Great masterpieces liven up the aural experience

On the audio front Eternal Sonata features some high quality piano pieces, which you would expect from a game involving a master pianist. While not all the pieces of music are related to Chopin, the game will make use of his compositions and they will be a key element in the environment and story of the game. Playing Chopin’s music will be the renowned Russian pianist Stanislav Bunin. At the age of 19 Bunin won the first prize at the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, so he knows his stuff. On the vocal front the cutscenes and battle banter are of good quality, at this point it is nothing to praise but it seems to be more than adequate to get the job done.

Battling the Light and Dark

Reading the above you might feel that this is just your standard RPG with a slight twist on the normal “save the world from inevitable doom” storyline that has been used in Japanese RPGs since what seems like the dawn of time, but you would be wrong. Where Eternal Sonata differs is in its use of light and dark and the battle system.

Taking pieces of a turn-based battle system, like older Final Fantasy titles, and a more active battle system, like Kingdom Hearts, Eternal Sonata’s battle system is both complex and simple at the same time. Light and Darkness play a vital role in determining the statistics and weaknesses of your opponents as well as changing your special attacks. While a casual player will most likely be able to work his way through the game using a basic understanding of the system, those that take the time to really delve into it will most likely benefit a great deal.

Don't let it slip between your fingers

The XBOX 360 is currently a RPG wasteland but, over the remaining four months of the year, a number of high profile RPGs will be released including the highly anticipated titles, Blue Dragon from the creator of Final Fantasy, and Mass Effect from Bioware. Eternal Sonata could very easily slip under the radar but I have a feeling that those that are willing to give the title a chance will not be disappointed in the slightest.