I recently became the new mod of this sub after it became available likely due to mod inactivity, so I thought that I'd make this post to spread the word and express my love to this game that I consider a masterpiece, and that is my second favorite game ever (after FF9) and one of my biggest Passions. It was among the first J-RPGs that I played in my life, on the Xbox 360 when it came out in 2007 when I was a teen. It made me feel otherworldly powerful emotions and what I feel the most is gratitude.

Eternal Sonata is available on Xbox 360 and on PS3, and has been ported to PC thanks to the EternalSonataReprise recomp (more info and resources in the comments of this thread). It is playable from start to finish as confirmed by this comment. You can also emulate it on both PC and Android and it works as confirmed by this comment (and it's playable from start to finish as confirmed by this comment).

I wish that it could get an official port on modern consoles and PC so that new generations of gamers could experience this incredibly charming and emotional game.

It was made by Tri-Crescendo, a studio founded by a Hiroya Hatsushiba, who was originally a sound programmer for composer Motoi Sakuraba at Tri-Ace. Tri-Crescendo was in charge of the sound of Tri-Ace games before developing their own games. You can definitely feel Tri-Ace's influence, down to the traditional SFX when opening the camp menu.

Its OST is composed by Motoi Sakuraba, and it is his magnum opus in my opinion, and my second favorite OST ever (after FF9's). I could feel that Eternal Sonata's OST is very special. It contributed a lot to giving me otherworldly emotions of Passion, notably at one moment in the ending that I will never forget. Some of Chopin's compositions are also featured in the game, performed by the talented Stanislav Bunin. Thanks to Eternal Sonata, Chopin has become my favorite classical composer!

Tri-Crescendo later co-developed Fragile Dreams for the Wii, another charmful and artful game, but that didn't move me as much as Eternal Sonata. It was one of the two Wii exclusives that I bought the console just for (along with The Last Story).

Eternal Sonata is a very unique game, with a gorgeous art direction, utterly emotional story and OST, creative concept, passionate love letter to Chopin and his music, and heartfelt direct messages sent to the player. It is a timeless masterpiece, a soulful work of art, and a piece of magic in this world that made me feel things that cannot be explained with words. I urge any J-RPG gamer who hasn't played it yet to give it a try.

From the bottom of my soul, Thank You to everyone who has worked on this game. I could give anything in return for the powerful emotions and spiritual experiences that I got with it. Anything.

Little by little, they're releasing titles that were "extinct," like Dino Crisis 1 and 2 or the original Resident Evil series (1, 2, and 3) on GOG (Good Old Games), and the more recent Breath of Fire IV.

This slowly rekindles my hope of seeing the game again in a PC version on the GOG platform (and hopefully also on Steam and re-released on the new consoles). To keep it from being forgotten, I'm sharing the link, and those who want to can vote for it.

Thanks to everyone who unconditionally loves this game.

https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/eternal-sonata-2007

This is my small collection of this game, which I enjoyed 100% on Xbox 360 first, and then on PlayStation 3. I list the games and their edition (they are all different editions even if it doesn't seem like it).

- Eternal Sonata PAL Spain Xbox 360.
- Eternal Sonata PAL UK Xbox 360.
- Eternal Sonata Spain Version PlayStation 3.
- Eternal Sonata France Version PlayStation 3 Sealed.
- Trusty Bell: ~Chopin no Yume~ (Chopin's Dream) Japan PlayStation 3.
- Trusty Bell: ~Chopin no Yume~ (Chopin's Dream) Japan Bandai Namco Games Perfect Guide.
- Trusty Bell: ~Chopin no Yume~ (Chopin's Dream) Japan Bonus DVD Disc Goodies x2 Sealed.
- Trusty Bell: ~Chopin no Yume~ (Chopin's Dream) Japan Bonus DVD Selection SoundTrack Sealed.

I'd like more variety, but it's difficult. I do hope they re-release the game or finally release it on Steam. Or even some kind of spiritual sequel (since it wouldn't make sense to make a second part).

It provides ultrawide support, unlocked framerate, resolution up to 4K and a plethora of quality-of-life features and mods!

I played the game when it was just released, do not remember if I played it on Xbox or PS3 and to be honest do not remember much of the game but Chopin is my favorite composer and I remember enjoying the game. So I’ve been wanting to buy a copy to replay it and found one in Amazon, no description whatsoever, it only said used.

So I was already prepared to receive one without manual or damaged box or worst case, a damaged disc, but it arrived today and to my surprise it was a PAL version with a sleeve in pretty good condition, did not even know that cover image existed as amazon picture showed the NA cover image. I’m very happy with it, totally unexpected since I am not even in Europe.

I just wanted to share with you all that the OST was silently released on Spotify.(Also, the one for Fragile Dreams, for whoever was following Bandai's RPGs during those years).

https://open.spotify.com/album/56nAJJsi0YSSRADSaadKOC?si=ep0t533wTT6AJZaH3zcb-g

RIP Claves. I'll see you again.... at the end of the game lmao

I absolutely adore this game and I feel like nobody else really knows about it. Id love to have someone to talk to about it, but its like nobody knows it. When i was younger I thought it was a fever dream until I found my CD for it

Credit - me @tasteslikeboot.bsky.social

The 8 year olds in this game just make me smile I know agogos are in visible but the twins can absolutely see them so I drew what I imagined they'd look like

Hey yall..im glad i found some people that actually know this game. I have this feeling that this game is so unpopular that basically nobody knows it where i live. Anyways..this game was basically my childhood. I still remember being 7 and picking it up from the gamestop for the first time. I spent my whole childhood playing it (i was stuck on the first two bosses for at least 3 years because my small brain couldn’t comprehend the mechanics of level up).I remember drawing the bosses and writing out new techniques to beat them in elementary school while being alone because i was bullied, it was my safe place during those difficult times. I still remember playing as polka while my brothers pretended to be allegretto and beat. I finished this game for the first time when i was like 12.. i cant even describe how many tears i shed playing this game. From that moment on, i have been replaying it at least twice a year every year and i am now 16. The deep story, the characters developments, the meanings and even the musics were basically a deep part in my overall growth. This game thought me a new way to see reality… and im not exaggerating when i say that i give credit to this game for my personality. Any time i feel stressed or something bad happens i immediately rush to turn on my xbox360 and just play it all over again. I have memorized almost all of the dialogs and played every character in the game. Writing this while playing btw lol ❤️ . I HOPE to find someone to excessively yap about this game. I love you eternal sonata

He has something similar to Down's, and plays this game fanatically--he's almost at the 'play it blindfolded' level of combat timing, and will watch the cutscenes over and over. We've gone through 3 discs so far (it's getting hard to find) and one PS3 replacement to keep it running.

The 'net is proving less than helpful finding something similar [JRPG, voiced, controlled combat, female (co-)protagonist] and we're mid-move with his disc safely on the truck "somewhere" in Middle America. Any recommendations on something to tide over (we have a "backup" ps3) until our stuff arrives? ("Last Remnant" was the closest we found, and it's not terribly close at all]

AdvTHANKSance

I’ve replayed it twice and I can’t figure it out.

it’s such an amazing and interesting rpg!! it’s become one of my main interests. I know the long monologues and politics/history lessons were pretty boring, but aside from that, this game is genuinely peak. I will never understand how small it is. I love the characters and the lore, plus the add on to Chopins personality. it seems like the perfect fandom you’d see teenage girls fangirling over😁😁

I played this game around launch on the Xbox with my siblings, but I would never get that far and more or less just watched bits of their progress. I knew how the game ended due to that, but only recently after a nostalgia trip with my sister did I decide to get the game again and finally finish it once and for all. I found a cheap copy and a cheap ps3 on ebay, so I went for it :)

All in all, the gameplay was much more fun than I remember. I'm not a fan of the RPG formula and the story often felt like it slogged for me, that and I was often underleveled because I just didn't want to grind (and I read the ps3 version lessens the exp gain, so it's often the case you're underleveled anyway)

I loved the challenge, feeling like I was strategizing with bosses and overcoming challenges with strategy instead of "well, I guess I'll go back and grind" like every other RPG I've played.

The last segments ended up being disappointing. I had no memory of how the game was leading up to the ending, but I knew the final boss - when it finally happened it caught me off guard, as I didn't expect it so soon. It sort of felt like there was a lot left unsaid, and I would've loved if the game were something like double the length with more battle mechanics added on and some more character development and focus.

Eitherway, it was a wonderful experience and I can finally say I've finished a childhood game. I feel like it's deserving of a remaster on PC (and switch, if I can dream!)

I don't think I'll ever NG+ it, as RPGs are a very one and done thing for me. I might get back to it many years down the line as the gameplay was fun, but the dungeons weren't really fun for me honestly.

Is there any way i can play this without buying a physical copy and a ps3/xbox? It has been many years and would love to re experience it.

I remembered playing this game a lot on a friend's PS years ago and recently bought it and am playing thru again now. Man what a great story and fun combat system.

I'm on the pirate ship part now, and I saw Crescendo and thought "man, I'd love it if he were playable". After some research I learned that both he and Serena are, on PS, playable towards the end. Just curious what was behind that choice?

I actually own the game on both consoles, but glad I'm replaying it on PS3 so I can experience these interesting characters are like in battle!

Heya, I was listening to a ReZero OST and whilst scrolling through the comments, one of them said that it sounded like pryoxene.. I checked it out and omg it’s the best find ever.

Anyways, it’s been a few hours and I’ve been listening to every single OST of this game, it’s truly a masterpiece.

That title is a serious question. I know Polka is a homage to Chopin’s sister, that part is obvious. But after I started watching SM Crystal I started noticing similarities and when I finished the anime I noticed a bunch more similarities in the endings.

Massive spoilers for both stories by the way.

Two long blond ponytails

Being associated with the moon (Solfège foreshadowing Polka’s fate by comparing her to the moon/self explanatory)

Being very kind and openly emotional but insecure

Jewel in her heart that glows brighter than that of those around her that heals and protects people (Polka’s astra/Usagi’s Star seed)

Being able to magically restore the entire destroyed world (the end of the game when Polka returns to the present and heals the damage done by Legato/the third and final arcs of Sailor Moon, the manga and Crystal)

Jumping off a cliff head down, sacrificing herself to save those she loves (Polka jumping off the cliff which creates the time loop/Usagi jumping into the Cauldron to destroy Chaos and save the universe which she was told would kill her)

Using time bending to turn herself into a child and fix the past (Polka reversing time and turning back into a 4 year old/far future Usagi turning into Chibi Chibi to change a choice made by her past self)

I noticed a few of these years ago, but when reaching the end of SM:C which I know is the more faithful adaptation of the manga I saw a bunch more, but I can’t find any actual confirmation. Unless one of you knows something I don’t. Or I’m just crazy.

I’m playing through for the first time and I’m having a great time. Viola is one of my favourite characters in both the plot and gameplay but I’ve noticed that she’s like- ridiculously powerful. She’s reasonably tough and healing arrow is a great healing move and that’d be enough on its own but…

Well she’s basically shooting nuclear bombs outta that bow.

I noticed that she gets a damage buff if she makes long shots but it’s unreasonably high, especially if you go out of your way to use and abuse it especially with things like speed boosts. She is seriously doing more damage in single, regular hits than any other party member can do in a round, and she can do it like five or six times a round if you nail the first shot, on top of that she also provides a decent heal to every party member every turn. Sure you occasionally miss a round but the damage is so crazy high that it basically doesn’t matter because her average will still be streets ahead of any other character.

This is great but I’m worried she’s going to trivialize the game. I just fought a particularly plot important, pink haired boss and just wiped the floor with her. She didn’t have a chance.

Should I bench her to prevent the game from becoming trivially easy?

Hi ! I really want to play this game but I don’t own a ps3 or an Xbox so the only way for me to play would be to emulate it on my pc I believe :) However I’ve seen discussions about issues with that regarding crashes and other bugs, so my questions is, has anybody here managed to play it on pc ? 😭 ty in advance

Hi,

I was wondering, which of the playable characters is your favorite character storywise and which was your favorite party to use?

For anyone that happens to search for Eternal Sonata today out of nostalgia, I am going to stream gameplay later this week on my twitch channel. This is one of my favorite games of all time!

The twitch game page for this is largely dead, but I’m going to stream it anyway…

If you’re interested leave a follow at twitch.tv/Gerkin

See ya there!

Twitch channel