Eternal Sonata Impressions

So I did the unthinkable and traded in Blue Dragon and picked up Eternal Sonata. My main defense is that Blue Dragon is a game that is primarily catered to Japanese audiences and is much too slow and unoriginal for the typical American gamer. So far, I am a little bit over two hours into Eternal Sonata and I can already say that I am happier with this purchase. I will start by addressing the games visuals because they are the first thing anyone will notice. The game uses a cel shaded graphics engine similar to that of Rogue Galaxy or Dark Cloud 2 but does this in such a beautiful way that it will be hard to pry your eyes from the television for important things such as food and friends. The world is beautiful and while I have only seen a few different locales, I am definately excited at the prospect of exploring the whole world. The story is based on the famed composer Frederick Chopin's final dream prior to his death and therefore the game is full of musical names and references which makes for an interesting theme throughout. Now for the battle and menu system which in my opinion is some of the best i've seen in years because of it's depth and simplicity. The main menu is very easy to navigate and understand and the level up menu's that are displayed when a character gains a level are great because they clearly explain every stat that increased and how much HP each character gained. Battles are initiated by touching enemies that you can see wondering through the environments in real time. The actual battles are turn based but rather than using a traditional turn based format much like Final Fantasy or Blue Dragon, the characters are free to roam around the battle arena in real time during their turns. Characters each have an "action meter" and a "tactical meter" that dictates how much time is left during their turns. The action meter is a a bar on the left of the screen that begins counting down the seconds the moment your character moves or attacks. Tactical time is time spent during your turn when the action meter isn't counting down which basically allows you to plan your moves before you make them. When the game begins, the action meter only counts down when your character is moving but as you level up your characters, your party will increase in level as well which dictates changes in action meter rules. For example, in level two, the action bar will begin counting down the moment you move the character and will not stop even when your character is standing still. Another intriguing mechanic is the game's focus on darkness and light. Every battle arena is partially shaded by the environment while others are lit by the sun and depending on where your characters stands, he will have a different special attack. For instance, standing in the shade will allow Polka to use her "Shade Comet" special while standing in the sun will trigger "Orange Glow". It is a cool little twist on the traditional battle system and I am interested to see how complex the battle system becomes by the end of the game. The game so far only has a few little flaws such as the inability to rotate the camera to look at the lush environments and the sometimes annoying pauses in between speakers during the cutscenes but overall, Eternal Sonata is shaping up to be a much more satisfying experience than Blue Dragon was. I intend to finish the game before October 9, so expect my full review shortly there after. Peace!