Finished Eternal Sonata~! Yay.
Where to start? Well, overall, I enjoyed the game. The gameplay was fun, especially with how each character played and the evolving battle system. The game was pretty. The short history lessons about Chopin accompanied by his sonatas were a nice touch. The setting was a really nice concept. The beginning of the story was lucid enough. Viola said a good metaphor.
And that's all the good things I can say about it.
The game has no focus. The adolescent characters go around waxing (or maybe waning...) philosophical about things they don't understand as if they were the writers' mouthpieces, but nothing any of them says has any meaning or relation to who they are or what they're doing. Chopin himself simply serves to waffle back and forth over -one- idea about concept of reality and dreams. Allegretto, ostensibly another of the 'main' characters, never even gets any character development. Polka, who is apparently the most main character, sacrifices herself a lot, which would almost count for something if the game ever explained WHY THE HELL SHE WAS JUMPING OFF OF CLIFFS! Does anyone understand this? I'm honestly asking. I don't know why she jumped off the freakin' cliff...
The game never answers any of the questions it raises, instead spouting pseudo-philosophical babble at you. Its philosophies contradict each other, when they're even coherent. The overt 'storyline' about the world in which Forte and Baroque are at war is never concluded. The town, Elegy, where the souls of the people who lost their lives to mineral powder reside is never explained or in fact, even mentioned in context of its purpose or why Legato travelled there, or indeed, why our heroes followed after him.
Any sort of character-based stories were dropped about 2/3 through the game. Indeed, even Viola, who seemed so promising with her one good metaphor (and out of the hundreds of horrible metaphors in this game, this one was appreciated), never went on to actually say another line of meaningful text in the game. Jazz, March, and even Allegretto had even -less- characterization. Polka's mom probably wins the award for best character in the game, and that's sad.
The ending was such nonsensical philosophical wankering that it almost ruined the whole game's experience for me. In the end, only the gameplay and Chopin's music kept me playing.
The game's story needed to be expanded a little to fill out some of the cast and bridge the gaps in the story's logic. I'd have liked to have seen more of Chopin's music used in the game itself instead just during the history lessons about Chopin's life. They needed to focus the game more, as well. My favorite dungeon in the game utilized a piano puzzle which could have been capitalized upon more throughout the game. The game should have focused on Chopin's quest to find closure in his life through acknowledging his artistic accomplishments and his connections with people, which is what the game -seemed- like it was trying to portray through Polka, though failed miserably. They could have even kept his 'is this world a dream or reality' nonsense if they'd used it more tactfully.
Overall, the game scores low after seeing the biggest-letdown-ever ending. Before the horrible ending, however, the fun gameplay and intriguing setting allowed it to have 'potential' and was a lot more fun to play than it was to see it end - 6/10, maybe? Nah. Definitely Average. 5/10.
-Djinn
