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Crossing the bridge between dreams and reality - Let's Play Eternal Sonata!

Violentvixen

(She/Her)
I know that I want Viola and Salsa just because I think they're both cool personality/story-wise, but having trouble coming up with a third member, and since I don't see a party including both of them in your list it's probably tough to make that work. Hmm.
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
That's not necessarily true! I firmly believe that any party combination in this game is viable. I'm certain I can make Viola + Salsa + Any Third Character work, should the voting go that way.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
I think that, given how this thread has gone the past couple months, this is likely the most response I'll get out of this little poll, so I'm gonna go ahead and close the vote. This means that I'll be using VV's party suggestion of Viola and Salsa, and I think I'll pick Claves to round out the boss party - I figure since we worked so hard to bring her back to life we might as well use her.

It shouldn't take me too long to record footage of the last couple updates, so ideally the game will be finished by early July. After that I have some miscellaneous things I want to talk about after we've seen the game's ending, and then this thread will be done. See y'all soon!
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Verse IX-XII: The Church of EZI

Hello and welcome back to Eternal Sonata! Last time we sped through Double Reed Tower in Encore Mode and curb-stomped all the bosses with Claves’s help.

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♪♪~ The Posture You Do Not Despise

Today we’re going to tackle the final bit of optional content in this game, and to do that we have to return to the base of Sharp Mountain. We’ve passed by that door you see in the top-left of the screenshot a few times, but haven’t been able to do much about it. However, now that we have the EZI Free Pass…

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Allegretto: “Wait, could this be the way to the Sanctuary of EZI?! I don’t think I want to go near that place.”
Beat: “Hey, Retto. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask. Just who is EZI, anyway?”
Allegretto: “Whoa, you mean you really don’t know? Well, you see, EZI is…. Well, he’s….”

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Allegretto: “… ...Yeah, who the heck is EZI?”
Beat: “...”
*Suddenly, Salsa excitedly jumps up, holding something.*
Salsa: “Ta-dah! I think I’ve got just what we need!”
Beat: “What’s that?”

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Salsa: “If you chant the spell written on it, they say you’ll be granted entry into the Sanctuary of EZI.”
Beat: “Really? But what are you supposed to do once you get in there?”
Salsa: “What kind of a question is that?! You get to meet with EZI face-to-face, and find out just what kind of god he really is!”
Allegretto: “Yeah, but don’t you think this whole Church of EZI-thing is kind of weird?”
Salsa: “It’ll be fine! I’m sure of it!”

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March: “What?! Me?!”
Salsa: “The village chief himself has said that nobody’s voice is as sweet as yours. So I’m sure that EZI would like hearing it, too.”
March: “Um… okay.”
*She walks up to the door, raises her fists in the air, and chants the spell:*

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*A few seconds pass, then:*

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Well that’s one way to open a door, I guess! Let’s head on inside.

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♪♪~ No music

There’s nothing in this cave, it’s just a connecting passage to the church. So we’ll just continue on into…

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♪♪~ 321 – Summer!

This update is about to get very weird.

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Allegretto: “I definitely smell trouble.”

The Church of EZI is divided into six different sections; only this opening area and one other are of a substantial size. Right now we’re in the Path to Peace.

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There are a bunch of things we can look at in this area; they won’t spell out EZI’s exact nature, but they kind of elaborate on his whole vibe.

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Allegretto: “a size that suggests the universe, but delicacy contained within; a gentle smile combined with the capacity for decisive action. Just what you’d expect from the place that knows all about him. Very nicely made!”

Like so.

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Something that won’t come across in screenshots but is nonetheless important to know is that, from this point onwards, the floor starts making squeaky noises as we walk across it. It’s very silly.

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Allegretto: “’All worlds are in a state of flux, and all things move in cycles. This charm gives form to EZI’s words of wisdom. It glows! It moves! It makes noise! Its intricate mechanisms bring death to all that lives!’ Who ever heard of a protective charm like that?”

Got a feeling that’s not a question we’re gonna get an answer to, just a hunch.

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Allegretto: “Being stared at like this kinda makes me feel nervous. Wait, this isn’t love, is it?”

Instead of thinking about that question for any length of time, let’s have a look at that enemy you might be able to see in the screenshot if you look close enough.

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♪♪~ Leap the Precipice

The battlefield inside the Church of EZI is moderately-sized and is mostly in darkness, save for the torches randomly scattered about. There are only two enemy types in here – the final two Maledictor-type enemies, in fact – but they’re both quite dangerous if you aren’t careful.

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The EZI Devotee has only two special attacks; pictured above is Receive, a long-distance move that drains HP from all surrounding targets. I didn’t get a screenshot of it, but its other attack is Vanquish, another long-distance move that can inflict Slow and cause knockdown if unguarded; both of these attacks do a lot of damage even if you block, but especially if you don’t. It’s recommended to wait to come here until after you finish Mysterious Unison; you can technically visit the Church of EZI as early as Chapter 6, but doing so would get you slaughtered in a matter of seconds.

The EZI Devotee doesn’t drop any items, and gives exactly 321 gold apiece.

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Moving on, we have more weird statues to look at.

Allegretto: “Hmph. Whatever, I guess it won’t hurt to pray a bit. Don’t get me wrong! This doesn’t mean I’m a convert or anything!”

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Allegretto: “’EZI Recycling Center – Coming soon to Ritardando.’ That could be the biggest threat Ritardando’s ever faced!”

Indeed. The other enemy to be found here is floating around behind Allegretto; let’s go say hi.

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The EZI Torchbearer is a considerably tougher variant of the EZI Devotee. Admonish is similar to the latter’s Vanquish, only it can cause Poison instead of Slow, while Offering is an HP-drain move like Receive. It also has Dancing Flame, which can cause knockdown but is otherwise unremarkable. Admonish is by far its most powerful and dangerous move, so try to block it as much as you can. EZI Torchbearers also have permanent Shining Body, forcing you to rely on light specials if you engage them up close.

EZI Torchbearers also give 321 gold apiece, and don’t drop any items. Both of the enemies in the Church are worth pretty good exp for this point in the game, so expect to gain at least a few levels while you’re here.

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♪♪~ 321 – Summer!

Moving on, the Path to Peace continues on into this hallway.

Allegretto: “’When the end of the world draws nigh, all creatures will be cradled in peace. We’ve given form to the awe of EZI’s prophecy. A herd of elephants won’t wake you! Sleep through earthquakes and floods with ease! The sleeping face of this charm invites YOU to a lifetime-stay in dream land.’ Wait a minute! That doesn’t sound very good!”

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Now that we’re walking on this carpet, we make a different squeaky noise with each step.

Allegretto: “He must get along with anyone, no matter where they come from or who they are. Hey! This painting’s title is: ‘The Warning Behind the Smile!’”

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Allegretto: “N-no way! Is this really the thing EZI fanatics obsess over? The elusive Mustache EZI?!”

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Let’s just move on and see what’s up with that statue in the center of the next room.
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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EZI the Benevolent: “Well, that tingling is actually poison. If you don’t get moving, you’re just gonna keep losing HP.”

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It’s not kidding! For the rest of this dungeon we’ll have to deal with these patches of poison; when you step into it, Allegretto turns green on the field screen, you get a disorienting motion blur effect, and your whole party starts continuously losing HP. Everyone lost this much just from that short conversation, so you shouldn’t spend more time in the poison than necessary. It can’t kill you, but it will eventually leave everyone at 1 HP if you stand in it long enough, which is not great considering how tough the enemies in the Church are.

Anyway, let’s step through the doorway and see what waits for us next.

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The Passion Proving Passage is a bit of a break after the previous area; there are no enemies in here, and there’s a handy save point. But before we can use it…

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(I just missed it, but the statue’s eyes flashed orange.)

Enlightened EZI: “Are you the new supplicant who seeks entry into our church?”
Allegretto: “Huh? Well, no… I mean… uh. Right! I’m actually here to observe. You know, kind of like a trial membership.”
Enlightened EZI: “What?! We offer nothing so half-baked as that here! If you’ve come to make fun, I suggest you leave at once!”
Allegretto: “No, no! I’m not making fun. I have nothing but the deepest respect for the great EZI. I have to admit though, I’m not really sure about whether I really want to join the church or not.”
Enlightened EZI: “...”
Allegretto: “...”
Enlightened EZI: “...”
Allegretto: “...”

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Enlightened EZI: “I have peered into the depths of those big eyes of yours! I can see you are not someone who dabbles in lies and falsehoods! Very well! I will allow you to become a candidate to join our congregation!”
Allegretto: “Uh, thank you.”
Enlightened EZI: “And now, we will test to see whether or not you are able to endure the strict training all EZI’s followers must undergo.”
Allegretto: “Test me?”
Enlightened EZI: “Oh, it’s very simple, I assure you.”

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Enlightened EZI: “As you might guess from their name, they are part of a highly advanced security system designed to dispatch all intruders. If you can manage to slip by them undetected, we will grant you official entry into the Church of EZI.”
Allegretto: “Uh, okay.”
Enlightened EZI: “Go on now, lad! Try your hand at this challenge!”

Sure, sounds simple enough. Just have to engage in a little stealth is all.

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Making a quick save in front of the weird statues and then we’ll be on our way.

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This section is just a warm-up before the real test. These statues can detect you in a range of up to five tiles straight ahead of them. It’s simple enough to avoid these, we just have to stay out of their direct line of sight.

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The next section is a little trickier, but not by much – we have to walk through the poison to avoid detection here.

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And the last section is just the exit leading to…

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The Courage Checking Chamber, the single largest and most annoying area in the Church of EZI.

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As soon as you head down the stairs, the camera shifts to a top-down view. The statues’ line of sight are also no longer marked, so you’ll need to remember to stay at a distance greater than five tiles from them.

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There are three scenes we can view in this room, and they all have to do with paintings on the wall like this one. Let’s see the first…

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Allegretto: “Doesn’t it look like EZI attacking some sort of animal?”

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Falsetto: “Yeah, a rabbit, and EZI is trying to eat it.”
Allegretto: “EZI is more brutal than I thought. No kidding. And take a look at that huge mouth! He looks ready to swallow that rabbit whole.”
Falsetto: “Swallowing it whole wouldn’t be so bad. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he was planning on chewing the poor thing up into little rabbit bits.”
Allegretto: “Heh. Yeah, I could see that, too.”

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*The camera pans back up.*
March: “Besides which, just look! EZI isn’t trying to eat the rabbit, he’s trying to encourage the rabbit to eat him. This picture shows the depth of EZI’s compassion. He’s offering up his own body to feed a poor, defenseless creature. I’m sure of it!”
Falsetto: “Maybe…. I can kind of see how it might be depicting what March says.”
*The camera snaps back to the party.*
Allegretto: “No way. It’s definitely a picture of EZI about to have a rabbit for lunch. Plain and simple.”
Falsetto: “Hmm….”
March: “No, you’re wrong! That isn’t what this picture is about!”

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Serenade: “Allegretto! Only scoundrels make young ladies cry!”
Allegretto: “Huh?! B-but I didn’t mean to….”
Falsetto: “Seriously! Making excuses just makes you look pathetic!”
Allegretto: “But… it’s not my fault she decided to cry!”

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Allegretto: “Urgh….”

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Well that was weird. Let’s move on.

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...Is what I would like to say, but I step into a statue’s line of sight immediately after the cutscene. If you’re unlucky enough to do this, you’ll get thrown into a battle against either some EZI Devotees or EZI Torchbearers…

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And after the fight you’re dumped back at the start of the room. So try not to get caught too often!

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Let’s be a little more careful this time. There are only three treasure chests in the Church of EZI, and they’re all in this one room. I mention this now because I don’t notice the very obvious chest in this screenshot, meaning I’ll have to purposely get caught by a statue and come back for it later once I remember it’s here.

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But for now, we’ll carefully walk between these two statues…

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To reach this lever.

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Pulling it rotates the statues so that we can progress; otherwise we’d be trapped in this section of the room.

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After wading through some poison and maneuvering around more statues, we reach another painting.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
cv9IUo1.png


Viola: “Wow, I wouldn’t expect to see a painting of flowers in a place like this. But wait… isn’t this painting a little odd?”
Beat: “You’re right.”

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Beat: “Do you have weird flowers like this growing in Tenuto Village, Polka?”
Polka: “No, I’ve never seen anything like those before.”
Viola: “You’re right. These flowers look almost otherworldly.”
*Viola suddenly gets an idea, and turns towards Claves.*
Viola: “I know!”

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Claves: “…I did.”
Beat: “What?! Are you serious?!”
*Claves turns and walks towards the camera.*
Claves: “Yes.”

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Polka: “Huge clusters?”
Claves: “And the flowers I saw sang in a high-pitched buzz, like a cloud of mosquitoes.”
Beat: “Like mosquitoes?”
*For a couple seconds, we can hear a cloud of mosquitoes buzzing.*
Viola: “T-that’s creepy.”

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Beat: “Polka! Are you okay?”
Polka: “I-I feel a little weak. Just let me rest a minute.”

Seems like Claves’s story scared Polka a little.

This scene actually plays out differently depending on whether or not you’ve resurrected Claves before coming here. If she’s not in the party, then the conversation shifts to be about Viola’s goats; she comments that she would never let her goats eat a flower like what’s in the painting, and Beat expresses surprise that they don’t just eat grass. Viola then says that she and Arco eat flowers too, and that picky eaters aren’t allowed in her house.

Unfortunately I forgot to keep a save from before I completed Mysterious Unison, so I can’t show this alternate scene here, not without playing through the game again anyways. I might do that sometime down the line after this thread is finished, but since we’re so close to the end I think we’ll just press onward for now.

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Anyway, from here we want to head northwest.

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Pass just under the statue you can barely see up top… (We can’t get that chest you see yet, it’s guarded on all sides by statues.)

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Hey, speaking of chests, there’s another one.

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We’ll just head north and line ourselves up with the gap between statues…

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Success! We’ve acquired Crescendo’s ultimate weapon.

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From there we go north-by-northeast. We can’t look at the painting yet because it’s guarded; instead we’ll move northwest from here…

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And pull the lever tucked away in the corner. This’ll let us get that chest we had to pass by earlier, but first let’s have a look at the last painting.

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Crescendo: “Judging from the way the sun is depicted, it seems to be a painting of the light and dark sides of EZI.”
Frederic: “Yes, the lighted side and the shaded side combine to make one complete EZI.”

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Jazz: “The idea that shadows exist even in the light, and light can shine within darkness.”
Frederic: “Well, it is true that EZI is a god who wears many faces. For instance, he’s the god of laughter, but also the god of music. Maybe it’s trying to emphasize that EZI can’t really be categorized.”
Jazz: “That makes sense. He’s not the god of anything in particular, so his aspect changes based on the needs of whomever comes to worship before him.”

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*(At this point, Salsa walks to the other side of the room, then offscreen.)*
Jazz: “?”
Crescendo: “Dealing with Waltz is the common goal that unites us. But the methods we chose to achieve our goal were different. I sought to avoid a battle, while you sought to prevail in battle. As time goes by, only the fact of Waltz’s defeat will remain prevalent. Everything will be viewed in connection to that. And the rest will depend on those who come after us. How will these facts be portrayed in the years to come? Which of us will history decide to show as being correct?”
Jazz: “...”
*Suddenly, from offscreen:*
Salsa: “Frederic! Frederic!”
Frederic: “Why, whatever is the matter?”

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Salsa: “Why don’t we call it quits on the lecture and keep moving?”
*long pause*
Frederic: “Yes, you’re right.”

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An interesting point to make, given the fact that we’re playing this game at all.

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We could head northeast to the third lever from here, but we need to get that chest first, so it’s back south for us.

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Just need to circle around these statues…

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And that’s Beat’s ultimate weapon in the bag.

It’s at this point that I remember I need to go back for that last chest, so I deliberately get caught to do so.

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There we go! With this in our possession we now have everybody’s ultimate weapons. That’s all the chests in the Church of EZI, but it’s not quite all the items we can get; you’ll see what I mean as we continue.

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Just backtracking to where we were offscreen and then heading to the last lever…

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From which we can at last proceed to the exit. Be careful not to get caught by the statue next to the stairs!
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
N2ioDOn.png


Now we’re in the Placid Parish. There aren’t any enemies here, but we will continually be losing HP thanks to the poison on the ground, except while we’re on the wooden platforms around the area.

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“You’re more interested in items than instruments? Hmph. I guess you’re still pretty immature, aren’t you?”

This boy runs the very last item shop in the game.

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In addition to Goddess Bouquets, he also sells the single-target and party-wide full-heal items. This is the only place in the game you can buy Spade Clovers, and since we have more money than we could possibly spend I’ll go ahead and buy 99 of them. (I also went back to all the item shops throughout the game and bought 99 of every other healing item before coming here, which is why we aren’t quite maxed out on gold.) Of particular interest is the Scudetto…

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Which is far and away Crescendo’s best shield. I’ll gladly take it!

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“You’re not going to leave me all alone too, are you?”
“What? Do you have a problem with our romance or something? Well, a boy who hasn’t completed the training of EZI, spirit of flowers, could never understand what I see in him.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing such naughty things with a man who’s not my husband, right under EZI’s nose. Hee hee. I’m a very bad girl.”

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“If I complete more of the training and raise my rank, I’ll be able to dress like the EZI Elite. What? You haven’t heard of the EZI Elite?! How could you miss them? You must have seen them on your way here. They’re the coolest, and the hottest, members in the whole congregation.”
“This is the Church of EZI’s ‘Lion’s Den.’ All the newest converts live here. Are you a new member too? If so, I’d make sure to steer clear of the shrine in the back. What are they doing back there? Well that’s a secret, of course. It wouldn’t be much of a ‘Lion’s Den’ without a few secrets, now would it?”
“What do you think of the venomous poison in this room? Pretty nasty, isn’t it? Finding it a bit hard to breathe, perhaps? You go on being poisoned even while you’re carrying out a conversation here, you see. It’s all part of the training necessary to make you a top-notch member of the Church of EZI!”

Geez, thanks for the info dump, stranger. I’m not sure how effective constantly wading through poison water is as ascetic training, but I’m not an expert on religion so what do I know.

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“Come on in and give your body and mind the rest they deserve!”

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Of course an inn stay here costs 321 gold. Why would it be anything else?

“Your skin is simply glowing, and your hair’s got a wonderful sheen to it. You look so fabulous, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

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“This mask has no holes in it, so when you put it on, everything goes pitch black. I hate the dark so much it almost scares me to death. Mommy, what am I gonna do?!”
“Mommy, it’s not like I’ve got an inner eye or something!”

We’ll just leave you be…

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“What’s the Grace of EZI? Well, don’t you…? I can’t talk about things like that when it’s still light out.”
“Nothing can beat the Grace of EZI. I can remember it even now, my husband and I were still young then. The two of us went to the EZI festival…. Whoops, I don’t want to say too much.”
“Now, now. It’s not polite to tease your elders.”

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“EZI appeared on the horizon, his boat loaded down with his latest catch. He plucked me from the sea with one flick of his rod, and reeled me in to safety!”
“I could hardly believe how tall he stood. His muscular physique would be the envy of any man. I want to become a man like that someday, too!”

With that, we’ve talked to every single NPC in the game. Kind of an odd place to run out of new people to talk to, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Anyway, before we head up the stairs out of here, there’s actually something else we can take a look at back in the Courage Checking Chamber, so I’ll head out and get caught again to reset that room.

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If you pull the first two levers, then get caught by this statue directly opposite the exit to Placid Parish, you get to fight a super-secret hidden boss! Click here to watch the fight.

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♪♪~ Leap the Precipice

Optional Boss: Dandelion
HP: 569,000
Exp: 527,000
Gold: 0

Don’t let the fact that the standard random battle theme is playing, the Dandelion is no joke.

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Aside from its standard attack, the Dandelion has two specials; Un-Oh, pictured here, hits one character six times, and if unguarded can deal upwards of 35,000 damage to the target. Its other attack (which it didn’t use while I was recording), Ecarte, is even deadlier; it’s a spin attack that hits anybody standing nearby three times, and if unguarded can KO just about anyone except possibly a max-level Jazz or Crescendo from full HP.

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In addition, Dandelion also automatically blocks all attacks that aren’t critical, and it’s very fast, capable of out-speeding everyone except a very high-level Serenade. Dandelion’s only weakness is that it has pretty low HP for a boss at this point in the game, so your best bet is to defeat it as soon as possible before it gets a chance to kill you.

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To that end, I’ve loaded out the party here for maximum offense. Allegretto’s Silver Star takes care of the critical-hit thing, and he’s got the Werewolf Choker to hopefully build up enough Echoes for a Harmony Chain before Dandelion gets too many turns. Serenade and Frederic both have Burst accessories, and Frederic has the Lion’s Chime for more crits since Serenade seems to get more of those naturally.

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It takes two Harmony Chains (because during both it blocked an otherwise full-powered Throne of Thorns), but we manage to defeat Dandelion before it can utterly wreck us!

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♪♪~ Well Done

Frederic: “This is but a brief parting.”

Our prizes for winning are the Noble White and Sacred Mail, Serenade and Crescendo’s ultimate armor, respectively. Dandelion isn’t guaranteed to drop these upon winning; it can drop either of them, both, or neither. Luckily you can do this fight over as much as you want, as long as you get caught by the specific statue that it spawns from. (It took me only two attempts to get this equipment; the first time I fought Dandelion it dropped nothing.)

This is also the best level-grinding spot in the entire game; no other non-boss enemy gives out anywhere near this much exp, and once you memorize the path to the statue you can repeat the fight roughly every couple of minutes. There’s no reason to do this unless you need more levels for what’s at the end of the church, or are just curious what everybody’s stats look like at level 99, but hey, the option’s there!

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I wish every character got unique end-game armor that further boosted their strengths, but this is still pretty good. Not much can stand in our way at this point anyway!

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♪♪~ No music

Speaking of which, we’re almost at the end of the Church of EZI. Wonder Way is just an empty hallway that leads to the final room, so we can prepare ourselves beforehand.

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Viola doesn’t need much in the way of equipment, so she gets to wear the Seven Stars.

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Salsa gets a pretty raw deal in terms of ultimate equipment, so I’m boosting her stats as much as I can here.

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And finally, I’m making Claves even stronger, and offsetting the Burst accessory with the Recovery Orb.

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Right, let’s go!
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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This is the end of the line. Let’s see what waits for us…

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click to watch the cutscene

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If I had to guess, it looks like they’re worshiping that EZI statue in the center of the room…

Salsa: “How ‘bout we go and ask them?”
Allegretto: “Hey! Wait a minute!”

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*The EZI Devotee doesn’t respond. Beat then notices the EZI statue:*
Beat: “Hey, check it out, Salsa. What do you think that is?”

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Salsa: “It doesn’t look edible, that’s for sure.”
*As the kids continue to look at the statue, March reaches out to touch it...*

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Beat: “Uh-oh! This doesn’t look good!”

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surprise boss fight! (recommended viewing)

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♪♪~ 321 – Crescendo!

Final Optional Boss: The Great EZI/Bouncing EZI, EZI Holy Light x2
HP: 5,100,000/2,500,000
Exp: 1,230,000
Gold: 321

Those separate HP totals might seem odd at first, until this fight’s main gimmick is revealed: EZI is the only boss in the entire game whose form changes between light and dark!

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In the light, he takes on the form of The Great EZI, and is incredibly dangerous; it has double the HP of its dark form, and its defenses are much higher, making it harder to whittle that HP down. The Great EZI has no standard attack, and instead exclusively uses special moves against you; Great EZI Roller, pictured above, hits anybody caught in its path twice, with the second hit being the more damaging one. I didn’t get a screenshot of it, but it also has Great EZI Press, which hits everybody in a pretty sizable AoE for big damage.

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The EZI Holy Lights are two renamed EZI Torchbearers, and have more HP but mostly the same moveset. They’re under permanent Shining Body and like to stay close to EZI, so they should be your top priority at the start of the fight.

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Like so!

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Alas, it won’t be that easy. As The Great EZI, it can use Great EZI Revive to bring back the Holy Lights, and it likes to immediately follow this up with Great EZI Heal to give them more HP to work with. However, the Holy Lights have less HP and are no longer under Shining Body once revived, so they’re easier to deal with.

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That doesn’t necessarily mean you should ignore them after you defeat them once; they can use Inspire to heal EZI for the above amount, which is annoying.

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While I’m re-defeating the first EZI Holy Light, I can at least power up Salsa and Claves with Shadow Silhouette.

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With the other Holy Light defeated, EZI immediately shrinks in the darkness and turns into Bouncing EZI.

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In this form, it only has access to two specials; EZI Lightning, pictured above, hits everyone in the line of fire three times. I didn’t get a screenshot of it, but it also has EZI Dig, which hits everyone in range for big damage but has a smaller AoE than Great EZI Press.

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EZI also has a standard attack in this form, and it has really weird guard timing.

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Anyway, with its servants gone it’s time to start chewing through EZI’s HP. You want to keep it in Bouncing EZI form as much as you can, since it has far less HP and defense, but both forms have the most HP of any boss in the game, so it’s going to be a long fight in any case.

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This party is pretty good at dishing out damage; Salsa can generate Echoes and power everyone up with Shadow Silhouette, Viola can shoot arrows and weaken EZI’s defenses with Hawk Eye, and Claves just hits like a truck.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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Eventually, after several minutes of hammering EZI with everything we have, the party emerges victorious!

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♪♪~ Well Done

Claves: “Is everyone all right?”

EZI doesn’t drop any items, but we do get the single biggest chunk of exp in the game out of it, along with something else we’ll take a look at in a minute.

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Pictured: the final level-ups we’ll be seeing in this thread. Viola and Salsa leveled up twice!

*After the battle...*

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Your guess is as good as mine, Allegretto. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about this game, but I truly have no idea what the deal is with this whole EZI thing. It is, if nothing else, the source of the most extensive collection of joke items I’ve ever seen in an RPG, but beyond that I can’t say.

Anyway, before we end this update, we need to look at the ultimate reward from the Church of EZI:

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The Scrapbook!

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It gets its own spot in the pause menu, and selecting it brings up a list of ten photos you can look at that depict various scenes. If you were to beat the game and run through Encore Mode again, you would keep the Scrapbook in your newest playthrough (although I don’t know if the Scrapbook message displays if you were to defeat EZI again, and I’m not about to take the time to test that). Let’s give these photos a look, shall we?
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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♪♪~ Reflect the Sky, Bloom the Life

Each photo plays a different track from the game while you’re looking at it. This first one is pretty adorable!

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♪♪~ Can We Be Both Different and Alike

Some wacky hijinks happening in Agogo Forest. Mushroom enemies don’t technically appear there, but it helps set the scene.

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♪♪~ Trembling Homefront

You know, I don’t think we ever saw all of these characters together at the same time in the main game. Whatever card game they’re playing, Fugue seems to be taking his winnings and getting out while he still can.

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♪♪~ Relaxing Place

That dang Phil is getting us into trouble again. The kid never learns!

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♪♪~ White Mirror

All the girls posing for a picture. This one’s my personal favorite in the Scrapbook. Thinking about it, most RPGs have either equal gender parity or are skewed towards having more male characters; it’s nice that the scales are tipped in the other direction in this game.

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♪♪~ A Buffer for Quiet

A group photo with all the guys to complement the previous picture.

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♪♪~ The Posture You Do Not Despise

This photo kind of contradicts the main plot slightly – if you remember the scene at the end of Chapter 3, Claves acts like she’s never met Rondo before – but personally that doesn’t really bother me; this is a fun end-game reward for finishing an optional dungeon, after all.

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♪♪~ No No I Don’t Die Noooo!

Ha, seems like Allegretto is scared of ghosts after all!

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♪♪~ The Mediocrity Sought Out By Everyone

Speaking of Allegretto, he gets one last opportunity to be a bit of a scoundrel before the end of the game.

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♪♪~ DANTOTSU!

And Viola gets one last sarcastic grin.

And that’s absolutely everything we can look at before the end of the game! The next update is going to be the final one, as we see the final chapter and ending that I first put off in favor of side-content, uh… *checks thread* more than six months ago. Time flies, huh?

Next time: Well then, I shall make my definitive choice, right now!
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)

Here's a different recording of the fight, with the alternate costumes and JP audio for the cutscenes. EZI is way trollier in this recording, staying in the light for almost the entirety of the battle and reviving/healing the Holy Lights and healing himself way more often.


And if you want to see/hear the squeaky floors in action, you can do so with this video.
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
I won't be posting the next update this week, because SGDQ is happening! I'll see y'all next week for the finale.
 

Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
The dandelion enemy looks like a less dangerous version of the hamsters from the Valkyrie Profile series. Tri-Ace loves their weird secret super-enemies.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Well, that was bonkers. Squeaky floors are a weird touch.

Indeed!

The dandelion enemy looks like a less dangerous version of the hamsters from the Valkyrie Profile series. Tri-Ace loves their weird secret super-enemies.

I hadn't made that connection, but yeah you're right. I wonder how common that particular trope is.

Anywho, I'm just here to post more art since I still have some lying around:

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Some finer details about Count Waltz's outfit.

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This is similar to his final design, but is overall pointier.

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And this looks like some early concept art. Seems like they settled on him being a count pretty early on, even if the overall aesthetic here is different.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
One last art post before the end.

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Chopin's older sister Ludwika.

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His former student Delfina Potocka.

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The doctor.

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Solfège.

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And... I have no idea who this is! Maybe it's a very early design for a character in the game, maybe it was an original character that got cut in development. The text probably sheds some light on the matter but I can't read a lick of Japanese, so to me at least it is a mystery.

Final update goes up tomorrow. See y'all then.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Hello and welcome back to Eternal Sonata. Before we get started with today’s update I need to give a couple warnings. First and more importantly, content warning for suicide. Second, this will likely be the longest update in the entire thread, so this page could take a while to load.

Last time, the party visited the Church of EZI and met many strange denizens therein, including the god himself, who even after being defeated remains an enigma. But that was in Encore Mode; today we’re going back to the original playthrough.

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♪♪~ Spiral Twister

This is just after fighting Count Waltz and Ruined Body in the core of Double Reed Tower. No one in the party has learned all of their special attacks or reached level 50, and we’re still at Party Level 5 because we haven’t yet set foot in Mysterious Unison.

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All of which is to say that we don’t have any of the fun toys that you get in Encore Mode for whatever’s ahead. But this should suffice. Now let’s finally investigate that portal that Ruined Body left behind.

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Click to watch the cutscene (recommended viewing)

♪♪~ No music

March: “This can’t be. What have they done? How could they?”

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*But before she can do anything, Frederic interrupts her:*

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*He walks towards the portal.*
Beat: “What are you doing?”

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*The party all walk through the portal.*

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This is it, y’all.

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*Before anyone can speculate, Polka answers him:*

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What?

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...Oh. Somehow, when Count Waltz ordered Ruined Body to destroy the world, he actually succeeded. What was once Tenuto Village is now a barren wasteland, devoid of any signs of life save a far-off crow circling overhead.

*Frederic walks forward, away from the rest of the group.*

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Let’s put ourselves in Frederic’s shoes for a moment.

When he first met Polka, Frederic was certain of the nature of this world, and of the people in it. But that certainty has wavered over time.

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Even with his own death approaching him, Frederic has grown more and more attached to the people and places of this world. And now that world is in danger of dying along with him.

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Frederic has to do something to change it, to keep Polka from fulfilling her terrible destiny that we saw at the beginning of the game. And so he’s about to make a choice, a desperate gamble.

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Beat: “Frederic, what are you saying? What’s wrong with you?”
Frederic: “Forgive me. I am truly sorry, Beat. But it seems I’ll be unable to offer my help to you any longer.”

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♪♪~ Embarrassment Consistency

Frederic: “Only when this ordeal has finally come to an end, will my soul at last be permitted to leave my physical body.”
Polka: “So then, is this the path you’ve chosen for yourself?”

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He has to see this through to the very end.

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If Frederic wins, then he can finally wake up and end the dream. But if he loses, then he can die in Polka’s place, and no one will have to share in his untimely death. That’s what I think Frederic’s reasoning is here, at least.

Frederic: “Now, let the test begin. We’ll see whether I…. No, whether my spirit can become a lance… able to pierce through all of you in battle.”

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♪♪~ Scrap and Build Ourselves -from Revolution-

It’s time to fight the final boss of Eternal Sonata. (Recommended viewing)

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FINAL BOSS: Frédéric François Chopin
HP: 1,493,120 (Xbox 360)/1,190,000 (PS3)
Exp: N/A
Gold: N/A
What? Holy shit what?!: Yes. The final boss of the video game about Frederic Chopin is Frederic Chopin.

You should very definitely listen to the final boss theme linked above; it’s about half new music, half incredibly dramatic rearrangement of the Revolutionary Étude, and the new bits evoke the spirit of the original piece very well. (And there’s even a direct quotation from the Winter Wind Étude towards the end thrown in for good measure.) Given who we’re fighting here, this track couldn’t be anything else.

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Frederic: “Don’t you all understand?! This entire world is my dream!

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Polka: “Is that your magic?”

Alternatively, Allegretto has a line here:

“You want a fight, huh? Then I won’t hold back!”
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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The final battlefield is rather large, and is mostly in the light, save for a couple of small shadows from clouds passing by overhead. It’s thematically appropriate, since all of Frederic’s best special attacks were light-based.

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Frederic’s attacks work differently than when he was a party member. He doesn’t have his standard combo here; instead he has slow individual hits. These hits can reach multiple characters if they’re close enough together, and the animation makes it tricky to judge when to guard properly. He can attack you from behind if he feels like it, and this can be dangerous for reasons we’ll go over soon. Frederic is also pretty fast, and will frequently (though not always) get two turns in a row against you.

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Since we’re still at Party Level 5, we can’t blast him with 6-special Harmony Chains, and he has the most HP of all the storyline bosses, so this fight is most likely going to be rather long. If you had Frederic in your active party when you stepped through the portal, he’ll be replaced by whoever’s in your first reserve slot; this can be a nasty surprise if you had been using him regularly up to this point.

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Frederic: “Carry them away to the riverside, to the water’s edge!”

Frederic has a larger arsenal of attacks than any other boss in the game besides EZI. Nimbostratus, pictured above, can pierce multiple characters in a line and has a long range, and unguarded will cause knockdown.

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Frederic: “It takes but a moment, don’t worry.”

He retains Orzel Bialy from his time as a party member, although it works differently in this battle; the first two hits are gone (although the animation for them still plays, making it more difficult to know when to guard against the attack), and instead only the final hit still connects. It has a rather large radius and can cause knockback unguarded.

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Note that Frederic will automatically guard against all attacks from the front (except for criticals, of course).

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Frederic: “There is no one else! I am the only one here!

Applaudissement Sonique is Frederic’s strongest attack, and I’m pretty sure it has the longest animation of any special in the game. It strikes in both a horizontal line in front of, and a large radius around, Frederic for massive damage if unguarded, and it can also cause knockdown. Take special care to guard against this attack or you’ll be in a world of hurt.

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Frederic also has three different status attacks, although he uses these less often than his primary moves. Zamrazac is the worst one because it inflicts Stop; Truc inflicts Poison, which isn’t as bad, but Poison doesn’t wear off unless it’s cured or the afflicted character is revived after a KO. You can’t guard against these attacks, because Frederic always moves behind a character when using them to prevent blocking; as such, you’ll either have to deal with them the best you can or bring along a few Peacock’s Feathers.

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This battle is more of an endurance test than a rush to see who gets defeated first; if you can consistently deal damage over time and stay on top of healing, then you’ll gradually wear Frederic down.

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Speaking of which, he’s just made his fatal mistake, using Pala to inflict Burst on Allegretto right when he’s close to being defeated.

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All we need to do is build up the Echo Meter to full one last time…

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Allegretto: “After this we’re done!”

And unleash the final Harmony Chain of the game.

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With a tormented scream, Frederic falls to the ground, defeated.

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Our final time for the original playthrough is just under 35 hours. All that’s left is the ending.
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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Click here to watch the first half of the game’s ending. (Recommended viewing)

♪♪~ No music

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*Frederic stumbles forward...*

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*And collapses.*

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*Polka raises her head, determined, and walks over to Frederic:*

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*She crouches down.*
Polka: “Thank you, Frederic. But… I….”
*She places a hand on his neck and heals him.*

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Polka: “I’m sorry.”
*She stands back up and begins walking towards the cliff.*

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*She reaches the cliff.*

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Polka: “Allegretto, please forgive me for not telling you about this.”

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Polka: “It’s just that… I remembered. I remembered a while ago what the path is that I have to take.”

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Polka: “Don’t you see? Frederic just gave all of us a gift. The most precious gift there is.”

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Polka: “It’s something that my mother told me about when I was a little girl. And now I finally understand it. I know what she meant.”

Polka’s mother talked about it way back at the start of the game, in fact. We’re only just now getting the context, and seeing that she was being only partially metaphorical.

*A spirit appears in front of Polka:*

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Polka: “Yes. It is my fate… to go into the sea. It’s the only way, the only way the tremendous waves that threaten the people of this world can finally be made calm.”

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Polka: “Ignoring what hurts you eventually becomes a habit, the natural thing to do. If we only allow ourselves to see what we want to see, we just end up fooling ourselves more and more. But eventually, we cloud our vision so completely, that we become blind to the small truths that are all around us.”

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I’m sure Frederic would have some choice words about that.

Polka: “The truth was always there in my memories. Thank you, Mom. For everything. But I’m ready now. And I know what it is that I must do.”
*Solfège’s spirit lets go of Polka’s shoulders, takes a few steps back...*

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*And disappears.*
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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♪♪~ Pyroxene of the Heart

Every other time this song has made an appearance in the game, it’s only played for a few moments, or been interrupted. Right now, for the first time, we’re going to hear the whole thing.

It’s worth noting also that the in-game music menu translates the song title as “Jewel of the Heart,” which is about to be relevant here in a second.

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Beat: “Yeah! And hey, I promise I’ll take even more!”
Polka: “If I had any choice in the matter, I’d never want to give up those memories; of this journey and the time we’ve spent together. I know this is hard for you to accept right now, but someday… someday we’ll all meet again. I’m absolutely positive.”
*short pause*
Polka: “The time has come for everything to be settled.”

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Allegretto: “Polka, what’re you doing?”
Polka: “There is a place, a place where I can make a real difference, now that the world is covered in darkness.”

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Forget not from whence the true light gleams.
Not from the noonday sun, nor from the moon
that pierces the night.

Only light from the heart can truly illuminate the darkness.
If those without hearts run rampant, this world will become a land
of everlasting darkness.

The light from the heart is the very spark of life. Therefore, when
darkness overwhelms, the heart that illuminates the darkness must
give its life and all will be reborn.

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Who cares about fate anyway?

*Polka steps backward to the edge of the cliff...*

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*And silently says three little words.*

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We’re now back where we were at the very beginning of the game. But, if you go back and watch the opening again, you’ll hear that Polka’s intonation is different here.

*She stands up on her toes...*

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*And falls.*

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*Allegretto screams in despair and falls to his knees.*

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Allegretto: “Damn it!”
*He pounds the ground with his fists.*

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*Allegretto looks over at Frederic.*

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*There’s a short pause. Then, slowly, Frederic opens his eyes:*

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*He gets up.*

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Frederic: “Have I awakened? At long last….”
Beat: “F-Frederic?”
*Frederic looks around, and suddenly realizes where he is with horror.*

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*He stares at his hands in shock as the scene fades...*
 
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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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Here, as before, Polka’s intonation while saying these lines is different than it was in the intro.

Polka: “If I blow him a kiss, I wonder, will it reach him up there?”

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A big difference from what was originally said.

Eternal Sonata splits its end credits into two parts; we’re about to see the first. There are a couple different variations of this first set, and I’ll talk about those variations more at a later date. For now, part one:

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♪♪~ Reality and Honesty, then Truth

There are no subtitles during Frederic’s soliloquy here, so if you’re watching the video you can turn on closed captions for that.

Frederic: “Emilia. I have never once forgotten you, not in all the time that you’ve been gone. But who would’ve thought that my memories of you… could create a world as vibrant and alive as this one is? It’s something I’m sure not even you ever could have imagined. It was such a stunningly beautiful world… that I found myself going on a very long journey through it. The adventure I shared with the wonderful companions I met in this world of dreams has left me with countless memories that I can, even now, recall with perfect clarity. Emilia… if you could hear me say these things, I wonder, would you just laugh at me?”

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“I happened to make the acquaintance of a young girl in my dream. A girl with an astra that glowed more brightly than any other in this world… a girl who was forced to give up her life at the age of fourteen. Whenever I spoke with her… it was as though you were with me again. I began to wonder if she might not, in fact, actually be you… who have lived for so long in my memories. But I see now that I must have been mistaken. You see, she was… Polka was someone who insisted on walking her own path, until the very end. Emilia… she lived just as you would have, had you been given the chance to do so. Even now, it seems I lack the necessary conviction.”

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“When I was playing the piano in Paris, even though I existed in reality, I was also living a dream. And now the dream that I just had… seems even more vivid than any reality. Emilia… if it had been you, perhaps you would have been able to arrive at the answer sooner than I. But as for me… I am at long last able to make a choice, though it’s taken me quite a while to make it.”

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“I will depart the reality where you and I composed memories together, and make the world of dreams, where Polka lived, my reality. I hope my choice does not bring you pain. You must know that I will never forget you, after all. Yes… for even though my form may change, these feelings are something that will not fade away.”

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“But there is one thing that is certain… and that is the fact that we can never return to the past. When I play the music written down upon a score, the notes of the past disappear from my mind, as if swallowed up by the darkness. And then in contrast, the notes that are going to be played in the future resound clearly as bells inside of my mind. If there can be only one world that a person believes in, then for me, that world should definitely be the piano. Moving ever onward… a world in which you can never turn back.”

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“Yes… belief, above all else, proves existence. Echoing in the eyes… brilliant to the ears… sweet to the touch… and smelling of warmth. Unable to be appreciated by the masses. Astra… only the light of one’s astra can truly determine one’s world.”

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“My dear Polka… in this world that has been set free from my dreams… lies the path that you have chosen to follow. The time has come for me to once again choose the path I believe in.”

*The scene fades...*

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At this point the different credits variations lead to here. We’re back where we were in the intro, sort of.

Do you remember when Allegretto found Polka’s special rock, before she threw it away that night?

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How the fortuneteller seemed to know Polka, despite the latter not having met the former?

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How the Cello Tree had dozens, possibly hundreds, of bad fortunes tied to it, even though Polka had never been there before?

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The opening of the game might have seemed like an event that we would catch up to via the rest of the game being an extended flashback, but that’s not the case. Rather, that opening has just happened again, here and now. Frederic’s dream world is caught in a time loop, and has been for quite some time.

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Somehow, both the fortuneteller and Solfège know about this (and honestly, I don’t think the details of how they learned this are especially important). Some version of the game’s events have been happening an unknown amount of times; some minor details are probably different, but in every cycle Polka reaches the Cello Tree, ties a bad fortune to it, then goes on to sacrifice herself to restore the world, after which she is returned to Solfège as a child and everything happens again. (I’m sure some of you figured it out as soon as we reached the Cello Tree scene, and if you did, thanks for keeping quiet about it till now.)

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But it didn’t turn out quite the same this time. Polka drew a blank fortune this time. Her future isn’t set in stone. And judging from the fortuneteller’s reaction to him, this is the first time Frederic has been present during a cycle. Speaking of whom…

*The scene fades again...*

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Click here to watch the second half of the game’s ending. (Recommended viewing)

Frederic: “Death is a reality that is far too real. But I’ve walked this dreamlike journey within a dream so that, once and for all, I could accept it.”

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“And now, the time has come. Everything shall come to its finale!”

*We return, for the first time in a long while, to the world outside Frederic’s dream.*

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*The clock strikes 2. The doctor closes his eyes for a long moment, then slowly stands up.*

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*Nothing happens for several seconds, then Ludwika lowers her head into the bedsheets and starts quietly sobbing, while Delfina turns away.*

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*Fade to black...*
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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♪♪~ A Light

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*The scene from the beginning of the game starts to play out as before, but without subtitles:*

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Polka: “Mommy? Why are there waves in the sea?”
Solfège: “Well darling, there are waves because of the moon.”
Polka: “Because of the moon?”

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Solfège: “That’s right. The moon charms the water in the ocean with its beauty. And because the moon is so beautiful, the sea water just can’t sit still.”
Polka: “Is that true?! Really?!”
Solfège: “Really! Don’t you feel your heart start fluttering inside of you when you look at the moon?”
Polka: “I do!”

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Polka: “What about the puddle? Will it make waves when the moon comes out, too?”
Solfège: “No dear, there’s not enough water. You need lots and lots of water, like the ocean, before it can make any real waves.”
Polka: “Oh, I see. But that’s weird. Why can’t a little bit of water make waves, too?”
*Suddenly, Frederic’s voice rings out:*

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*The scene keeps going while Frederic speaks, the normal dialogue a little quieter than him.*
Frederic: “A fourteen-year-old girl must live her life.”

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Frederic: “Drawing in even the faintest amount of light, they decisively embody it. And in doing so reflect something that people can never see. They wait for the moment when the world is trapped in darkness, and then blossom with glowing light.”

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Frederic: “Isn’t it pitch black around you? Isn’t the world covered in darkness?”

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Frederic: “The time for you to blossom has come.”

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Frederic: “I’m still allowed to choose, am I not? Well then, I shall make my definitive choice right now. That flower that so resembles you; that flower that boldly challenges the darkness;”

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*Unlike in the opening, the scene keeps going as the music ends:*

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*Polka abruptly stops walking.*

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*She lets go of Solfège’s hand. The latter doesn’t respond for a second, then:*

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Solfège: “Well, he’s the person that you choose to believe in, so I’m sure he must be wonderful.”
*She lowers herself down to face eye-level with Polka.*
Solfège: “I did so want to see you on your wedding day. But now, I suppose the only thing I can do for you is to tell you this:”
*She picks a flower, then stands up:*

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♪♪~ An Important Person

*She puts the flower in Polka’s hair.*

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Polka: “Okay, Mommy. I’ll see you later then.”
*Polka closes her eyes.*

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Agogos are mirrors of the forest, and mirrors of the heart.

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Reflecting the gleam of the shimmering jewel, when they glow you will know the time has come.

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They shall become a light that comforts the dearest wish of the maiden’s tears.

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Solfège: “…when it’s stirred by the beauty of the moon.”

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*Brief fade to black as as the music continues and Polka rises further into the air...*

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*Polka slowly rises out of view, and stays out of sight for several seconds. Then, the camera pans up:*

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*We return to the cliffside near the ruined Tenuto.*
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
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♪♪~ Someone’s Evening, Someone’s Daybreak

We heard this theme briefly, back when Crescendo received Claves’s message about Serenade being a Forte spy. This time we’re going to hear it in full.

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*Beat happens to look over at the cliff:*

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*This causes Allegretto to look up:*

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*Polka slowly lowers to the ground...*

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*Her feet gently touch the earth, whereupon the following happens:*

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*Everyone looks on in amazement at the restored flower field. As they do, Polka slowly opens her eyes:*

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*Allegretto is the first to react:*

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*And Polka follows suit.*

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*The two of them stay embraced for several seconds. Then, they pull back slightly.*

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*The camera switches to a more distant view of the scene...*

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*And begins panning upward just as Polka and Allegretto start to kiss.*

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Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
*We return, one last time, to the world outside Frederic’s dream.*

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*The clock is still ticking loud as ever. By this point, Ludwika and the doctor have left the room, leaving only Delfina and Frederic’s body.*

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*Frederic’s spirit, appearing as he did in the dream, rises out of his body.*

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*Slowly, he rises out of bed, and begins walking towards his old piano.*

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*He sits down at the bench, lifting his hands to the keys...*

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*And starts to play.*

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♪♪~ Heaven’s Mirror

If you haven’t been clicking the music links lately, or at all, I urge you to please at least listen to this one. I firmly believe that this song is a strong contender for the most beautiful piece of music that Motoi Sakuraba has ever written.

*Seeming to sense Frederic’s presence, Delfina walks over to the nearby window...*

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*And begins to sing.*

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Una raffica di vento
nel mondo della notte


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e il tuo spirito partì in viaggio
verso il puro

*We return, one last time, to the world that is so much more than Frederic’s dream, at Heaven’s Mirror Field.*


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lì dove ogni cosa
è il paradiso


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se una sol preghiera arriverà
risveglia la vita


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Fiorisce la luce
crediamoci insieme


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glis guardi si alzano uno dopo laltro
la placida melodia
che tocca le memorie
se un sol desiderio si avvererà
canta la vita


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La polvere danza
la luna leggera
è arrivato il miracolo
fiore dello specchio blu


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In braccio tra le foglie
nel mondo della luce
e tu suoni la campana per la pace


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It’s been a long ride, but this Let’s Play is finally finished. It took a year and change of updates, fourteen forum pages, thousands of screenshots, and way too many words, but it’s done now. I’m happy to have done it, but I’m also happy to see it finished, so that I can move on to other things; I highly doubt I will attempt a project as long as this one ever again. It took a lot out of me!

As I’ve said before, I have some stuff that we can look at now that the game is over. That shouldn’t take more than a week or two. Then I’ll share my final thoughts on this thread, and the game. But until then, I’d like to thank the following people and resources:

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-GameFAQs user threetimes, for their excellent FAQ of the PS3 port, which was very useful for keeping track of treasures and such, and for their detailed maps of Mysterious Unison and a few other dungeons.
-The Eternal Sonata wiki, which is where I got all the monster and boss stats (so if I got any of those wrong, blame it on them! =p). It was also my source for much of the artwork I’ve posted, some other miscellaneous information, and the lyrics to “Heaven’s Mirror”, which would have been a lot more difficult for me to parse myself (as I don’t speak Italian).
-Whoever compiled this list of every piece that Frederic Chopin ever wrote, which I’m sure must have taken an awful lot of work.
-The French blog L’Antre de la Fangirl, where I got the scans of the JP strategy guide. You saved me the trouble of having to track down a copy myself, which I’m sure would have been quite expensive.
-Shoutout to Motoi Sakuraba for writing what is still, to this day, one of my favorite game soundtracks. One of these days I’ll find my own copy.

Special thanks to TT-ers @Mogri and @Violentvixen for being consistent readers of the thread! I seem to have lost a lot of readers over the course of this LP, but I appreciate you two for sticking around for so long. It means a lot.

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Thank you, Tri-Crescendo, for making this weird, flawed, beautiful, wonderful game.

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And thank you all for reading.
 
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Violentvixen

(She/Her)
This was lovely, and I loved all the musical term definitions you added too.

I'm still a little lost on exactly what happened with the portal though. I thought it was a different timeline or something, but I guess they were just warped back to a new location? And Ruined Body just disappeared? Is it clarified anywhere?
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Thanks, y'all.

I'm still a little lost on exactly what happened with the portal though. I thought it was a different timeline or something, but I guess they were just warped back to a new location? And Ruined Body just disappeared? Is it clarified anywhere?

The portal took the party back to the living world; Ruined Body blew itself (and Count Waltz) up in the process of creating it. The game doesn't spell this out explicitly, but given that it was able to destroy an entire fleet of dragons with one attack, and created the portal to Elegy just trying to retreat from the light of Polka's astra, we can infer that using its full power in Double Reed Tower is what caused the world to be destroyed; the blast just happened to leave another portal behind. Hope this helps clarify things a little!

Stay tuned for extra and alternate ending stuff in the next couple posts.
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)

♪♪~ Shape of Life

If you wait about thirty seconds on the "Fin" screen after the credits, this little scene plays; it gets its own musical theme and everything. And the narrator returns!
 

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
Let's look at some alternate endings.


First, the game has a unique bad ending if you lose to Frederic in the final battle.


♪♪~ Kyoutenka

Second, here's the final chapter as presented in Encore Mode, along with the original version of "Heaven's Mirror". Even with the powered up stats afforded by Encore Mode, my chosen party of Allegretto, Claves, and Serenade still manage to defeat Frederic in a measly two Harmony Chains. Party Level 6 is no joke!


And finally, this is the alternate set of closing credits I alluded to in the final update; it consists of the party and a few other characters saying various quotes from throughout the game. (Turn on closed captions for subtitles.) I'm pretty sure the original Xbox 360 release of the game only had this variation of the credits, and the characters all stared directly at the camera while they said their lines; here at least the game plays around with camera angles and staging.

There is apparently a third set of closing credits - in which there's a photo montage of various scenes from the game - but a) the only source I could find for this information is the TVTropes page on Eternal Sonata, and b) I can't find any video evidence to support this. Furthermore, I'm not actually sure what triggers a given set of credits. Most of the internet seems to think that having certain party configurations during the final battle will change what plays, but I'm not actually sure that's the case? I think, instead, that the different credits play depending on whether or not you're playing in Encore Mode. I tested various party configurations in both the first playthrough and in Encore Mode (and this took a while, because once you win the final battle you can't skip the ending), and I only ever got Frederic's soliloquy on the original file, and the quote compilation in Encore Mode.

This tells me that, if indeed there is a third set of credits, then I would have to play through Encore Mode a second time to see it. I love this game, but I don't think I have it in me to play through it a third time just to see an extra set of credits that might not actually exist. Maybe sometime down the line I'll try it, but not right now.

Tune in tomorrow for more extra stuff!
 
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