Polka

I’ve been itching lately for a JRPG. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was not doing the trick so I temporarily resorted to older games such as one of my all-time favorite RPGs, Xenogears. Then I saw Eternal Sonata on an EB Games store’s shelf. My first thought was “yay! A JRPG for the PS3!”. But after looking closer, I initially that it was too cutesy and wondered if it was worth the $59.99 pricetag. Honestly, it looked to me back then like it should have been a Wii game instead of a PS3 game.

But I wanted a JRPG. So I gave in and handed my debit card over to the cashier.

I didn’t regret it.

Or at least, I haven’t.

This morning was my first time playing it, right before work. First thing I did before starting the game was to check if it has dual audio, and yes, it does! I started it with Japanese audio and English subs. After the opening scene I restarted switched to English. Both sets of voices are pretty good but I kind of prefer the Japanese audio. I also like it that I can switch from Japanese to English and vice versa in-game.

So far, I also enjoy the battle system. It is pretty easy to get used to and is a mix of turn-based and dynamic. By this I mean that each character (and enemy) has a turn. When that turn comes up, you, the player, have complete control over the character. You can move around, attack or use an item (these are the only options currently available to me, though I think there will be more as the game progresses) while it is your turn, which is timed of course, and represented as a gauge(?) on the left side of the screen. It decreases as you do any sort of action. Standing still will pause the decrease, giving you time to think. I read though that this will change after a certain point in the game.

As for the story, I’m only around 45 minutes into the game so I can’t really tell. Nonetheless, It looks interesting and I look forward to knowing what the connection is between the dying Chopin , the also dying Polka (well, she has a terminal illness so I suppose it’s just a matter of time XD) and the bread thieves (the scene where they appeared is where I stopped before leaving for work). The latter reminded me of when Aladdin (Disney) and his monkey, Abu, stole bread.

I might post a review after I finish Eternal Sonata, but in the meantime, enjoy the trailer:

Image Source: IGN