Posts with tag eternal sonata
Eterna Sonata trailer now on Marketplace
Atari to bring Trusty Bell, AC6 to Europe
Our friends at Xboxygen report that Atari has signed a deal with Namco Bandai to publish both Trusty Bell -- known as Eternal Sonata in the U.S. -- and Ace Combat 6 in Europe. X3F readers will remember that Trusty Bell made a splash in the Japanese market last week, landing in the number 2 sales spot. The game tells the tale of a fantasy world -- actually the fever dream of a dying Frederic Chopin -- in dire straights, and it features many musical motifs. Ace Combat 6 is the latest entry in the long running Namco flight combat series, and is the first to appear on a non-Sony console. It's currently unknown if Atari plans to release the Ace Combat 6 flight stick controller bundle in Europe.
Both games are expected to launch in Europe this fall.
Eternal Sonata Japan's 2nd best seller
Stop the presses, hold the phone, and list some clichés, because an Xbox 360 game has reached the number 2 spot on the Japanese sales charts. Yes, Eternal Sonata, known as Trusty Bell in Japan, clawed its way to the number 2 spot with 49,334 copies sold, beaten only by Practice by Observing: DS Observation Training for the DS. It is unclear how many copies sold were part of the Trusty Bell bundle we reported back in April. If you haven't been keeping track, the Xbox 360 hasn't really fared too well in Japan, so a number 2 game is a momentous occasion indeed. This becomes particularly apparent in light of the fact that Blue Dragon, developed by the creator of Final Fantasy himself, only managed to hit number 4 (though it actually sold more copies). We'll be keeping our eye out for the hardware charts to see if the Xbox 360 got a much needed boost last week as well.
Gallery: Eternal Sonata (AKA Trusty Bell)
Eternal Sonata No. 1 on Amazon Japan
The Xbox 360, to put it mildly, hasn't fared terribly well in Japan thus far. Routinely selling only a couple thousand units every week, the 360 needs a serious kick in the pants if Microsoft hopes to make even a modest dent in the Japanese market. For this reason, it's heartening to see an Xbox 360 game claw its way to the top of the Amazon Japan bestseller list. The game in question is the Namco Bandai RPG Eternal Sonata, known as Trusty Bell in Japan. It would seem that demand has crescendoed (get it?) before the game's launch, slated for June 14 according to Amazon Japan. Granted, Amazon is a fickle beast. The number one bestseller could change next week, tomorrow, or even in a couple of hours, but it's nice to see a 360 title beat out the PS2 and even the mighty DS.
The only question now: does Eternal Sonata have the power to sell Xbox 360s in Japan? We'll know soon enough.
[Thanks, alesul]
Gallery: Eternal Sonata (AKA Trusty Bell)
X3F hands-on: Eternal Sonata
If you're crafty enough to find it, an Eternal Sonata demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. We downloaded the demo yesterday and took it for a spin. First thing's first, the game is very pretty. While the geometry is actually very simple, the art style and the cel shaded characters are just jaw-dropping. The animation is well done and even the voice acting is decent (the demo features full English dialogue and menus). The big question is: how does it play? Read on to find out.
Japanese Eternal Sonata demo works in U.S.
Find yourself hankering for a whimsical, musical adventure? If so, we hope you didn't delete all those incredibly legitimate foreign Xbox Live accounts from your beloved 360. You see, a demo for Trusty Bell (Eternal Sonata in the States) has landed on the Japanese Marketplace. Now, considering Microsoft's recent crackdown (no, not that Crackdown) on foreign content downloading, this shouldn't really be big news. That's all well and good, but it turns out that the demo works just fine on U.S. consoles. Even better, it features full English dialogue and menus.
Why does it work? Why isn't it blocked by Microsoft's newfangled security measures? Our guess is that the security measures are mostly a one-way affair. In other words, they are for keeping U.S. content in, and not for keeping non-U.S. content out. Whatever the reason is, we suggest all of our RPG-starved readers get to downloading.
Any luck downloading this for our European friends?
[Via Joystiq]
1UP previews Eternal Sonata
1UP has posted a video discussion about Eternal Sonata, the upcoming RPG from Namco Bandai. Not too many new details are revealed, though we do learn a few things about the game's plot and a few tidbits about the combat engine. The plot revolves around a group of young heroes trying to put a stop to the machinations of one Count Waltz (waltz, get it?). The local forest is being destroyed by a mining operation digging for mineral powder. It seems that this powder is a miracle cure, similar to a floral powder already in use. However, Waltz has decreed that mineral powder shall be exempt from taxation, effectively killing the market for floral powder. The catch is that mineral powder actually makes people dangerously psychotic. Naturally, our heroes are out to get to the bottom of things.
360 bundle rings a (Trusty) Bell in Japan
As a rule, if you want to sell consoles in Japan, you'd better have some good RPGs available. Microsoft knows this, and is doing everything in its power to secure some decent Japanese titles for it's uphill battle in the Land of the Rising Sun. Late last year, Microsoft released a Blue Dragon bundle, which quickly sold out and gave the Xbox 360 a hearty but brief boost. Microsoft looks to repeat that success by bundling the 360 with the upcoming RPG from Namco and tri-Crescendo, Trusty Bell (known as Eternal Sonata in the west). X3F readers will recall that Eternal Sonata left Joystiq with a good impression in March. The bundle will include an Xbox 360 core system, Trusty Bell, and a special soundtrack DVD. The bundle's price has not yet been set. Of course, you can tack on the price of a memory card or hard drive to the bundle's price, as players won't be able to save their progress otherwise. While Trusty Bell isn't likely to have the same impact as Blue Dragon, it is expected that the RPG will generate a small amount of "buzz" for the console.
The new bundle will be available on June 14th in Japan.
[Via Xbox-Scene]
Video: Eternal Sonata battle and story
GameVideos has posted some footage from the upcoming Eternal Sonata, Namco's magical adventure starring Chopin and his musical cohorts. The video embedded above showcases the game's combat engine, which was detailed by Joystiq last week. Players will have 5 seconds to deal as much damage as possible. The combat plays out in real time but the five second timer only drains when players are moving or performing actions. In other words, players have as much time as they need to come up with a strategy before actually moving. All in all, it looks like a very interesting combat system and should provide a nice change of pace for RPG fans that are sick of turn based combat.
The second video displays some of the game's story elements. We have to issue a warning though. The video is technically safe for work, but passerby may question your manhood if they see you watching it (as long as you happen to be a man, of course). The graphics are bright and colorul, making good use of outlining characters in a cartoon style. It's not exactly cel shading but it's close. Check out the second video after the break.
Joystiq plays Eternal Sonata, new screens
Joystiq got a chance to sit down and get some play time with the upcoming Eternal Sonata, known as Trusty Bell in Japan. We've been intrigued by the title's quirky premise (Chopin and his magical, musical friends go on a whirlwind adventure) ever since Eternal Sonata was first announced. Joystiq reports that the game's combat system is actually real time. Characters still take turns fighting, but each character has approximately five seconds per turn to deal as much damage as possible. Extending the real time combat is a battle system called Echoes. Essentially, as you string together melee attacks, you build the strength of potential spells. The Echoes system is also used to power up party based spells.
Joystiq also reveals that there is no traditional overworld map and that players are free to explore as they wish. Additionally, there are 10 playable characters and players may organize their 4 person party in any manner that they wish, though certain situations will require the use of certain characters. Hit the "read" link for Joystiq's detailed impressions. Also, check out the Eternal Sonata gallery for plenty of beautiful screen shots.
Eternal Sonata screens drip with happiness
Alright, we're excited about Eternal Sonata. That's a given now. We want to play it and enjoy its wonderful Chopin-has-magical-friends story. We want it bad. Maybe that makes us just a little strange, but we don't care. It looks wondrous and we hope there are unicorns in it. If you're like us and aren't afraid to admit your addiction to child-like wonder, you may be interested in scoping out some new screens of Eternal Sonata over at Xboxygen. They are filled with color, sparkles, and baguettes. Hit the "read" link to enjoy them all.
Trusty Bell: new scans, Japan release date
Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream (known as Eternal Sonata in the west) has finally received a Japanese release date. Featured in the latest Famitsu, Bandai Namco's Trusty Bell will arrive in Japan on June 14th. For those that don't know (the game has been off the radar since TGS) Trusty Bell is an RPG involving Chopin (the composer), a dream world, and lots of interesting characters. With a Japanese release date of June 14th, we just might see the US localization before next year. In the meantime, check out some fresh scans at Xboxyde.
See also:
GameStop: Blue Dragon roars in June
TGS: Wanna play a 360 RPG? Get in line
So, you're at the Tokyo Game Show and you want to play one of those new fangled Xbox 360 RPGs like Blue Dragon, Trusty Bell, or Lost Odyssey. Then you probably shouldn't have had that bag of bran muffins and coffee earlier, because that is one long line. 1UP is reporting that show goers were waiting in line for up to two hours to get a chance to play Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. The article notes that lines aren't uncommon, and that the Squeenix line is longer, but it does show that the Japanese have a marked interest in these two titles. Could the 360 actually be gaining ever precious mindshare in Japan? With only 100,000 (recently discounted) PS3s this holiday and only a minor price difference between the Wii and the 360 Core System/Blue Dragon bundle, only time will tell.
[Thanks, The1]
360 at the Tokyo Game Show:
Eternal Sonata gameplay/combat video
Metal Slug blasts its way onto XBLA
Lost Planet and Viva Piñata video
Microsoft TGS briefing video now available
DOAX2 video makes us feel naughty
TGS: Eternal Sonata gameplay/combat video
A new video of Eternal Sonata (the western name for Namco's Trusty Bell) has popped up over at GameVideos. More than just a showcase for the pretty environments, fans will be happy to know that the video shows off the game's previously unknown combat engine. The combat, as far as we can tell, is similar to Grandia but with real time elements. Each character has a limited amount of time to execute real time combos and spells. Then the enemy has a similar amount of time to retaliate. One might assume that higher level characters have more time to act. At any rate, it might give turn based haters a reason to take another look at Eternal Sonata. Turn based haters ... sounds like the name of a band. See the video after the break.
