bit-tech Shopping: Square Enix Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

Rating: 6

Time with product:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Summary: I got this, and I tried to play by myself, but it was not really very good that way. By myself, it felt like the game play was stripped from an '87 dungeon crawl. While that is not necesserally a bad thing, Diablo 2 simply does that SOO much better, making it hard to go back to this type of gameplay. With that said, if you can get 4 people together with gameboys and the proper cables, this game can be fairly entertaining. If this setup can be done of enought for you, then this game is a definate purchase, otherwise only get this if you find it reallly cheap.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Good multiplayer, interesting game concept

Weaknesses: Somewhat weak single player, particularly for FF

Summary: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is a heavily multiplayer-oriented game, one of those facts that is perfectly acceptable as long as it is understood when purchasing. It's possible to play this game single player, even without the GBA connected, but you lose a large portion of the gameplay with either. One thing that people love or hate is the limited movement. Crystals must be carried to keep away the poisonous mist in the game, and the crystal's power only covers about two thirds of the screen. If you stray outside of this area, you'll regret it. It can be tedious, but certainly adds to the strategy, moreso in multiplayer. I purchased this game as a fan of the Final Fantasy series, and probably would not have otherwise, as I don't readily have the time for multiplayer.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: good multiplayer

Weaknesses: weak single player, cost of multiplayer

Summary: this is a good role playing game, but its intended to be played as a multiplayer game, the problem with this is that to play each played needs a gba and a gba link cable, so it can be hard to get the full potential out of this.

Rating: 4

Time with product:

Strengths: Great multiplayer game. Nice character designs. Attractive graphics.

Weaknesses: The game is pretty bad if you're playing it alone.

Summary: This game is really not meant to be played alone. Sure you can play it by yourself, but you'll be very disappointed if you do. This game is meant to exploit the gimmicky GBA to Gamecube connectivity that Nintendo is trying to push, and it does work to some extent here. The downside is that while the creators were focused on creating an enjoyable multiplayer game, they totally ignore the single player aspect of it. If you have 4 GBAs and 4 friends you will have a blast playing this game. If you're a lone wolf then you'll find it a pretty bad experience.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: Excellent multiplayer, superb graphics and sound

Weaknesses: bare bones storyline, multiplayer requirements aren't cheap

Summary: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a homecoming of sorta as it marks the return of Final Fantasy to a Nintendo console. But this is unlike any Fantasy you've ever played! This version comes with the option of a multiplayer mode that transforms the traditionally (yeah, I know about the multiplayer mode in FF6..but still...)single player experience into a brilliant 4p rpg that reminds me of a reinvented Gauntlet. Graphically, this game is amazing, probably the best looking game in the FF series. The music is good too but just a notch below the standard of the other FF games. The storyline is lacking and is really there only for background purposes but the real meat is the multiplayer game. Though the requirements are rather absurd (multiple gameboys and link cables) it's well worth it to play this gem of an rpg.