Eternal Sonata

Eternal Sonata is a Japanese RPG whose story unfolds in the feverish dreams of the dying composer Frédéric Chopin, weaving real historical figures into a fantastical world where magic runs on the principle of light and shadow - some spells only work while the character is standing in a lit spot. Between chapters, the game inserts short narrated interludes about Chopin's real life, tying the fiction to actual music history, and the soundtrack combines original compositions by Motoi Sakuraba with genuine Chopin pieces. The battle system combines turn-based combat with free real-time movement of characters across the battlefield, setting the game apart from classic JRPGs with purely turn-based fights on a separate screen.

The game was first released exclusively for Xbox 360 in the West in 2007; the PlayStation 3 version arrived in Japan already in 2008 and reached Western markets in 2009 under publisher Namco Bandai, which had since taken over distribution from the original publisher Atari. This wasn't a simple port but an expanded edition - the PS3 version added a new playable companion named Crescendo, a new playable character Serene, an additional dungeon, and a set of optional battle arenas that were missing from the original Xbox 360 version. The English voice acting remained the same between both versions.

The graphics remained practically identical between both versions; the PS3 release benefited mainly from the added content and from reaching, two years later, players who hadn't bought an Xbox 360. For JRPG fans on Sony's console, 2009 marked one of the few forays into the genre on this platform, albeit with a noticeable delay behind the original release and at a time when many had already heard about the game only second-hand from owners of the rival console. For a good number of PlayStation 3 owners, the 2009 version was their very first chance to experience this story of Chopin, magic, and mortality.

Why play it: For PlayStation 3 owners who hadn't bought an Xbox 360, 2009 marked the very first chance to play this story of Chopin, magic, and mortality, albeit with a noticeable delay behind the original.