Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

There is no doubt in my mind that most gamers will pass this game over after playing the boring and poorly done first entry that hit the Cube a number of eyars ago. Well, I didn't want to play this either but I'm Squaresoft's something or other and I must not only play all of their released games but own them. Anyway, I set myself up with low expectations and I must admit this was one of the better experiences of 2008 and the fact that it comes from such a crappy start of a series I'm even more surprised.

The game has a typical plot about crystals and what not. Four people meet up and ened to stop an evil. The game has a rather mature plot, the ending I found to be almost upsetting with its developments and it was so refreshing to play a game with a half way decent plot. Final Fantasy fans should enjoy it the most as it represents what the odler rpg games were.

Not only does the plot do that but the game play and graphical style as wlel. It breaths a new life into what is slowly becoming a tired genre that need a jump start and it just isn't getting one. With the current trend of what was old is now new (be it music styles or fashion these days) we get a nice throw back to the good days of role playing.

The game features the awesome cut scenes that Squaresoft is known for and not only that but the game feature limtied voice work which is pretty good and fits the characters well. The music has the classic Final Fantasy feel going for it as well and it just brought back a lot of memories.

The in game graphics aren't the ebst ever but the bosses and enemies look great. A few favorites appear like the fireball enemy but for the most part the enemies seemed new to the series. The dungeons feel a bit small and limtied but the game play within them makes it feel a bit fresher.

See, the game plays like an action RPG. Gone is the annoying chalice which just sucked in the Cube game and ruined any enjoyment one could have with that title. Instead we get four characters that we control on the fly. You swtch via the touch pad. You can also toss orbs out and select magic attacks from the touch pad and that's about it for stylus controls but it works.

My only real problem with the game is that to use a special skill you need to hit R and then it also sues the stylus. This would be fine but the game doesn't offer left or right handed stylus options so as a right handed person it sucks to try and do both.

Each character (there are four) has a unique skill. I don't remember what the main guy can do but the wizard and creat links from magic idols to tiles and use orbs to open locked doors. The annoying kid can double jump but also shoot arrows to hit targets. The girl can combine expelled gems and create magic rom them which will help solve puzzles. So ultimately you find yourself alternating between these different abilities to solve the puzzles. Not until the last dungeon do you find yourself reall needing to switch back and forth quickly.

As I mentioned before the game is very focused on the action. Everyone kind of plays the same but their stats are different. You rush enemies, attack and dodge. It's fairly simple but fun. The magci system is waht I like. You will find orbs related to fire, wind, ect and you select one and hold Y and move the castign area with the d-pad. This allows you to heal your allies or yourself and attack a different foe than the one beside you. The abilitity to quickly change spells keeps the action flowing and the game is full fo action. I never ran into a dull moment as the entir game felt like it was constantly flowing towarsd its conclusion.

The game also features some unique ring creation but I didn't emss around with it to much. I found one I felt was perfect for ym playign style and ket it at that. There is also a multiplayer aspect to the game but I eblieve it is local wifi only so no real on-line play and judging from others have told me it is fantastic to play with friends and I imagine it would be with the puzzles and different character types. Of course I can't access it but whatever.

I would actually recommend this DS game over almost every DS title i've played this year. it's a bit short but if you have access to the multiplayer I can see the titles lfiespan really being extended for you. Right now this game falls right behind the first Layton title and I would recommend this one to any RPG as it's a great throw back to the good ole days of gaming.

Story - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 9/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 10/10
Replay Value - 8/10

Final Score - 9/10