Ricanelite360:Eternal Sonata Trailer and Videos
Microsoft has made some changes with the Xbox 360 that they had to change from the Xbox 1 and it does not take a rocket science to know what I mean and it is RPGs. Something that Microsoft really LACK of in there first console. Which don't get me wrong they had some great FPS's and Action games, but you will not survive in the console race without mixing it up. Especially if you want a little piece of the cake in the Japan. Which is very hard to do with Sony and Nintendo just dominates that area of the world. So Microsoft has done a lot of changes around and bringing in RPGs to extract other gamers into there console. Like for one, I really enjoy RPGs and that somethings I look forward to on the Sony console poping in Final Fantasy or any other Role Playing Games that Sony has coming out. Well Eternal Sonata is a game that I seen and I put in my radar for the 360. Looks nice and looks different.
Here is some info and write up about the Japan Version of Eternal Sonata
The attention to detail in Eternal Sonata is astounding. The pillows on Chopin's bed have intricate stitching done in a thread of the same color as the cloth. The walls in shops are adorned with intimately detailed plates and hangings. City streets are lined with vibrant flowers as rainbows shine over babbling brooks. If you like Japanese RPGs, it's only going to take one look at the art style in Eternal Sonata for it to instantly vault to the top of games you have to play this summer.
The story in Eternal Sonata is of the sort that could only come from the imaginative and quirky minds in Japan. It begins with Chopin on his deathbed. His sister and doctor are watching him, wondering if he is going to recover and wake up or not. This is all a set up for the game which actually takes place inside a dream world in Chopin's head. Chopin himself exists in this land and he has the gift of magic (you would too if you had the luxury of living in a world you built with your mind). In this land, however, magic is the side effect of a terrible and fatal disease. Those who can wield magic are shunned and feared so they tend to keep their powers a secret.
The story begins as Chopin slowly builds a group of friends as their paths intertwine. It seems that the local Count has been oppressing the people with extreme taxes that are creating quite a bit of poverty and unrest. It seems that the Count is overtaxing floral powder, the chief medicinal export of a small town, so that he can sell more of his mined elemental medicine. The downer, aside from people going to the poor house, is that the mining process is destroying other towns and forests and the elemental medicine is actually making everyone sicker rather than healing them. The beginning of the story seemed fairly standard, though it did highlight the pleasant humor and musical theme. Each character and town has a name inspired by music. Allegretto, Salsa, Polka, Beat, and Viola are a few of the people we met as they explored towns such as Forte City, Baroque City and Ritardando.
As is expected in RPGs of this sort, each character has their own specialty. Beat, a party member we were shown, has a camera with which he can snap shots in battles. He's good enough with the shutter that you can take these photos back to town and sell them for a nifty profit as a side quest. Chopin and Polka both have healing abilities, though you can of course equip different abilities as they become learned.
The battle system starts out simplistic and steadily builds into a more complex affair. The game begins with a turn based/action hybrid. Combat takes place within an arena where players are given five seconds to move an individual and unleash attacks, take up defensive postures, or use items. Attack, defend, item use, and special attack moves are mapped to the four face buttons removing the majority of menu navigating usually found in RPGs. Which item you're using can be switched on the fly by hitting the bumpers, but other than that there isn't much cycling through lists necessary. The generic attack button can be hit as many times as you can fit into the five second round, allowing players to quickly position their character and unleash a torrent of combo attacks.
It sounds simple and a bit like a hack-and-slash game, but the combat is surprisingly deep. Available attacks and enemy forms shift depending upon whether characters are positioned in light or dark areas of the battlefield, making where you position your characters more than just a defensive concern. Early on there, each character only has one light and one dark attack though later in the game they get two to allow you greater freedom in how you attack an enemy. Chaining together attacks in combos called "echoes" allow you to perform group attacks called harmony chains (you need 24 echoes to start one) that become increasingly necessary as the game gets more difficult.
The combat system also changes slightly as you pass specific points in the story. At the beginning of the game, your five second round counter doesn't begin to tick away until you start moving and only continues doing so as long as you move. The game slowly builds you into a system that has a counter that starts as soon as your round begins and never stops until it reaches zero. At the end of the game, your timer is perpetually moving and the action buttons are randomly mapped to new buttons each round just to keep you on your toes.
The real question, though, is whether the combat system is any good. The simplicity was a bit underwhelming at first, but when we skipped to the end of the game we found a challenging system that required a lot more thought and planning than we originally expected. The system feels a bit like a more action-oriented version of what we saw in Star Ocean 3 and is fresh enough that we didn't feel like we had seen all of this before. In short, it's a game that might take a little while to pick up but well worth the investment. Some of the later battles we saw featured huge enemies in battles that took more skill than we had to defeat, but even the first boss battle was a bit of a marathon.
The battle system is good, but the real treat in Eternal Sonata is the audio-visual experience. With musical themes throughout the game, one would expect a great musical score. What we've heard so far doesn't disappoint. What floored us the most was the visuals. Though Eternal Sonata isn't doing anything outstanding technically, the artistic design and vibrant style is like a breath of fresh air on a console dominated by gritty shooters. The game is being translated into English even while work is still being done in Japan to ensure that the game comes out worldwide early this summer. We're not going to complain either. The sooner this game gets here the better
Check out this quick Video Clip
Here is some info and write up about the Japan Version of Eternal Sonata
The attention to detail in Eternal Sonata is astounding. The pillows on Chopin's bed have intricate stitching done in a thread of the same color as the cloth. The walls in shops are adorned with intimately detailed plates and hangings. City streets are lined with vibrant flowers as rainbows shine over babbling brooks. If you like Japanese RPGs, it's only going to take one look at the art style in Eternal Sonata for it to instantly vault to the top of games you have to play this summer.
The story in Eternal Sonata is of the sort that could only come from the imaginative and quirky minds in Japan. It begins with Chopin on his deathbed. His sister and doctor are watching him, wondering if he is going to recover and wake up or not. This is all a set up for the game which actually takes place inside a dream world in Chopin's head. Chopin himself exists in this land and he has the gift of magic (you would too if you had the luxury of living in a world you built with your mind). In this land, however, magic is the side effect of a terrible and fatal disease. Those who can wield magic are shunned and feared so they tend to keep their powers a secret.
The story begins as Chopin slowly builds a group of friends as their paths intertwine. It seems that the local Count has been oppressing the people with extreme taxes that are creating quite a bit of poverty and unrest. It seems that the Count is overtaxing floral powder, the chief medicinal export of a small town, so that he can sell more of his mined elemental medicine. The downer, aside from people going to the poor house, is that the mining process is destroying other towns and forests and the elemental medicine is actually making everyone sicker rather than healing them. The beginning of the story seemed fairly standard, though it did highlight the pleasant humor and musical theme. Each character and town has a name inspired by music. Allegretto, Salsa, Polka, Beat, and Viola are a few of the people we met as they explored towns such as Forte City, Baroque City and Ritardando.
As is expected in RPGs of this sort, each character has their own specialty. Beat, a party member we were shown, has a camera with which he can snap shots in battles. He's good enough with the shutter that you can take these photos back to town and sell them for a nifty profit as a side quest. Chopin and Polka both have healing abilities, though you can of course equip different abilities as they become learned.
The battle system starts out simplistic and steadily builds into a more complex affair. The game begins with a turn based/action hybrid. Combat takes place within an arena where players are given five seconds to move an individual and unleash attacks, take up defensive postures, or use items. Attack, defend, item use, and special attack moves are mapped to the four face buttons removing the majority of menu navigating usually found in RPGs. Which item you're using can be switched on the fly by hitting the bumpers, but other than that there isn't much cycling through lists necessary. The generic attack button can be hit as many times as you can fit into the five second round, allowing players to quickly position their character and unleash a torrent of combo attacks.
It sounds simple and a bit like a hack-and-slash game, but the combat is surprisingly deep. Available attacks and enemy forms shift depending upon whether characters are positioned in light or dark areas of the battlefield, making where you position your characters more than just a defensive concern. Early on there, each character only has one light and one dark attack though later in the game they get two to allow you greater freedom in how you attack an enemy. Chaining together attacks in combos called "echoes" allow you to perform group attacks called harmony chains (you need 24 echoes to start one) that become increasingly necessary as the game gets more difficult.
The combat system also changes slightly as you pass specific points in the story. At the beginning of the game, your five second round counter doesn't begin to tick away until you start moving and only continues doing so as long as you move. The game slowly builds you into a system that has a counter that starts as soon as your round begins and never stops until it reaches zero. At the end of the game, your timer is perpetually moving and the action buttons are randomly mapped to new buttons each round just to keep you on your toes.
The real question, though, is whether the combat system is any good. The simplicity was a bit underwhelming at first, but when we skipped to the end of the game we found a challenging system that required a lot more thought and planning than we originally expected. The system feels a bit like a more action-oriented version of what we saw in Star Ocean 3 and is fresh enough that we didn't feel like we had seen all of this before. In short, it's a game that might take a little while to pick up but well worth the investment. Some of the later battles we saw featured huge enemies in battles that took more skill than we had to defeat, but even the first boss battle was a bit of a marathon.
The battle system is good, but the real treat in Eternal Sonata is the audio-visual experience. With musical themes throughout the game, one would expect a great musical score. What we've heard so far doesn't disappoint. What floored us the most was the visuals. Though Eternal Sonata isn't doing anything outstanding technically, the artistic design and vibrant style is like a breath of fresh air on a console dominated by gritty shooters. The game is being translated into English even while work is still being done in Japan to ensure that the game comes out worldwide early this summer. We're not going to complain either. The sooner this game gets here the better
Check out this quick Video Clip
