Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Ring Of Fates Impressions
I've been somewhat of a Square fan since the 80s, and when I heard about Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles a few years back I was excited. Not only would I be able to use my Gameboy Advance link cable, but I would also be able to play a multi-player RPG with my roommates. Of course I loved the game and logged close to 60 hours with the title.
Square has resurrected the franchise with the upcoming Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - My Life As King for the Nintendo Wii, and the recently released Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Ring Of Fate for the DS. Having just snagged a pristine copy myself, I was quick to notice that along with a face lift, the game received much updated game play.
My opinions and verdict after the jump!
The Good: The first thing I noticed was the game is absolutely gorgeous. I've not seen a DS title that has looked this good in quite some time. The colors are muted, 'emotional' lighting and variable time of day makes the environments dynamic and rarely stale. Subtle shadowing on buildings and the ground give the game a great deal of depth, and you rarely think about how few polygons are on screen.
There is also a story. One of the major downfalls of the original Crystal Chronicles series was the lack of a narrative. The game now features a full fledged plot complete with cut-scenes, voice overs and realistic reasons for visiting locations. The characters are well developed, each with their own specific personality and place in the story. Characters have a chemistry with each other that was missing from the first in the series.
The play control is intuitive, most everything is controlled with two or three buttons. Unlike a lot of games that both game pad and touch controls, you don't ever feel like
you're juggling both screens to accomplish what you need to do, things simply work. Additionally, touch controls are kept to a minimum. During active gameplay, it's only function is to serve as a method of quick changing between in-battle items, spells, and occasionally opening a new menu.
The Bad: The trade off with the detailed graphics is a fixed camera. You're locked down at a specific angle looking down on the world which can make grabbing certain items a challenge, so you spend a good amount of time mashing the action button in hopes that you'll find that scroll that feel behind some rocks.
The computer controlled players tend to be a little on the stupid side. I've yet to discover a method of shouting orders to your companions which can result in frustration. The only real method I've discovered to bypass this is to simply take over control of a specific party member and place them where you want them yourself.
The title can be somewhat misleading. I was expecting the game to be much more casual than it actually was. The game plays more like Secret of Mana, where there are large sequences of action with minimal interruption followed by large blocks of story. The only real corrilation I draw between this title and the Gamecube Crystal Chronicle title is the universe in which it takes place. While the updated game play is a plus for me, it may detract players hoping for the hack-and-slash of the original.
The biggest disappointment is the lack of multiplayer over WiFi. There is only support for multiple players over local area adhoc, something that I'll most likely never get to experience.
The Final Roundup: All and all, the game is pretty fantastic. The game has been selling out in most every place I've inquired with, and that's a good sign. The meta games like sticker collecting and the moogle paint system give the game a certain amount of longevity. New skills and party members allow you to explore previously inaccessible portions, while sometimes considered cheap, stops the game from feeling too linear. All in all the game is pretty darn solid with a few design hiccups that really don't do much to hamper game play.
The Verdict: I doubt I would be writing this if I wasn't a firm believer that every one of you should buy a copy. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Ring Of Fate is one of the most solid, and technologically impressive DS games released to date. It really showcases that while the DS isn't the most advanced platform out there, it can hold it's own when it is given a well constructed piece of software.
Asterick
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 12 March 2008
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: crystal chronicles, ds, enix, final fantasy, impression, ring of fate, square
Thanks for the impressions Asterik! I've been wondering if I should get a copy myself since, like you, I probably won't get to experience the multiplayer given Square's inexplicable fear of Nintendo WFC. I'm glad to hear you seem to enjoying it even without the multiplayer component. I will have to get a copy after I finish off Revenant Wings.
Awesome. I was a pretty big fan of Crystal Chronicles (and yes, I'd regularly get 3 friends and 4 GBA cables and huddle around the Gamecube to play) so I'm glad to see them carry on this series... and improve it, if your impressions are to be believed.
Asterick, come out to SF and I promise you a gang for some 4-player action!
is it single cart or multi cart multiplayer?
So I went out and bought this game, thinking I would enjoy it. Not so much. I don't care for the button mashing gameplay, much preferring the turn-based style. I don't think there was mention of the magicite system, which is basically the Pokemon berry mixing potion mini-game with a Final Fantasy skin. The Nintendo WiFi logo is misleading as usual. There is only multicard multiplayer and the wifi connection is used for the practically useless moogle trading.
Sadly, once opening the package, just simply reading through the instruction manual was enough to give me an idea that I wasn't going to enjoy the game. I wish game manuals were posted somewhere online so we could read through before purchasing. If that had been the case, I would have saved $43.
All in all, it's the same old shit, with a different subtitle. Off to Goozex it goes to trade for something worthwhile. :-/