Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a spin-off/companion game outside the main Final Fantasy series. Released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube, it marked the return of Final Fantasy to a Nintendo console since Final Fantasy VI in 1994, as well as the second Square-developed game on a Nintendo platform since Treasure of the Rudras (Chocobo Land: A Game of Dice came first, in December 2002). Since Sony partially owns Square Enix, it seemed extremely unlikely that Final Fantasy would ever be published on a Nintendo console again. However, Square (now called Square Enix) created The Game Designers Studio, a second party studio which included people who had worked on the Final Fantasy games for PlayStation to make Final Fantasy games for Nintendo consoles.

This new Final Fantasy game features many new gameplay elements previously unseen in Final Fantasy, for example, real time fighting, as well as being the first RPG to incorporate GameCube-Game Boy Advance compatibility. It was scored by Kumi Tanioka.

Gameplay mechanics
The game can be broken down into three general things players can do: explore, interact and fight. Like many RPGs, these will constitute the bulk of the game.

Exploration
In Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, players assume the role of various young adults who must venture out into the wilderness in a caravan to protect their village from a poisonous gas cloud called "miasma" that engulfs the entire world. They must find magical trees, called "myrrh trees," out in the wilderness that produce one droplet of 'myrrh', magical water every two game years. These droplets of water ward off the miasma, and must be taken back to the village to recharge the town's crystal, which also wards off miasma. The trees are, of course, guarded by a host of creatures bent on killing the caravaners. The passage of time plays an important role in the game, for as the years progress the challenges the players face grow increasingly stronger.

Interaction
Like the other games in the Final Fantasy series, the story involves a character or group of characters journeying great distances throughout the world to complete a central quest, although many smaller quests will arise along the way. In the process, they will meet dozens of people, fight off monsters, discover hidden treasure, and unfold the storyline. In Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, movement in the game is similar to the third-person follow-cam mode found in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This type of movement is where players will spend the majority of their time. However, with more than one player, the movement must be restricted to keep all the players on the screen at the same time. Because of this technical fact, an aura given off by the "crystal chalice," which carries myrrh, restricts characters to staying on-screen; otherwise, the miasma rapidly damages the character.

For movement across large distances, the players go to the "world-map" view, which is a highly zoomed-out view of the world which players use to venture from town to town and other far-away locales.

Combat
Combat in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is real-time and takes place in the regular movement mode, much like in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker or Secret of Mana. The button layout is relatively simple. Pressing the L and R buttons scrolls through a list of actions that are executed with the A button, and the B button is used for miscellaneous actions. You can select what items and magicite you want to equip and be able to use through the menu, which then become selectable in the list to be ready for casting.

Character types
A big part of all role-playing games is selecting the type of character you will play. There are four races (character classes) that players can choose from, each with its own unique strengths. A well-balanced party will draw upon the strengths of each race, which makes the game ideal to play with four players. The races are:


 * Clavat: Clavats are very human-like in their appearance, and peaceful by nature. They use swords in combat. Clavats are traditionally farmers. Clavats feature superior defense and strong magic-casting abilities.
 * Lilty: Lilties are a short, stout people, with reddish fur, feathery hair and something of a mane. They wield spears as their weapons. Lilties are traditionally warriors. Lilties have the highest attack power of any race, but suffer from the worst magical power and an increased casting time.
 * Yuke: Yukes are tall, mysterious creatures. Their appearance is humanoid in shape, but their heads are always covered by helmets and their hands look somewhat like wings. Oddly enough, they have a set of wings on their backs as well. Yukes are traditionally scholars or magicians. Their magical power is greater than that of the other races, and they cast spells faster than anyone else. Their focus attacks take longer to charge, however.
 * Selkie: Selkies are a human-looking race with some distinctive features that set them apart from the Clavats. They typically have silvery-blue hair and almost all examples of their race are in peak physical condition. Selkies are traditionally thieves. Known for their speed, Selkies have a strong attack power and shortened focus attack charge time.

Experience
At the end of each dungeon lies a myrrh tree and a selection of prizes. These prizes, called 'artifacts', permanently increase one stat (strength, defense, or magic) by a certain amount or maximum health points or number of activity slots by one or be able to cast a specific spell without magicite. In addition, artifacts encountered inside the dungeon temporarily increase the stat the artifact controls until the player exits the dungeon. Notably, in this game, spells and skills are not learned- special items called magicite must be acquired once per level to cast specific spells.

The story unfolds as the players journey from territory to territory, talking with people and completing quests set before them. While traveling a caravan may encounter other travelers, which is displayed in cut-scene. These movie-like breaks in the game further enhance the story and can be random or part of the storyline. Each encounter is recorded in the caravans journal and is recorded as a memory. By piecing memories together the player learns the history of the world, nature of the miasmas, or subplots of the game, depending on what they have seen.

One interesting role-playing aspect of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is that the players can and should interact with their in-game parents. The players actually choose the occupation of their parents at the start of the game, and based upon this occupation the parents will aid the players in various ways. Blacksmith parents for example will forge new equipment for the players, merchant parents will sell rare items, alchemist parents can create designs for new equipment, and so on.

Additionally, players will have opportunities at the end of each dungeon to write home or send gifts to their parents. Players with good relationships with their parents are more likely to receive gifts from them in return, as well as gain discounts on their wares.

Multiplayer and connectivity features
The most unique aspect of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is that up to four players can play at once utilizing a Game Boy Advance connected to the GC via a Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable. When more than one player wishes to play the game, each player is required to play with a GBA. Multi-player mode allows several things to happen:
 * Players can cast larger spells by working together to join their magicite crystals in different combinations.
 * Players use the GBA to switch between various attack commands, spells, items and equipment. This allows the game to proceed uninterrupted when one player wants to make an adjustment in the middle of a battle. However, this also means that monsters will continue attacking the defenseless player who is navigating the menus.
 * When the players enter a dungeon or a cave (which happens quite often in Final Fantasy games), each player's GBA screen will show different information. A map will appear on one player's GBA, and a radar showing monster locations will appear on another. When playing with three players, a radar showing the location of chests or a read-out detailing monster stats will appear on the third player's GBA, if four people are playing, the fourth player will be allocated the screen that the third player did not get.  Players must therefore communicate the information to each other to venture safely through each dungeon, which adds a unique interactivity element to playing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
 * The GBA also has the added benefit of clearing away information clutter from the game screen itself, so that players can get a clear view of the game without obscuring the screen with excess information.

Criticism
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is one of the more criticized games to bear the name Final Fantasy, in particular from Nintendo fans awaiting the return of the long absent Final Fantasy series to their systems. Much of the criticism is based on the name; while some believe the game stands well on its own, they believe that including Final Fantasy in the title brings certain expectations that were not met.

The first criticism was the style of gameplay. Final Fantasy has traditionally been a turn-based RPG, and is the type of game Square is most famous for. Many were disappointed when Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles turned out to be an action-adventure game, more along the lines of a dungeon crawl. Others discount this, citing that Square had produced other types of games under the Final Fantasy name, giving them alternate names like Final Fantasy Tactics to differentiate them from the main series; the Crystal Chronicles title showed that this was not part of the main series. This criticism was especially loud amongst long time Nintendo fans who lament the lack of RPGs on Nintendo consoles since the days of the RPG-abundant SNES. The fans appeared to have wanted an RPG more along the lines of the main Final Fantasy series with a more emotional, direct storyline and more traditional gameplay.

Second, the game used very little voice acting and full motion video (FMV). FMVs had become a Final Fantasy staple since Final Fantasy VII, while voice acting was introduced with Final Fantasy X. However, these elements have been criticized for watering down the Final Fantasy series itself, and some liked the near absence of these expensive and uninteractive elements.

The major criticism not stemming from the Final Fantasy name targets the implementation of the multi-player aspect. Playing the game in multiplayer mode requires one Game Boy Advance (GBA) and Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable for each player, much like The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. GBAs outnumber GameCubes by about 4 to 1, but getting four people with GBAs and cables together to play this game is daunting, unlikely, and expensive. Further compounding this issue is the fact that the game is advertised as a multiplayer experience, not a primarily single-player game. Critics feel that Square should have put the menus on the main screen, which would make the game accessible to a wider audience and effectively less expensive.

Other criticisms are minor. Some think the game is too easy with the unlimited magic aspect, which allows you to heal your party as often as needed during breaks in the action. Others don't like the Crystal Chalice system: it forces one player to spend time doing nothing but carrying the protective Chalice in multiplayer, and it seems the device only exists to force the players to stay on the same screen. The experience and leveling system is very nontraditional; you are allowed to choose from a semi-random set of bonuses at the end of each stage, but there is no guarantee you'll be offered a new artifact each time. This means players will sometimes finish a dungeon without a single lasting reward.

Despite the criticisms, the game still sold well, and has been critically acclaimed for its vibrant and beautiful graphics, the compelling music, and the fun multiplayer experience.

Sequels
Due to the success of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, the game has spawned one sequel and one prequel. Two more sequels are currently in development.


 * Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is a prequel game for the Nintendo DS. It follows the tales of two Clavat twins, Yuri and Chelinka, as well as a Yuke and Lilty.
 * Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is a sequel game for the Nintendo Wii via download on WiiWare. It takes place directly after the original game when the Miasma has cleared up and the young King Leo begins to restore his Kingdom.
 * Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is a sequel to Ring of Fates for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. It is the story of a girl named Charlotta and a mysterious crystal.
 * Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is a sequel game for the Nintendo Wii. Details on the game are currently sketchy.