Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

« The combination of the action, high adventure, quaint bustling towns and villages, Moogle wisdom (like the Yodas they are) and the best Square soundtrack since the SNES days add up to the most immersive overall universe I've experienced on the GameCube, if not on any next-gen console. [Feb 2004, p.38] »

« While there isn't much story in this game (which seems like going back to the FF:1 days) the game is incredibly addicting. »

« The multiplayer is the best reason to play the game. It’s not worth it for the one-player alone, rather for the great experience with a group. »

« This is one of those games that you can sit down with three of your friends and really bond over. On many occasions we were yelling at each other over what was going on in the game, but when we managed to finally kill that boss, the reward was all that much better. »

« Crown FFCC the console king of multiplayer RPGs - all others are pretenders to the throne. Single-player moode is a rich experience, but it's dungeon-hacking party play that rules. [Mar 2004, p.116] »

« A masterpiece. »

« Everything from the vivid backgrounds down to the little things like the water effects, the shadows, and even the way the myrrh moves in your chalice has been done so beautifully, it really takes your breath away. »

« While the single player portion of this title might be dull, if you happen to have three other friends and have 4 GBA consoles between you all, this is the perfect purchase. Never before has a game that highlighted teamwork come along like this. »

« Mecanicas muy repetitivas, historia casi nula, personajes sin carisma, un sistema de crafteo muy tedios. Francamente, tan solo llama atenciónel apartado artistico. Personalmente considero que este juego está sobrevalorado. »

« worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this spin off game in the series. »

« Crystal Chronicles is a testament oh how creativity and limitations led me to one of the most immersive experiences of my life yet and also gave me some of my best memories playing with other people. [This is a multiplayer review] FFCC it is set in a world covered in Miasma (a poisonous and lethal gas) and Villages across this Medieval fantasy world send Caravans to venture in dungeons, forests, paths, etc. in search of Myrrh Trees, when a Caravan collect three drops of Myrrh from these trees they can restore the power of their village's main crystal so it can repel the Miasma from that zone for a year till its power vanishes and the process need to be repeated every year; this is the basic premise of the game. Contrary to almost any other Final Fantasy game which as a general rule they have a linear narrative, Crystal Chronicles goes with an open narrative, and it's focused on world-building rather than character building, but if you're open to this premise you'll not be disappointed by its simple but charming tone. Same with the narrative, its gameplay could be described as simple and maybe rudimentary at times, although I could say that its brilliance resides in its simplicity when playing multiplayer with the rather unused GBA connectivity of the Game Cube. In dungeons, every player have a radar that shows different things like enemies, treasures or to equip and unequip items, it also shows every player the objective of each player to complete, this could stuff like: kill your enemies with spells, pick up items, avoid physical damage, etc. At the end of each dungeon, every player sums their points to see who did their role the best and they're ranked accordingly, the winner gets to choose first from different artifacts that will increase their stats permanently so playing well while trying to keep the other players for making rack up their points is key to victory. The combat consists of three main actions: attack, defend, and casting spells, while spamming the attack combo (which has a certain rhythm for it to be executed) could be the easiest most of the time, the fun of playing multiplayer is to combine spells or charge attacks with the other players, these fusions can be tricky to pull off since they require perfect timing and positioning. When charging a spell your character will summon a magic ring and when releasing the button the spell will be triggered, to fuse a spell you need to have two to four rings positioned just right and be released at the same time, this mechanic is easily the most enjoyable aspect of the gameplay and if it's executed right it can make a Caravan almost invincible, at first is almost like a gamble but in time it can be a super useful and satisfying tool of destruction. Normally repeating dungeons to grind items or exp would be such a chore but FFCC gets away with it with its art direction and music. First and foremost the art direction is amazing, it has aged amazingly well, every location, dungeon, or character speaks volumes with just a glimpse of them, it has a lot of variety and it makes this world truly alive, not only they're flawlessly designed they are unique, the variety of levels is staggering, every place feels so detailed like a stage play. But... What truly steals the show to me, is the music, from the very beginning where you start your file and "Morning Star" kicks in (composed by Kumi Tanioka and sung by Donna Burke) you know that you're up to something special, Kumi Tanioka did an outstanding work with the music that is no short of a masterpiece, every song feels rich and crafted with the most care and detail that I can't think of someone disliking it, overall the game has this a little sad and nostalgic feeling or as one of the characters said: "You need rain for your crops to grow, so hopefully you'll have some rain in your journey" and the music captures this tone greatly, same as with the art direction, the soundtrack range is incredibly wide. As a little note, whenever you start a dungeon a brief narration kicks in that gives you some lore of the dungeon or the world, these narrations are also by Donna Burk which did a great work capturing a dreamy-fairy tale theme within them, they also become more personal till the very last one which is simply beautiful, so please don't skip them or at least heard them once. Of course, FFCC is not perfect by any means, certainly, it's two games at the same time, one for single player and the other for multiplayer. In single-player the experience is passable but all of the shortcomings from multiplayer become at times a chore and even a little hollow, but if you somehow manage to acquire 4 GBA with 4 link cables, you're going to have one of a kind journey with your companions, or at least to me I couldn't think of any other time (gaming or not) that I was more connected with my siblings than the adventures and adversities we have while playing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. »

« This game is amazing and underrated. Probably one of the best in the whole entire series. I got this game about 4 years ago and I played it a day ago and it is SUPER ENJOYABLE! »

« Guys, I get really emotional about this game. This game came out when I was about 7 or 8. I'm now 18 and this is still one of my most cherished games to this day. The spectacular soundtrack, great visuals (for the time, still holds up today though) and fast yet tactical gameplay make this a must-play, even if the singleplayer is a bit nerfed and multiplayer is harder than ever to set up nowadays. I played this game for hours on end as a kid, purely singleplayer. Call it nostalgia blindness, but this game is as spectacular today as it is when I picked it up over a decade ago. »

« Tier 1 + A very unique take on action RPG gameplay and progression + Visually compelling with a fully realized and dynamic world that pays excellent homage to the Final Fantasy mythos + A fantastic co-op experience only partially marred by the requirement of using GBAs ? Carrying the chalice in co-op can be fairly lame - Story is somewhat shallow in contrast to the awesome world and gameplay »

« Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a different approach to the famous RPG series of final fantasy. Letting the player decide your attributes and slowly build up your strengths throughout the game. Keeping the player constantly on their toes, fighting new, giant creatures and bosses. Hinting you about up coming things through several other crystal caravans. »

« 60 h plus adventure not very exciting for single player but still a great hack n slash rpg, and has great visuals also........ i havent played multiplayer but must be really great »