Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Gamecube)
Developed by: Square Enix
Published by: Nintendo

In this time of tight competition among video game systems, less and less game developersare willing to put all their eggs in one basket by working exclusively on one platform.Which means a lot of quality companies are spreading around the gaming goodness, likeSquare, who have finally returned to their Nintendo roots after abandoning them years ago for thePlaystation. Crystal Chronicles is the first Final Fantasy game to hit a Nintendoconsole in about 10 years I think (not counting Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the GBA),and while it’s not a particularly groundbreaking game,overall I think the world is a better place just for having it.

If you’re a hardcore Final Fantasy geek, you should be aware that Crystal Chronicles is notreally a typical Final Fantasy game. Some may say that it’s a dumbed down, Nintendo-ized versionof a Final Fantasy game, and I can’t say I disagree. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though.The most important thing to realize is that although there is a single player mode,FF:CC is first and foremost a multiplayer game.

A multiplayer game designed to sell a lot of Game Boy Advance systems and link cables, that is.Because as you may have heard, the only way to play the multiplayer mode is for each player to usea linked up GBA instead of a regular Gamecube controller. This is by far my biggestcomplaint about the game, because there’s no good reason for it other than to make Nintendomore money.Using the GBA does encourage co-operation and teamwork by randomlygiving each player different game info on their handheld screen(such as enemy radar, treasure radar, area map, enemy stats, etc), but the other so-calledadvantage of the GBA — navigating inventory and other subscreens without having to pause orslow down the action for the other players — doesn’t really work in practice.This is because the GBA menusand interface are so clunky and laborious to use that there’s no way you would try using themin the middle of a fight lest you become a sitting duck. Not to mention the fact that the GBA’s4-button limit makes it necessary for a “Command List” to be used in order to select what actionyour character can perform at a given time. This means you can only actively do one thing at a time,whether it be attack, defend, use an item, or cast a spell. With that kind of set up,defend is virtually useless because there’s not enough time to switch back and forth betweenattack and defend on the spur of the moment.Although they were trying something new with this GBA connectivity concept,the least they could have done was given the option to use a regular controller as well.It’s a shame because the controller issue detracts from what is otherwise a really fungame.

As you have probably guessed by now, Crystal Chronicles is not a turn-based RPG like mostof the Final Fantasy games. It is more of a hack’n’slash fantasy action game with real-timebattles. The basic story isn’ta good vs. evil type quest and it isn’t particularly ambitious; actually it’skind of mundane, which is at least somewhat original.The fictional world is contaminated by a poisonous substance in the air called ” miasma”. Each town has a giantmagical crystal at its center that counteracts the miasma, but every year the crystal mustbe recharged with something called “myrrh” that grows on trees throughout the land. This is whereyou come in. You are part of a caravan that goes out and collects myrrh for your town every year,fighting monsters along the way and every now and then encountering caravans from other towns.Every year once you’ve collected enough myrrh you return home, visit your family, and then set outagain the next year and do it all over again.

There are RPG elements to the game, although they’re definitely simplified. There are no “classes”of characters, but rather occupations such as farmer, alchemist and fisherman and merchant.Characters don’t have levels, but they do have 3 main attributes that will increase over time based on items and equipment you obtain (strength, defense and magic). One weird thing is thatmagic spells (all of which can be cast by anyone) must be picked up by defeating enemiesthroughout each level, and they are lostagain at the end of each level. I guess this set up is partly to make it easier for friends tojoin a party already in progress without being a liability.The game also incorporates some strange pseudo-RPG features that are similar to Animal Crossing,such as letters you receive from your family at home (which you can reply to), and afavourite food system that determines how much health you recover from eating various foodsbased on your character’s preferences.These are basicallyjust distractions from the main game, however, which is simply about fighting your waythrough each level, finding treasure and eventually fighting a boss at the end toobtain some myrrh.

One twist to the actual gameplay is that you must carry a crystal chalice with you to protectyour party from the miasma in the air. One party member must always pick itup and carry it along as you move, otherwise you will take damage when you step outside itsprotective sphere. (In single player mode there is a computer-controlled mooglewho does most of the carrying for you.) This requires a bit of teamwork, and in fact thisteamwork is mostly what sets Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles apart from other action/adventure games and keeps things exciting. Combining spells, sharing information, trading items,strategizing and co-operating is what it’s all about. The hectic boss fights at the endof each level are the ultimate culmination of the whole experience.

I suppose the other thing I can’t help commenting on is the sheer beauty of the visuals in thisgame. Final Fantasy games have a reputation for pushing the limits of graphics and animationand in this sense Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is at least true to that reputation.Although the character models and enemies are generally very cartoony, the style and detailis breathtaking, not to mention the lush environments and sparkling magic effects.The music and sound effects also add to the fairy-tale like atmosphere and give the gametremendous production quality. If only there was actual audio for the dialogue in the game,it would really have been spectacular.

In the end, it’s these visuals that kept me coming back for more, even when the actionstarted to get a little repetitive. Truth be told this game doesn’t have a lot of replayvalue but there are a few bonuses thrown in, such as mini-games like Blazin’ Caravans(a budget version of Mario Kart that can be played on the GBA). If you happen to knowknow a few people who already own Gameboy Advance systems and link cables, thisgame should not be missed. The multiplayer experience is a ton of fun despite some of itsflaws. Of course, if you don’t have the money or resources to play the multiplayer mode,Crystal Chronicles is still worth checking out… it’s just that you’ll be missing out on most ofits magic. As much as the GBA hawking scam annoys me, I have to admit that this gameis damn good sales pitch. — Sean