Crescendo

Crescendo
Information
Hometown	Baroque
Age	29
Weapon	Maces
Japanese Voice Actor	Katsuyuki Konishi
English Voice Actor	Cam Clarke
Eternal Sonata Character

"We must achieve true peace, not simply the appearance of it."

—Crescendo expresses his desire for a true and lasting peace.

Crescendo (クレッシェンド, Kuresshendo^?), 29, is the charismatic and dedicated Prince of the Kingdom of Baroque. His father, the King, is currently out of the country due to illness, so Prince Crescendo is acting as the political leader of the kingdom. Crescendo will do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of his subjects, and the people of Baroque have the utmost faith in him. Crescendo and Jazz have known each other for a very long time. Crescendo is engaged to the Princess of Forte, Serenade. While Crescendo appears in both the 360 and PS3 versions of Eternal Sonata, he and Serenade are only playable in the PS3 version.

Appearance and Personality

"War is nothing more than a battle of egos. A desire to surpass your adversary. And as long as both sides feel that way, this clash will just continue on indefinitely. It's simply not worth it. ... It's a power struggle. A childish fight between adults who should know better. It's just embarrassing."

—Crescendo explains his pacifism.

Crescendo takes up the appearance of a noble king. Crescendo is a brave and unwavering man, but his idealism can sometimes lead him to believe better of people than they deserve. Crescendo has the training of a knight and prefers to solve problems through peaceful resolution, but proves a formidable warrior if driven to battle. He is calm and soft-spoken and only rarely betrays any outward anger. Forced by circumstances to rule his country, he tries best to give a fair hearing to all. He is largely respected and admired by those around him, but sometimes his idealistic actions cause disappointment amongst those who expect the most from him.

Fighting Style

"Well, we made it through!"

See also: Maces.

"Baroque, my beloved homeland!"

—Crescendo, upon leveling up in battle

Crescendo wields a mace and a shield in combat. He has excellent defense and HP much like Jazz, serving as a very durable tank. He shares heavy armor with Allegretto and Jazz, while also equipping shields as an additional special accessory to further augment his impressive defense parameter. As befitting a prince who wishes to protect his people, he is best used to draw the enemy's attention and act as a damage magnet (coupled with an auto healing item such as the Recovery Orb, Crescendo can essentially become "immortal" in battle). His mace attacks are not very effective at building combos, but his special moves are quite powerful. Due to the fact he was originally an NPC that was added as a playable character to the PS3 version, he has only four special moves, unlike the rest of the fighters who have eight moves apiece. However, while he lacks a large number of abilities, the ones he does possess can often decimate enemies. At the highest levels and with a full echo count, his Special Attacks deal the greatest damage of any character in the game.

Crescendo is one of the most well-rounded characters in the game. At Level 99, his defense statistic is the highest of all the playable characters, and can be increased by a further 20% overall by equipping the Sacred Mail, an armor only he can use. His HP is second only to Jazz and his raw attack power second only to that of Allegretto. None of his statistics are the lowest of any character and, in fact, both his magic and speed are superior to those of some of the others. His Scudetto shield accessory can augment his defense by a further 50 points and also protects him against all negative status effects.

Special Attacks

Attack Name	Japanese Name	Type	Hits	Level	Range	Knockdown Chances	Time	Description
Galactic Nebula	ギャラクシーストリーム	Light	8	Default	Melee		3.8	Close combat attack that hits the target with tremendous force.
Crystal Judgment	ハイドロフェーン	Dark	2	Default	Melee	Strong (Knockback)	1.6	Penetrating two-part attack.
Diament	ダイアメント	Light	2	35	Melee	Medium (Knockback)	1.6	Defiant two-part attack.
Chaos Bolt	エンレイジボルト	Dark	8	50	Melee		3.8	Close combat attack that hits the target with all the world's turmoil.

Battle Quotes

Start Battle

• "When will all the fighting be over?"
• "Have we been found?"
• "Is this the only way?"
• "So you won't cooperate?"
• "Did I miscalculate?" (Party is at low levels relative to opponent(s))
• "I'd give my life to protect my subjects!" (Party is at low levels relative to opponent(s))
• "You gutless coward!" (ambushed)

Battle End

• "For Baroque!"
• "Is everyone all right?"
• "Well, we made it through."
• "We must bring this fighting to an end!"

Level Up

• "Hah!"
• "Thank you, everyone!"
• "Baroque, my beloved homeland!"
• "I must become an even stronger shield!"
• "Grant me the power to protect my people!"
• "Give me the strength to protect the powerless!"

Special Attacks

Galactic Nebula

• "You look rather pale, you must know what's coming!"
• "From across the sea of desolation and beyond, come to me!"
• "Oh stars in the sky come, appear before my eyes and answer to my call!"

Crystal Judgment

• "Lose thyself at the ends of the earth!"
• "I will be the shield that protects my people!"
• "Forget all you know! Hold your tongue and depart!"

Diament

• "I will not be stopped!"
• "Virtue does exist in this world!"
• "It is a place where all things burn inside of truth!"
• "The summit is demolished and the peaks crumble! Watch!"

Chaos Bolt

• "It's time for your penance!"
• "Justice does exist in the planets!"
• "Hear the clamor of the gathering thunder!"
• "You've been very troublesome. That ends now!"
• "Lightning, cut your jagged path across the sky!"

Following Special Attacks

• "This game...is over!"
• "You should've retreated!"
• "You should've run!" (Galactic Nebula)
• "Isn't that enough!?" (Crystal Judgment)
• "That should settle this!" (Crystal Judgment)
• "That should do it!" (Diament)
• "That should end it!" (Chaos Bolt)

Item Usage

• "Here!"
• "There!"

Healed

• "Thanks."
• "Thank you."
• "All right!" (Resurrection)
• "I will not be kept down!" (Resurrection)

Retreat

• "That's enough!"
• "We're pulling back!"
• "Let's try a different route!"

Gallery

CG Render 1

CG Render 2

Crescendo doing a Level Up pose

PS3 promotional wallpaper

PS3 promotional wallpaper with other characters

Crescendo, as he prepares to depart Baroque, perhaps forever

Etymology

• In music, "crescendo" is a term related to the dynamics which means "to become gradually stronger," and is generally interpreted to mean "gradually louder." The name is also a tribute to the game's developer, Tri-Crescendo.

Behind the scenes

"Every choice creates a path and determines what tomorrow will bring. But regardless, we cannot expect others to make those choices for us. After all, if left to others, there's no guarantee they'll make the right decision. And when that happens, who is it that will have to accept responsibility? The answer, of course, is ourselves. No one else would be willing to accept it."

—Crescendo in Lament

• The Tri-Crescendo company's logo appears on the front and back of his armor.
• The PlayStation 3 version of Eternal Sonata includes additional dialogue from Crescendo that explains the nature of his past history with Jazz.

Crescendo speaks about Jazz in the PlayStation 3 version of Eternal Sonata.

• Despite Crescendo and Serenade being added permanently as playable characters in the PlayStation 3 version once the first fight with Count Waltz is completed, they have little additional dialogue or scenes associated with them and do not appear in any of the scenes shown upon defeating each of the four "mirror" bosses in the Double Reed Tower of Sand. Additionally, it is never required to participate in battle with Crescendo or Serenade, as while both join in Lament, all battles except for the final boss battle can be avoided or escaped from, and the party can be chosen freely for that battle.

Notes and references