Falsetto

Falsetto
Information
Hometown	Andante
Age	22
Weapon	Knuckles
Japanese Voice Actor	Tomoe Hanba
English Voice Actor	Julie Ann Taylor
Eternal Sonata Character

"A lifetime to build, but it only takes a moment to destroy. You know, human beings really are masters of destruction. Everything we do has some effect on the environment. And ultimately, that ends up affecting human society as well."

—Falsetto espouses on philosophy.

Falsetto (ファルセット, Farusetto, French subtitles/International - Mazurka^?), is a lieutenant in the resistance group, Andantino. She is a childhood friend of Jazz. Perceptive and tough, she inwardly dislikes Claves.

Appearance and Personality

Falsetto has short brunette hair (often mistaken to be silver or grey) and green-colored eyes. She wears a long blue coat, long white gloves and her bottom half includes blue shorts, long black stockings, and blue boots. She also bears something of a resemblance to Allegretto, featuring a similar hair color, somewhat similar hairstyle and the same slim build. She is a tough and dedicated young woman, and does not back down from anything. She's also very kind and humane, giving Rondo a heartfelt speech over how cruelly she and Waltz used innocent people's feelings and threw them away without hesitation. Though she may flee at first after making a major mistake, she eventually owns up to her actions and tries to set things right. She worries, however, that she can never measure up to Claves in Jazz's mind.

Fighting Style

Falsetto uses her Snow Claw attack against Rondo

See also: Knuckles.

"I'll let my fists do the talking!"

—Falsetto, sometimes, upon leveling up

Falsetto fights with her fists in battle. She equips knuckles and gloves for weapons while her armor consists of robes and dresses. Her regular attacks are swift and powerful, which makes her an excellent source for building up Echoes. She uses powerful fist and kick-based attacks like Snow Claw and Phoenix Rising. Phoenix Rising is excellent for knocking down enemies and striking in wide swathes in front of her. Her Shadow Beam and Death Chasm in particular can be extremely devastating despite only hitting once. Both Snow Claw and Howling Thunder deal a total of 9 hits, making them powerful for creating additional Echoes for another Harmony Chain. Snow Claw in particular is a good choice to use at the end of a series of attacks early on if the Echo total is only 4 or 8 at the end of her turn, as it will build the Echo total back up to at least 8 and occasionally 12. Howling Thunder achieves similar results at higher levels.

Due to her excellent combat abilities and balanced stats, Falsetto quickly becomes a staple character to have along, especially due to her high SPD rating which guarantees her multiple turns against most opponents. Falsetto has a number of weapons that carry the possibility of causing Slow status to opponents. Her most powerful weapon, Lord's Reign, increases combos for Echoes when attacking, practically guaranteeing that she will be able to build up enough Echoes in one turn to launch a Harmony Chain. Until this weapon is acquired, the Tyr's Left Arm is also a good choice, as it increases her active time when her normal attacks hit, greatly increasing the number of hits she can obtain in one turn. She works well with her fellow Andantino members as well as Allegretto.

History

Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Meeting the Travelers

Falsetto is first seen during a meeting in Andantino's base. During this meeting, she, Claves, and Jazz are speaking of their plan to enter Forte Castle. Falsetto and the others take a secret entrance into the castle, but when they try to enter they end up meeting with Allegretto and his friends. To avoid being ambushed by more of Count Waltz's soldiers, Falsetto, Jazz, and Claves decide to go with Allegretto and his friends. Falsetto and the others head out to the Cabasa Bridge. Along the way, Frederic reveals to the party that he believes the entire world around them to be his dream, but Falsetto is skeptical. As they move forward, she tells the party the story of the Sage King and then she and the others fill the party in on the dangerous effects of the mineral powder. Once at the bridge proper, they are ambushed by Tuba. Allegretto and his friends are forced to fight him once again. Once defeating him, Tuba knocks down the bridge and causes the party to fall into the Fusion River.

Claves

Falsetto ends up with Allegretto, Jazz, Claves, and Viola after the incident at the Cabasa Bridge and take camp in Adagio Swamp for four days. The next day the group heads out to Andante; while passing through the Adagio Swamp, Viola and the others stay at the Cantabile Inn for the night. The next morning they arrive at the Woodblock Groves and are forced to fight the forest's guardian. After defeating the monster, the group arrives at the underground base of Andante and decide to spend some time in the base before meeting with Jazz and Claves again. While in Andante, Falsetto, Allegretto, and Viola get involved in a quest to go into the Lento Cemetery and retrieve the water that lies in the spring. After obtaining the spring water, Falsetto and the others return into the city and intend to meet Jazz, only to find out that Claves was murdered. Falsetto, shaken by the death of her friends and rival, leaves Andante and wanders the world.

The events of what happened after are uncertain, but Falsetto manages to get to the Kingdom of Baroque. While in Baroque, Falsetto heads to Aria Temple, after spotting Rondo within the area. Falsetto arrives when Allegretto and the others are ambushed by Rondo. Rondo attempts to persuade Falsetto to join Forte, but Falsetto rejects this offer in order to avenge Claves' death. After defeating Rondo, Falsetto rejoins the party and heads back to Baroque City.

The Final Encounter

When the group arrives in Baroque, Polka faints in front of the gates and causes the party to panic. Falsetto and the others then head to Agogo Forest to meet with the Agogo Queen Mother, to see if she can help Polka, deep in the forest the encounter Fugue. After defeating him, they return to Baroque and heal Polka, but another situation arises. Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade have gone to Forte to turn themselves in hoping for peace. The groups head out to Mt. Rock and catch up with the two only to be ambushed by Count Waltz and his monstrous dragons, created by the mineral powder. Allegretto and the others are forced to battle with Count Waltz himself and manage to defeat him. Falsetto and the others then witness the transformation of Legato into Ruined Body after he drinks enhanced mineral powder.

Legato then tears open a hole in time and space, the party has no other choice, but to follow them into the Elegy of the Moon distortion. At top of the Double Reed Tower of Sand, Beat and the others find Count Waltz and Legato and fight them. After defeating the two, Waltz commands Legato to destroy the world itself and Falsetto and the others are sent to rapture type of version of the Tenuto flower fields, there Beat and the others are forced to fight Frédéric, who wants his life to end once and for all. After defeating his friend, Falsetto and the others feel regret seeing there was no other choice. After Polka then jumps a cliff and is reborn, the world is restored and is allowed to exist as a separate dimension.

Special Attacks

This is complete list of Falsetto's Special Attacks. Some of Falsetto's moves were altered in the PlayStation 3 port, so she learns some abilities at different levels.

Attack Name	Type	Hits	Xbox 360 Level	Playstation 3 Level	Knockdown Chances	Time
Snow Claw 斬雪爪	Light	9	Default	Default	Moderate	3.8
Willow Strike 払柳脚	Darkness	3	Default	Default	Moderate	2.1
Shadow Beam 舞塵妖光弾	Light	1	30	25	Moderate	1.6
Night Fist 黒竜瀑淵拳	Darkness	2	20	20	Moderate	1.6
Phoenix Rising 鳳捷脚	Light	3	40	40	Low	2.1
Howling Thunder 哭雷爪	Darkness	9	25	30	High	3.8
Dragon Blow 輝竜煌々拳	Light	2	50	60	Low	1.6
Death Chasm 九指払穴殺	Darkness	1	60	50	Moderate	1.6

Battle Quotes

Start Battle

• "I'm not going to let you get in our way!"
• "C'mon, let's go! Show me what you've got!"
• "All right, everyone! Stay alert!" (Party is at low levels relative to opponent(s))
• "There's no way I'm going to lose!" (Party is at low levels relative to opponent(s))
• "We'll just have to do it. Let's go!" (Party is at low levels relative to opponent(s))
• "This isn't good!" (ambushed)
• "Don't let your guard down!" (critical HP)
• "No matter what, I will never lose to you!" (Battles against Rondo, Xbox 360)
• "I promise you, I will not be defeated!" (Battles against Rondo, PS3)

Battle End

• "Tch, hah!"
• "...That'll do."
• "Huh, you're hopeless."
• "Hmm, that was perfect!"
• "That was a good fight."
• "Well, what did you expect?"
• "Huh, not a challenge at all!"
• "I won't lose to the likes of you!"
• "(sigh) Made it through!" (Won battle with low HP.)

Level Up

• "Not bad!"
• "I mustn’t hesitate!"
• "I'll help any way I can!"
• "I can do better than that!"
• "I'm gonna keep on fighting!"
• "I won't let anything stop me!"
• "I'll let my fists do the talking!"

Special Attacks

Snow Claw

• "Anything that gets in my way...is going down!"
• "At my feet is the frost, but the sun is on the mountaintop. A single touch!"

Willow Strike

• "Transforming weakness into strength, strength will surely become weakness. Flower Rage!"

Night Fist

• "The shadow of the flower falls on the vortex and knows no fear. Imperial Spirit!"

Shadow Beam

• "When the plants die, the earth does not tremble. When the hills crack, the flowers are bright. Morning Frost!"
• "If you strike a stone, rocks are scattered. If you strike a person, the soul is scattered. Death to both!"

Howling Thunder

• "Whoever sees my fist shall bow down before me."
• "By lightning and thunder will you be thrown, by wind will you be scattered! Heaven and Earth!"

Phoenix Rising

• "Don't underestimate me!"
• "Break free from the cage that holds you. Soaring Skies!"

Death Chasm

• "Whoever would stand in my way shall fall before me!"
• "Break the demon formation, defeat the hungry army, vanquish all!"

Dragon Blow

• "The sun follows the clouds, the wind makes the waters roar. Iris of Heaven!"

Following Special Attacks

• "I'm serious!"
• "This is the power of man!"
• "Are you catching on yet?" (Snow Claw only)
• "Chew on that!" (Willow Strike only)
• "Taste this!" (Howling Thunder only)
• "Stay down!" (Phoenix Rising only)

Item Usage

• "Here!"
• "There!"
• "How's that?"

Healed

• "Thank you."
• "Thanks for the help."
• "Okay!" (Resurrection)
• "I'm not giving up!" (Resurrection)
• "I'm just getting started!" (Resurrection)

KOed

• "I can't..."

Retreat

• "They're not worth it!"
• "We can't win! Pull back!"
• "We can't lose here! Retreat!"

Gallery

Official Artwork 1

Official Artwork 2

Falsetto doing a Level Up pose

Etymology

In music, a falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.

Behind the scenes

• In her official artwork, Falsetto is depicted with bleached blond hair. But in the game, she is depicted with brunette hair.
• Falsetto's character is absent from the manga adaptation of Eternal Sonata.
• Falsetto's Willow Strike Special Attack shares its name with that of one used by the boss monster Tracer.
• In the French subtitles available in the game's PlayStation 3 release and in certain international versions, Falsetto's name is changed to Mazurka. A mazurka is a type of Polish step dance and Chopin composed several of these, one of which can be heard by examining a piano in the tavern in Forte City in the PlayStation 3 version of the game.
• Falsetto is the only character who gains levels automatically upon rejoining the party, unlike other characters who start on the level they left. This is possibly because her presence is required in the boss battle against Rondo in Aria Temple.

Notes and references