Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

The first Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles was, in a sense, developer Square-Enix’s answer to the rise and rise of the massively Multiplayer Online RPG. Released for the Gamecube in 2003 it encouraged friends to get together, sit around the same television and go questing in each other’s company; the idea being that the multiplayer RPG experience improves when you can see your friends in real life as well as in-game.

Unfortunately, the game’s requirement that each player brings along their own Gameboy SP to act as a controller, combined with some rough-around-the edges game mechanics meant the game never quite matched its considerable potential. And now, five years later, sequel Ring of fates comes to the Nintendo DS with similar aspirations to get players together again for some team-based questing and, sadly, some similar issues.

While players now need only own one console and not five to go questing as a group, Square-Enix doesn’t seem to have learned its lesson from the first game. The requirement that each player brings his or her own cartridge combined with the lack of online link-up makes the barrier to entry higher than it should be. As a result many players will likely just fall back on the game’s single player campaign, a considerable and sometimes pleasurable quest that’s not nearly as enjoyable as it’s multiplayer mode.

Despite bearing the Final Fantasy moniker the game shares very little with the console RPG series. Indeed, the action RPG mechanics which have you running and jumping around sprawling 3D isometric towns and dungeons has more in common with Zelda than the worlds of Vaan, Cloud and Sephiroth. Focusing on the story of Yuri and Chelinka, young twins charged with – you’ve guessed it – saving the world, the plot is simple and straightforward, the dialogue clearly aimed at a younger audience.

The game’s split between two distinct areas: town exploration and dungeon exploration. The former is mainly a place to upgrade armour, weapons and statistics, buy spells and materials and forge items (there are very few non-pertinent NPCs to interact with). The latter is where the meat of the game lies: sprawling, multi tiered dungeon environments stuffed with enemies, treasure chests and, deep in their bellies, boss battles to overcome.

Initially you control just one character with the ability to perform sword swipes, hoist enemies into the air and jump from ledge to ledge. In time you gain the use of magical shards which allow the casting of magic and you soon acquire new character split between four distinct looking tribes, the Clavats, Liltys, Yukes and Selkies, each with their own special abilities.

The game’s simple and enjoyable but lacks the depth and ingenuity of a Zelda title. Boss battles require little strategy save for managing your hit points and rarely will experienced gamers be challenged. The abundance of Final Fantasy touchstones such as Moogles and Black Mages performs some fan service, but this is a game best enjoyed by younger players whose friends also own copies of the game to allow for multiplayer questing, as Square intended.

3 out of 5