RPG Eternal Sonata Composes New PS3 Features Tomorrow

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Hello, my name is Stephanie Fernandez and I worked as the Localization Producer on Eternal Sonata for the PLAYSTATION 3. Eternal Sonata will be shipping tomorrow, October 21st, and it will include new features and extras that can only be found on the PLAYSTATION 3 platform. In preparation for the game’s release, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts and insights from working on the game and give you a few more details about the new exclusive content.

When I started working on Eternal Sonata for the PS3, I was pleased to find out there would be additional story material incorporated into the game that is unique to the platform. I had always felt there were some aspects of the story which might be a little too vague for anyone who didn’t have the advantage of the background knowledge that I had about the story. But now there are scenes that give the game player a little more insight; scenes that reveal a bit more general information about the concept behind the story and more specific details regarding character motivations.

Not that everything is spelled out point-by-point–you still have to figure things out for yourself–the player is at least given a few more clues as to what is going on. And the new scenes fit into the story extremely well. It almost seems as if they are parts of the story that have always been there, but you’re only just now getting the chance to see them. Also, some of the old scenes have been modified slightly, again, in order to add more depth to the story. From beginning to end, there is new exclusive material, and I think it will really add to people’s enjoyment of the game.

Of course, a good part of the new material involves the two new playable characters in the game, Serenade and Crescendo, who are only available on the PS3. It’s very exciting to finally have the chance to play these characters in the game. I have always thought that Crescendo and Serenade were intriguing characters and now we get to see them play an expanded role in the game. And they have some very useful abilities that can really be an asset in battle. There are also new items that can only be used by Crescendo and Serenade that make them even more valuable.

It was a lot of fun being present for the recording of the battle voices for Crescendo and Serenade because it was all new material for the characters. Unfortunately, since we weren’t able to see the characters fighting in the game before we recorded, we had to make some guesses about the way in which lines would be used in battle situations. Sometimes we got it right, but sometimes we didn’t. So, in the end, it was necessary to edit some lines slightly. But, overall, I think it came out sounding pretty good. And now we get to see a prince and princess fighting for what they believe in!

And there are lots of other new things to be found in the game that are exclusive to the PLAYSTATION 3. There are new quests that add even more excitement to the game, and new dungeons that are very nicely designed and a lot of fun to explore. The dungeon that can only be accessed on your second play-through of the game is especially challenging! And the new enemies and bosses found in the new dungeons will definitely test your battle skills. Also, both of the new dungeons include brand new music written by Motoi Sakuraba.

There are also three new Chopin compositions featured in the game, performed again by Stanislav Bunin. In addition, there are fun new costumes for Polka, Allegretto, and Beat, but you’ll have to find them first. They’re scattered throughout the game, so make sure you leave no stone unturned, and no treasure chest unopened! The game also offers some ending variations this time around.

All in all, there is quite a lot of new material to be found in the world of Eternal Sonata. So whether you’re visiting for the first time or making a return trip, I’m sure everyone will find something to enjoy on this unique journey into Frederic Chopin’s dream world.

Be sure to check out the Eternal Sonata demo currently available on the PlayStation Store, and don’t miss the full game when it ships tomorrow.

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116 Comments

42 Author Replies

  • nice cant w8

  • Why should we support a $60 year old port from a company that glady gives multiple exclusives for the 360?

    There’s Ace Combat 6, Tales of Vesperia, Idolmaster, Katamari Damacy, and Eternal Sonata, which comes to the PS3 after a year at full price.

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      Unfortunately, I really have no say in what games the company chooses to develop. But I hope, in the future, we\’ll be releasing more games for the PS3.

  • More Support for PS3!!!!!!

  • I haven’t played a RPG on the PS3 since…well ever really. I pick this up eventually.

  • @Ortohinco
    I AGREE WITH YOU
    IT SHOULD $40

  • Am glad Namco is bringing this game over to PS3, the PS3 needs more RPGs badly!!

  • Hey Stephanie,

    Its wonderful that PS3 owners can finally play this amazing RPG! Would have been better if it launched earlier though. Its an extremely expensive month and a lot of gamers will rather buy a new “new” game that isn’t a port, I however will buy it on day 1 !I hope you have the time to answer the Questions.

    1) Will this game have trophy support ?
    2) Do you know how much more game hours the new dungeons will bring ?

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      Hello,

      I actually had to work hard just to keep the game out of November, it just wasn\’t possible to get the game out any earlier. Sorry.

      In answer to your questions:

      1) No, the game will not have trophy support. Sadly, the game was much too far into development by the time Sony announced the launch of the trophy system. It wasn\’t possible to implement it into the game at that point.

      2) The length of time it takes players to get through the new dungeons will really depend on how they play the game. If the player chooses to fight every enemy they see along the way, it will take much longer than if they don\’t. So, given that, I suppose the dungeons add around 3-6 hours of gameplay to the game.

  • i’m also glad that namco is bringing us this beautifull game.however, as others may have pointed out a 60 dollar game from an year old port is really a rip off no matter what adittions you make to it…….

    besides, its already too late for me since i have it for my other box,thats why i think exclusives should matter this generation.because no matter how cute or improved the game is ..is just a year too late for us that had to buy the other console in order to get our jrpg fix.with that all beign said, we need more jrpgs but if is it a port let them be the same year not a year apart okay?!

  • Absolutely loved the demo, so this is a buy for me (even with the rather high pricetag).

    Keep bringing us those RPG’s and XB360 exclusives!

  • Definitely agree with SalmoriJim. With Bioshock, LBP and Resistance 2 releasing in such a short span of time, I don’t know where I’ll find the time play Eternal Sonata.

    Don’t get me wrong though, I will be buying the game – just not sure if it will be at launch or not.

    Trophy support? Please say yes, even if it’s no. LIE TO ME!

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      I\’m sorry the game isn\’t coming out at a good time for you, I just didn\’t want to keep fans of the game waiting longer than necessary.

      Um, I\’m not a very good liar…

  • can’t wait. would be nice for trophies. maybe a patch in the future.

  • on a side note namco would do us a great good if they made a “tales” games just for the ps3. i love the franchise!…..

    with that note,stephanie do u have any info if we are gonna get tales of the world radiant mythology for the psp in the u.s? any info would be greatly appreciated! ;)

    btw, love that name stephanie, reminds me of a girl that i met when i was a teen :P

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      I\’m afraid I don\’t deal with the \”Tales\” series so I have no idea what the plans are for it.

      Thank you for the compliment about my name though!

  • Sadly, even though the graphics are very basic, the demo of this game didn’t support 1080 output, so I’ll be passing. I don’t get why so many devs (in fact, Namco-Bandai is pretty bad about it), don’t use the scaling sdk. Are you aware of the issues faced by the many owners of 1080i TVs (that don’t do 720p) who end up forced to play your games in 480p?

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      No, I wasn\’t aware of that. I\’ll keep it in mind and ask the development team about it the next time I work on a game where such a thing might be an issue.

  • oops i mean world of radiant mythology 2 my bad!

  • Definitely picking this up. About time we got another PS3 RPG. Wish this one was more turn-based, but beggars can’t be chosers. Can’t wait to get my hands on it!

  • so tell me why should we ps3 owner back namco?
    We still feel the sting of tekken 6 and the sting of tales not getting a ps3 version what up with that?

    On the light hearted side i love this company when i was growing up with in the ps1 and ps2 era.

    Any news on naruto?Will you guys start supporting the ps3 from now moving forward?

    any chance of a tales on the ps3?I do have a 360 i just dont support its as much as my ps3.

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      If PS3 owners would like to see more PS3 games from Namco, it would really help if they would support the games Namco has already released for PS3. Otherwise, the people who make the decisions about which games Namco develops, will think there isn\’t a big enough market for PS3 games from us.

      And, I\’m sorry, but I don\’t know anything about the status of games from the \”Naruto\” or \”Tales\” series.

  • When we asked for JRPGs. we didn’t want sloppy seconds :X

  • I played the demo and I really disliked the fighting system >.< won’t buy this.

  • With the extra content, I guess I might buy this for full price.

  • Thanks for the info.

    The PS3 needs more RPG’s.

  • Wow I really like the idea with the dreaming, haven’t played any past games, but it looks really nice.

  • Ever since I first saw this game on the Xbox 360 I was hoping it would make its way to the PS3!
    Played the demo and the graphics are beautiful, this is exactly what I had hoped new RPGs would look like on next-gen hardware. I sure hope there are more role playing games in store from Tri-Crescendo! :)

  • Yeah I want Ace Combat and Katamari Damacy! At least make the PS3 the lead platform!

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      That would be nice, but I don\’t have any say in the matter! You guys have to use your purchasing power to make that happen!

  • Thanks for the info. Any chance we can get a patch for Trophy support?

  • I played the demo and enjoyed it alot. i can’t wait to get it. i do hope that thre will be more games like this take take away from the traditional way of fighting. i like the fact that you need to carefuuly think what you’ll do before you move or that characters timer starts. it is soemhting different….and the art is very beautiful in here… very very nice. thank you for bringing it to the PS3

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      I enjoy the battle system a lot myself. I like the unique strategic aspect of it and there isn\’t as much pressure as a game where enemies are constantly coming at you. But, at the same time, it can really be very challenging.

  • When is this coming to Europe? Im dying to get my hands on this.

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      It was just recently announced that Eternal Sonata is scheduled to be released in Europe in February 2009. So, you\’ll have to wait just a little bit longer.

  • Hi there,

    as asked with post 7 i would push up the question for trophy support.
    are there any plans to integrate trophy support in this nice game? new additional content is ok, but it would be nice to get at least all features the xbox 360 had.

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      Sorry, as I said above, when the trophy system was announced, it was too late to implement it into the game.

  • Could you talk to the Soul Calibur 4 developers and ask them to add rumble support to the ps3 version of the game as was done with the 360 version? Metal Gear Solid 4, Devil May Cry 4, and Grand Theft Auto 4 were all released before Soul Calibur 4 and had rumble support, why can’t Soul Calibur 4? Moreover, could Soul Calibur 4 get a patch for trophy support as well?

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      I\’m afraid I have absolutely no influence over any of the issues you\’ve mentioned. Sorry I can\’t help you.

  • I Played The Demo It Felt Promising. And So Far No Doubt In My Mind I Will Be Picking This Game Up.

  • Like the demo a lot. Still a little upset with Namco for giving the 360 EXCLUSIVES. Why wouldn’t you guys give BOTH platforms the same games? Especially since Sony provided your company with two other platforms that made you guys LOTS of money. You’re turning your back on 15 MILLION PS3 owners. I’ll probably pass on it until the price goes down and/or you guys start backing the PS3 more. Hate to be a jerk but us nerds are kinda like that…

    • Stephanie Fernandez

      The people who make the decisions about which systems get exclusives, really care more about what sells now I\’m afraid. If the games Namco releases for the PS3 don\’t sell, it discourages them from choosing to create games for the PS3 in the future.

  • Thank you for another wonderful rpg!

  • I’m looking forward to another game after the Disgaea which was a lot of fun. I welcome any rpg that comes our way.

    Keep up the good work and please please work on N:UNS online package. Make sure you have an online lobby like tekken and not like DBZ: BL or SC4 which are horrible takes forever to get to a good rank match due to someone already filling it or something else that is just plain silly.

    @erico we get tekken 6 just the 360 people also got it






  • I have to agree with #30 (schwaa).

  • Thanks for the info, Stephanie!

    I’ve been waiting for this one to come to the PS3 for a long time. I’m a Chopin fan and a RPG fan. This will be bliss!

  • Well i better get my wallet ready.

    trophy support woould be nice.

    and will it support dlc?

  • unfortunately I won’t be picking this up, the game looks really good and I had a lot of fun with the demo, but the problem is I had too much fun, I spent almost 2 hours on that demo and I just don’t have that kind of time to put into a game right now, maybe I’ll pick it up whenever the next ps3 gaming drought starts, although I know this game is just gonna pile up in my back log

  • Thanks for porting this great looking game to the PS3! :)

  • Good game, but there is no way I’m picking this up at full price. For a year old port, it would’ve been wise to sell it at half price. Not to mention there are a large amount of stellar games coming out this holiday season. I’ll wait for this to hit the bargain bin before I pick it up. Bad strategy this gen Namco.

  • If u make this game available as a PSN download I’ll buy it ;)

  • I loved the demo and I certainly love RPGs which have been in short supply since… well, since launch, embarassingly enough.

    Still, I’m quite hurt that we were left out on Tales of Vesperia, since I am quite a fan of the series’ depth and humor. Still, I will not hold ill-will since you certainly didn’t have to bring this over, let alone give us the exclusive Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, which is shaping up quite impressively, especially for a licensed anime title.

    My thanks for the update, and what seems to be a very good game. Happy Launch. :D

  • Finally a RPG!!

    Sudden change of subject: Any word on the next Time Crisis or GunCon3 supporting games?

  • I intend on picking this up. The more we buy on the PS3 platform, the more likely Namco will continue to support the platform. If the game gets weak sales, don’t expect them to waste any more money on development for the PS3.

    Still unfortunate that we get an old game. Any news on new titles that aren’t going to be ports from another console?

  • Thanks for the post Stephanie…looks very interesting.

  • I cant wait for it, I totally preordered it weeks ago, its going to be one great game. The story sounds awesome, the characters look awesome!

  • Off topic, but please tell NamcoBandai to bring Katamari back home- hopefully you guys learned your lesson (that the X crowd isn’t about cool off-beat games the way the PS3 crwod is…)

  • Sry, besides Capcom Namco has really lost my respect in the past 1-2 years.

    – Ace Combat 6 only on 360 (yes, it will come to ps3 probably, but the time-frame is just too long. Might just give us AC7 instead…). I mean, WTH, I bought several Games of that series on PS1 and PS2 (and they were only available there) and I was obviously counting on to get a next-gen AC by choosing the PS3.

    – serveral exclusive games on 360, but none on PS3. In fact, Namco even made Tekken 6 multiplatform (would not be bad, if the PS3 would get the same love as the 360 in other games. Without, it is just screwing over people, who supported your company during the past years)

    – Eternal Sonata is an ok-Port. Graphics should be a bit better now and it was too long a timed exclusive. I also have to agree, Full Price is not a good idea.
    Much new content is good tough.

    – On a side note, change your Download-Content-Position.
    For example: Charging 5$ for an extra character in a Fighting Game (SC4), which was announced to be exclusive (on the other platform)and was already on the Game-Disk to begin with, is not the way to do DLC, same with your AC6-Stuff. (don’t worry, you are not worse then Capcom and EA)

    That’s for Namco HQ, not Stephanie Fernandez ^^

  • @ 2

    You and I feel the very same way. I will never pay $65 for an old game that was on 360. I’ll wait for when it hits the bargain bins ($35). Plus if there’s no Trophy support, I’m not buying.

    Bioshock, Eternal Sonata and everything else that falls under that category.

  • I hope from now on you’ll start releasing on both consoles.
    I just wish the game had been released at a bit cheaper price.
    Will we also be seeing a new Tales game? Or perhaps a port of the 360 one?

    And where’s Katamari PS3?

    Thanks so much for the info. I’m definitely getting this game.

  • WOOOOHOOOOO! 360 HAND ME DOWNS! PS3 IS MOVING UP IN THE WORLD. Spare me the BS! You developers really need to think about the whole year late delay for the PS3. I will not stand for this treatment.

  • You guys can’t really blame Namco/Bandai for picking the wrong console. At the beginning of the console wars they had to choose sides, and apparently they’d chosen the wrong one so now they’re making it up to us by releasing previously xbox-exclusive games to the PS3.
    The games they probably won’t port are the ones that were outright EXCLAIMED as xbox-exclusive, and they don’t want to look like jackasses by turning on their word.

    They’re like politicians, really, playing both sides of the fence. But like I’ve said, you can’t blame them. They’re just trying to put food on the table like everyone else.

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