Graphics

The graphics in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles are put quite simply, beautiful. They take advantage of the Gamecube’s ability and seem to be inspired by Final Fantasy IX. This is unsurprising considering many of the people working on FF:CC also worked on FF IX. Unlike the Final Fantasy titles on Sony’s consoles FF:CC has no rendered video, all the cut scenes are created using the quite capable game engine. This will disappoint many fans, as the series has established a tradition of quite stunning FMV sequences. The in game engine is however very well written and still allows for some great effects and scenes. Fans of the series will recognise many of the enemies from their earlier incarnations and should be pleased with their re-working.

Sound

Fans of Nobuo Uematsu will be disappointed to learn that he is not involved with this game at all. Instead the music and arrangement has been left to Kumi Tanioka who has previously worked on such Square games as Chocobo’s Dungeon 2. The music is well in keeping with the game world and has a folk and medieval feel to it, with some catchy beats placed in the score you’ll find yourself inadvertently humming some of the themes. Game sound effects are pretty standard for an RPG with nothing new or particularly innovative, however for a game of this type it does serve it purpose and keeps your focus on the action.

Gameplay

The gameplay for FF:CC is a complete departure from the traditional turn based fare we’re used to from previous titles with the Final Fantasy moniker. Instead of a mainly solo game with a linear plot and turn based random battles, we have a game which has more in common with legend of Zelda than any Final Fantasy title. There are no more random battles, enemies travel openly within dungeons, the plot is minimal with the focus on action and gameplay rather than the telling of an epic story and most interestingly this game screams to be played in multiplayer.

In order to play in multiplayer, each player must have a GBA and a GBA to Gamecube link cable, many of you may wonder why this strict requirement is necessary and why a normal Gamecube controller is not sufficient. The reason is simple, while playing FF:CC the game requires heavy interaction with the player’s menu screen, without the added extra screen the GBA provides people would be constantly pausing the game and it would be frustrating for everyone concerned. As it is, your menu is kept on the GBA and play is continuous and smooth.

The basic premise of the game revolves around your quest to save your village crystal. This crystal is required to protect the village from the effects of harmful miasma which has spread all over the world. In order for the crystal to continue to fend off the miasma it must be recharged each year by myrhh, so your caravan sets off each year questing for myrhh.

As you venture off into the world you carry with you a crystal chalice in which you store any myrhh you collect, but more importantly it creates a circle of safety so that you can travel within the miasma. In solo mode you are given a Moogle to carry the chalice for you, in multiplayer mode however one of the party must carry the chalice. It may seem cumbersome having to cart around this chalice and always being careful to stay within its field of influence, but this ultimately serves a good purpose, togetherness. By making a player carry the chalice, it makes one character immediately control where the party is going, no more arguments about which turn to take, you have to go where the chalice bearer goes, otherwise you’ll die. This also ensures that the party stays together, no one can saunter off on their own holding up the party, Phantasy Star players know what I mean. The game is designed for multiplayer and solo players will not get the full experience this game can offer.

When it comes to spells and powerful attacks, you’ll have to time your spells/attacks so that they either hit together or in succession. If the timing is correct then they will combine to form a more powerful attack. For example if two people cast Fire, the spells combine to unleash Fira, if someone charges in with a melee attack and a colleague casts Fire it will combine to form Flametongue. It’s using this timing technique that enables access to powerful spells and combos. Unfortunately once you leave a dungeon any spells or stat boosting treasures you’ve collected will be left behind. Again there is a good reason for this, FF:CC is primarily an action game and intended for multiplayer. Consider the situation where a few of you play together and for some reason or other one of you can’t play for a week or two. It would be horrible to return to the party and find that everyone else is many levels higher and you can no longer hold your own in the party. As it is, progression in FF:CC is dealt with as follows. On entering each dungeon, every player will be given a bonus task, it could “Avoid Magic Damage” or “Pick up Gil” etc at the end of the dungeon each player is award bonus points according to how well they performed in their task. Then any treasures that have been collected during the level will be offered around. Each player can choose one treasure to keep on leaving the dungeon, and they get to choose in order of bonus points, so the person with the most bonus points picks first and so on. This way progression in FF:CC is very fair but not incredible, remember this is an action game, people with defence 50 and people with defence 20 will still be trying to avoid attacks from enemies.

Each time you collect three drops of myrhh you can recharge your crystal for the year and time will pass in the world. As the years go by myrhh sources will start to recharge and dungeons will change, this keeps the game interesting and fresh.

Story

The story of FF:CC is not the epic tale we have come to expect from this franchise, and is told in series of cut scenes which will occur at random intervals. Not quite the rich tapestry of interwoven lives and loves but still serves its purpose well and suits the action style of the game. There aren’t many side quests in this game although there are some hidden mini games to unlock.

Summary

Square and Nintendo back together, does this mean greatness again? Only time will tell. The game is a step away from the rest of the series, which is probably why it didn’t get a number and was given the Crystal Chronicles label. RPG fans will enjoy this game, but will need to play it for an hour or two to get used to the new style of play. The first time you manage to get four people together to play this game you’ll be in for a treat, it’s a fun game to play and is in keeping with Nintendo’s multiplayer and connectivity strategy. I recommend fans of the RPG genre to pick this up as soon as they can.

Uppy Gata-Aura