Unfortunately, since we weren’t able to see the characters fighting in the game before we recorded, we had to make some guesses about the way in which lines would be used in battle situations. Sometimes we got it right, but sometimes we didn’t. So, in the end, it was necessary to edit some lines slightly. But, overall, I think it came out sounding pretty good.

Overall she sounds incredibly enthusiastic about the whole project, to the point where I'm actually mulling over picking up the PS3 version for another play through.

RPG Eternal Sonata Composes New PS3 Features Tomorrow [Official PlayStation Blog]

Hopefully, this news doesn't come as too much of a shock for Namco Bandai themselves who were "not aware" of the PS3 version of the game just a few months ago and that portable defibrillators are on hand at the publisher's HQ.

Eternal Sonata also on PlayStation 3 [Jeux-France]

People who play games and people who love classical music are not necessarily sharing [the] same type of interests. Most people in Japan know the name of Chopin; however, most of the people who know of Chopin think he is just some kind of a great music composer without knowing any more about him. Most of them have heard Chopin's music but not a lot could put his name to it immediately. By creating a colorful fantasy world in Chopin's dream, I was hoping that people would get into this game easily and also come to know how great Chopin's music is.

Here are the top ten for the week of June 18th to the 24th.

01. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 303,000 / NEW
02. Itadaki Street DS (DS) - 149,000 / NEW
03. DS Observation Training (DS) - 44,000 / 265,000
04. Wii Sports (Wii) - 34,000 / 1,756,000
05. Growlanser VI: Precarious World (PS2) - 27,000 / NEW
06. Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting Revolution (Wii) - 25,000 / NEW
07. Wii Play (Wii) - 22,000 / 1,421,000
08. Mana-Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsu Shitachi (PS2) - 21,000 / NEW
09. More Brain Age (DS) - 20,000 / 4,395,000
10. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 18,000 / 4,557,000

Another new entry this week is the PLAYSTATION 3 RPG FolksSoul, a game that obviously didn't debut as high as Zelda. Find it after the jump.

11. FolksSoul (PS3)
12. Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (DS)
13. More English Training (DS)
14. Mario Kart DS (DS)
15. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village (DS)
16. Brain Age (DS)
17. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
18. NANA Live Staff Daiboshuu! Shoshinsha Kangei (DS)
19. Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3)
20. Junior High School English Vocabulary Target 1800 DS (DS)
21. English Training (DS)
22. Momotarou Dentetsu DS: Tokyo & Japan (DS)
23. Yoshi's Island DS (DS)
24. Super Paper Mario (Wii)
25. Saints Row (Xbox 360)
26. Kanji Brain Test 2M (DS)
27. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
28. Kekkaishi: Karasumori Ayakashi Kidan (DS)
29. Shaberu! DS Oryouri Navi: Marugoto Teikoku Hotel (DS)
30. Common Knowledge Training (DS)

Hey look! Saints Row! Michael McWhertor

What better way to promote the Xbox 360 in Japan, that Xbox Night at Yakult Swallows Jingu Stadium. At the door, four thousand baseball fans were given Xbox 360 pamphlets and Xbox 360 umbrellas. Nothing says gaming like umbrellas! Microsoft Japan CEO Darren Houston wore a "360" jersey and threw out the first pitch.

Trusty Bell bundles were given to the Yakult Swallows and to the Seibu Lions. A console and a Swallows t-shirt were also given away to a lucky fan. Microsoft also showed a Trusty Bell ad (an Xbox 360 game that folks are actually buying!) on the JumboTron, and thousands of Japanese people realized that if they wanted to play this game, they'll need to buy an Xbox 360. (Or they could just wait until it eventually hits the PS3!)

During the seventh inning stretch, the spectators stood up and opened their umbrellas, which is apparently a custom at Jingu Stadium. How curious! Off the field, former big leaguer and funny guy Kasuhisa Ishii was given a free Xbox 360 as well. He was also given games like Blue Dragon, Gears of War and the ubiquitous THE iDOLM@STER. Ishii said he likes shooting games, so Gears should let him shoot stuff. One of the better Microsoft Japan PR events in recent memory. Too bad they picked a team with a low attendance — the stands look kinda empty. Better than nothing, I guess. Brian Ashcraft

Xbox Night [Famitsu]
Xbox Night [Game Watch]

Here are the top ten games sold in Japan for the week of June 11th to the 17th, courtesy of Media Create.

01. DS Observation Training (DS) - 63,439 / 220,810
02. Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream (360) - 49,334 / NEW
03. Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3) - 46,307 / NEW
04. Wii Sports (Wii) - 34,223 / 1,721,611
05. More Brain Age (DS) - 24,901 / 4,374,525
06. Wii Play (Wii) - 22,161 / 1,399,060
07. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 19,297 / 4,539,176
08. Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (DS) - 16,879 / 156,867
09. More English Training (DS) - 15,855 / 288,570
10. Brain Age (DS) - 15,405 / 3,467,764

Make the jump for the next twenty, including yet another PS3 game.

11. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village (DS)
12. Hisshou Pachinko * Pachislot Capture Series Vol. 10 CR - Neon Genesis Evangelion (PS2)
13. Mario Kart DS (DS)
14. Call of Duty 3 (PS3)
15. Momotarou Dentetsu DS: Tokyo & Japan (DS)
16. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
17. Yoshi's Island DS (DS)
18. English Training (DS)
19. Super Paper Mario (Wii)
20. Common Knowledge Training (DS)
21. Zaidan Houjin Nippon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kounin: KanKen DS (DS)
22. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road (PSP)
23. Final Fantasy II (PSP)
24. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War (PSP)
25. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
26. Gyakuten Saiban 4 (DS)
27. Kekkaishi: Karasumori Ayakashi Kidan (DS)
28. Harvest Moon: The Tree of Peace (DS)
29. Kuriken: Nano Island Story (DS)
30. Pokémon Diamond (DS)

Not much in the way of massive surprises, but two PLAYSTATION 3 games on the chart in a single week? HUGE. Looks like some of the popular DS and Wii staples have just about ended their top of the pops runs, too. Michael McWhertor

Chopin-starring RPG Eternal Sonata (AKA Trusty Bell) is released today in Japan, and already there is sequel talk. At a launch party held in Roppongi, a Bandai Namco VP Shin Unozawa floated the word "sequel," saying the company would like to assist in creating one. Nothing official was announced, of course. (Well, a VP saying that is kinda official!)

Best of all, the Roppongi event had popular pro fighter and self-proclaimed Xbox 360 fan Kazushi Sakuraba on hand. Sakuraba often shows up for matches in funny costumes like schoolboy outfits and whatnot. For the launch party, he wore a custom made Trusty Bell lucha libre mask. So cool. Brian Ashcraft

Trusty Bell Event [Famitsu]

Another beautiful trailer for Eternal Sonata (formerly Trusty Bell) from Japan. These trailers continue to impress with their pretty graphic style and classical music score. If you didn't go through all the ridiculous steps to play the English language version of the Japanese demo, you'll have to be satisfied with these Japanese language trailers. If you're really nice to Ash, maybe he'll translate them for you.

Seriously, he loves it when you message him with stuff like that. Flynn De Marco

Although the game has been honored with the Xbox 360 bundle treatment in its native Japan, the game was never branded with an "Only On Xbox 360" descriptor. While the game is almost definitely coming to the PLAYSTATION 3, don't be surprised if that particular version sees a bit of a delayed release so Namco gets their co-marketing dollars.

While we await the impending official confirmation, let's just enjoy this new world of non-exclusives, where Xbox 360 owners and PS3 owners can live in harmony and discuss the finer points of cel-shaded adventuring in the dreamworld of Polish composer Fr d ric Chopin. Michael McWhertor

ESRB Software Ratings

Just like Blue Dragon before it, Microsoft Japan is enticing Japanese customers to take that leap of faith with a console/RPG game bundle. This time, it's Trusty Bell. The game features a core Xbox 360, wired controller, copy of Trusty Bell (retitled Eternal Sonata for the West) and a special DVD soundtrack. Bundle drops June 14, pricing is open, and the side of the box has Trusty Bell art on it — If you are into that. Brian Ashcraft

Trusty Bundle [Game Watch]

XBoxYGen just posted up a mammoth number of screens for Xbox 360 title Trusty Bell, due to hit Japan on June 14. How can an RPG about Frederic Chopin feel so right? Hit the site for the rest. Brian Crecente

Trusty Bell en images [Xboxygen]

Everyone's favorite RPG character, pianist Frederic Chopin, will be hitting Japanese Xbox 360s June 14th. Dubbed Trusty Bell, the game will be Xbox Live enabled, and its battle system will combine turn systems with real-time systems. Three or less people can participate in the battles, and each player can move freely during his or her turn. What about enemies? Monsters morph into larger, more frightening bad guys. Not all characters can morph, though. And the cut-scenes unfold in Paris, where Chopin has fallen ill and in the dream world. A quality looking RPG about a sick Frederic Chopin on the Xbox 360 for Japan? Believe. Brian Ashcraft

Trusty Bell Looks Great [Game Watch]

We've been poking around Trusty Bell news the same way we sniffed after Rule of Rose stuff (review on that one is coming up, I promise). I'm pleased to announce that the composer-centric game is coming to the US under the name Eternal Sonata, possibly with some modifications:

The press release for Eternal Sonata, oddly enough, doesn't say anything about Chopin. It just mentions "a famous composer" instead. The "Chopin's Dream" subtitle has also been removed from the US name. One wonders if they'll be changing who the composer is (perhaps to a fictional one) or if they just didn't think it was important to mention for some reason.

Trusty Bell, at least in Japan, is the story of the famous composer Chopin just before his death, as he enters a dream world and meets a magical little girl with a "terrible destiny" yadda yadda yadda. It looks pretty and the music should be great. Eliza Gauger

More Here [Games Are Fun]

Maybe I just want to burn your eyes out with overwrought cute.

In any case, these are from Destructoid. They are brand new, high-res screens of the game, showing the usual landscape and also what looks like a combat round against some sort of terrifyingly shiny ringbeast. Eliza Gauger

Trusty Bell Brings Cel-Shaded Chopin to the 360 [Destructoid]

Pretty screens from the upcoming Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream by Tri-Crescendo. Says Siliconera:

Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume (Chopin's Dream) is a brand new RPG developed by Namco Bandai games for the Xbox 360. Yeah, the game is centered around the 19th century composer, but you don't play the game on Earth. The story takes place in a dream Chopin had before he passed away. The dream world bestows magical powers to those plauged by illness.

I wish I had more to say than this, but I'm still not even clear on what sort of game this is. I haven't seen any monsters, just a lot of landscape. Exactly how trusty is this bell, anyway? I demand answers! Eliza Gauger

Adorable video game and robot blog DESTRUCTOID! has some new poop on a weird but lovely cel-shaded game, Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream ("Chopin no Yume" for the Japanese version). And they are mighty dubious!

Yes, as in the composer! Trusty Bell first appeared on this site as an unnamed Tri-Crescendo project that now appears to be in full swing. The members of the NeoGAF forum dug up these new famitsu scans revealing a beautiful cell shaded world akin to that of Blue Dragon and the other handful of gorgeous looking new japanase role playing games we must across the ocean drooling over. Before you pop a vein, read the premise of this game because it sounds a little... what's the word I'm looking for... "retarded" ? I just can't that excited about anything involving Polka. We'll see.

So far, the thing I dig most about this weird little title are the ridiculous costumes. Little top hats and frock coats all the way, damn it! Magazine scans with caption translations over at the ol' TOID. Eliza gauger

Trusty Bell brings cell shaded Chopin to the Xbox 360. The quest to save Polka? Um, ok. [DESTRUCTOID!]