Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

[Sabao]

So I picked up a copy of this today and played about half an hour or so. Let me just say I'm impressed. This may very well be the first decent Final Fantasy title to come out for the Wii (Granted there's only been one other FF to come out. Oh, and the My Life As series but I wouldn't count those). Starting off with the most obvious, this game is probably one of the best looking games I've ever seen come out on the Wii, but considering you bought a Wii in the first place, you may not care about that a whole lot.

The game starts off throwing you right into the action. There's no ten minute cutscene, no fanfare. Just a short two minute scene and then monsters start popping out of the sky, which you then have to shoot down. Having read so very little about the game beforehand it came as a mild surprise. The first bit was actually fun. Could've been just the surprise though, I dunno.

After realizing how point and shoot's a huge part of this game, it then proceeds to add another element: swinging. This game's all about the swinging. Yessir. No surprise there I suppose, considering this is a Wii game. Battles are basically all about finding something to throw at the monster. Be it a rock on the ground or the Selky hiding behind a bush, you'll have to use your telekinetic abilities to pick them up and use them as a weapon, oftentimes while running for your life so battles do get hectic. This is reminiscent of what they'd planned to do in Dawn of Mana on the PS2 actually, where anything and everything on the field could be thrown at opponents (although DoM was poorly done overall IMO). Whether they add a twist to this formula or not as the game goes on still remains to be seen. I hope they do though because I can imagine this getting old really fast.

The camera annoys the hell out of me. You have full control of it, sure, but sometimes when you need to do quick moves you find your camera at an angle where something or another is blocking your view, usually causing you to take damage from whatever beast you were supposed to be getting away from or falling to your death. Outside that I've had very little else to complain about though.

 

[-LuX-]

I really cannot stand this game. My little brother bought this for his wii, I tried to play it... :barf:

The game is so basic; all you do is toss stuff around, and you have to use the wiimote for EVERYTHING.

One thing I did like was the Bahamut boss fight, you had to have good timing, and I love physical/mental tests.

One thing they did accomplish is what they said: making a game that even grandma can play.

That being said it's also grandma boring, and I would really reccomend it for eleven year olds and younger, and 70 and older.

 

[Ellie]

I never got around to playing the first Crystal Chronicles, (I didn't realise I'd need memory stick and controller and hella other shit to play it on a wii!), was that any good?

I'm a big Final Fantasy fan, I'll probably end up playing this some time.

 

[united washcloth express]

I really cannot stand this game. My little brother bought this for his wii,
The game is so basic
One thing they did accomplish is what they said: making a game that even grandma can play.

Uh? You mean like all of the Final Fantasy games?

 

[-LuX-]

@wyatt: Yes, the first two, with the addition of the DS games were pretty entertaining (assuming you like action RPGs).


@ washcloth express: No, absolutely NOT. They all get harder as you progress (with the exception of VIII). Grandma would get confused, and about 1/10 through the game a nine year old would get frustrated. Please, further explain what you mean exactly. :box:

 

[moog]

I got pretty far. Its not a bad game at all, and it looks SPECTACULAR. If you have a wii, def try it. Its not the best game, but its pretty damn good, esp if you hated CC.

 

[Sabao]

I can see how this game could get potentially boring as it wears on. I mean for the most part you point, hold, and toss things around a whole lot. But Jesus, that's what 80% of Wii games do. If you bought a Wii game not expecting there'd be something like that involved you bought the wrong console.

And I suggest you tread carefully, Wyatt. Can't judge much about the story right now, but the gameplay is an acquired taste as you might be able to tell right now.

 

[united washcloth express]

@wyatt: Yes, the first two, with the addition of the DS games were pretty entertaining (assuming you like action RPGs).


@ washcloth express: No, absolutely NOT. They all get harder as you progress (with the exception of VIII). Grandma would get confused, and about 1/10 through the game a nine year old would get frustrated. Please, further explain what you mean exactly. :box:

The plot is easy to follow, the characters tend to repeat themselves design wise, and the battle system is a menu simulator. Hitting attack, using potions, and using cure isn't very difficult.

 

[-LuX-]

All rpg's are that way essentially. So are you saying you don't like rpgs?

 

[moog]

All j-rpg's are that way essentially. So are you saying you don't like j-rpgs?

fix'd ur post, bro

 

[united washcloth express]

Do I like the Menu Simulation JRPGs? No. Clearly, not all JRPGs are like this. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is not. The game has plenty of playable value. There are plenty of mini games that provide hours of entertainment. The music is great and fits each location well. The clothing is realistic and fits the characters. The lead female isn't horribly useless.

Sorry, I cannot see what is wrong with The Crystal Bearers. It is fantastic that it does not fit the typical JRPG mold. I cannot see how you can consider this game basic compared to the other Final Fantasy games. They are clearly more basic.

 

[moog]

No, absolutely NOT. They all get harder as you progress (with the exception of VIII). Grandma would get confused, and about 1/10 through the game a nine year old would get frustrated. Please, further explain what you mean exactly

Are you fucking serious?

 

[Sabao]

The only reason you might actually have a hard time with a Final Fantasy is if you're at a point where your party may be severely under leveled. Compared to something like Dragon Warrior, leveling up should be hardly an issue in Final Fantasy, if at all.

Getting back to the topic at hand though. Ugh. Voice acting in Crystal Bearers is terrible. I was hoping Bahamut showing up would be an epic scene. Instead, he appears after the cheesiest one liner I've heard in the last few months. Still nothing new in the battle mechanics. Just chuck stuff at monsters. Gets annoying after a while. I just have to say I'm still blown away at how huge the world is though. I haven't done that much exploring in a JRPG since FF12.

 

[Incognitus]

Layle is probably the coolest FF character in a long time. The whole telekinesis thing probably helps.

Things I like so far:

The Ferret.
The Scenery.
The Wildlife.
The ability to throw passing strangers into various pools of water.

Things I dislike

The battlesystem. Oh god, the battlesystem. I end up just tossing things from one place to another with no idea how I'm doing. So far I've only closed one mana stream apart from the tutorial one.


I'm stuck at the moment. Does anyone know how to reach Stiltskin after the cutscene with the Selkie boss regarding the steam engine?

 

[Sabao]

Is that before or after Bahamut? Because I can't figure out for the life of me how to hit the guy after hitting it once with a sword.

 

[Incognitus]

After Bahamut.

Currently, I've just walked across the map once just to be told to turn around and walk straight back. I hate it when games do that!

Bahamut has three weak points. Once you get the first one, the next one appears, higher up, so you may not be able to see it without tilting the camera. Just pick up the sword, point it near the target and throw! So long as you're on the target when you let go, the fact that Bahamut's target seems to be repeatedly moving doesn't affect the whole sword-hitting thing.

 

[Sabao]

I saw the second target, I just can't seem to figure out how to aim at it. :\

 

[Incognitus]

You need to get the target on screen, and then just pick up the sword. When it's hovering over your head, point your cursor at the target and press B.

It took me a long time how to do the aiming stuff too. :| Now that I understand what's going on, I'm beginning to enjoy the battlesystem a lot more.

 

[Incognitus]

I don't suppose anyone has any ideas on how to beat the High Tide Cove monsters within the allotted timeframe? It's those damned sahagin...