I really enjoyed Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles at E3 last year, so it was hard waiting through the long import window for the English version. But now it’s here, and I’m pretty thrilled with how the game turned out. I’m also fortunate in that I have two GBAs and knew a friend who let me borrow a third, so I’ve been playing (and will continue to play) with at least three people for the rest of the game. That’s definitely how it should be done, although playing with as few as two people still captures most of the multiplayer magic. Four people is total chaos, absolutely hilarious. Playing by yourself is fine for building up a character, but it looks like I could only recommend it for short bursts. This is a multiplayer game through and through.

If you’ve got the equipment or know other people who do, Crystal Chronicles is going to become one of your favorite multiplayer games. The whole game design is based around playing with other people, because even the most basic tasks require constant communication and cooperation. And you know what? It’s fun. We’ve logged nine hours of playing time in less than a day and a half, and that’s all three of us playing together the whole time. Sure, we snap at each other and get annoyed when one person is lagging behind, but that’s all part of the experience. There have been four-player cooperative console games before FFCC, but none of them has attempted to be this complex and deep. Yes, the combat is simple on the surface, but the way in which different moves can been combined and different players have to assume individual roles (attacker, healer, mage, chalice-carrier) provides a whole lot of room for strategy. Having some kind of battle plan is absolutely essential for taking on bosses and even some regular enemies. Unlike games like Gauntlet, in which enemies approach in swarms and each person just stakes out one area on the screen, battles in FFCC usually involve a small number of difficult enemies, so the players must directly interact in order to prevail.

Though the real-time battles and multiplayer aspects make Crystal Chronicles quite different from most Final Fantasy games, the rest of the game easily reinforces that heritage. The graphics are just unbelievable, even better than FFX and X-2 on PlayStation 2. The first time I crossed a miasma stream, my jaw literally dropped, and I’m still blown away every time I see it. Rivers cut through many environments with some of the best water effects I’ve ever seen on any system. The textures are so sharp that you’ll find yourself just staring at things that would normally not be worth a second look, like a field of wheat or the way a boat’s sails unfurl. The character designs are in the vein of Final Fantasy IX, with “super-deformed” humanoids and other weird creatures, but the environments are super-realistic. The two styles, oddly enough, don’t clash at all. With a beautiful Celtic soundtrack, the game’s music is just as impressive.

I don’t want to ramble on too long, lest I exhaust my supply of superlative adjectives. If Crystal Chronicles proves to be a long enough quest that evolves to keep up with our steadily improving communication skills, I believe it will be the first console game to successfully combine RPG gameplay and multiplayer for the advancement of both types of games.

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Square’s Nintendo console comeback was one of the most surprising games at E3.

Written 06/01/2003

Before I actually got to play it, I expected Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles to be a pretty decent adventure game with some interesting multiplayer features. As it turns out, in many ways it is one of the most impressive and interesting games coming to GameCube. No one expected it to be downright amazing, but there were a lot of converts thanks to the demo, and I’m one of one them.

If the game looks like Gauntlet from screenshots or descriptions, the similarities are only superficial. Gauntlet requires very little teamwork, because there are far more enemies than there are players. The best strategy is to split up and divide the invaders into more manageable groups. In Crystal Chronicles, there are always fewer enemies than there are players, but the monsters tend to be quite strong. Basic math tells you that there are going to be multiple players attacking each enemy, and because that enemy is smart and tough, the players are going to have to work together effectively to defeat it. The concept is most prominently worked into the boss battles, but it trickles down into even the most basic fights. The E3 demo contained a couple of boss battles, and they were quite difficult even with good planning. If the players didn’t work together and communicate strategy, the bosses were practically impossible. I was quite impressed at how vital this aspect of the game was made to be, and I think it’s absolutely the correct design choice.

Teamwork isn’t just important in battle, though. You have to cooperate just to get around on the map, and that’s no exaggeration. The world of Crystal Chronicles is covered in a deadly fog, but your team has a special artifact that repels the fog to create a circular safe zone. In order to get from one place to another, one member of the team must carry the artifact overhead, and everyone else has to stay within the ring of protection. Stray outside the circle, and your health starts to drain; thankfully, the game makes it very clear when you’ve gone too far, and it takes a second or two before you start to take damage. (On a side note, the contrast between the protected area and the fogginess outside is one of the most impressive graphical feats I’ve seen on GameCube.) The person carrying this thing is basically in charge of movement, because everyone else has to go where he goes and stay nearby. The artifact can be set on the ground during battles or to take turns with it. Although it may not be immediately evident, working the theme of communication and cooperation into such a basic gameplay element as walking puts everyone in the correct mindset to play the game. I was surprised to find myself talking, arguing, and laughing with three other people I didn’t even know at E3…because it’s literally required in order to play the game. Playing with friends is going to be even better, and I can’t wait to try it.

The other really surprising thing about Crystal Chronicles is how gorgeous it is. The game combines classic super-deformed character designs with a lush color palette and very detailed environments. It was also one of the cleanest-looking games in Nintendo’s booth, an impressive feat on TVs so high-end that they show every tiny little “jaggie” and other graphical defect you can imagine. And, as I said before, the fog effect looks awesome, really adding to the game’s atmosphere (literally). The huge boss enemies are wildly animated, with tons of moving parts and limbs. I also have to say, the water effects are some of the best I’ve seen outside of WaveRace: Blue Storm. The whole game just looks very polished and both technically and artistically accomplished, especially for an early demo version.

But I couldn’t wrap up Crystal Chronicles impressions without talking about the Game Boy Advance requirement. The E3 demo was actually playable with the normal GameCube controller…for all four players. However, the official word from Square and Nintendo is still that the final retail version will require a GBA for each player, except during the single-player mode. Why the two companies are committing retail suicide like this, I cannot fathom. Square has promised that the GBA’s screen would give all sorts of unique, useful information to each player, and everyone would have to pool their resources to succeed in the game. Yet the only information I ever saw on my GBA screen was a radar, which is completely pointless considering the characters are always onscreen together, and this handy little message: “Bonus Condition: Complete the level as quickly as possible.” The same indispensable knowledge was displayed on all four GBAs, as far as I could tell. Surely there is more planned for the feature, but if this is the kind of data we’re going to get with the GBA, the whole requirement is far less than a gimmick and far more than a doomed tactic for retail synergy. It’s just a joke -- a complete and utter joke that will make this great game all but unplayable for most of its potential audience. Square and Nintendo: save this game by getting rid of the insane hardware requirements. Let people play with their normal controllers, and this game will sell by the truckload. It’s that good.