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 games: eternal sonata
Chopin to the rescue. As game fictions go, Eternal Sonata's backstory might just take the prize as the most unexpected this decade. The game structure is that of a fairly traditional Japanese RPG, which means running around maps until you encounter monsters, where you fight them in a turn-based style with a previously hidden team of sidekicks. The exploration and combat is punctuated, predictably, by overly long cut-scenes that are, without exception, exquisitely delivered. Eternal Sonata is probably the most beautiful game of 2007, at least when it's trying to be a film. It's the story that these scenes tell, however, that really makes you smile.The story: this beautiful world is a fantasy unfolding in the fevered mind of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin as he lies dying in his Parisian bedroom. Chopin is one of the playable characters, a number of whom exhibit magical powers. In Chopin's dreamworld, those who have magical powers are also afflicted with an incurable disease – and therein lies the heart of the tale. Chopin works with these and the underprivileged of his fantasy world to make it a better place and, inevitably, defeat great evil. Eternal Sonata has some mechanical tricks up its sleeve too, changes to traditional turn-based combat formats that will either delight or disgust adherents of the genre. The most obvious one is the blocking system. For every hit an enemy makes, you get a chance to block the blow. This instantly transforms a tactical game into one that rewards quick reflexes. Indeed, it demands them; many fights cannot be won without sufficient use of the block move. Another small tactical nuance is that the spells cast by characters depend on whether they are standing in sunlight or moonlight, or in the shade. This means you'll need to rely on positioning to make the most of your powers. Eternal Sonata is by no means perfect, but it's a finely crafted Japanese RPG of digestible length, and the presentation is simply peerless.
Jim Rossignol
Eternal Sonata, out now on Xbox 360.
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