Topic: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time

[Pale]

So my fiancee and I are playing this right now and I'm going to do a review on it. So far it's an extremely strange game.  Unlike the last crystal chronicles DS game, you CAN play the story mode in this one multiplayer.... but it doesn't seem near as fleshed out as Ring of Fates. Echoes of Time feels more like a series of missions than a full RPG...

Anyone else playing it?  The connectivity is extremely confusing as well.

This is in the DS section because even though there is a Wii version it is literally a port of the DS game in EVERY way.

[MoronSonOfBoron]

What do you find confusing about the wireless connectivity? I've only played over WFC and think nothing of it.

I haven't played Ring of Fates, so I can't compare the two games.

I was initially skeptical about "NUMBERS AND EXP POINTS? IN MY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES?" and am honestly still wondering if the change in progression mechanics is a good one. I personally loved the simple adventuring of Crystal Chronicles, and how getting an extra command or magic ring really made you feel special; I never liked experience points and levels, because they are constantly changing and thus have me constantly watching them rather than focusing on the gameplay.

In Echoes of Time, I feel the character progression is too fast, such that I rarely got the chance to enjoy my new equipment and form an "identity" for my character before being forced to upgrade. The "item level" system got my hopes up, but it merely mitigated equipment swaps, rather than making them unnecessary.

From what I understand, higher difficulty levels will have a player "farming" item levels in order to generate specific Jewels from them, with which to upgrade and improve their preferred items. There's an element of min/maxing there that I don't think I'll enjoy, and may have me putting the game down before I complete it on Very Hard. (I am on my second playthrough of Normal as of writing)

The story actually made me genuinely tear up a bit. Just a little bit.

The magic system is fine. While I reminisce about the time getting a magic ring was an event for celebration, this new "universal" magic skillset actually enforces co-operative play, as it allows experimentation with stacking from the beginning. For the solo player like myself, it also makes for a less vulnerable attitude.

The distinct lack of inventory-based item recovery is a good choice, as well. The gameplay is balanced such that you can focus on the action more often than not; this would be a bigger plus if you didn't have to focus on the action more often than not. I've found that the online messaging system is cumbersome to use in the middle of a fight: staying on the move to avoid enemies is difficult to do when you're looking at the bottom screen and fumbling for the right menu. This could have been fixed by reversing the setup on the touch screen, freeing the left thumb for movement while searching for the appropriate chat message with the right thumb.

...Technically you shouldn't use your fingers on the touch screen, but in games that use the D-pad and ABXY, there's really no avoiding it.

I was extremely tickled by the "fashion podium" when I first discovered it.

All in all, my biggest complaint is really the jaggy Selkie female. I am enjoying Echoes of Time and hope I will still be playing it on a relatively regular basis. (Preferably with other people)

[MoronSonOfBoron]

More extensive experience with WFC matchmaking since the last post. Frankly, it's ****.

Latency absolutely murders timing for magic stacking and platforming, making more difficult dungeons and puzzles a headache. More often than not the host (inviting player) ends up carrying others and/or using them as stepping stools for that treasure chest holding a rare scroll... Although I know for a fact Kairon would enjoy performing this function.

Communication outside of the basic tactics offered by the default menus is of course a moot point. I would feel better if I could at least know the other player character's names, outside of NPC dialogue referring to the host.

And of course, you can't add matchmaking players to your friends list, from what I can tell. Being carried through some of the platforming puzzles was cute in an Ico-ish way, but becoming part of a set of makeshift stairs made me feel like a Pikmin, minus the sentimental value. It's like a dirty one night stand.

Matchmaking could be more robust: it lacks a difficulty selection or level bracket. More often than not one can end up with people who are on Hard or Very Hard, and as noted above, some of these "heroes" may not be so charitable towards the discerning lowbie.

As there are no leaderboards or other community functions, there's really very little reason to play with strangers outside of random acts of charity and lessons in furniture empathy.

[Pale]

I still haven't jumped into random matchmaking as I'm playing the main game in co-op. I'll definitely check it out before writing my review though.

Overall the game is very rough, but I think the base concept is very strong. It has a PSO vibe to it.

My biggest beef so far is that some of the puzzles require very precise walking or jumping... and the isometric view and sloppy controls make those an extreme pain in the ass.  Those damn rope swings are a nightmare, especially if you have a character that can't double jump.

[Pale]

Played my first random online match...

Holy crap I can't believe how bad it was.  You are right Moron...

I was so lagged out I couldn't even make my character walk in a straight line... let alone attack something.  The guy I was playing with carried me everywhere.

On top of that, it put me with a level 99 guy playing very hard mode.  Every monster one shotted me and every attack I did, did 1 damage. TOTALLY POINTLESS.

[MoronSonOfBoron]

Yeah, if you play With Friends you can at least all have a good laugh about it (and use your preset chat messages, in addition to the clunky online keyboard that literally paralyzes you when you use it). That and heedlessly dupe items/gil

[Flames_of_chaos]

It's good to hear that Square totally botched the online mode by making it laggy, ridiculous match making(then again I think this is Square's first foray into an online game that's not an MMO), and no wii speak/DS microphone functionality. Looks like I just crossed off one game that's on my wish list.

[MoronSonOfBoron]

I'd like to retract some earlier statements I made about the WFC functionality. Yes, you can look up the character information in a WFC party by going to the "Party" option under Status; it replaces the "AI Settings" option that appears in Solo Play. The Party option not only lets you examine other characters' stats and equipment, you can also send friend invitations this way.

However, the fact this was not readily apparent to me on initial playthroughs is bothersome.