As a game that brings so much originality to the table, it's a shame that Eternal Sonata's visions don't play out as well as they could have. The combat system, while refreshing and initially engaging, eventually boils down to a button-mashing mission to get in as many late hits as possible before ending with a special attack. Even though you can spot enemies before getting into fights with them, the frustrating pace of battle holds the game back from being truly special.

Due to all the initial movement to get your characters into attack position, as well as the four-to-six seconds spent button mashing with each of the three characters, battles take a bit longer than they should. While this isn’t really an issue in games like tactical-RPGs that offer large bounties of XP for their arduous battles, the pittance of experience awarded make the bulk of battles feel like artificial lengtheners placed onto an already slow-paced game.

Equally disappointing is the pacing of the plot, which starts off innocent enough and soon delves into trite RPG fare with plot twists that seem out of place in the cheerful story. The Chopin interludes are themselves worth playing for, but when there are so many sudden, dramatic twists to characters that you’ve hardly learned the names of, the story’s events feel like they’re desperately reaching for your heartstrings. While things redeem themselves towards the end, it once again feels like a missed opportunity for such a beautiful game that tries so hard to set itself apart.

If anything, it should be seen as a gorgeous example of the PS3's graphical capabilities. 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. Even though I would have liked to see the battle system sped up and the pacing improved upon, Eternal Sonata still deserves credit for trying to be a genuinely original title in a genre crowded with imitators. The few bonuses afforded in this version (such as wardrobe changes, newly playable characters, and a few extra areas) aren’t quite worth the $60 if you’ve played through it once before, but curious PS3 owners should at least give it a rental.

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