Eternal Sonata

[Bulovski]

@reaper saar - how much? and can someone educate me on the differences between the PS3 version and the 360 version?

[MarketTantrik]

and can someone educate me on the differences between the PS3 version and the 360 version?

 

Its a port of the X360 version, so it will suck on the PS3.

 

 

 

j/k. Seriously, here are the differences.

 

The PLAYSTATION 3 game will feature everything that made the Xbox 360 game so unmissable, with the addition of exclusive brand new features and content exclusive to the PLAYSTATION 3 including:

 

* New adventures: exclusive quests, battles, events and multiple endings grow the story;

* Additional playable characters: now choose to play as Crescendo and Serenade;

* New Costumes: different costumes let players customise the appearance of their characters;

* Exclusive new music: even more of Frederic Chopin’s timeless classical music.

[shockwave]

* New adventures: exclusive quests, battles, events and multiple endings grow the story;

* Additional playable characters: now choose to play as Crescendo and Serenade;

* New Costumes: different costumes let players customise the appearance of their characters;

* Exclusive new music: even more of Frederic Chopin’s timeless classical music.

 

Now those are quite major additions. Don't tell me I made a mistake ordering the 360 version? (its gonna arrive in a day or two)

[MarketTantrik]

Now those are quite major additions. Don't tell me I made a mistake ordering the 360 version? (its gonna arrive in a day or two)

The only addition that will swing my vote are the new characters. I am waiting for the reviews on the effectiveness of the new chaps.

[KnackChap]

horrible game

[shockwave]

If it's good.. then getting the PS3 version later wouldn't hurt. If it's bad, then TP is our best friend.

[MarketTantrik]

horrible game

[lithuvien]

horrible game

 

Au contraire .... This is a beautiful game. I am playing it and this game feels like a children's coloured book come to life.

[reaper]

^^ + 1 ... i didnt like the game at first .. the story was too slow to start off with and the long unskipable cutscenes didnt make it any better ..... but then as i played it, the story picked up .. the addition of various new characters as the story progressed, it made the combat more varied and fun. ... its an awesome game to say the least .

[MarketTantrik]

I'll wait a while before picking this up. I've yet to progress past the first disc of Lost Odyssey.

[Ne0]

the game looks so chwwweeeet it might give u diabetes

 

 

 

PJ Time

 

[lithuvien]

Game Review:

 

Eternal Sonata

Playstation 3

 

 

 

For PS3 owners, it has been a long wait to get their hands on the much anticipated Eternal Sonata and needless to say, it didn't disappoint. Everything about the game radiates beauty, much like the music of the great composer on whom the game is based. You will rarely come across anything that could be described as "jaw-dropping", but yet the simplistic beauty of the visuals and the music will keep you spellbound throughout its magical journey.

 

 

Story

 

The year 1849 saw the demise of one of the greatest masters of the western classical music, Frederick Francois Chopin, who lost his long battle with tuberculosis. The story of this game takes place on the night of his death, where he "dreams" of a mysterious yet beautiful world, filled with knights and ogres and sorcerers. This is a world where terminally ill people have the power of magic. Here he meets a young girl by the name of Polka, who is terminally ill. She reminds Chopin of his own sister who passed away at the tender age of fourteen.

 

The story revolves around two kingdoms, Forte and Baroque. The count of Forte, Waltz, has made life difficult for the people by putting high taxes on almost everything except for a miracle drug known as "mineral powder". Because of this, people set out to Forte to plead to the Count; Allegretto and Beat, orphans from the town of Retradando set off to bring down the taxes on bread and blankets, the forest guardian of the Agogo Forest, Marche, sets off to tell the Count to stop the mining activities which are destroying the forest, Polka sets of to ask the Count to remove taxes on her village's Floral powder to save her village's economy, a band of rebels set out to Forte to put a monkey wrench in the Count's plans and Chopin sets of to find whether this world is really a dream or another plane of reality. But why is the Count putting up such high taxes? The answer to that question will reveal things that will shake the very foundations of their beliefs.

 

 

Game play:

 

The combat here is a mixture of real time and turn based events. There are no random encounters. Instead, you will be able to see your enemies on the screen. If you run into them, you will be whisked away to the combat arena to do combat.

 

Your party size is limited to three. Once your turn comes up, you will be able to fight real time. There are two timers: A tactical timer and a combat timer. As the name suggests, the tactical timer is to give you time to plan your move. The combat timer bar starts whenever you make a move. You can continue to do any action till the bar runs out. Also, the combat timer will start once your tactical timer runs out.

 

To make things simple, an arrow saying Next will be shown above a character to indicate whose turn it is next. Once your turn starts, you can run around with the left analog stick. Hitting enemies is very simple. There are two attacks. Pressing the "X" button will use the normal attacks. Pressing the "/\" button will execute a special attack. Hitting the enemy successfully will recharge your combat meter by a small amount.

 

When an enemy starts to attack you, pressing the square button will enable you to guard against attacks. But this is possible only if you press the button at the same time the word "Guard" appears on the screen. Since this is always accompanied by a tinkling sound, it's easy to guard even if you have your eyes closed. Guarding is essential when you are facing bosses, where a successful guard can cut down the damage from 2000~3000 to about 400~500. It also prevents any status ailments which accompany that attack. Later in the game, it is also possible to counterattack on certain occasions. But these opportunities arise sparingly and you have to be quick to act on it.

 

This is the first game where the elements of light and dark play a big role. Your special attacks are divided into two categories: light and dark. You can use light attacks only if you are in an area where there is light and dark attacks only in shaded areas. Even the shadows that bigger monsters cast will cause you to cast dark attacks. Another feature is that certain kinds of monsters mutate when they go from light to dark and vice versa. Their shapes and attacks change, and sometimes even the experience they give you changes. Even the Ai is decent, with higher level enemies not only guarding against your attacks more often, but also running to your back side and attacking you to prevent you from guarding.

 

An interesting feature here is the Item Menu. Each item is worth a certain points. To carry items into battle, you have to create an Item Set. The limit for the Item Set is determined by a factor known as the Party Level. So even deciding which items to carry into battle becomes important. Apart from getting gold by defeating monsters, you can also get money by using Beat to take pictures of the enemies you face. The better the picture, the more you can sell it for.

 

 

Graphics:

 

The game is a riot of colours, a picture of beauty and splendour which is guaranteed to keep you mesmerized. True to the next-gen bandwagon, there is not much difference between actual game-play graphics and the cut scenes. You know the cut-scene has ended when the camera zooms out. You will travel from swamps to lush-green fields, from the interiors of a volcanic mountain to the peak of a snow clad mountain. It all looks and feels like the coloured pages of a fairy tale book. As far as I have played, there are no frame-rate issues with the game.

 

The only problem is that the camera is fixed, due to which it becomes a little difficult to spot certain treasure chests. During battle, the camera can be zoomed out to show you where the enemies are, but that's all you can do. It is annoying to have a giant tub of lard blocking your view while you are executing your special attacks.

 

The cut-scenes in some places are long, very long. You can skip them, but then you will lose the thread of the story.

 

 

Music:

 

Ahh! Can a game based on Chopin have anything but outstanding music? Each chapter in the game is named after a famous work of Chopin, like Minuet Waltz, Raindrops Prelude, etc. At the end of each chapter, that particular composition is played and the history behind that composition is displayed. As you unlock each composition, you can access them later anytime and listen to them. The in-game music is also on the same notes and is brilliant. There is also a mini-game, where you have to find score pieces scattered throughout the game. When you talk to certain NPCs, they will ask you to perform a session with them. If the score piece you choose harmonizes with theirs, then they will give you nice goodies, else you will be booed off the stage.

[Tyler]

Nice!

 

I really want to know which version is better?

 

BTW, @reaper: Interested in selling the 360 version?

[junior]

@reaper: Interested in selling the 360 version?

doesnt this sound like folklore 2 ??

[Tyler]

^^ Folklore is more of an action/adventure game. This is a JRPG through and through!

[reaper]

Nice!

 

I really want to know which version is better?

 

BTW, @reaper: Interested in selling the 360 version?

 

nope ... not until i get the PS3 version atleast ....

[Tyler]

^^ I have your copy of the game now Funny how things work out eh?

 

Anyway, I'm absolutely loving this game. 10 hours in, Allegretto is at lvl 22 and the others between 18 - 20. Party level at 3...

 

- First off, I'm in love with the graphics. This is hands down the most colorful games you'll ever play. The visuals look very clean & crisp and the characters are very nicely detailed. Only one word can sum up the way the game looks - beautiful.

 

- The Battle system is awesome and highly addictive! Encounters are not random (phew!) and the combat itself scales up nicely as you progress and more characters are introduced. Great mix of real time action and old school turn based systems. It's definitely one of the better battle systems in a JRPG.

 

- Music forms an essential part of the game and it's absolutely beautiful! The story itself starts out very low key but gets progressively bigger as new elements are introduced. It's also one of the more emotional RPGs you'll ever play.

 

So far, I'm having a great time with this game. However, I have a few questions for those who have played it...

 

- Is there a map system? Some of the areas are huge and it's easy to get lost and go around in circles.

 

- Also, is there any way to check an enemy's HP during battle? Are there any special accessories?

[lithuvien]

Till now, I have not come across anything that lets me check the HP of an enemy. I simply get a ballpark figure after fighting a particualr kind of enemy 3-4 times.

[Tyler]

Yeah, so far I'm using the ballpark method too. The battles haven't been tough so far but I'm expecting the difficulty to ramp up soon.

 

I'm at the

Graveyard right now, finding all those flames is a pain...

, coupled with my "kill every single enemy I see in the area" OCD...

[reaper]

I am so tempted to lock this thread .. im so pissed off about losing my copy ..

i dont blame u though

this should teach me not to trust pesky kids from now on ..

 

BTW ... yup .. plenty of hidden items and bosses to find in the game ... but u need to play it twice to get to them ..