A triumphant return from a monster-infested forest marks the completion of the 16-year-old hero’s coming-of-age ceremony. However, the hero’s joy is short-lived as a young village girl is found to be afflicted by a mysterious illness known as “crystal sickness.” Determined to obtain the cure, the hero steps out of the secluded village for the first time, only to discover a world in which crystals are merely artifacts of the past and no longer exist?More than just the latest chapter in the Final Fantasy saga, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is an innovative new concept in multiplayer gaming that enables Wii and DS users to play side by side for the first time. This breakthrough in gaming connectivity allows players on both Nintendo platforms to journey together in the fantastical action RPG flavored world of the beloved Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (DS)
Players:
Offline: 1-4; Online 1-4
Wireless options:
Cross compatible with Wii version via Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. |
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Utilizing the new Square Enix Pollux cross-platform game system, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time offers gameplay designed from the ground up to provide seamless, hassle-free in-game switching between single to multiplayer modes. Play anytime, anywhere, over your Nintendo Wi-Fi connection with anyone and experience a new level of connectivity previously unheard of.
Story A triumphant return from a monster-infested forest marks the completion of the 16-year-old hero’s coming-of-age ceremony. However, the hero’s joy is short-lived as a young village girl is found to be afflicted by a mysterious illness known as “crystal sickness.” Determined to obtain the cure, the hero steps out of the secluded village for the first time, only to discover a world in which crystals are merely artifacts of the past and no longer exist…
Key Game Features:
- Play anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Multiplayer connectivity reaches new heights in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, where players can team up or compete with friends and players around the world.
- Players can switch between single and multiplayer modes at any time while playing, enjoying two great gaming options in one integrated experience.
- A personalized hero can be generated from a choice of the four familiar races of the series; Clavats, Lilties, Selkies or Yukes.
- Create and customize materials, armor and equipment for characters with tailored appearances and abilities — no two heroes will be the same.
- Players can continue to enjoy the game even after completing the main adventure, as the New Game+ feature provides increased difficulty and better items with every new round.
- A vast selection of quests delivers hours of fun.
Compelling story & characters.
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1-4 multiplayer support.
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Customizable to your liking.
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- Extended play options through the New Game+ feature which provides increased difficulty and better items with every new round.
- Multiplayer support for 2-4 players that includes cross connectivity between the DS and Wii versions of the game.
- Seamless switching between single and multiplayer modes that provides for two great gaming options in one integrated experience.
- A personalized hero can be generated from a choice of the four familiar races of the series; Clavats, Lilties, Selkies or Yukes.
- Customizable character materials, armor, equipment and abilities means that no two heroes will be the same.
List Price: $ 29.99
Price: $ 25.00
Fun Game, Reminded Me Of Zelda Somewhat,
I bought this game when I finally realized it wasn’t turn based as are the Final Fantasy games I had played previously. I didn’t know how I would like it, but decided to gamble. I hate multiplayer games, so this review is only for the single player experience. I really like this game, and have spent many hours playing through it. The controls are a bit tough, but I got used to how to control the game pretty quickly. What I liked most about the game is that it is similar to zelda where you go into a dungeon (or temple, ruins, etc.) and fight monsters and solve puzzles to move from room to room, with a big boss fight at the end. The story line in my opinion was fun, though I guess not the best ever. I didn’t think it was quite as horrible as some people are saying. This is actually one of my favorite games I have for my DS, and I am now going to buy the first crystal chronicles game for the DS, ring of fates.
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|Strong multi-player, painful single-player experience,
This game could have been really great, but I have to be honest… it isn’t anywhere near as fun as it should be. The hype promised Diablo-like multi-player dungeon crawling, and to a certain extent, that is true, but the overall implementation is lacking, especially the controls. For each good thing going for this game, it seems to have at least one equally bad feature that actively impedes my enjoyment.
FIRST THE GOOD STUFF:
+++ GRAPHICS: Fully 3-d graphics with a bright and lush color palette. One of the best graphical showcases on the DS.
+++ SOUND: Quite good, which isn’t a surprise since Square-Enix take pride in the music in their games.
+++ MULTI-PLAYER: The multi-player options are solid and connecting to friends is easily done either through local wire-less access or through Wi-Fi internet connections, allowing up to four players to play at once. In this respect, the game is a winner in ways most DS games completely fail. You can invite other players to your game, jumping fairly seamlessly from one-player to multi-player in seconds. More games should do this. I can’t emphasize enough how awesome this is. Oh, and you can play with players who own the game on the Wii… a very nice touch but not one that I will likely use. A lot of thought went into the multi-player, and it shows.
+++ LEVELS: Lots of levels and dungeons to explore with a variety of environmental puzzles. None of it is mind-shatteringly amazing, but the level designs are still quite good.
AND THE PROBLEMS…
— THE CONTROLS: If there is one thing that ruins a game quickly, it is poor controls. The controls in this game are stiff, unresponsive, and unnecessarily complicated. Aiming magical attacks is slow and kind of sloppy. The magic stacking system is important to gameplay and is a really cool idea, but the controls required are actually a little too awkward to ever make it feel natural. Because of this, combat for anyone other than melee characters can feel slow. Additionally, since the game utilizes an isometric 3d perspective for all of the levels, the controls quickly cause hand fatigue because you will spend a lot of time holding the small DS directional pad diagonally. Narrow ledges and platforming jumps are made much more difficult than they should be due to the stiff controls.
— INVISIBLE WALL SYNDROME: This game suffers from invisible wall syndrome for no good reason. Some areas you can get to easily while others are inexplicably blocked off by an invisible wall. Annoying, but not a deal breaker.
— COMPUTER AI IS TERRIBLE: Your companions in single-player mode are appallingly stupid regardless of what AI settings you give them. Most of the time they seem to stand there and do nothing like a small squad of abnormally large-headed anime cheerleaders watching their football quarterback getting ganked in the school parking lot by the opposing team while he tries to stack footballs. It’s actually easier to just get rid of your team-mates and go it alone.
— TERRIBLE STORY: I’d describe it, but then I’d have to think about it. Luckily, you can skip any story scenes if you want, so this isn’t a deal breaker either. I’ll tolerate a bad story if the multi-player delivers good fun.
— SINGLE PLAYER MODE: The above problems honestly make the single-player mode almost impossible to enjoy for any length of time. A complete shame…
I read several professional reviews that sang praises to this game before I decided to make a purchase, and I’ll be honest… I feel lied to. Almost none of them mentioned the controls to any degree. There is always the chance that I am just some drooling moron possessing 7 thumbs and a pinkie per hand and am incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, but I’ve played far more sophisticated games without suffering this much difficulty. If the controls wouldn’t have been so frustrating (or if the DS had an analog joystick), I probably could have given this game 3 or possibly even 4 stars just because the multi-player is so well done. As it is, I can only recommend this game if you have other friends that also plan on getting this game for the multi-player.
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