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Square and Nintendo sitting in a tree...
It's been a while since a Square game has graced a Nintendo console, and excluding the recently released Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Sword of Mana, it's been a while since a Square game has appeared on Nintendo hardware.
When most gamers think of Final Fantasy, they think of mushy yet entertaining love stories, girly-men, awesome visuals, a stunning soundtrack, etc. Crystal Chronicles doesn't have the girly-men or the mushy love stuff, but it does have everything else. Despite this, it doesn't "feel" like a Final Fantasy game because the gameplay is rather different. Instead of being a by-the-books RPG, Crystal Chronicles is more like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, with a touch of Western influence.
The game's story is rather entertaining. The world is controlled by miasma, which is harmful to the races. Thankfully, there are crystals that all villages have which prevent the effects of miasma. The crystal doesn't last forever though and has to be replenished every year. Someone has to go and venture in monster-filled areas to find the myrrh that replenishes the crystals and that someone is... guess who? You.
The game’s simple player isn’t very complex at all. Basically, your group carries a trophy of sorts that repels the hated miasma over a short distance and carries myrrh, once you get some. Along the way, you’ll hack and you’ll slash your way through the game, stopping for boss battles along the game which add some depth to the game. Still, Game Designer’s Studio has added some features to make the game more fun. You can discover moggle houses, create items, write letters, and other minor features.
Multiplayer games are where the fun is at. Up to four players can play together in a group; the only catch is that each of them needs to have their own GBA and link-cable. That may turn some people off. Once you get used to do it though, you really like the connectivity since each party member can look through their menu without disrupting everyone else. If someone managed their inventory, then someone else, you’ll probably never get to play. The problem with multiplayer is that, while you can continue multiplayer games by yourself or with less people, the game seems to program the AI for the highest player. So if two people play for ten hours, and the other two players for two hours, they’re going to have a really tough time keeping up. Nonetheless, if you have people that can commit, it’s a blast.
This is a Square game and the visuals are simply stunning. Everything from the character models, water, textures, particle effects, etc were made with a lot of detail and look excellent. The game doesn’t have traditional Final Fantasy FMV but the in-engine cut-scenes are almost as impressive.
The soundtrack of Crystal Chronicles matches the game’s unique artwork and visuals very well, making it seem even more, um, “magical.” The sound effects are decent, but are definitely overshadowed by the soundtrack.
Some Final Fantasy fans are going to be disappointed because Crystal Chronicles isn’t a traditional Final Fantasy game. If you can get past that, you’ll find a solid hack-and-slash title. If you can find friends that will play the game with you through its completion, it gets even better. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Mar 16, 2004
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