Eternal Sonata

The PS3 finally has a solid RPG and despite the fact that it is one that has been ported over from the 360 it's worth checking out.

The battle system is still addictively fun, the multifaceted story is riveting, and the graphics are amazing... we couldn't ask for much more.

Despite the flaws that it has, Eternal Sonata is still a visually stunning game with a charming story.

Its about time the PS3 had a decent RPG, though this is a long way from Final Fantasy in terms of story and presentation, it is original enough for people to give a try.

Quite simply, while Eternal Sonata may be overlooked as a broken title, it is truly no such thing. Instead, it is a world that I was happy to play in, and may even dream about from time to time.

For an RPG, Eternal Sonata isn't particularly long -- it clocks in at around 30 hours -- but it's a deep, rewarding, and completely entertaining experience while it lasts.

Although sometimes awkwardly paced and linear, Eternal Sonata is an RPG that everyone should consider checking out, especially for the unique premise and touching music.

Eternal Sonata really is amazing to look at and incredible fun to play. The characters endear themselves to you and the story isn’t as clichéd as most JRPGs. The only downside is that it’s a little bit shorter than other roleplaying games.

A year later, this captivating role-playing game is still gorgeous to look at and fun to play.

Eternal Sonata is one of the sure bets in the RPG portfolio of PlaStation 3, a genre that unfortunately doesn't have many good components in the console, so this port from the Xbox 360 presented by Tri-Cescendo is one of the current best.

This game offers a fairy tale-like scenario, which will appeal to fans of realistic RPGs not very much. But there aren’t many RPG-titles for the PS3 and if you like the genre, you should definitely take a look.

Eternal Sonata partially compensates for the lack of Jrpg titles on PlayStation 3. It’s not a hard game, but still full of style, exquisite from a technical point of view and different from the other games of the genre. If you didn't buy it already on Xbox 360, it’s your chance not to miss this sturdy game.

Waffly, but this inventive musical RPG strikes few bum notes. [Mar 2009, p.56]

Things are smooth and fast, and it does encourage you to think strategically.

Eternal Sonata is a wonderful ensemble of fascinating characters and a remarkable story about the life of Frederic Chopin. One of the best Japanese RPG on the PlayStation 3.

Same game, different console – for the most part, anyway. You should definitely give Eternal Sonata a spin, if only to escape the all-too-common bleakness of next-gen titles.

The additions to the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata add some length and substance to an already satisfying game. A tempting and beautiful dream world, the game design is truly captivating.

Eternal Sonata is a good RPG, not great, but good and worth the play.

Overall, there really isn’t anything to terrible to say about Eternal Sonata. The first hours are definitely the slowest part of the game and are very “Japanese,” but any RPG fan will enjoy the balanced combat system and haunting musical score.

Eternal Sonata's very much the same game that we saw two years ago with a bunch of new goodies and an improved engine system that allowed tri-Crescendo to use once more its colourful world, loaded with strange characters and defying monsters. Its a worth-buying game if you don't have the X360 edition.

Just like the symphonies that inspired its musical score, Eternal Sonata starts out slowly, making breach in the hearts and soul of the players. On the other side, fast paced battles keep the gameplay alive. Indeed, an interesting diversion from the well known themes of this next-gen. Love it or hate it, there’s no compromise; give it a good try, it could be the best JRPG experience you’ve ever had.

The difficulty and overall design of the game could have been altered slightly for the better but when compared to most RPGs of this generation, Eternal Sonata is well worth it.

The PlayStation 3 version of Eternal SOnata is in fact a delayed Xbox 360 version. But, because of the more clarified story, the four month waiting period only made the game better. Besides that, the game offers extra features, making the PS3 version slightly better that the Xbox 360 version.

Strange, but somehow comforting. [Mar 2009, p.94]

Eternal Sonata is a recommended action RPG. Nevertheless, its structure is highly linear and the fighting system may not appeal everyone, but its impressive visuals are something that can easily delight everyone.

It shines and moves like few other games have so far, and provides a solid 20-30 hours for any RPG-starved PS3 owner who hasn't given the game a go on the Xbox 360.

A game this pretty should be a no-brainer, but as soon as the characters open their mouths, your beleaguered brain will ache for a return to the action. [Holiday 2008, p.78]

The first couple of hours in Eternal Sonata are simply enchanting. Great design, graphics and music together create a truly endearing atmosphere. Battling enemies in the game is great fun as you progress in the game and delve deeper into the battle mechanics. The plot is a bit uneven though and the options for exploration, character development and equipment are meager to say the least. These flaws aside, this is still a great and beautiful adventure.

Despite being about one of the great composers, music is not an integral part of the game.

Whilst being colourful and sweet, Eternal Sonata has a few archaic gameplay elements that are totally unnecessary, such as insta-death battles and a slow-paced story. However, as far as role playing games go this isn't bad. It's just a pity that the game doesn't break very much new ground.

In the beginning, the lengthy and frequent cut scenes really started to grate on my nerves, but after the 6 hour I started to really take an interest in certain characters, and the game felt like it just took off from there.

The new PS3 version of the Chopin-themed role-player still sounds more original than it plays.