GameCube

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is an interesting game. The bland single player holds it back, but things get much better when you play with friends. Of course, that’s not as easy it sounds. Innovation in GBA connectivity is always appreciated, but not when the game relies on it. If you don’t have a bunch of GBAs, this reunion is bittersweet.

With 2 to 4 people playing Crystal Chronicles provides one of the best cooperative experiences in gaming. The solo game can be a little lonely, but can still be rewarding for those looking for a challenging quest.

If you’re looking for a story-intensive fifteen-hour epic in the vein of previous Final Fantasy games, you won’t find it with Crystal Chronicles. Instead, you’ll find a fantastic multi-player experience in a rich, vibrant world full of plentiful action. One caveat, however: like in any game requiring human co-operation, it’s only as good as the people you play it with, but for those who put the time and effort into getting the crew together on, say, a weekly basis, you’ll find a game worthy of the Final Fantasy name.

Graphiquement, FFCC est superbe. Mais je trouve dommage que le design n'ait pas été plus poussé, les décors sont sublimes mais certains persos me donnent un arrière-goût de Nintendo 64, les fans de Ogre Battle 64 me comprendront sûrement. Mais d'un autre côté cela ne m'empêche pas d'y jouer, je ne peux pas passer un seul instant sans y jouer, peut-être que je suis trop exigeant et que je m'attendais à encore mieux que ça… Mais je vous rassure la magie opère toujours et malgré quelques réticences ce jeu est un pur chef d'oeuvre. Un mix entre Saga Frontier 2 et Final Fantasy IX, ça vous tente ? Moi oui et je n'arrête plus d'y jouer, sans aucun doute le meilleur volet depuis FF9.

The fact that it's clearly been designed with kids in mind, however, doesn't make Crystal Chronicles into a bad game. It's still a superb game; one of the best action RPGs we've played in a long time, and certainly some of the best fun you can have with three other people and a sofa - within reason. It's just that you'll need to think very carefully about whether you're really in a position to make the most of the game before you buy it, because anyone expecting single-player thrills will be sorely disappointed.

Grafisch hat mich der Titel von der ersten Sekunde an gefesselt. Obwohl die Sprachbarriere bei dem Spiel erwartungsgemäß sehr hoch ist, probiert man ständig weiter. Im Einzelspielermodus kann der Titel eindeutig mehr Punkte machen. Zu nervig ist das ständige Umorientieren vom TV- auf den GBA-Bildschirm im Mehrspielermodus – auch wenn es Spaß macht. Ebenfalls heftig ist die zwingende Notwendigkeit von Game Boy Advance plus Linkkabel für das Rollenspielen mit einigen gleichgesinnten Kumpels.

Lange mussten Nintendo Fans auf die Rückkehr der Final Fantasy Serie warten, denn nach der Abwendung von Squaresoft in Richtung Sony, stand die Serie auf Nintendo Konsolen praktisch vor dem Aus. Doch die Erlösung naht. Aufgrund einer Übereinkunft zwischen Square und Nintendo, wurde ein externes Entwicklerteam damit beauftragt ein Gamecube Final Fantasy zu kreieren. Dabei gingen die Entwickler dieses Studios einen komplett anderen Weg als den, den die Serie seit erscheinen des ersten Teils eingeschlagen hatte. Nämlich weg von den rundenbasierten Kämpfen, hin zum Action Adventure im Stil von Zelda oder Secret of Mana. Und Game Boy Advance Besitzer kommen natürlich auch nicht zu kurz.

Se não fosse pelo complexo sistema de controle, "Crystal Chronicles" seria o "Mario Party" dos RPG - uma divertida opção de multiplayer que pode ser iniciada sem compromisso. O preço de admissão para essa modalidade é alto devido à exigência do GBA com cabo de conexão, mas vale a pena para os fãs do gênero que buscam algo único.

Om man har ett par Game Boy Advace i bekantskapskretsen är det egentligen ingenting att tveka över - i så fall ska man köpa det här. Det är ett multiplayerrollspel av en helt annan kaliber än pinsamheterna som vi normalt får stå ut med. Gauntlet Legends, Black Stone: Magic & Steel och liknande dynga. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles lyser av kvalitet som få andra spel i genren, har en bottenlöst vacker grafik och ett soundtrack som får en att smälta i TV-soffan. Felet det faktiskt lider av är olyckliga och hade kunnat avhjälpas med lite enkelt justerande, vilket hade gjort det till ett av de bästa spelen att bära namnet Final Fantasy. Kanske till och med det bästa. Men istället för att gråta över vad Crystal Chronicles inte är ser vi till att glädja oss åt vad det är istället. En fabulöst vacker saga för fyra spelare. Välkomna tillbaka, Square!

If you're looking for the typical turn-based "Final Fantasy" experience with cinemas that last for days, you won't find it here. It's not worth rushing out and buying four GBAs and link cables (you'll probably never use all that equipment ever again), but it's a must-have if you and your friends already have most of the required hardware and love multiplayer gaming. There's no other title quite like it.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles represents the best and worst side of connectivity at the same time. Soloing is a bit repetitious and slow, but gather some friends and a whole lot of hardware and you’re in for one of the smartest, weirdest, and most magical four-player adventures you’re likely to play.

After a decade-long absence, Final Fantasy has returned to a Nintendo console in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. But if you've been playing the revered role-playing game series for a long time, this might not be the return you expected. Crystal Chronicles is a hack-and-slash action RPG that in some ways has more in common with dungeon crawls like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Diablo than it does with its own namesake. It's a decidedly Japanese-flavored take on this style of gaming that contains some truly bizarre elements and one of the most unique (and slightly off-putting) multiplayer implementations we've ever seen. It's not for everyone--but, in the end, Crystal Chronicles can be a tremendously entertaining multiplayer game for those willing to work together to overcome some obstacles both in the game itself and in its design.

Only two games have my utter respect, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy. Too bad (for me that is) those two games are each released on a different platform. When I saw the first footage of the firstnamed game's remake, I chose the GameCube as my platform. The lil' cube maybe gives me lots of joy, I missed the games of my other favorite series. Then salvation came, and Squaresoft (now Square-Enix) said the magic words "FF is coming to the Cube". After about a month of wondering what it would be like, a two-second movie was released. Ever since the release of that movie I've been checking the calendar up until now. I could finally get started on Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles...

Nintendo fans have waited a long time to play Final Fantasy on a Nintendo console -- something that hasn't happened since the Super NES days. Now that the iron curtain between Nintendo and Square has been lifted, fans finally have a chance to explore the Final Fantasy universe on GameCube -- although it might not be in the way they expected. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles doesn't contain any of the Final Fantasy staples. There isn't a detailed story arch, there aren't any full motion video sequences, there isn't a deep experience/upgrade system, and you won't find a wide variety of magic spells. In fact, the only reason this game can get away with being called a Final Fantasy game is because there are a few recognizable items and creatures, and it shares the franchise's quality music and artwork.

Comme beaucoup d'entre vous, j'attendais beaucoup de ce fameux FFCC, peut-être trop, et certainement pas un modeste 15/20. En toute objectivité, il faut reconnaître que le jeu demeure largement perfectible à de nombreux aspects, et il me paraît indispensable de sanctionner la politique de Nintendo qui impose l'achat d'autant de GBA que de joueurs pour les parties à plusieurs, alors qu'il aurait été possible de passer par les manettes GameCube. Cela n'aura pour seule conséquence que de priver la grande majorité des joueurs du véritable potentiel du titre, et de réserver le plaisir à une élite fortunée.

As renowned as the Final Fantasy series has become over the years, the release of Crystal Chronicles brings with it an air of unfamiliarity. Although many of its elements tie into the greater Final Fantasy universe, this is but a faint echo of what you have come to know and love.

Played on its own demanding terms, Crystal Chronicles offers something unique: the chance for your living room to experience the kind of convivial, epic co-operation that MMORPG players take for granted. It offers one of the most beautiful worlds ever created on a console, heavy with atmosphere and wonder, laden with the treasures of the Final Fantasy heritage. However, it asks too much expense and hassle and it inflicts too many setbacks, frustrations and restrictions to come close to being a fair exchange.

It's a shame really, because while there's no denying this is an above-average game (thanks mostly to the well-crafted visuals, hauntingly melodic music and attempts at innovation), it's fair to say that Crystal Chronicles should have been more than it actually is. Where we had hoped for a game that took Secret Of Mana's pleasures of multiplayer adventuring and made them even better, we've been given something playable but lacking much of the flavour you'd expect from a game claiming to be an RPG.

Square and Nintendo remind me of two old lovers getting back together. The two companies had a long and prosperous relationship spanning six Final Fantasy titles. After a few years of separation, the two are rekindling the romance. The first date, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, was a sizzling pairing that reminded each company why they fell in love in the first place. The second outing, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, is more like a fun date where each party has a good time but is very much aware of the other's flaws. That analogy aside, Crystal Chronicles is a good game with wonderful aesthetics and fantastic extras, but its core gameplay has some fundamental flaws.