Post by Farulosonoth on Aug 31, 2010 12:06:23 GMT -5
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, released in 2003, is an action role-playing game for the Nintendo Gamecube. It is the first in a side series of Final Fantasy called, obviously, Crystal Chronicles.
Let me start off with this primer… The Final Fantasy tree split off into 2 major branches around the time of Final Fantasy VII. The cool anime branch and the more cutesy anime branch. Prior to this they were sort of forced to work together. Final Fantasy VII sort of dropped the cutesy side and began working solely with the cool anime branch. This game and likely this entire sub-series is in the “Cutesy” anime branch. Unless you have calyces built up to this kind of thing like myself (or like it) you might have difficulty enjoying this game.
This game (while very different) is pretty basic. You can even re-beat the same boss over to continue the story line to a small degree. Unlike the last game I reviewed (Tales of Vesperia), this game comes off like a game for a youngster and holds to that for the entire game. Whenever you enter an area the narrator goes through a little story about the area in a very “once upon a time” children’s bedtime story kind of way.
The story is solid enough, but again, very basic, and drawn out to cover the entire game something that could be told probably within 2 paragraphs.
The controls were standard yet very simple for a gamecube game with so many buttons at its disposal. You could control the character on screen with the left analog stick or the d-pad. I bought a wireless gamecube controller specifically to play this game on my wii and the analog stick was messed up and keeps pressing downward. I tried to fix it once and it worked for a day then went back to doing the same thing so I had to use the D-pad for the rest of the game. That being said, its much easier to control using the analog stick… there aren’t really any confusing options or button combinations. Playing this in single player mode, you can tell it was designed from the ground up as a multiplayer game. In fact, if you play single player, the computer has to control a moogle for you to carry your chalice (which allows you to move around within a protected bubble). If you run outside this you will begin taking damage. Also, in single player the screen doesn’t center on you it centers on the chalice, so you can run off the screen which is clearly an artifact of the multiplayer game. As I was saying, in an odd twist this RPG was designed for multiplayer and single play was an afterthought.
There are no levels to speak of, you can pick an upgrade after each boss fight, some of which include gaining stats, command slots, or additional hearts (the equivalent of health, like the Zelda series).
The graphics were quite good, which is to be expected, the console is only 1 generation behind the current one (2010). On a completely random note, if I had to pick one thing I liked the most about the game, I enjoyed the animation of the ship and the way the sails open, quite unique. I know a very obscure thing to mention, but as with all my reviews, I am reviewing this from the perspective of a hardcore RPG’er from the days of yor. The sound and music were average, nothing that made me want to add it to my radio station, but the music was appropriate for each given scene and location.
In a nutshell, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, an action rpg. Seems to be more focused towards casual play and a younger audience. If you’re a young kid, like cutesy rpg’s, or are a hard core old school RPG’er and stuck on a deserted island with an electric generator, tv, this game and a gamecube, you might enjoy this game. Otherwise I would pass this one up.
I give it 2 pieces of the wand of seven parts out of a possible 7.
2/7
Let me start off with this primer… The Final Fantasy tree split off into 2 major branches around the time of Final Fantasy VII. The cool anime branch and the more cutesy anime branch. Prior to this they were sort of forced to work together. Final Fantasy VII sort of dropped the cutesy side and began working solely with the cool anime branch. This game and likely this entire sub-series is in the “Cutesy” anime branch. Unless you have calyces built up to this kind of thing like myself (or like it) you might have difficulty enjoying this game.
This game (while very different) is pretty basic. You can even re-beat the same boss over to continue the story line to a small degree. Unlike the last game I reviewed (Tales of Vesperia), this game comes off like a game for a youngster and holds to that for the entire game. Whenever you enter an area the narrator goes through a little story about the area in a very “once upon a time” children’s bedtime story kind of way.
The story is solid enough, but again, very basic, and drawn out to cover the entire game something that could be told probably within 2 paragraphs.
The controls were standard yet very simple for a gamecube game with so many buttons at its disposal. You could control the character on screen with the left analog stick or the d-pad. I bought a wireless gamecube controller specifically to play this game on my wii and the analog stick was messed up and keeps pressing downward. I tried to fix it once and it worked for a day then went back to doing the same thing so I had to use the D-pad for the rest of the game. That being said, its much easier to control using the analog stick… there aren’t really any confusing options or button combinations. Playing this in single player mode, you can tell it was designed from the ground up as a multiplayer game. In fact, if you play single player, the computer has to control a moogle for you to carry your chalice (which allows you to move around within a protected bubble). If you run outside this you will begin taking damage. Also, in single player the screen doesn’t center on you it centers on the chalice, so you can run off the screen which is clearly an artifact of the multiplayer game. As I was saying, in an odd twist this RPG was designed for multiplayer and single play was an afterthought.
There are no levels to speak of, you can pick an upgrade after each boss fight, some of which include gaining stats, command slots, or additional hearts (the equivalent of health, like the Zelda series).
The graphics were quite good, which is to be expected, the console is only 1 generation behind the current one (2010). On a completely random note, if I had to pick one thing I liked the most about the game, I enjoyed the animation of the ship and the way the sails open, quite unique. I know a very obscure thing to mention, but as with all my reviews, I am reviewing this from the perspective of a hardcore RPG’er from the days of yor. The sound and music were average, nothing that made me want to add it to my radio station, but the music was appropriate for each given scene and location.
In a nutshell, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, an action rpg. Seems to be more focused towards casual play and a younger audience. If you’re a young kid, like cutesy rpg’s, or are a hard core old school RPG’er and stuck on a deserted island with an electric generator, tv, this game and a gamecube, you might enjoy this game. Otherwise I would pass this one up.
I give it 2 pieces of the wand of seven parts out of a possible 7.
2/7