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ITT: We discuss Eternal Sonata <3

I finally finished it a couple of days ago and I have to give a big WTF at the ending. :lol

I enjoyed it a lot on the whole though. Playing it through on encore mode now to get the last scores and a few secret items. Considerably harder this time though. =/
 
PLaying through the 360 version now and loving it, it's a really fun game full of character and charm. I'm disappointed in only being able to have 3 characters battling at once, it seems, 4 would have been a better option especially with how many characters you can choose between later in the game.

All of the characters are charming in their own way, and sometimes annoying, but, I think each characters roles are played out nicely.

The music is fantastic, and the little stories with Chopin etc rule.

Not sure how close to finishing the game I am, but, really enjoying it so far.

Booyah.
 
This is in the same boat as Vesperia for me. I was really really into it for a while, but then just grew bored relatively near the climax. I should try to replay this, I loved the concept.
 
I finished the encore mode a couple of days after I did normal mode. Sadly I don't think there was much point in doing it though... not a lot was new. I did get rather carried away with the levelling though (spoilers in image arguably):

http://i35.tinypic.com/oqj4hw.jpg

hamchan said:
Beautiful graphics, fantastic soundtrack. Horrible battle system, terrible story.
Click to expand...
I thought the battle system was excellent... only let down by how repetitive the enemies were.
 
:lol Just beat
Frederik/Chopin
and am watching the ending now. I have no idea whats going on?
Go into the sea? wut

Great game though.
 
hamchan said:
Beautiful graphics, fantastic soundtrack. Horrible battle system, terrible story.
Click to expand...

This, this, this & this.

The game was just above average. I put the sound on mute at the end though. Combat tune was getting boring.
 
Someone want to explain the ending for me? Its been going on for a good 20 minutes now and I'm still clueless as to whats happening.

Holy shit, watching
Frederik play in a beautiful field with the credits rolling and that lady singing is fucking beautiful. So fucking good.
 
Bought it for 30 euros for the PS# and I really like the game. I enjoy the grinding :)
First JRPG this gen I can enjoy. But wwhere are my ps2 era-quality jrpg's :(
 
Enjoyed it, but found it a bit short. It ended suddenly (kinda like Chopin's life I guess). Also, one decent set of photos in battle meant you never ran out of money for the whole game.
 
ajim said:
Holy shit, watching
Frederik play in a beautiful field with the credits rolling and that lady singing is fucking beautiful. So fucking good.
Click to expand...
That part should have been the ending on its own. Was really well done.
 
I picked this game up yesterday. I always told myself I would get this game when the price was right. Since that time, it's been very hard to find. I came across it yesterday for $20 and snatched it up. I'm usually a new release guy, so buying older titles is very rare for me.

I think the game is great, but I have very little jRPG experience... my exposure to other jRPG's is almost nada. I like the character designs and even the voice acting. I'm a sucker for the vibrant and colorful environments.

I thought the combat shined because it wasn't just turned based. I had fun trying to use my time so that I got a super move in just before my time expired which then gave me hits beyond my time limit.

If I liked this game... which jRPG out there will just blow me away?
 
jedimike said:
I picked this game up yesterday. I always told myself I would get this game when the price was right. Since that time, it's been very hard to find. I came across it yesterday for $20 and snatched it up. I'm usually a new release guy, so buying older titles is very rare for me.

If I liked this game... which jRPG out there will just blow me away?
Click to expand...

What system did you get it on?

It has a pretty unique battle system.
 
I got bored of this rather quickly mainly because pressing A,A,A,A,Y to win didn't really appeal to me.

The story and setting sounded really interesting, but idk if I want to sit through that boring battle system to just to find out what happens.

Maybe if I can get it for dirt cheap I'll play it again, but it just didn't seem like it was worth 35 bucks to me.
 
jedimike said:
I picked this game up yesterday. I always told myself I would get this game when the price was right. Since that time, it's been very hard to find. I came across it yesterday for $20 and snatched it up. I'm usually a new release guy, so buying older titles is very rare for me.

I think the game is great, but I have very little jRPG experience... my exposure to other jRPG's is almost nada. I like the character designs and even the voice acting. I'm a sucker for the vibrant and colorful environments.

I thought the combat shined because it wasn't just turned based. I had fun trying to use my time so that I got a super move in just before my time expired which then gave me hits beyond my time limit.

If I liked this game... which jRPG out there will just blow me away?
Click to expand...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015HZLVA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
ajim said:
Someone want to explain the ending for me? Its been going on for a good 20 minutes now and I'm still clueless as to whats happening.

Holy shit, watching
Frederik play in a beautiful field with the credits rolling and that lady singing is fucking beautiful. So fucking good.
Click to expand...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8777215&postcount=567

Read that by The Crimson Blur.
 
Dedication Through Light said:
Yeah I want to take Firestorm's advice too, however, since I dont have a 360 I cant do nothing about that.

How is Star Ocean Last Hope compared to Eternal Sonata better or worst?
Click to expand...
Most people would say better I think. I enjoyed Eternal Sonata more, personally.
 
Dedication Through Light said:
How is Star Ocean Last Hope compared to Eternal Sonata better or worst?
Click to expand...

Better in some ways, worst in others. The music is far superior in Eternal Sonata, but SO4's battle system is far superior. Both of them have some ridiculously stupid storylines, so I guess that comes down to personal preference. In my opinion, SO4's story was routinely bad and cringeworthy and ES saved all of its BS for the very end of the game.
 
I got to a point where Polka and Chopin meet Allegretto and Beat with the goats or something?...I need to go back and finish it.
 
I'm playing the game now and I'm at Fort Fermata. I've been there for about a hour and I have no clue what I'm supposed to do to advance through it. This is the worst dungeon I've ever seen.
 
B.K. said:
I'm playing the game now and I'm at Fort Fermata. I've been there for about a hour and I have no clue what I'm supposed to do to advance through it. This is the worst dungeon I've ever seen.
Click to expand...
It's the worst and most confusing dungeon in the game. The rest of the game is much more straightforward and relaxing. Just GameFAQs a map for this one
 
I did, but I still don't know what I'm supposed to do. Someone on the Gamefaqs board posted a playthrough from YouTube. I'll watch it. The map doesn't do me any good and the faqs are confusing.
 
Oh I actually made it through that one without using a FAQ. It took me a good two hours and I ended up leveling a lot, which was good for the ensuing battle immediately after that place X_X.
 
If any of ya'lls are really, really hardcore Eternal Sonata fans...

I got one of those gamestop exclusive face plates sitting in my closet. For the right price, it could be yours.

It's green with the chick on the front. IIRC they came in blue, green, black, purple and maybe red.
 
chandoog said:
- Superb art style, absolutely beautiful (and in some cases it still looks better than Vesperia to me, esp. in the flower field scenes).
- Really clunky gameplay
- A really fucked up ending

that's all i remember from this, need to replay this again some time.
Click to expand...

This.

I played vesperia after this and thought it quite bland by comparison.
 
Arpharmd B said:
If any of ya'lls are really, really hardcore Eternal Sonata fans...

I got one of those gamestop exclusive face plates sitting in my closet. For the right price, it could be yours.

It's green with the chick on the front. IIRC they came in blue, green, black, purple and maybe red.
Click to expand...

You should just give it to someone (IE: Me). :D
 
I really, really liked Eternal Sonata. Everything about the game was...enchanting? I think that's the word I'm looking for. Even the history bits about Chopin were rather interesting.

Plus it was MAD easy, which was good because I really suck at JRPGS.
 
hamchan said:
Beautiful graphics, fantastic soundtrack. Horrible battle system, terrible story.
Click to expand...
Pretty much this. I really wanted to like Eternal Sonata but I was so bored by it that I never finished it.
 
I was playing the 360 version a few months ago and enjoying it more than I expected. Something pulled my attention away and I put it down. I intended to go back and finish it, but recently some dipshit (Shadow-something I think) spoiled it in the FFXIII thread, and that took the wind out of my sails... what little wind there was, anyway. Thanks again, dipshit.
 
I loved the story, and the characters warmed my heart at first. By the end, however, the dialogue style was grinding on my nerves, the characters seemed... underdeveloped for what was going on, and the combat was disgustingly, disgustingly repetitive. All in all I found it good, but not great.

Also:
The secret dungeon is AWFUL. Like... the worst I've ever played in an RPG
 
-Did you like the battle system?
I loved the dynamic nature of it. The combat was very fast paced, the dark/light components were pretty cool (though I felt a bit underused). The combo system was also pretty cool in unleashing some pretty brutal attacks, but ultimately most fights ended up with building to a 32 combo, then unleashing which would net me another 32 combo... etc.

-How did you feel about the incorporation of Classical Music (Chopin) and it's components?
I really enjoyed its integration for the first 4 chapters or so, but felt it drug on after that. The little blurbs on his life were fairly interesting, but I didn't feel compelled to go out and listen to more of his music or read about him further than what was presented.

-Did you like the art? The level design? The story?
I think the game shines the most in the art & characters. Personally, I loved the interaction between Beat and Salsa and would have loved to see much more of them. I was very disappointed that, as characters,
they stopped developing around the end of chapter 5 and didn't seem to wrap up that story arc at all
. Polka and Allegretto were your typical Japanese archtype characters and
Polka felt to be too strong willed in her drive to destroy the darkness (or whatever it is that happened) for her character. While I'm on that topic, did anyone actually understand what happened at the end? I had to look it up and even then I didn't understand it. The ending really felt rushed with many storylines left dangling.

The level design was pretty bad. I see many people commenting on the level 2 maze, which was a piece of crap. Most of the levels were straight runs through monster infested areas with little room for exploration. I have to also knock this game for some seriously lame achievements. They were pretty uninspired, and playing through the game twice didn't really add anything to the experience.

For the record - I played this on the 360. I understand the PS3 fleshed out some characters and the ending out a bit more, but I'm unsure of exactly what they did.
 
While I had understood what happened in the ending and the different references throughout the game. I must say Crimson, your analysis just made the overall story and ending that much better and took it to a level of depth I had not even really considered. I definitely feel that this is one of the most underrated Jrpg's this generation despite some flaws. Amazing soundtrack, quality battle system, vibrant lush environments what more can a good RPG offer.
 
I enjoyed parts of the game, but the problem I had with this among many other JRPGs are the big gaps between important plot points. Stop in a town, get a bit of information and you're already on your way to the next town.

I also thought the focus was a big problem.
Frederic should've had a much bigger role yet he was more an onlooker than anything else. There really isn't any problem with that thematically since it is his dream world, but what does it say about his mind when the focus of his dream are two 16 year olds in love?

I did like the ending a lot even if it was way too open.

Edit: Oh yeah, and the battle system was cool, but it got tedoius after around the 40 hour mark for me. Really, the great art is probably what I'll remember it by.
 
That extra dungeon that has the whole upside down and whatnot is beautiful. I think it's only in the PS3 version but yeah. That place had amazing music, amazing atmosphere, really well done area.

Also I think Eternal Sonata is so underrated by gamers. It has a very clever and deep story and is fun times from beginning to end.

And I don't see how you would think his dreams are about two 16 year olds in love. The point of his dreaming is the message they were trying to send about sacrifice and letting go. Also it's just my interpretation but I figure his mind used images from his past to think up the close relationship between Polka (his sister irl) and Retto (saw him as a younger version of himself).

Who knows though. That's what I like best. Lots of thinking involved.
 
hamchan said:
Beautiful graphics, fantastic soundtrack. Horrible battle system, terrible story.
Click to expand...

Yea this.
The worst JRPG I've played.


-Did you like the battle system?
I thought it was pretty average, not terrible but not really fun either.

-How did you feel about the incorporation of Classical Music (Chopin) and it's components?
Quite boring, matching notes to play was a pain. And I found those history parts more boring than a commercial break.

-Did you like the art? The level design? The story?
I really did like the environment and the colorfulness of the game. Story for the most part uninteresting. And the ending, they just went on and on and I just wanted it to stop.
 
Having a bit of trouble on the second Tuba fight on the bridge in chapter 2. Any tips? If I mess up my block string he pretty much one shots me. Average character level 18.
 
pancakesandsex said:
Having a bit of trouble on the second Tuba fight on the bridge in chapter 2. Any tips? If I mess up my block string he pretty much one shots me. Average character level 18.
Click to expand...

Argh that fight took me so many attempts, I had to keep Frederic somewhere far so he could always do "Sacred Signature" to heal the team, but then he would go in for the attack.

I sometimes ended up with Beat who would always have to stay far away from Tuba. Whoever else either Allegreto or Polka would just constantly attack. I didnt really like her healing move (cant remember if it (orange glow, I believe) was unlocked for me at that point) but it was a long fight when I finally made it far enough.

Yeah but this battle you will hear "Sacred Signature" alot from when I did it. I would try to time it when the meter was full so then that character who was healed would have a turn to go in for the kill.

And keep everyone in like a triangle formation so that he could only attack one character at a time, and always go to the back of him. I dont think I was at level 18 though.

I have to replay this since Im stuck after
pirate fight
 
Dedication Through Light said:
Argh that fight took me so many attempts, I had to keep Frederic somewhere far so he could always do "Sacred Signature" to heal the team, but then he would go in for the attack.

I sometimes ended up with Beat who would always have to stay far away from Tuba. Whoever else either Allegreto or Polka would just constantly attack. I didnt really like her healing move (cant remember if it (orange glow, I believe) was unlocked for me at that point) but it was a long fight when I finally made it far enough.

Yeah but this battle you will hear "Sacred Signature" alot from when I did it. I would try to time it when the meter was full so then that character who was healed would have a turn to go in for the kill.

And keep everyone in like a triangle formation so that he could only attack one character at a time, and always go to the back of him. I dont think I was at level 18 though.

I have to replay this since Im stuck after
pirate fight
Click to expand...

I'm at party level 3 and I have 2 sets of attacks per character. Healing options are as follows:

Viola: Healing Arrow - weak party heal
Polka: Orange glow / Earth Heal - STRONG AoE heal, everyone but polka herself
Fred: Sacred Signature - was this AoE?

I wasn't expecting the fights to be so challenging since everyone is so down on the game for being repetitive and easy, but there is a lot more to this than some would have you believe!
 
Ohkay, if you have Viola use her and always keep her to the back so she can use that Healing Arrow which I found to be really effect when that combo gauge was really high. Sacred Signature could only heal one other person but because its so fast, could really heal fast, and Frederic was great for healing then running in for an attack or two.

I just couldnt really use Polka because, healing everyone but yourself really hurt sometimes because she would get targeted then fall then I have to focus on bringing her back to life then healing her before he targeted her.

Definitely use Voila and Frederic, I also believe one of her attacks does lots of damage to him as well.
 
Dedication Through Light said:
Ohkay, if you have Viola use her and always keep her to the back so she can use that Healing Arrow which I found to be really effect when that combo gauge was really high. Sacred Signature could only heal one other person but because its so fast, could really heal fast, and Frederic was great for healing then running in for an attack or two.

I just couldnt really use Polka because, healing everyone but yourself really hurt sometimes because she would get targeted then fall then I have to focus on bringing her back to life then healing her before he targeted her.

Definitely use Voila and Frederic, I also believe one of her attacks does lots of damage to him as well.
Click to expand...

I'll give that mix a try. If only Beat wasn't forced for this fight.
 
pancakesandsex said:
I'll give that mix a try. If only Beat wasn't forced for this fight.
Click to expand...

lol I thought was a glitch when I played, Beat is definitely the weakest link, but fortunately his gun shots are so fast, it can raise that combo gauge and I could always try to keep him away from the enemy.
 
I just kept Beat in the shadow and spammed his Y attack. It's the only way I could make decent use of him. The extra hits count toward your chain so it works out pretty well.

edit: Or maybe he had his Fire Blast light attack at that point... don't remember. Either way I just spammed his special.
 
iconoclast said:
I just kept Beat in the shadow and spammed his Y attack. It's the only way I could make decent use of him. The extra hits count toward your chain so it works out pretty well.

edit: Or maybe he had his Fire Blast light attack at that point... don't remember. Either way I just spammed his special.
Click to expand...

Rapid shooter or fire blaster? I have both.
 
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