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Review : Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for Gamecube
For the past two days I have had the privilege of playing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on the Nintendo Gamecube. I have been waiting for this game for a long time and even ticked off my girlfriend Kymberly when I did not heed her warning not to get anything for myself. It ends up she was going to surprise me with this game on Valentine's Day but I blew it and got the game the day that it came out on Tuesday.
This is the first Nintendo console game made by Square-Enix since Final Fantasy VI on the 16-bit Super Nintendo. Squaresoft was pretty put off by Nintendo decision to use cartridges on the Nintendo N-64 system so they jumped ship and designed games for the CD based Sony Playstation and later the DVD based PS2. Now that Nintendo is using DVD like optical discs Square-Enix is now making games for them again. Also the fact that the Gameboy Advance effectively has 99.99% of the growing portable gaming market probably makes them want to patch things up with Nintendo.
Real hard core Squaresoft fans will remember Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo was a real-time action RPG that had a party of three heroes. It was possible to have all three be controlled by three players or have the AI take over the others. It was a fun experience and I played it for hours with my friends in High school.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is the spiritual descendant of Secret of Mana. It is a light hearted cute action RPG that has been designed to take advantage of using the Gameboy Advance to have up to four players in the game at the same time. You can play the game with Just one person but it really looks fun to have others get in on the action. The GBA screen is used to store the menus and data for that given player so you can equip items and cast spells with out pausing and disturbing the other players. Also the GBA displays a 2d map of the environment and takes advantage of a rich two way data link between the GBA and the Gamecube. However Each person must have a GBA with a Gamecube link cable so you will need two GBAs to have two people play at once. I have messed around with my GBA to test out the multiplayer but I can't wait to go all out with BBQ. You can also move players for your friends memory cards so you can build your fighters and then go over to your friends place and gang up on the big bad monsters. It is a off line MMORPG with shared gameplay and a party gaming feel to the combat.
The game takes place in a Final Fantasy world where the land is covered in a cloud of dangerous miasma and civilization must be protected by barriers generated by magic crystals. There are caravans of adventures set out to collect magical fluids that can replenish the crystals powers. There is a goblet of this magical fluids that generate a space of breathable safety around your party but one of the members must carry the goblet and lead the team. This keeps the players from running off and it takes a bit to get used to. When you play in single player mode you have the assistance of a flying moogle assistance to carry the goblet. But he does get tired and you end up lugging it around but dropping it when you need to whip out your sword and fight some goblins. For those of you who do not know a moogle is a flying magical creature that is sort of a cross between a cat and a teddy bear. They are a staple of the Final Fantasy games. I swear it is not as complex and confusing as it sounds.
The action is a combination of a turn based RPG in aspect to spells and items but there is a fair deal of running around and hacking and slashing. Think of it as Kingdom Hearts but no Disney. I did not like how hard it is to switch to defensive mode in order to block an enemy blow but the combat is fun and Secret of Mana old school at the same time.
The music is lush mid evil Final Fantasy and they really get mood setting tunes out of the Gamecube.
The graphics are pure delicious eye-candy and the best I have ever seen on the Nintendo Gamecube. This hardware is much more capable to crank out dynamic shading and lighting than the PS2 and the team at Square-Enix knew how to get the most out of the hardware. The graphics are all 3d but the camera is well above the action giving the game a very 2d game play feel. The bosses are big and nasty that take a long time to beat and would benefit from some team work.
Oh yeah there is a Mario Kart style multiplayer racing mini game using the Gameboy advance links but I have yet to find it.
This is not Square-Enix's biggest RPG name but I would prefer this game to Final Fantasy XI Online. I have read other reviews that claim that this game goes by fast but it is one hell of a fun ride. I think that this is one of those games that will influence entire generations of games to come.
Update:Let me say it again:
YOU DO NOT NEED A GAME BOY ADVANCE TO PLAY THIS GAME IN SINGLE PLAYER MODE!
This is an A+ title and Final Fantasy fans who do not have Nintendo Gamecubes should actually get one to enjoy this game. It is truly worth the wait and I look forward to wasting lots of time on this game.
Jake at February 13, 2004 
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Comments
I'll be picking up my copy this weekend. :) (Nice review BTW.)
Posted by: Richie at February 13, 2004 1:47 AM
I'll skip it.
I love Final Fantasy games, but this is no FF. As you say, it's more like Secret of Mana, and I totally hated that (it's one of only a couple of Square RPGs I really, really disliked).
I also dislike the GBA-as-controller idea. It forces you to look down when you should be able to do everything on the screen, plus the GBA is a more cramped controller and has fewer buttons, and a dreadful D-pad (although the one on the SP is a whole lot better than the original + GameCube).
Plus of course, I have no friends to play this with. My friends who come over to play games have no patience for something like this. :)
Posted by: jason at February 13, 2004 6:57 AM
Jake, you always get all the cool games. :(
I just landed a new job, btw, so we'll hopefully have more spending money soon. Great review, as always...
Posted by: Jeff at February 13, 2004 7:17 AM
I like the idea that you can use the GBA to control your inventory / cast spells, etc, but it narrows down the number of other people I can play this with to just one. I wish that portion of the game was optional. They could have used a picture-in-picture sort of thing to do inventory management rather than require a GBA. That's my only beef with the game, but it will probably keep me from buying it. For a while anyway. I'm sure my appetite for RPGs will make me cave.
Posted by: Jeff at February 13, 2004 8:48 AM
Jeff, have Squaresoft's agents put a chip in your brain?
$600 dollars just to play a frickin' Secret of Mana clone (And I don't give a shit if it's by the same people, Squaresoft should have more original ideas than this.) is not good. I'm sure the actual game is good, but the requirements are far too high. The "New" Square continues to suck ass, and will always suck ass, until somebody at Square wakes up and throws Tetsuya Nomurya out on his ass to wander Tokyo with a sign that says "Will make games for food". It's called Final FANTASY for a reason!!! NO MORE FUTURE SHIT!
Posted by: Mjcool at February 13, 2004 10:34 AM
Jeff, have Squaresoft's agents put a chip in your brain?
$600 dollars just to play a frickin' Secret of Mana clone (And I don't give a shit if it's by the same people, Squaresoft should have more original ideas than this.) is not good. I'm sure the actual game is good, but the requirements are far too high. The "New" Square continues to suck ass, and will always suck ass, until somebody at Square wakes up and throws Tetsuya Nomurya out on his ass to wander Tokyo with a sign that says "Will make games for food". It's called Final FANTASY for a reason!!! NO MORE FUTURE SHIT!
Posted by: Mjcool at February 13, 2004 10:34 AM
Well I already had a GBA, Gamecube and a link cable. The multiplayer is optional and I still think it is cool. This game is more than a Secret of Mana clone. Let me say it again
YOU DO NOT NEED A GAME BOY ADVANCE TO PLAY THIS GAME IN SINGLE PLAYER MODE.
Got it.
Posted by: Jake at February 13, 2004 10:43 AM
Yeah, but is the single player mode worth the disc it's printed on?
Posted by: jason at February 13, 2004 1:02 PM
I think certainly think so. So it is not exactly the same and all the other RPGs out there. GOOD I say.
Posted by: Jake at February 13, 2004 1:05 PM
I fear change.
Give me FFVII remade every 15 months and I'll be perfectly happy.
Posted by: jason at February 13, 2004 3:40 PM
OK, I got pissed. I just can't see why one of the FF Collections (GC is remake central) can't come to GC so the younger crowd can see what a real RPG is like.
Posted by: Mjcool (Apologetic) at February 13, 2004 7:28 PM
OK, I got pissed. I just can't see why one of the FF Collections (GC is remake central) can't come to GC so the younger crowd can see what a real RPG is like.
Sorry.
Posted by: Mjcool (Apologetic) at February 13, 2004 7:28 PM
