It has been almost ten years since a Squaresoft (now Square Enix) game has graced a Nintendo console. When Square revealed that they were making a new Final Fantasy game for the Nintendo GameCube people were ecstatic. When the screenshots started to trickle through people noticed that something was a little different from the usual Final Fantasy, and a while later everyone found out why. Unlike the other Final Fantasy games, this was an Action/RPG (in the same vein of Phantasy Star Online) with a more detailed storyline. Is this game worth playing? Read on to find out!

Many years ago a deadly miasma swallowed the entire world. There is only one-way to hold it at bay, and it is by the use of crystals. The smaller crystals can protect individual villages while the gigantic ones can guard entire cities. The problem is that the crystals don’t have unlimited power, so they have to be recharged each year by purifying them with myrrh. To add more difficulties myrrh cannot be found anywhere, it can only be found in dungeons, mountains, and even across the sea. Each year a caravan filled with young men and women are sent out to search the entire world for the myrrh and bring it back home. These caravans are known as the crystal caravans, and players set out on one caravan’s adventure.

Before you can start a game you first have to choose what character you want to be. There are many different options; first one is what tribe you want to be in, gender of that character, the appearance of that character, and then the profession of that characters family. There are four distinct tribes: Clavats, Lilties, Yukes, and Selkies. The Calvats are a gentle people who dislike conflict; they have a high defense and are skilled in magic. The Calvats are the all around characters. The Lilties are a little people who are very strong. They have a high strength and are very good with the use of spears. The Yukes are very adapted at using magic, they are also very mysterious in appearance and personality. The Selkies are independent people and they make great thieves.

As well as choosing a character, you also have to choose what profession the families will have, and depending on which ones you chose they will give you special deals. The Blacksmith‘s make weapons and armor. The Tailors makes accessories. Farmers grow wheat. Alchemist make designs for weapons and armor. Merchants sell different items. Millers turn wheat into flour. Ranchers raise cattle and then process them into meat. Fisherman catches fish for food.

As mentioned earlier this is not your typical Final Fantasy game with a huge epic storyline, turn/active battles, filled with FMV videos. Instead this is an action RPG in the same vein as Phantasy Star Online, Gauntlet, or Baldur’s Gate, except with subtle differences. One person must carry the crystal chalice (in single player a moogle carries it) and you stay within the barrier if you wish to stay alive. Then you must find enemies and then eliminate them, some enemies will leave you magicite, items, gil, and many other things.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has some of the best graphics I have seen on the Nintendo GameCube. The graphical style for this game is a homage to some of the older Final Fantasy games, because this game has a more medieval look and feel to it.

Everything in the world is highly detailed from the character models to the environments players are placed in. The coloring and textures used in the game is extraordinary; the towns are bright and vibrate with life, while the dungeons are dark and very ominous looking. The best is the lighting and particle special effects. During the game players will be amazed each time they see a candle flicking because of the wind, and the shadows that are cast from the light in that direction. The water that you will come across looks so real, especially when you see the rivers running though the lands. The biggest eye candy in this game is the particle effects, they are amazing! Player’s jaws will drop each time there is a spell cast or crossing a miasma stream.

The heroes, enemies, and even the moogles are modeled to perfection. Each of the heroes look different from each other, from the hair type, dress, or other subtle things. It is nice seeing a variety when choosing what hero to become. The enemies that the characters will face in battle are also nicely detailed, and have that familiar Final Fantasy feel to them. What is truly impressive is the moogles because their fur is very well done. In fact, in a single player game, players will be able to alter the appearance of the moogle, by painting its fur (blue, red, or green) or even trimming it!

Players are in for a real treat once they load Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles in their consoles, because this game offers one of the best soundtracks that I have heard for an exclusive GameCube game. The intro theme has the fully orchestrated effect that all Final Fantasy games are known for and it will blow your mind. This game has the typical Final Fantasy sound to it, and there are even familiar sounds that players will recognize immediately.

The sound effects used for the game can get repetitive, from the clashing weapons, to the spells that are being cast, but it doesn’t get irritating. It is nice to see some subtle sound effects being used in this game such as steams flowing through a town; it gives the game a more realistic and “homey” feel.

What is sad is that this game features very little voice acting. The only voice acting in this game is when someone tells you about a new town or dungeon you are about to enter. Since the release of many RPG’s this console generation, and it is hard to play a game that doesn’t feature it. While it is not a bad thing, it is still something that we have grown accustom to.

The great thing about this game is that it allows up to four people to play this game at one time. The only disadvantage to this is that each player must have a GBA and a link cable. Since many people might not have a steady supply of friends that have this it might be hard to get a multiplayer game going, but once you do it will be a blast. There are a few differences in multiplayer mode such as, each player must use a GBA, one person has to carry around the crystal chalice, and each person gets a unique map on their GBA screen: the maps show the surround location, enemy locations, treasure locations, and enemy data. This game is so much fun if you can get all of your friends together and play, you will be playing for hours on end!

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is rated T for Teen. It requires up to 22 Blocks on your memory card and can play up to 1-4 players. To play with 2 or more people each person has to have a Game Boy Advance and a link cable.

Gameplay: 8.5
Even thought this game is way different than any other Final Fantasy game, it is a game that must be treasured. Once players get adjusted to the basics of the game, they will be having a blast in no time. The only problem is that the game (especially in single player) can get repetitive quickly.

Graphics: 9.2
The game looks gorgeous! The particle effects alone will give you enough eye candy to last you for months on end. This is one of the best looking games on the system.

Sound: 9.1
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has one of the best soundtracks I have heard on a GameCube exclusive game! Just like all Final Fantasy games, the music will blow your mind away!

Difficulty: Medium
It might take a while to get adjusted to attacking, defending, and doing other various things, once you get a hold of it, you will be playing like a master in no time. The difficulty ramps up slowly in the game so it allows players to get adjusted to all of the gameplay mechanics so they can face tougher opponents later on.

Concept: 9.0
While multiplayer games such as this have been around for sometime; this is the first game that requires players to use their Game Boy Advance systems to play more then one person. That took a lot of guts to do, since it is hard to find four friends that own GBA’s to come and play. When you can get all of that together, it is gaming bliss.

Multiplayer: 9.4
This game is one of the best multiplayer games you can play that is currently out on the market. While it might be hard to find enough people with the right equipment to play with, it is definitely worth it!

Overall: 8.4
You maybe wondering why a game that has a graphics and sound score of 9.0+ has this low of an overall score. My reason for this is that this game is obviously designed for multiplayer situations. While it is fun in single player it doesn’t even hold a candle to when you are playing multiplayer. The game can (and it does) get repetitive during some of the dungeons.

This leads me to the next point: The biggest complaint I have with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is one of its greatest strengths as well. It is really hard to find four people that have GBA’s to come over and play this game. If they implemented a way that you could play without them it would have made life easier for many people. On the other hand it shows to me that Square is willing to take risks like this to prove that the game is worth it if you do have all of the materials to play the way it is meant to be played. It is a double edge sword.

If you have enough people to play with that have GBA’s then this game is a must have. The single player aspect of the game is average, and players can tell that much emphasis was placed on the multiplayer mode. Either way you really should take this opportunity to try this finely crafted Square Enix game.