Intro screen for Aria Temple
- 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.
- From the legend of the astra found Aria Temple
Aria Temple is a temple of light located within Baroque territory in the heart of the Celesta Forest in the World of Eternal Sonata. It is said that the legend of the astra is housed here.
Story[]
- Falsetto: "Hi, guys. I'm sorry I worried all of you. It's just that, I realized I'll never be able to compete with Claves now. No matter how fast I run, I can never catch up. I'll only just become more and more bitter and she'll always have a smile on her face. That was all I could think about and before I knew it, I had run away. But now I may have this one chance to catch up! One way... One possible way of standing on equal footing with Claves. Even now, after she's gone on to the great unknown. And the way I can do it by defeating you! (lowers her arm) I am not... ... going to run anymore!"
- Rondo: "Not bad. I'm so impressed you were able to figure out I was the one who killed her. Perhaps we should have had you ferret out information about Andantino. Actually, it's not too late. What do you think? Would you like to take the place of Claves?"
- — Rondo coolly dismisses Falsetto's passionate feelings.
After Prince Crescendo asks the party to give him time to think regarding Jazz's concerns about his decision to withdraw support for Andantino, they decide to spend some time exploring Baroque City. In their travels, they come across a priest speaking in the street. Though Allegretto and Salsa express a certain reluctance, they stop to listen to his words.
After March expresses her appreciation of him, he tells the party of Aria Temple and that the legend of the astra is housed there, so they may wish to check it out if they have an interest in the light. March says that they should go visit it, and although Salsa is upset at her for disrupting their teamwork, the party ultimately agrees that it's worth a visit. First, however, they have to obtain the Aria Temple Key from a Magic Researcher.
Upon obtaining the key, the party visits the Aria Temple, where Polka seems startled and says that she thought she saw a woman going into the temple. Nobody else, however, sees anything. They head up to the entrance of the temple, only to find that it isn't even locked.
The party traverses the floors of the temple via stairways, ropes and teleporters and eventually reaches the Gallery of Light. There, they are confronted by Rondo, who declares her intention to slay the party sans Polka, delivering her to Count Waltz. Just then, Falsetto appears and tells her not to move a muscle. She apologizes for running away from the party and explains that after Claves was killed, she felt that she could never compete with her, as she would always have a smile on her face, that she could never catch up with. She says, however, that she finally has a way to stand on even ground with Claves, and the way she can do it is by defeating Rondo.
Rondo declares herself impressed that Falsetto figured out she was the one who killed Claves and offers Falsetto the chance to take Claves's place. Falsetto dismisses this out of hand and declares her intention to defeat Rondo in battle. The party is thrust into a battle with Rondo and after defeating her, Jazz slaps Falsetto, but then gives her a hug.
The party moves forward and examines an altar in the Gallery of Light. It is written in ancient text that most of the party can't make heads-or-tails of, but March states that she is a scholar of ancient texts and reads it out for the party. It talks of the light from people's hearts and what might happen if those without hearts were to run rampant. The party is puzzled by it and returns to Baroque City.
Treasure[]
- Lion Armor
- Rib Crusher
- Oracle Cane (PS3) / Imperial Guard (Xbox 360)
- Bubbly Hat
- Recovery Orb
- Flintlock Pick
- Imperial Bow (PS3) / Oracle Cane (Xbox 360)
- Tundra Vest
Enemies[]
- Sorbie (Light) / Ice Melody (Dark)
- Icicle Eater
- Rondo (Boss)
Behind the scenes[]
- The majority of the treasures in Aria Temple require solving a series of puzzles in order to obtain. The player must fight only the enemies placed in front of the circular patterns in the center room on the Gallery of Air to produce a rope leading to the next floor. The player must then defeat the enemies not on the circles in this floor to obtain a Recovery Orb. All remaining enemies on the floor must then be defeated to earn an Imperial Bow (PS3) / Oracle Cane (Xbox 360). There are also a couple of other more minor treasures that have special requirements.
- In the Xbox 360 version of Eternal Sonata, the door to the Aria Temple actually is locked and the party uses the key to unlock it.
- The properties of a number of weapons found in the Aria Temple were changed from the Xbox 360 version to the PlayStation 3 version.
- Story-wise, in the Xbox 360 version, the party is shown returning to Baroque City immediately after the scene in which Jazz slaps and then hugs Falsetto. The reading of the legend of the astra (the entire point of the visit to the temple) is only featured in the PlayStation 3 release.
Musical theme[]
Listen to sample of "Grim Will," the theme of Aria Temple
"Grim Will" is the musical theme for the Aria Temple. This is Track 13 of the third disc of the game's original score.
Gallery[]
Walkthrough[]
A full and concise walkthrough of this area can be found at http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Eternal_Sonata/Chapter_5:_Nocturne#Aria_Temple
Etymology[]
In music, an aria was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment.[1]