
	Platform Xbox 360 Genre Role-Playing Developer tri-Crescendo Publisher Namco ETA Q4 2007
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Eternal Sonata

A while back we got a glimpse of a new RPG that Namco was working on for the Xbox 360 called Trusty Bell: Chopin’s Dream. It looked quite promising, being developed by the same people who brought us Baten Kaitos, and it suggested that more support from Japanese developers might be on the way for the console. Now we know that the game is indeed making its way to North America, but with a name change: Eternal Sonata.

The game centers on the musical composer Frederick Chopin, who died of tuberculosis at the age of 39. That in mind, the game suggests that shortly before his death, Chopin dreamed of a strange fairyland where incurably ill people like himself had magical powers. In this world he meets a girl named Polka, who also has a terminal illness, and her boyfriend, Allegretto, who wants to find a way to convert her magical powers into a cure for her disease.

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Given that Eternal Sonata is about Chopin, there will be a lot of music in the game. Russian pianist Stanislav Bunin will perform many of the composer’s works, while additional music will be handled by Motoi Sakaruba. Also, the game characters’ special powers are all somehow based in music.

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When battles erupt, players will be put in a situation similar to that of several other console RPGs where each character takes his or her turn to fight, but when each character’s turn comes the action will be in real-time for about five seconds. Instead of the highly automated style of combat often associated with an RPG, it looks like Eternal Sonata is trying to strike a balance between turn-based and real-time gameplay. All the while, players will find themselves with fairly archetypal characters at their disposal where one is adept at using magic, another with ranged weapons, and another that specializes in close quarter combat.

Eternal Sonata holds a lot of promise for the Xbox 360. The original Xbox got very few RPGs, but already its successor is doing quite well for itself, and this game is no exception. The unique, musical theme helps it to stand out, and the overall whimsical look of the game is promising. With titles like Eternal Sonata coming out, the 360’s library has a much better chance of being truly well rounded compared to the original Xbox. Moreover, I’m curious as to how this game will do when it is released in Japan. Last year, Lost Odyssey was released on the 360 in Japan, and it caused a brief spike in 360 console sales over there. Will we see something similar happen with Trusty Bell? It should also be noted that lately classical music has been getting a bit more attention in the public eye in Japan thanks to series like Nodame Cantabile that started as a manga, and then became a very popular TV drama, and now an anime as well. It sparked a lot of interest in classical music, so I wonder if Namco will be able to capitalize on this craze when the game comes out in Japan this June.

Jeff Nash

March 19, 2007