Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

For thousands of Nintendo loyalists, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles has been a long time coming. It has been years since an FF game graced a Nintendo platform, much to the benefit of the powerhouse that Sony has become in the videogame market. While we, as the gaming public, may never know all of the intricacies of the relationship between Square and Nintendo, it has been clear that things were not as cozy as they were in the days of the 8-bit NES. That is why it came as quite a surprise that not only was Square-Enix developing a new Final Fantasy game exclusively for Nintendo's game playing 'Cube, but that Nintendo was actually going to publish the title. Last year's E3 gave us our first hands-on experience with FF: Crystal Chronicles and really got our motors running. Finally, just over seven months later, we have our grimy little hands on the whole game.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles eschews the oft used cyber-punk themes of recent FF titles in favor of a classic fantasy setting. The world of FF: CC finds itself covered in Miasma, a poisonous mist. Miasma threatens everyday life as civilization has not found a way to exist within its deadly grasp. Fortunately, mankind found that the miasma could be repelled by magical crystals, and they built their towns around these marvels of nature. However, nothing lasts forever and, without a yearly treatment of myrrh, the crystals that make life possible wither and fade. That's where you come in. As a member of your town's caravan, it is your duty to travel the wastelands and fight your way to the sources of myrrh. Throughout your adventure you tote along a chalice that bears a tiny crystal to avert the miasma directly around your party and to carry the myrrh you've collected. Think of it as your own little beacon of light amidst the darkness.

As a single player adventure, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles sends you out into the Miasma infected world on your own, traveling without the advantage of companions. Fortunately, Square-Enix realized that there is just too much to handle on your own and threw in a computer controlled Mog (funny little bunny like thing) to help you carry your crystal chalice. Using the standard GC controller, the game progresses well, however while traveling on your own the excitement never really gets rolling. Fortunately, the word caravan implies that there will be more than one person in your party. That is where the multi-player genius comes into play. For every ounce of fun that is to be had with the single player adventure, there is a gallon to find with a friend. By hooking up four Game Boy Advances to your GameCube, you and three friends can set out on your adventure together. This adventuring party ups the ante and brings out the best in everybody. If, by "the best," you mean the trash talking, taunt tossing camaraderie that you might find around the poker table on a Friday Night.

Much like any Final Fantasy title, combat in Crystal Chronicles is a combination of whacking and zapping monsters. In other words, using you sword and using your magic. It's almost like the balance between yin and yang. All of CCs combat takes place amidst a real-time battlefield that is completely devoid of random encounters (thank god). Your attacks can either be quick strikes or more powerful Focus Attacks. These Focus Attacks, like your magic spells, require a little bit of time to charge up before you can attack, but they deliver a stronger blow that you can aim at a target from half way across the screen. As you purchase new weapons throughout the game, these Focus Attacks change from you leaping across the screen to you shooting a powerful blast at and through your enemies.

Now, Crystal Chronicles does depart slightly from the typical console RPG formula in that your character does not "level-up" year after year. Instead, after each level you (and your party members) each get to select from one of the artifacts that were collected as you defeated monsters and opened chests. Each of these artifacts boosts one of your abilities (strength, defense or magic), gives you an extra action slot or adds an extra heart to your health bar. You will also have the opportunity to read and respond to letters from your family and friends back home. The story, while a little bit light compared to previous Final Fantasy titles, is presented in through a series of humorous, albeit somewhat confusing, cutscenes.

As you progress through Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, you'll find that those extra action slots you can collect become invaluable. This is because each item you'd like to have readily available or action you'd like to perform requires a slot to use it. True, once you eat your slab of meat you can fill the slot with a gourd potato but during combat there are precious few seconds available to swap out actions. This becomes especially cumbersome when you have acquired the magicite of Fire, Blizzard, Cure, and Life and you only have room enough to equip three of them. Did I forget to mention magicite? Magicite is the essence that you use to cast various spells. In addition to those I mentioned above, you can also collect Thunder and Clear to round out your offensive and healing spells. While FF: Crystal Chronicles does not rely upon a Magic Point system to limit your spell casting ability, you do need to collect the appropriate magicite in every level before you can cast the associated spell. While this can become a bit frustrating, there are plenty of food items scattered around to help you keep your health up before one of your party members find cure.

Now, in and of themselves, the magicite attacks in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles are not that impressive. In fact, long-time Final Fantasy fans may be a little bit disappointed with their lack of visual flare and their seemingly weak attack strength. Of course, this is where your nearest and dearest make this game a real winner. By combining your spell aiming reticule with that of a partner and timing your release appropriately, you achieve what is called Magic Fusion. These attacks range from stronger versions of the standard spells to entirely new effects including Gravity and Time Stop. With at least three different levels of Magic Fusion, spell effects snowball fast in a party of four and really light up the screen. These effects show off the GameCube graphical prowess and blow almost everything else away.

By sitting down with one, two, or (if you have this many) three friends and their GBAs, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles takes on a whole new direction. As I mentioned before, the game becomes significantly more fun but adding players also opens the door to adopting strategies that will help you sail through the game and actually feel like you've accomplished something. Perhaps you'll find that one player is suited best to healing and reviving other characters. Maybe you'll find that two of your caravan-mates are so in synch that pulling off Magic Fusion is a piece of cake for them. The real joy of Crystal Chronicles is taking the opportunity to try new strategies, find the right spell to immobilize an enemy, or execute a fantastically powerful spell. So pick this one up, invite a few friends over, order a pizza, and save the world.