considered art, direct them to this game and see what they say afterwards.

Enter a dream world fantasy in the most resent RPG from Japanese delveloper, Namco/Bandi. Eternal Sonata creates a surreal adventure surrounding the famed composer, Frederic Chopin during his final hours. Along with a fast paced battle system, stunning visuals, touching story, and classic music soundtrack, Eternal Sonata is one of the best all around RPGs on the Xbox 360. The unique battle system incorperates real time action with attacks that vary when the character is in light or shadows. The player controls a party of up to ten characters to explore the world talking with its inhabitants, buying and selling equipment and photos at shops, and encountering monsters while in the field. These field enimes are visible, and the player can opt to avoid the encounter, if possible, as well as gaining an edge on the monsters by approaching them from behind. The battles are composed of a party of three and each character's turn is followed by Tactical Time, a period of time which the player can use to decide the course of action to take with that character. The game makes sure to include a tutorial so any player can familiarize themselves with the gameplay in no time. The story takes place in Chopin's dream where he encounters the story's main female protagonist, Polka. Together, they journey to stop the tryanny of Forte One of the most engaging things about the game is how it involves all ten characters and the dream world just as much as the Eternal Sonata mixes the fantasy with a bit of fiction when each chapter opens with information about Chopin's life. The game leaves the player to assume that elements of the world are in fact, Chopin's dream, and could have been influenced by Chopin's life. All these elements are very well implimented and the bled together to form one of the best RPG experiences around. Do not miss out!

ES is a unique story with absolutely stunning graphics. Battling is unique, although for the most part seems much easier than it should be. The game is also extremely unbalanced in how easy it is to get money. Finally, to see everything in the game - you will require 2 full play throughs - as a lot of the "sessions" are not available until the second playthrough. Those problems aside, the game is beautiful and you'll want to continue to play for the nicely produced cut scenes. I'm almost certainly going to do the second play through, although I may take a break after the first for a while. The one very unfortunate thing is that the camera is fixed - and with all the beautiful graphics - you can't "look around" at them. ES is definately unique and is (IMO) by far the best "traditional" RPG on 360 at this time.

Honestly the best actual rpg I have played on the xbox 360 to this point. I fun game with a very unique storyline and great battle system and art. The major drawback is the game seems geared to younger gamers because of the characters looks, dialogue and such. Some gamers will probably turn a cold shoulder to it based on that thinking they are too cool to play it but these are also the same gamers who probably think being a level 70 elf mage on WoW makes them cool. Yeah I'm sure all the girls want that......

My boyfriend is an avid fan of RPG's, and I always love to watch him, but sometimes found it hard to manuever through all the menus, quests, etc. I think ES is great for those of us that are very new to 360 controls, RPG's, and console gaming in general. The game tells you exactly how to fight (which you can skip if you already know), where to go, or who to talk to. This is a specific story line, so I wasn't expecting to have lots of different things to do. The controls are very simple; I don't have to worry about pounding every single button to defeat the enemies (I'd rather pay attention to the one or two things that I'm doing on the screen than what my fingers are attempting). The graphics are stunning... I'd love to meet the character designers!! All in all, it's very good for a first timer, and would highly recommend it to someone looking for more than just mindless button pushing.