Eternal Sonata Demo Impressions

Okay, it is a horrible fact that this game is going to be the game this fall that everybody should play yet nobody will. The reason? Because it is not going to get the advertising that it deserves and it will be buried by the 20 other established big name releases coming out in the surrounding months. This brakes my heart because Eternal Sonata is shaping up to be one of the best RPG’s to hit the current generation systems yet.

This game takes place in the famous composer Frederic Chopin’s dream world as he lies on his deathbed. Eternal Sonata is a traditional Japanese role playing game and some people may hate on it at first glance for not offering anything new. Although it looks like a number of RPGs from the past in terms of combat, Eternal Sonata needs only one chance to change your mind.

The combat system is an evolving entity of its own. It begins turn-based, then as the player gains experience it starts taking elements away so that eventually the combat is much more real-time. For the demo the player is at level two and this allows a nice mix of turn-based and real-time combat for someone who has never played Eternal Sonata.


Another factor in battles is that areas of the arena are shrouded in light and dark. Depending if either a party member or enemy is situated in the light or in the shade, different abilities are at their disposal. For instance, each party member has a special move, one for light and one for dark. Depending on where he/she is in the arena depends on which move is available and thus not only do players need to be mindful of which abilities each party member has, but also mindful of the character’s positioning as it will effect battle strategy. The same goes for enemies, which can even be physically altered by the shade/light. This seemingly minor twist to combat is just enough to switch things up while retaining some of the familiar.

I totally love the look of Eternal Sonata (OMG I TOTALLY LOVE IT!). From the character designs, environments, visual effects, coloring, and polish, Eternal Sonata has a style of its own. The game is hauntingly linear, but I don’t really mind this while exploring massive areas/dungeons. The cut-scenes are shot well and animations look great.

Since this story takes place in Chopin’s dome I figured that the music has got to be worthy of such an association. From the few areas that the demo allows the player to explore I can say that so far the score for Eternal Sonata is top quality.


While the relatively short demo spans only a small village and a few forests, there are not many negative things I can say about Eternal Sonata. Plus there are enough elements that have me wanting this game even more than I did last week. Personally it has been much too long since I got to play through a quality JRPG and I miss the nostalgic style of gameplay and presentation. If you fancy yourself an RPG this fall, check out Eternal Sonata on September 17th.