People of Note Full Trophy Guide: Platinum in One Playthrough

People of Note, the musical turn-based RPG from Iridium Studios, wraps its trophy list in the same clever, music-themed packaging as everything else in the game. Most trophies unlock through normal story progression, but 15 are missable, and a handful require you to understand the combat system well enough to pull off specific setups. The good news: according to the 100% trophy guide documentation, the completion difficulty sits at 1/10, and a single playthrough of roughly 20 hours is all you need.

Trophy overview and what to expect

The platinum, Hittin' The High Notes, requires every other trophy. There are no difficulty-based trophies and no glitched or unobtainable ones, which makes this one of the more player-friendly platinum lists around. The game also saves right before the final boss, so you can mop up anything you missed before committing to the ending.

The two windows that matter most for missables are:

• Before entering Archaia for the first time (complete companion quests in Lumina and Pyre)
• Before entering Scales of the World for the first time (complete companion quests in Durandis and Chordia)

Miss those windows and you'll need a separate save or a new run.

What are the missable trophies?

Thirteen of the 15 missable trophies are tied to optional companion quests and side content. Here's a breakdown of the ones that need deliberate attention:

How to unlock the Sidenote trophy

The Sidenote trophy requires tracking down Maestro (?), the twin brother of the Maestro merchant, across 5 hidden locations in the world of Note. He appears after you complete the events in Archaia. Each location has a blue and white exclamation mark (!) that triggers his appearance. Find all 5 and the quest completes.

All 5 Maestro (?) locations

Location 1 – Durandis: The Oasis Stage Look for a set of speakers with grass beside them. Durandis is the only place this matches, specifically at The Oasis Stage.

Location 2 – Chordia: Sharp's home garden The image shows grass, and the only garden that fits is behind the shrub in Sharp's garden in Chordia.

Location 3 – Scales of the World: 2nd puzzle area This one looks like it belongs in Durandis' The Melting Point because of the dark, cavern-like environment, but the actual location is the top-left crystal area in Scales of the World that leads to a puzzle mimicking The Melting Point biome.

Location 4 – Lumina: Industrial District Head left through Lumina's Industrial District, past the punk kids, and look for a dumpster surrounded by garbage.

Location 5 – Archaia: The Arched Center Find the colourful Sound Check machine in The Arched Center. The final (!) mark is in that corner.

How to unlock Music of the Spheres

This Gold trophy requires completing every Puzzle Battle across all of Note. Each puzzle is a locked combat scenario with specific win conditions, and the game provides all necessary Songstones and Remix Stones for most of them. The exception is the final Special Puzzler.

All Puzzle Battler locations

• Durandis – Grunge District: Defeat all enemies in 1 Stanza
• Durandis – Metal District Central: Defeat all enemies in 1 Stanza (requires 2 party members)
• Durandis – Punk District, outside Merch C.R.: Defeat all enemies in 2 Stanzas (requires Fret)
• Lumina – Town Square Wave: All bandmates survive for 1 Stanza (requires 3 party members)
• Lumina – The High Way: Defeat all enemies in 2 Stanzas (requires 3 party members)
• Lumina – Industrial District: Defeat all enemies in 2 Stanzas (requires Synthia)
• Pyre – The Pyrian Palace: All bandmates survive for 1 Stanza (requires Vox)
• Pyre – Market Square: Deal at least 200 damage in one attack (requires Vox)
• Chordia – Studio City, The Flats: Defeat all enemies in 2 Stanzas
• Chordia – Studio City: Defeat all enemies in 2 Stanzas
• Archaia – The Aeolian Alleys: All bandmates survive for 1 Stanza
• Archaia – The Obelisk: Defeat all enemies in 2 Stanzas
• Archaia – The Archaian Operahouse: Deal at least 160 damage in one attack
• Octave Range – Mystique Peak (Special Puzzler): Deal at least 1000 damage in one attack

After completing the 13 standard Puzzle Battles, speak to the Voluminati General in Lumina to learn the final location: back at Octave Range near where you fought Lasso. You'll need to re-navigate the puzzles to reach Mystique Peak, or toggle puzzles off through the Accessibility menu.

How to beat the Special Puzzler (1000 damage)

This is the only Puzzle Battle where your own equipment matters. Your level, accessories, and fashion do not factor in, but your Songstones and Remix Stones do. Here's the exact loadout required, as documented in the source guide:

Cadence's setup:

• Songstone: The Belt+4 with Remix Stone One Hit Wonder (obtained by handing in 15 feathers to Ordinary Al; adds 100% attack) and Reserve Boost
• Songstone: Star Power+4

Support setup from the rest of the party:

• MIDIMAX+2 (adds 60% damage)
• EP-Ruby+2 (adds 75% damage)
• Eleven+2 (adds 75% damage)

Battle execution:

Stanza 1:

• Cadence: Star Power
• Fret: B-Side to Cadence
• Synthia: Rest
• Vox: Rest

Stanza 2:

• Synthia: MIDIMAX
• Vox: EP-Ruby to 4th measure
• Fret: Eleven
• Cadence: The Belt

With those modifiers stacked, Cadence's The Belt hits well over 1000 damage. After the battle, return to the Voluminati General to claim your reward and pop the trophy.

How to unlock the combat challenge trophies

These four Silver trophies test your understanding of People of Note's battle system. None of them are story-gated, but some require specific items.

Polyrhythm (5+ extra actions in one stanza): Start a battle with full MSH gauges for Synthia and Vox, and have Signature Shift on Cadence. Trigger the mashup, then use Signature Shift. Your next stanza gains 5 extra actions.

Drum Roll (spend 20+ BP in one stanza): Load up all your high-cost BP abilities and burn them in a single stanza. Make sure all characters have full BP before starting.

Inverted Quaver (restore 5+ BP with a non-rest ability): You need the VIP Backstage Pass remix stone from Maestro (available after reaching Scales of the World) and Vox's EP-Emerald Songstone. Equip B-Side to any character. In battle, place EP-Emerald on a measure and use B-Side on that measure to restore 5 BP.

Peaking (250%+ damage modifiers on one attack): Stack EP-Ruby, Eleven, MIDIMAX, and StarPower together with proper Remix Stones on a single attack. The Special Puzzler setup above also qualifies.

MSH gauge ready for mashup

Story trophies: what you'll naturally unlock

The majority of the trophy list pops automatically as you progress. Bosses like Freq, Smolder, Pulse, Lasso and Martell, Sharp, and Silence all have dedicated trophies tied to their story defeats. Ability stones including Forte, Accelerando, Harmonize, Inversion, and Encore are also story rewards.

The Bangers and Mash trophy (use a Mashup attack on an enemy) should unlock naturally during normal play once you fill the MSH gauge for two party members and trigger their combined attack.

Stinger (finish a regular battle in one stanza) is easiest to grab by revisiting an early dungeon once your party is strong enough to one-shot the enemies there.

Full trophy list at a glance

For more gaming guides across every genre, browse more guides on GAMES.GG.