Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

Moby ID: 10741
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/26 7:31 PM )

Description official descriptions

The world is enveloped in a poisonous vapor. Anyone who comes into contact with it must die. But humans have learned to develop a technology that would help them to protect themselves from the deadly vapor. The light of Crystals shines in small villages and in large towns. But those protective Crystals have to be refilled every year with the purifying Mana Water, otherwise, their energy will extinguish. Every year, villages send four youths to retrieve the Mana Water that is hidden deep in dungeons and dangerous caves.

Sounds like the story of the first Final Fantasy? The plot of this first Final Fantasy game for a Nintendo console since Final Fantasy VI goes back to the roots of the series, but the gameplay has changed a lot. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is an action, Zelda-style RPG. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses one of the four available character classes: magic-using Yukes, thief-like Selkies, gentle-natured Clavats, and cute little Lilties. The game can be played with the chosen character in single-player mode, or, using the GBA-GC connection link, played with three other people, each controlling their own character.

Each character has both armor and a weapon that can be replaced by crafting a new one with the appropriate items in towns. Found in each monster-filled area are artifacts that raise statistic points until the end of the area, and upon completion one artifact can be kept to raise that stat permanently. In a multiplayer game, players will be given secret objectives, and by completing their objective they have a chance at claiming first dibs on artifacts at the end of the area. Spells are also found in combat areas, though they can not be taken out of them. If spells are placed next to each other in the quick select list, or cast near each other in a multiplayer game, they will merge and become a more powerful spell. Finally, in single-player mode a moogle will take care of holding the "bucket" that pushes away the toxic miasma around the party, but in a multiplayer game, one of the players will have to take up this ignoble task.

Spellings

  • ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (GameCube version)

134 People (125 developers, 9 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 46 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 41 ratings with 3 reviews)

Fun... but not necessarily for one

The Good
First, the game has a great idea. Play mechanics are well thought of - well, at least what comes to the multiplayer side. There's some refreshing new ideas here too. It basically says to me "this isn't an usual game" and I like that. The gameplay is pretty intuitive though not really without its first troubles.

Graphics are amazing. I can't possibly describe in words how beautiful some stuff in the game is.

Music is great, and I really like the musical style too. Switching composers for a while clearly provides a good break from the Usual Uematsu Stuff(tm).

The Bad
One bad thing is that without an on-screen map, some of the levels are just incomprehensible. And I haven't even played that far yet - I mean early levels, too.

And in one-player game, the game view focuses on the moogle carrying the chalice - which isn't a good thing, because the character I'm controlling is nose against the screen's edge, and I hate it when I have to run but just can't see where I'm going! It's not that bad in up-down direction areas, but left-right movement gets annoying fast.

And the smoothness of the game relies too much in the cooperation of the different character types, so the game isn't that smooth with just one character in the fray. Sometimes, it isn't that thrilling to think that I'm going to spend a lot of time playing through the game with a character that sure isn't as versatile as Link. But the game has stayed barely passable nevertheless so far...

And this gets mentioned often, but anyway, here goes: I really wish the GBAs and cables weren't required for multiplayer...

The Bottom Line
The idea is definitely solid. "Hey, let's make a Zelda clone! For four players, cooperative! Make it look really nice, make it sound really nice, and play pretty well! And how about slapping words 'Final Fantasy' on the side too, it worked before, right?" (Definitely a Zelda clone if the first boss is a giant crab...)

Like so many other people, I haven't played this game at all on multiplayer, mostly because I have only one GBA. This game would seem really amazing on multiplayer if I only had the equipment!

Too bad that as a single player game, this starts to make my teeth grind. It actually represents something more sinister: Here's a game with really beautiful graphics, and beautiful music, but heck, what comes to playability, it just isn't Zelda, even when it tries!

The bottom line what comes to the single player experience is that it's fun - in small doses. Maybe a level per month.

GameCube · by WWWWolf (444) · 2005

A great multi-player action/adventure game with a touch of RPG.

The Good
The character customization is just enough to chose from with out going insane by having to choose from 500 different characters. The gameplay is fast, but smooth. The multi-player mode is a lot of fun if you have +2 players and the overall plot isn't too shabby. The graphics are also nice without being too blocky.

The Bad
The music gets on your nerves after awhile, but what music doesn't?

The Bottom Line
A great game that should appeal to any gamer who likes a good action RPG. Though you'll miss out if you don't play multi-player.

GameCube · by Gundark Krozmotov (118) · 2004

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

The Good
The gameplay is Zelda-esque. The basis of exploration and battles greatly resembles the 2D Zelda games.

Multiplayer. The game has the option of four-player co-op, and when it is used, the fun factor of the game skyrockets. Even though one player has to carry the Crystal Chalice around, it still improves the overall experience of the game. Crystal Chronicles was meant to be multiplayer after all.

The music is phenomenal. It is definitely a high point for the game. Not just the compositions themselves, but the instruments used, fit perfectly with the game's theme and the time period it's supposed to take place in.

The Bad
The game has very little story. Bits and pieces are revealed at intersections on the world map, but everything else is only revealed at the very end of the game.

When playing the game solo, it loses much of it's enjoyment. And on the flipside of this, to play multiplayer, every person must have a Game Boy Advance and a GBA to GCN link cable. This is a similar problem that The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures faced.

The Bottom Line
If you or your friends have some GBAs and Gamecube link cables, then this game is a must.

GameCube · by TalesOf777 (7) · 2009

Discussion

Subject By Date
this game max grosshandler Jun 28, 2007

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Nintendo

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles marks the return of the Final Fantasy series to the Nintendo consoles (if we exclude the Game Boy) since the fallout between Square and Nintendo, which saw the last Final Fantasy title developed for Nintendo become a PlayStation exclusive as Final Fantasy VII.

Awards

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Remastered Edition
Released 2020 on Android, iPhone, iPad...
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Echoes of Time
Released 2009 on Wii, Nintendo DS
Final Fantasy
Released 2000 on WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, PSP...
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy
Released 2012 on Nintendo 3DS, iPhone, iPad
Final Fantasy II
Released 2001 on WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, PSP...

Related Sites +

  • FF-Fan
    A fansite that offers all kinds of information on the entire Final Fantasy franchise, including walkthroughs, game media, discussion boards and fan art.
  • Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.
    Nintendo's Official Site.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 10741
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Unicorn Lynx.

Additional contributors: Kartanym, Guy Chapman, gamewarrior, —-, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, piltdown_man, FatherJack.

Game added October 21, 2003. Last modified February 21, 2024.