Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

[Nester the Lark]

It's funny how all the Crystal Chronicles games manage to have just enough quirks to be off-putting, usually regarding the multi-player aspects. With the first game, it was the requirements for multi-player. In Ring of Fates, it was the lack of online multi-player. For My Life as a King, it was the fact that it's a town simulator, and you can't go out on adventures yourself. And I've already seen some people complain that the Wii version of Echoes of Time does not include offline multi-player. Furthermore, I've seen a few complaints that The Crystal Bearers is reportedly a strictly single-player game with no multi-player component, and thus betraying the series.

I think I've said before that my initial impression of Crystal Chronicles was similar to everyone else: that it was a generally dull single-player game. But sometime last year, I took a new interest in the series and gave it a second chance. I bought a used version of the original game and managed to play all the way thru it in single-player mode. In the end, while it's certainly geared for multi-player, I found it to be a fun, charming, and ultimately rewarding adventure.

[Da Robot]

It's the new Crystal Bearers trailer from (Wii version) of EoT!




EDIT:It's a pretty interesting trailer, the "enemy grabbing" mechanic seems interesting and character seems pretty cool too. He really does seem more "rugged" just seeing him in the trailer (the director wanted a more rugged and world weary hero).

I just wish the trailer was in english though.

[Nester the Lark]

Wow! And it's almost three minutes long, too!

Where do I start....

- The wild west part at the beginning was a little weird, but it looked cool. I assume it's just one of many areas in the game.

- The airships have kind of a Skies of Arcadia vibe to them. (That was the case with the earlier trailer, as well.)

- Chocobos have finally invaded the Crystal Chronicles universe.

- The Caravan racing mini-game is back. All the game needs now is moogle painting.

- It's interesting to see what Lilties and Yukes look like in this more "realistic" style.

I was kind of reminded of that fake steam punk Zelda game that popped up a year or so back.

Now, I wonder how long it'll be before we get any more new info about this game.

[Flint]

Im not sure if I am a Fan of this little bit more realistic style (I was a big fan of the the style they have been using till now in the other games) but this looks interesting.
Havent heard the music, but everyone seems to be claiming wild west, and thats a plus for me.

[Nester the Lark]

Jan 28, 2009 15:19:38 GMT -5 Flint said:

Im not sure if I am a Fan of this little bit more realistic style (I was a big fan of the the style they have been using till now in the other games) but this looks interesting.
Havent heard the music, but everyone seems to be claiming wild west, and thats a plus for me.

I agree about the art style, but I'm not going to hold it against this game. (How many other Wii games look this good, anyway? )

Only the first minute of music is wild west, then it goes back to the style we've heard in the previous trailer.

In other news: new Echoes of Time trailer. Looks like players can attack each other. And... is that a cow being abducted by a UFO?! COOL!

[Old Man Rupee]

Just saw that Crystal Bearers trailer over on GN, came o tell everyone, and discovered I'm too late! It look a lot of fun! Going from the trailer, it looks like there's less angst and more humour than I was expecting! And you can mess with NPCs with that wiimote throwy ability! YAY!

[kirbychu]

Jan 27, 2009 18:09:51 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

It's funny how all the Crystal Chronicles games manage to have just enough quirks to be off-putting, usually regarding the multi-player aspects. With the first game, it was the requirements for multi-player. In Ring of Fates, it was the lack of online multi-player.

The requirements didn't bother me at all, but the fact that one player always has to lug that damn chalice around was ridiculous, and really ruined the multiplayer game's pacing. That alone was the reason we stopped playing it.

[Nester the Lark]

IGN has hands-on impressions with the Wii version of Echoes of Time.

The author takes the time to point out that it's essentially like an emulation of the DS version. (But isn't that the point of the Pollux Engine?) He does mention, however, that he thinks it looks better than GBA games did on the Game Boy Player.

Online multiplayer allows you to play thru story mode based on the host player. You can also play thru separate cooperative and competitive quests.

He also mentioned that there was "occasional horrible" lag, but despite that, the online play "appears to be a lot of fun."

Impressions of the DS version are also forthcoming.

[Nester the Lark]

GameTrailers has some new gameplay videos from the Wii version.

Heh. The main character sounds like Link.

[Nester the Lark]

Triple post! 3X bonus multiplier!

Bad news for Echoes of Time. According to Cubed³, the game sold very poorly in Japan on its first day of release. The DS version only sold about 58,000 copies (+4,000 for the DSi bundle), and the Wii version sold a pitiful 14,000 units.

What do you think accounts for the initial slow sales? An adverse reaction to reviews? The DS emulation on the Wii? A general lack of interest in the Crystal Chronicles series? Or will the game be a "slow burner" and see a slight pick-up as time goes on?

Personally, while I'm disappointed to hear this news, it really doesn't affect my interest in the game. I'm still looking forward to picking it up (for the Wii, no less).

EDIT: On a separate note, someone at GameFAQ's translated the dialog from The Crystal Bearers trailer. You can read it here.

[Game Guru]

Feb 3, 2009 14:30:02 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

Triple post! 3X bonus multiplier!

Bad news for Echoes of Time. According to Cubed³, the game sold very poorly in Japan on its first day of release. The DS version only sold about 58,000 copies (+4,000 for the DSi bundle), and the Wii version sold a pitiful 14,000 units.

What do you think accounts for the initial slow sales? An adverse reaction to reviews? The DS emulation on the Wii? A general lack of interest in the Crystal Chronicles series? Or will the game be a "slow burner" and see a slight pick-up as time goes on?

Personally, while I'm disappointed to hear this news, it really doesn't affect my interest in the game. I'm still looking forward to picking it up (for the Wii, no less).

EDIT: On a separate note, someone at GameFAQ's translated the dialog from The Crystal Bearers trailer. You can read it here.

I would say that the low sales are because it's pretty much just Rings of Fate with online. The Japanese are JUST NOT INTO online play! They don't even have much of a PC Game industry.

[Flint]

I want a Cristal Chronicles game that doesnt need me to buy multiple cardidget/disks to play multiplayer, its that to much to ask?
I had a blast with the original with my brothers and the Gamecube, but since all the DS ones seems to need multiple cardidges to play we havent gotten into them. And online play doesnt remplace local multiplayer.

[Nester the Lark]

I noticed that the latest batch of videos for Echoes of Time are from the English language version. You can see it and hear it in this video.

Also, for comparison purposes, here's a boss fight from the Wii version, and here's a mini-game from the DS version.

And here is a goofy clip that seems to feature a fashion show. (?)

[Nester the Lark]

IGN has a new preview of Echoes of Time, focusing mostly on the multiplayer aspects.

Linking up from DS to Wii is extremely easy, though there's no word as of yet if you can take a small group of players from one location and go online as a party. If, for example, you and a buddy were playing locally on DS and Wii, and wanted to go online, you'd both be better off going to Wi-Fi and connecting that way, simply using close proximity as an advantage over your other party members. The real hook of this one though, is in the local multiplayer. Within a few seconds of playing we started falling into a groove with the Square rep, hitting team combos and combining magic in the classic "Fire, Fira, Firaga" design. Loot is "any man for himself", since it can all be brought back to your single player game after hooking up, but other than that it's of course a co-op experience for the most part. Friendly damage is on, but it's more of an annoyance factor, and not a team-killing one. Friendly magic does little, if any, in most situations. Oh, and linking up between Wii and DS took less than five seconds. Nice.

GameTrailers also has a few new videos showing of the multiplayer gameplay. The competitive arena fighting looks cool (and reminded me a little of Power Stone).

[BeamClaws]

The game looks like it's set in more modern times. Looks pretty interesting, and it has just the right amount of FF:CC gimmicks to be an FF:CC game. I'm getting this one!