What is this game?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates for the Nintendo DS, the second game in the series and a multiplayer Action RPG by Square Enix.
What is this game about? I never played the original Crystal Chronicles for the Gamecube, would I understand this one?
The FFCC series takes place in the same universe but the games don't share storylines. They keep continuity so there are places like Rebena Te Ra, the main town, that would ring some bells with players of the original but for the most part the storylines are completely independent, you don't need to play one to understand the other.
The basic premise of the plot without giving any spoilers away is that it is about the twins Yuri and Chelinka who are born with a special, coveted power with their fates tied to the Great Crystal that protects the world from the malevolent light of the Crimson Moon.
The current timeline of the Crystal Chronicles series, which stretches thousands of years, is:
Ring of Fates (DS) ----------> Crystal Chronicles (GCN) -> My Life as a King (WiiWare) ----------> The Crystal Bearers* (Wii)
* = The most logical conclusion, but not officially confirmed.
I did/didn't like the original Crystal Chronicles, will I like this one?
For the most part Ring of Fates keeps a lot of the core play mechanics of Crystal Chronicles: you can attack, combo, use charge attacks, pick things up and throw them, use the target ring for magic, pile rings for more powerful magic attacks, collect specific magicite to use magic, etc. It really depends on what you did or didn't like about FFCC. The chalice (aka "the bucket") gameplay feature from the original, which required a player (or the player/moogle in single player) to carry around the chalice to protect the party from the poisonous miasma has been dropped. This was one of the most maligned features of the original and it is not here (also due to story reasons, as there is no miasma yet in the FFCC universe).
As such the level design and puzzles are slightly more complex with the addition of jumping and the likes. The 4 tribes (races) of the FFCC world are represented by the 4 playable characters who are even more individualized in this game. Yuri (the Clavat) is a master of close combat and chaining attacks, Alhanalem (Yuke) is better with magic and attacks from mid range with 'magic bombs', Gnash (Selkie) is agile, can double jump, and attacks from a distance with his bow, etc. The new inclusion of Tribe abilities give characters super attacks that range from devastating to tactical and double as puzzle solvers. Yuri can rush enemies while Al can use the 'magic thread' to reveal hidden platforms and create waves of magic from magicite on the field.
The game has more 'conventional' RPG features this time around. There is an actual level system where you gain experience from defeating enemies rather than the artifact system of the original where you could increase certain parameters. There is a HP bar rather than the Zelda-ish Heart system and an SP bar that is depleted by the use of charge attacks and tribe abilities. You also gain abilities from leveling, such as more ring piling, more chain attacks, the charge attack, etc.
I don't like the DS's touchscreen!! Do I have to touch a lot?
Yes and no. The menus are touchable but you can still navigate them with the D-Pad. You have to touch specific materials and equipment to get a description of some of them, and you have to select items/magicite or switch the character you're controlling, you have to touch their panel. It's simplistic but may be awkward for some poeple. You have to touch for tribe abilities, the action screen drops to the bottom screen and normally involves nothing more than tapping or dragging your finger/stylus.
My initial impressions (the original post):
It looks like this game was overshadowed by the Brawl bonanza. I didn't forget though. The game was released and I bought it yesterday and finally slipped it into my DS today.
I've only clocked 3 hours so far but I'm really liking this game so far, one of the main issues I had with the GCN FFCC was the absolute lack of depth in the combat. There's a lot more to it, you can grab onto flying enemies, throw them, etc. there's a lot more individuality placed onto the different characters, tribe abilities that pretty much act as tactical or super attacks, an actual storyline, plenty of voiced dialogue so far...it's like they took FFCC and pumped it with the right steriods, then squeezed it into a DS card. More impressions to come.
And finally...
.
FFCC Ring of Fates Friend Code List
- ClaudeLv250 3952 6836 2012
Tag - "No trolling on my watch!"
