GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Games

Playstation Reviews
PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox Reviews
Xbox 360 | Xbox

Nintendo Reviews
Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64


PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

xx Battlefield 1943
xx Bigs 2, The
72 Bionic Commando
91 BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
81 Bomberman Ultra
76 Burn, Zombie, Burn!
xx Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
62 Buzz! Brain of the UK
78 Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
71 CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
81 Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, The
86 Comet Crash
75 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Ultimate Edition
48 Cross Edge
35 Damnation
xx Droplitz
66 Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires
54 Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2
xx Fallout 3: Point Lookout
80 FIFA Soccer 09: Ultimate Team
89 Fight Night Round 4
71 Flock!
67 Fuel
xx G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
78 Ghostbusters: The Video Game
67 Godfather II, The
86 Guitar Hero: Metallica
76 Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
xx Gunstar Heroes
xx Hannah Montana: The Movie
65 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
67 Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank
xx Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
84 inFAMOUS
68 Inferno Pool
68 Killzone 2: Steel and Titanium Pack
xx King of Fighters XII, The
19 Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
xx Midnight Club: Los Angeles - South Central
66 Monsters vs. Aliens
xx NCAA Football 10
xx Numblast
78 OutRun Online Arcade
72 Overlord II
xx PAIN! Sore Spots
86 PixelJunk Eden Encore
79 Prototype
xx Punisher: No Mercy, The
79 Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
68 Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic
xx Red Baron Arcade
85 Red Faction: Guerrilla
86 Resident Evil 5
65 Resident Evil 5: Versus
xx Rock Band Track Pack: Classic Rock
71 Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
xx Saints Row 2: Corporate Warfare
xx Saints Row 2: Ultor Exposed
73 SBK 09 Superbike World Championship
73 SingStar Pop Edition
76 SingStar Queen
52 Stormrise
69 Superstars V8 Racing
43 Terminator Salvation
62 Texas Cheat 'Em
83 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
67 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
70 Trash Panic
68 Trivial Pursuit
84 UFC 2009 Undisputed
xx Up
72 Virtua Tennis 2009
61 Wanted: Weapons of Fate
55 Wheel of Fortune
66 Wheelman, The
xx Wolfenstein 3D
76 Worms
62 WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship
70 WWE Legends of Wrestlemania
73 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Uncaged Edition
80 ZEN Pinball

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums
Eternal Sonata ps3 Game Reviews
Eternal Sonata
Critic Score
Metascore: 80 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.7 out of 10
based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

On his deathbed, the famous composer, Chopin, drifts between this life and the next. In his final hours, he experiences a fantastical dream where he encounters a young girl facing a terrible destiny and the boy who will fight to save her. On the border between dreams and reality, Chopin discovers the light that shines in all of us in this enduring tale of good and evil, love and betrayal. [Namco Bandai Games]

PUBLISHER: Namco Bandai Games
DEVELOPER: tri-Crescendo
GENRE(S): Role-Playing Game
PLAYERS: 1
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2008

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

95
Deeko
While some of the battles can get tedious and take a couple of times to complete, Eternal Sonata keeps players hooked from beginning to end...and then beginning to end again.
Read Full Review
90
Video Game Talk
The PS3 finally has a solid RPG and despite the fact that it is one that has been ported over from the 360 it's worth checking out.
Read Full Review
90
Games Radar (in-house)
The battle system is still addictively fun, the multifaceted story is riveting, and the graphics are amazing... we couldn't ask for much more.
Read Full Review
90
Armchair Empire
Despite the flaws that it has, Eternal Sonata is still a visually stunning game with a charming story.
Read Full Review
90
WonderwallWeb
Its about time the PS3 had a decent RPG, though this is a long way from Final Fantasy in terms of story and presentation, it is original enough for people to give a try.
Read Full Review
89
RPG Fan
Quite simply, while Eternal Sonata may be overlooked as a broken title, it is truly no such thing. Instead, it is a world that I was happy to play in, and may even dream about from time to time.
Read Full Review
88
Cheat Code Central
For an RPG, Eternal Sonata isn't particularly long -- it clocks in at around 30 hours -- but it's a deep, rewarding, and completely entertaining experience while it lasts.
Read Full Review
87
IGN
Although sometimes awkwardly paced and linear, Eternal Sonata is an RPG that everyone should consider checking out, especially for the unique premise and touching music.
Read Full Review
87
Play UK
Eternal Sonata really is amazing to look at and incredible fun to play. The characters endear themselves to you and the story isn’t as clichéd as most JRPGs. The only downside is that it’s a little bit shorter than other roleplaying games.
Read Full Review
85
GamingXP
This game offers a fairy tale-like scenario, which will appeal to fans of realistic RPGs not very much. But there aren’t many RPG-titles for the PS3 and if you like the genre, you should definitely take a look.
Read Full Review
85
Vandal Online
Eternal Sonata is one of the sure bets in the RPG portfolio of PlaStation 3, a genre that unfortunately doesn't have many good components in the console, so this port from the Xbox 360 presented by Tri-Cescendo is one of the current best.
Read Full Review
85
GameSpot
A year later, this captivating role-playing game is still gorgeous to look at and fun to play.
Read Full Review
84
PSM3 Magazine UK
Waffly, but this inventive musical RPG strikes few bum notes. [Mar 2009, p.56]
84
Multiplayer.it
Eternal Sonata partially compensates for the lack of Jrpg titles on PlayStation 3. It’s not a hard game, but still full of style, exquisite from a technical point of view and different from the other games of the genre. If you didn't buy it already on Xbox 360, it’s your chance not to miss this sturdy game.
Read Full Review
83
3DJuegos
Eternal Sonata is a wonderful ensemble of fascinating characters and a remarkable story about the life of Frederic Chopin. One of the best Japanese RPG on the PlayStation 3.
Read Full Review
83
PSX Extreme
Things are smooth and fast, and it does encourage you to think strategically.
Read Full Review
82
Gamers.at
Same game, different console – for the most part, anyway. You should definitely give Eternal Sonata a spin, if only to escape the all-too-common bleakness of next-gen titles.
Read Full Review
80
GameZone
Eternal Sonata is a good RPG, not great, but good and worth the play.
Read Full Review
80
My Gamer
Overall, there really isn’t anything to terrible to say about Eternal Sonata. The first hours are definitely the slowest part of the game and are very “Japanese,” but any RPG fan will enjoy the balanced combat system and haunting musical score.
Read Full Review
80
Meristation
Eternal Sonata's very much the same game that we saw two years ago with a bunch of new goodies and an improved engine system that allowed tri-Crescendo to use once more its colourful world, loaded with strange characters and defying monsters. Its a worth-buying game if you don't have the X360 edition.
Read Full Review
80
ZTGameDomain
The additions to the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata add some length and substance to an already satisfying game. A tempting and beautiful dream world, the game design is truly captivating.
Read Full Review
80
Playstation Official Magazine UK
Strange, but somehow comforting. [Mar 2009, p.94]
80
Eurogamer Portugal
Eternal Sonata is a recommended action RPG. Nevertheless, its structure is highly linear and the fighting system may not appeal everyone, but its impressive visuals are something that can easily delight everyone.
Read Full Review
80
SpazioGames
Just like the symphonies that inspired its musical score, Eternal Sonata starts out slowly, making breach in the hearts and soul of the players. On the other side, fast paced battles keep the gameplay alive. Indeed, an interesting diversion from the well known themes of this next-gen. Love it or hate it, there’s no compromise; give it a good try, it could be the best JRPG experience you’ve ever had.
Read Full Review
80
AceGamez
The difficulty and overall design of the game could have been altered slightly for the better but when compared to most RPGs of this generation, Eternal Sonata is well worth it.
Read Full Review
80
Gamer.nl
The PlayStation 3 version of Eternal SOnata is in fact a delayed Xbox 360 version. But, because of the more clarified story, the four month waiting period only made the game better. Besides that, the game offers extra features, making the PS3 version slightly better that the Xbox 360 version.
Read Full Review
75
GameShark
It shines and moves like few other games have so far, and provides a solid 20-30 hours for any RPG-starved PS3 owner who hasn't given the game a go on the Xbox 360.
Read Full Review
70
Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
A game this pretty should be a no-brainer, but as soon as the characters open their mouths, your beleaguered brain will ache for a return to the action. [Holiday 2008, p.78]
70
Level7.nu
The first couple of hours in Eternal Sonata are simply enchanting. Great design, graphics and music together create a truly endearing atmosphere. Battling enemies in the game is great fun as you progress in the game and delve deeper into the battle mechanics. The plot is a bit uneven though and the options for exploration, character development and equipment are meager to say the least. These flaws aside, this is still a great and beautiful adventure.
Read Full Review
70
Boomtown
Despite being about one of the great composers, music is not an integral part of the game.
Read Full Review
70
PS3bloggen.se
Whilst being colourful and sweet, Eternal Sonata has a few archaic gameplay elements that are totally unnecessary, such as insta-death battles and a slow-paced story. However, as far as role playing games go this isn't bad. It's just a pity that the game doesn't break very much new ground.
Read Full Review
67
Gaming Age
In the beginning, the lengthy and frequent cut scenes really started to grate on my nerves, but after the 6 hour I started to really take an interest in certain characters, and the game felt like it just took off from there.
Read Full Review
60
Teletext GameCentral
The new PS3 version of the Chopin-themed role-player still sounds more original than it plays.
Read Full Review
58
1UP
You don't have to settle for mediocrity as a fan of the genre -- and you sure as hell don't have to support it.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 9.7 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tyler S. gave it a10:
This game is one of the best RPG's I've ever played. Great music, fun combat system, and interesting characters. It's also a good history lesson on Chopin. I hope they make another game like this one.

Trace M. gave it a10:
This game is beautifully put together. It has a gripping story which also teaches you about one of music's most famous composers. The combat system is easy yet enjoyable and the voice overs are perfect. This game has stunning music as well.

Joe B. gave it a10:
I bought this game yesterday and I have to say that it's a really overall pretty game. I love the gameplay in it. And I find the concept to be a really cool as well. It's about time that there was a really good RPG to be released on the PS3. Hope there will be more to come.

Discuss this game in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use