Eternal Sonata/Trusty Bell

Like many people out there is saw a post on Xbox 360 Fanboy that the Japanese Trusty Bell/Eternal Sonata demo works in the states regardless of Microsoft’s new content blocking nonsense in the last dashboard update.  So, I hopped onto my Japanese profile and downloaded a copy myself.  I finally got a chance to sit down and play through it a little while ago.  Not only does it work – it’s in full English.  It appears that it is actaully a multi-region demo just released in Japan first.

The demo is not incredibly long and does not introduce you to the characters but it is enough to give you a feel for the game.  I have to say I really enjoyed it.  It looks great and plays great too.  I was thrown by the battle system for a moment since I expected old school RPG style fighting instead your thrown into a small area with the ability to move about and attack your foes – provided you are near them or have a ranged attack.  There is a battle timer along the left had side of the screen which rapidly decreases.  This setup allows you to say run over to an enemy – beat on him with a normal attack (which helps fill a special meter) and finish with a special attack.

I’m not the biggest RPG player in the world but I may actually pick this one up when it comes out.