Eternal Sonata
Developer(s)	tri-Crescendo
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai
Distributor(s)	Atari (Europe, Australia) Microsoft (Asia Except Japan)
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date	Xbox 360 JP June 14, 2007 NA September 17, 2007 EU October 19, 2007[1] AUS November 15, 2007[2] PlayStation 3 JP TBA 2008
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player, local co-op
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: T OFLC (AU): M OFLC (NZ): PG
Media	DVD-DL, Blu-ray Disc
Input methods	Xbox 360 Controller, SIXAXIS

Eternal Sonata (トラスティベル ～ショパンの夢～, Torasuti Beru Shopan no Yume^?, Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream) is an original role-playing video game created by tri-Crescendo, one of the developers of Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video tri-Crescendo was founded in February 1999 by Hiroya Hatsushiba, who still heads the company This article is about the holding company and the group of companies it owns Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows The Xbox 360 is the second Video game console produced by Microsoft, and was developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Australasia is a Region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring Islands in the Pacific Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction A console role-playing game is a video game genre that has its origin rooted in Video game consoles and includes game mechanics and frequently settings derived In video gaming, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session Cooperative gameplay (often abbreviated as co-op) primarily refers to a feature in Video games that allows players to work together as teammates with the absence of A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of Video games into suitability-related groups The ( CERO) is the Organization that rates video games and Computer Software in Japan with levels of rating that informs the customer The Entertainment Software Rating Board ( ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, Advertising guidelines and The Office of Film and Literature Classification is a Statutory Censorship and classification body which provides day to day administrative support for the Classification The Office of Film and Literature Classification ( OFLC, Te Tari Whakaropu Tukuata Tuhituhinga is the government agency in New Zealand that is responsible for Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to Electronic media that work on digital Codes. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The Xbox 360 Game console, developed by Microsoft, features a number of first-party and third-party accessories PlayStation 3 owners can purchase a number of accessories for use with the console A computer role-playing game ( CRPG) is a broad Video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. tri-Crescendo was founded in February 1999 by Hiroya Hatsushiba, who still heads the company is a role-playing Video game that was developed by Tri-Crescendo and Monolith Soft and published by Namco for the is a role-playing Video game first unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show by Namco and Monolith Soft. The Microsoft Xbox 360 version of the game was released on June 14, 2007 in Japan, September 17, 2007 in North America, and October 19, 2007 in Europe. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer The Xbox 360 is the second Video game console produced by Microsoft, and was developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The game will also be released for the Sony PlayStation 3 sometime in 2008^[3] with additional content. is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with

The game is centered around the classical pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 39. A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common The story envisions a fictional world dreamed by Chopin during his last hours that is influenced by Chopin's life and music, and in which he himself is a playable character, among others. The game features a selection of Chopin's compositions played by pianist Stanislav Bunin, though most of the in-game music was composed by Motoi Sakuraba. A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra Stanislav Stanislavovich Bunin (Станислав Станиславович Бунин Stanislav Stanislavovič Bunin; born 1966 is a Russian-born pianist Motoi Sakuraba (桜庭 統 Sakuraba Motoi, born August 5, 1965) has composed music for various Japanese Video games Anime The game's battle system centers around musical elements and character-unique special attacks. Role-playing battle systems is a systematic set of rules to determine how battle should flow in an Role-playing game. Light and darkness plays a part in the appearance and abilities of enemies on the battlefield, as well as the types of magic that can be cast. ^[4]

Story

The game is presented in chapters and each main chapter is named after one of Chopin’s famous works (For example, the chapter ‘Revolution’ is named after the ‘Revolutionary Etude’). The plot of the game follows two distinct narrative strands; the first, and main narrative, is the story of the fictional world that Chopin is experiencing while on his death bed. The other narrative provides historical information on Chopin’s life that is considered relevant to current plot developments in the fictional world and is displayed at key points during the course of the game. This narrative is accompanied by a rendition of the piece the chapter draws inspiration from.

The fictional world contains two major kingdoms that are currently on the brink of war, Forte and Baroque. Polka, a young girl that resides in Tenuto, a village within Forte territory, has a terminal illness. A side effect of any terminal illness is the ability to do magic; this leads normal people to stay away from magic users for fear of catching the illness. Polka is constantly told by her Mother that she must one day throw herself into the sea and that she will understand why when the time comes. In the mean time, Polka tries to make a living selling floral powder as a healing agent but can’t compete with the price of the tax free ‘Mineral Powder’, an addictive miracle cure supplied by Forte Castle. She later meets with Frederic Chopin who offers to help escort her to Count Waltz, the ruler of Forte, so that she may plead with him to increase the price of Mineral Powder.

The pair later encounters two young orphan boys, Allegretto and Beat, who are also planning to ask Count Waltz to lower taxes so that they can feed other orphans in their town. As they travel, Allegretto and Polka draw close to one another, and they feel a strange connection. Polka also learns that strange creatures called "agogos" react completely differently around her than anyone else by radiating a strange glow.

The group is arrested once they reach Forte but they’re able to escape with the help of an underground resistance group who want to overthrow Count Waltz. The resistance informs the party that they are working for Prince Crescendo, the acting ruler of Baroque, and they set off together to inform him of the current developments. Once at Baroque Castle the party learns that Mineral Powder has devastating and deadly side effects and that Count Waltz is using its addictive nature to raise a powerful army with the sole intention of attacking Baroque. Polka, still troubled by her Mother’s words, decides to throw her most prized possession, a uniquely shaped rock given to her by ‘someone special’, into the sea instead of herself. Allegretto then surprises Polka by giving her an identically shaped rock to replace it.

After learning that Forte has placed a spy among his most trusted peers, Prince Crescendo decides that the only way to prevent bloodshed is to surrender himself to Count Waltz in return for Count Waltz sparing Baroque and its people. The party manages to stop Crescendo before he reaches Forte territory, but they soon discover that Count Waltz is already beginning his attack on Baroque. The party manages to defeat Waltz in battle and prevent the invasion of Baroque but are unable to stop his advisor Legato from using a stronger, experimental version of the Mineral Powder on himself. The new Mineral Powder causes him to transform into a creature so powerful it smashes into another dimension.

The party follows Legato into this new dimension and finds it occupied by the souls of all those who perished due to using Mineral Powder. Eventually tracking down Legato, they manage to defeat him and gain access to the very core of the world. Here, Frederic Chopin announces that he is still convinced that this entire world is just his dream, his final journey before death, and that he must face his own soul before he can travel into the afterlife. He then faces the party in one final battle and is defeated.

Realising that this is the end of her journey, Polka thanks the party for escorting her and then throws herself off the cliff into the sea. Allegretto is mortified and begins blaming Chopin for Polka’s death. We then see a younger, reborn Polka falling slowly from the sky into the arms of her mother, who is obviously expecting this event. The scene, mirroring the opening, portrays a younger Polka with her mother while Chopin narrates, finally realising the true nature of this world. Young Polka then tells her mother that she hears someone calling her and her mother informs her that she is hearing the call of her ‘special someone’. Young Polka wishes farewell to her mother as she is whisked back into the air by an unknown force.

Rejoining the rest of the party, still mortified by previous events, we see Polka rise back over the cliff surrounded by glowing agogos. Polka knows that she has been reunited with her true love and embraces an ecstatic Allegretto. Finally, in the real world, Chopin’s spirit rises out of his body and he plays his piano one last time, in a blooming sea of nocturnal flowers 'Heaven's Mirror', composing a song that was inspired by Polka.

Characters

All of the characters in Eternal Sonata, with the exception of real-world people such as Chopin, are named after musical terms.

Note: Character names link to their respective musical terms, not to articles on the characters themselves.

Frédéric François Chopin (フレデリック・フランソワ・ショパン, Furederikku Furansowa Shopan^?)

As he lies dying of tuberculosis in the real world, Chopin dreams of this world. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common He appears as a tall gentleman in a long coat and top hat. He fights with a conductor's baton.
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)

Polka (ポルカ, Poruka^?)

A 14-year old girl with a death sentence hanging over her head: she can use magic, a sign of disease in their world. is a Voice actor ( Seiyū) who was born in Osaka, Japan. His height is 1 David Patrick Seitz (born March 17 1978 in Riverside California) is an American voice actor and director who is well known for his role The polka is a fast lively Central European Dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas Because of this, she is shunned by many, but still has a pretty upbeat and sweet personality. Chopin mentions she reminds him of his sister, who also died of tuberculosis. She fights with a parasol.
Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)

Allegretto (アレグレット, Areguretto^?)

A 16-year old street urchin with a Robin Hood complex, willing to steal to feed the less fortunate. from Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Seiyū and J-pop Singer who has had roles in several Anime, Visual novels and Erin Fitzgerald (born September 21, 1972 in Victoria British Columbia) is a Voice actor. 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where He's confident and strong, but not stupid. A revolutionary at heart, he does have a soft side, mostly shown with Beat, whom he has taken as a little brother, and Polka, whom he loves. He fights with a one-handed sword.
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Sam Riegel (English)

Beat (ビート, Bīto^?)

An 8 year old orphan whose most prized possession is his camera. is a Japanese Seiyū, or voice actor He is employed by I'm Enterprise. Samuel Brent Oscar Riegel (born October 9, 1976) is a voice actor writer and director who appears in many television cartoons anime and video games A beat is the basic Time Unit of a piece of Music; for example each tick sounded by a Metronome would correspond to a beat While he often does not get the point of what Allegretto and the others are saying until later and maintains an air of innocence, he is no stranger to fighting. He wields a hooked rifle which resembles a clarinet and can also function at close range as a hammer.
Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English)

Viola (ビオラ, Biora^?)

A young farmer the party meets in the countryside. is a female Seiyū who was born in Yōkaichiba, Chiba Prefecture. Mona Marshall (born Mona M Ianotti on August 31, 1947) is an American Voice actress. The viola is a bowed String instrument. It is the middle voice of the Violin family, She's a tough-talker and can handle herself, being slightly older than the others in the party. She fights with a bow. She has a pet named Arco who tags along with the group.
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead (English)

Salsa (サルサ, Sarusa^?)

The guardian of Agogo Forest who the party meets while imprisoned in the Forte Castle dungeons. is a Seiyū and singer born December 12, 1975 in Kanegasaki, Isawa, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Megan TD Hollingshead (born September 22, 1968 in New York New York) is an American Theatre and Voice actor. Salsa music is a diverse and predominantly Latin American Caribbean genre that is popular across Latin America and among Latinos abroad She is quite brash, outspoken and energetic at times. She fights with Solar Rings.
Voiced by: Mika Kanai (Japanese), Amy Rose (English)

March

The guardian of Agogo Forest. Mika Kanai (かない みか Kanai Mika, originally 金井 美香 Kanai Mika, born March 18, 1964) is a Japanese voice actress who A march, as a Musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a Military Salsa's twin sister. She tends to be the more reasonable one of the two, making her a sharp contrast to Salsa. She fights with Luna Rings.
Voiced by: Chiwa Saito (Japanese), Amy Rose (English)

Jazz (ジルバ, Jiruba^?, his Japanese name is a transliteration of "jitterbug")

Leader of the revolutionary group Andantino. is a Japanese Seiyū ( voice actress) She is employed by I'm Enterprise. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Jitterbug can be used as a Noun to refer to a swing dancer or various types of Swing dances e Quiet and serious, he worries about the damage Count Waltz might be doing to the people with the mineral powder and the processes needed to mine it. He fights with a two-handed sword.
Voiced by: George Nakata (Japanese), D.C. Douglas (English)

Falsetto (ファルセット, Farusetto^?)

Jazz's lieutenant in Andantino, she's perceptive and tough, and inwardly dislikes Claves. is a male Japanese voice actor, born in the Metropolitan area of Tokyo, Japan. DC Douglas (born February 2, 1966, Berkeley California) is an American Character actor, Voice actor, and director The term falsetto (Italian diminutive of falso, false refers to the Vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the Modal voice register and She fights with brass knuckles.
Voiced by: Tomoe Hanba (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)

Claves (クラベス, Kurabesu^?)

Jazz's girlfriend and another soldier of Andantino. born June 9, 1972 in Tokyo, is a Seiyū who works for Arts Vision. Julie Ann Taylor (born on August 30, 1961 in Fort Irwin California) is an American voice actress who is best known for her role of Ai Tanabe Claves are a Percussion instrument ( Idiophone) consisting of a pair of short (about 20-30 cm thick dowels Later, she is shown to be a spy for Count Waltz and is killed for choosing to help Jazz instead. She fights with a rapier.
Voiced by: Mie Sonozaki (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)

Gameplay

Eternal Sonata follows many general conventions in a typical console role-playing game: the player controls a party of up to ten characters to explore the world, talking with its inhabitants, buying and selling equipment at shops, and encountering monsters while in the field. born February 7, 1973 in Tokyo Japan is a voice actress ( Seiyu) and singer in Japan Tara O Platt is an American film and television Actress as well as a Voice actor. A console role-playing game is a video game genre that has its origin rooted in Video game consoles and includes game mechanics and frequently settings derived These encounters are visible, and the player can opt to avoid the encounter, if possible, as well as gaining an edge on the monsters by approaching them from behind. Experience points are awarded to all members of the party, though at a reduced rate for those not involved in combat, and characters will improve in various statistics with each experience level as well as learning special combat skills. Weapons, armor, and accessories can be used to improve these statistics, which can be purchased through money earned in combat, found in chests, or by selling both equipment and photographs which can be taken by the character Beat during battle. A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic The player may also find Score Pieces scattered about the world, which represent short musical phrases. Various NPCs in the game will offer to perform with the party, requiring the player to match a Score Piece to the phrase offered by the NPC, with the resulting composition being ranked. A non-player character, often shortened to NPC, is a character that is controlled by the Gamemaster in Role-playing games or one that is not Discordant matches will result in no reward, but close or perfect matches will gain a bonus item from the NPC.

Combat

Combat in Eternal Sonata takes place in both lit and shaded areas, affecting the skills the player can use

While the main combat system is turn-based using only 3 characters within the party, it incorporates elements of an action game. An action game is a game that challenges a player's speed dexterity and reaction time Each character's turn is preceded by "Tactical Time", a period of time which the player can use to decide the course of action to take with that character. Once the player initiates an action or "Tactical Time" expires (a function of the Party Class Level), the player then has a limited amount of time denoted by an Action Gauge to move the character, attack the enemy, and use recovery skills or items. Regular attacks are made at melee or ranged distances depending on the weapon choice of the character, and add a small quantity of time back to the Action Gauge, and additionally add to the party's "Echoes" meter. Special skills which can include both offensive attacks and recovery skills will consume whatever Echoes have been generated to that point, and will have a more powerful effect relative to that number. When a character defends against an attack, there is a short period before the attack strikes where the player can press a button to block some of the damage for the attack, or to possibly even counterattack the blow and interrupt the monster's turn. Recovery and other one-time-use items are kept in a common pouch with a limited capacity; the player must "set" items in the pouch so that they can be cycled through and triggered during battle.

Light and dark areas on the battle field generated by the time of day, environment, and shadows of the characters and monsters will affect combat. Each party character has one or more special skills that are active in lit areas, and a similar number but with very different effects in a dark area. Monsters themselves may have a dissimilar set of powers in the area of the battlefield they are in, while other monsters will actually change form when they move between lit and dark areas. The player can manipulate the nature of areas using special items, but this can also be affected by the monsters themselves, or through dynamic changes on the battlefield such as the shadow of a cloud moving across the ground.

As the player progresses through the game, they will increase their Party Class Level. Each improvement in level grants some bonuses while also imposing additional limits on combat. For example, one Party Class improvement increases the number of slots for special skills for each character, but at the same time, cuts down the amount of Tactical Time and time available in the Action Gauge.

Audio

Eternal Sonata features a large soundtrack, mostly composed by Motoi Sakuraba, with seven of Chopin's compositions performed by Stanislav Bunin and presented in 5. 1 surround sound. Featured music of Chopin's include Étude Op. 10, No. 12, Étude Op. 10, No. 3 and Polonaise Op. 53. Étude Op 10 No 12 in C minor known as The Revolutionary Étude, is a solo piano work by Frédéric Chopin written circa 1831 Étude Op10 No3 in E major is a solo piano work composed by Frédéric Chopin. The Polonaise in A-flat major Op 53 or ( Polonaise héroïque, Heroic Polonaise) was written by Frédéric Chopin in 1842 for solo piano A Japanese aria composed by Sakuraba titled "Heaven's Mirror" (鏡天花, Kyōtenka^?) is also performed by Akiko Shinada for the soundtrack. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities This article is about the musical term "aria" For other meanings or uses of the word see Aria (disambiguation. The game's background music was released in Japan as the four-disc album Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream Original Score (トラスティベル ～ショパンの夢～ オリジナルスコア, Torasuti Beru ~Shopan no Yume~ Orijinaru Sukoa^?) on 25 July 2007 under the King Records label. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. is a Japanese record company founded in 1931 as a division of Japanese publisher Kodansha.

Development

Says director Hiroya Hatsushiba:^[5]

For the localization, the game's text was proofread by the Frederick Chopin Society in Warsaw. The localization team wanted to be as historically accurate as possible, without losing the original message of the script. ^[6]

On April 23, 2007, the ESRB posted their rating for Eternal Sonata^[7] listing the game as being intended for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. However, when news of this quickly spread, the ESRB removed the listing entirely. ^[8] On September 11, 2007, Bandai Namco's official site listed Eternal Sonata as coming soon to PlayStation 3, yet also listed the Xbox 360 version as being "available now. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. " Again, as news quickly spread, the information was removed. ^[9] The following day, scans from Famitsu were released, confirming the game as being released for the PlayStation 3. (formerly Famicom Tsushin) is a Japanese Video game magazine published by Enterbrain Inc ^[10] On September 14, 2007 Bandai Namco officially announced Eternal Sonata was coming to the PS3, during Spring 2008 in Japan. ^[3]

In addition, Namco Bandai stated that there will be features exclusive for the PlayStation 3 version. This includes new playable characters, Crescendo and Serenade, who played a major role in the plot of the game, but were not playable in the Xbox 360 version. It will also include a new clothing system, in which the player can freely change his/her character's costume.

Reception

Anticipation for the game seemed high prior to release, with the game having reached number four in Amazon Japan video game pre-orders^[11] not long after a demo was made available on the Japanese Marketplace, and even number one on Amazon Japan's video game charts not long before the game's release. ^[12] Famitsu rated the game 9/9/9/8, for a total score of 35/40. (formerly Famicom Tsushin) is a Japanese Video game magazine published by Enterbrain Inc ^[13] During its release week, the game reached second place on the Japanese sales charts. ^[14] The following week, it had placed 35th. [1][2]

At E3 2007, it won GameTrailers.com's award for Best Role-Playing Game^[15] and IGN's award for Best Original Score on Xbox 360, and was a runner-up in Best RPG, Best Artistic Design on Xbox 360 and Best Use Of Sound on Xbox 360. The history of the E3 began with its creation in 1995 and has continued through the current expo in 2008 GameTrailers ( GT) is a media website that specializes in video game related content IGN (abbreviated and formerly known as I magine G ames N etwork is a multimedia news and reviews Website that focuses heavily on Video ^[16]

In the west, it received many high reviews. Metacritic has a score of 79% based on 53 reviews. ^[17]

Notes and references

External links

• Official Japanese Site
• Official North American Site
• Official European Site