XBox 360 Rally

Eternal Sonata is a game that has got my attention right from the first screen grab. Then after hearing the storyline revolves around pianist Chopin on his death bed being inside his head. That is a really short version of what the game is about, there is a bit more to it.

Now on to the Demo review; the game starts off with no thrills, getting right into “New Game” start screen and seeing how the controls are (very basic btw).

Now onto my first goal I have to accomplish. I don’t even know my characters name yet, this is fast paced so far… which is good because I have been wanting to play this game forever. Going back to having a goal to accomplish, well, after playing a while, I think that the only true goal is to keep moving forward.

The game itself, movement smooth and fluid, graphics…. gorgeous. Colorful and so detailed. Still screens don’t do the game justice.

Ah, now time for my first battle. Wow, very nice battle system. You have three characters, and 5 seconds to make a move with each,.. ie one of your guys takes a stab, now he has to wait 5 seconds, but you can still use your other two characters while he is on his 5. In a weird way, I was reminded of Quest 64, but not in a bad way. The animations for the attacks are good enough, and there is a variety of attacks you can use. Enemies do get a little repetitive, but who knows how many more types of bad guys that aren’t in this demo (cause im sick of fighting these turnip gangs)

I can hardly write this review while playing, im already sucked in. this is the Chrono Trigger type RPG i have been waiting for (but doesn’t seem to be as free roaming), to me, its real easy to compare, you have very lush detailed backgrounds, a fixed camera system, and such a unique look. When going to new areas, load time is near non-existant. There is no other word to describe this game other than ‘beautiful’ .. it just looks and feels great, with a classic rpg feel. Classic to the point, of get ready to read a bit of text, which I felt was actually light.

Before I end this review, I want to say the word.. “Earthbound” ..in no way is Eternal Sonata like Earthbound in gameplay, but it hits that originality factor character wise mixed with the slightly enhanced fight sequences. Remember to re-arange your life schedule, this feels like an RPG that you’ll want to keep playing to level up and live the storyline. Which, let me add at the end here, I played for about an hour, and when I finally just put it down, I still wasn’t sure the storyline. Maybe Japanese Demo’s have a different take on how demos should be done.

[If you do not know how to download demo's made for non-americans, click here]