Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (GameCube)

One thing is for sure, this is NOT the big epic storyline driven FF RPG that we're all used to, but that was apparent from the beginning. The only thing it shares with other installations in the series is the name and perhaps a graphical nod towards the styling of FF9.

No turn based battles, no squad of three taking on random bad guys. This has all been replaced by a real time adventure based game. Monsters in dungeons are on the map and you take them on as you wish, slashing a sword when you want to, chucking a spell when you want to. Very hands on. For those of you lucky enough to have 3 extra mates with GBAs and link cables (ESSENTIAL for multiplayer, not a 'nice to have') you can have the joy of 4 player romps through the game. A nice co-operative ploy that will be conjouring up memories of Gauntlet. Unfortunately this is also a major drawback. Do you actually know 3 other people with GBAs? Would you really want to go out and buy a load of them so that you can play the multiplayer game? No. I once saw a photo of someone who had networked 5 GCs and 5 TVs together to get round this, but thats just SO pratical. I can forsee this being an underused function of the game especially with GC being the only console not to go online. For me ... the GBA is reduced to being my map and status device for the game. Nifty though, a nice touch to have this little device you can peer at to help you out! And what other company thought of having such a wonderful link up idea? More games should be exploiting this.

Now the plot, this is actually very simple for an FF game. The world is enveloped in a deadly Miasma, your village has sent you out on a quest to collect Myrrh from dungeons scattered around the land to find precious drops of this stuff to keep the protective crystal in your village safe. And thats it! You and a squad of another potential 7 travellers set off on this quest. You don't HAVE to use the other 7 character spaces in this game, you can stick with one person the whole way through, and it does seem to be there purely for usage in the multiplayer game ... I find it a shame that in the one player game you can't have some form of computer AI take control of another 3 members in your squad. It would make the gameplay a bit more exciting and frantic. More like a up to date version of Secret of Mana. The only incentive to add members to your squad is to get members with different skills and family trades set up so that the various shops and locations you visit during the game are open to you.

The graphics and music are absolutely lush in this game (check the moments where your character has to push through an elemental miasma boundary - oooh!), again it doesn't quite feel like your usual Final Fantasy which is a bit of a treat. Nobody likes to have the same old stuff served up every time.

If you walk into this game dreaming of a GC alternative to FF7, you're going to be disappointed. The game does have its merits though, its an enjoyable adventure romp. Alot of the fun functions of the game are reserved for the all singing all dancing GBA link up lucky people and you do feel like you're missing out on a bit of the fun that way round. So not quite perfect for the single player but a nice little game anyway. Lets see some more Nintendo outings for this series ... in fact lets see a PROPER next-gen version of the classic Secret Of Mana. Now THAT would be a wicked multiplayer treat.

The parts of the game that don't need an GA are ok. But a little repetitive, the fact that it is possible to do the same levels to get the myrrh for your village is frustrating but also necessary since sometimes it is not possible to travel through the miasma streams because you have the wrong element and can't change it to the correct one.

All in all i became very frustrated with the game very quickly, please stop making gamecube games that need a GA for all the good bits!