Will this bite-sized RPG sate the hunger of role-playing fans the world over or is it merely an appetiser before Final Fantasy XIII comes along? Our exhaustive Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers review has the answers you seek.
Square’s near-legendary Final Fantasy franchise is a veritable behemoth in video game terms; having sold millions upon millions of copies all over the globe and enthralled generations of gamers its little wonder that each fresh release is accompanied by bouts of giddy expectation from dedicated fans.
Initially, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers manages to live up to its lofty promise with some of the most sumptuous graphics yet seen on the Wii. It’s no exaggeration to say that some of the scenes in this game would look at home on a HD console such as the Xbox 360 or PS3 and the trademark Square attention to detail is prevalent throughout. This is one seriously attractive piece of software.
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Sadly, the above-average visual sheen merely conceals a rather disappointing and limited game beneath; rather than adopt the traditional RPG approach which has made the series so beloved worldwide, Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers is more of a straightforward action title and is controlled largely via motion commands.
The big issue is that like the vast majority of “waggle” titles, Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers has all the depth of an especially shallow puddle. Combat revolves around grabbing enemies and hurling them against other objects and while these Jedi-like skills are fun initially, it doesn’t take long for their obvious limitations to sap away that already tentative enjoyment.
The various mini games that punctuate the experience range from mildly exhilarating to barely passable, but none of them really hang around long enough to make a significant impression. It’s a shame that Square has chosen to follow such a fragmented format because some of the games – such as the action-packed skydive blast-a-thon that takes place early on in the quest – are genuinely brilliant.
Other issues – such as a painfully outdated inventory system, absence of a map and a third-person camera which seems hell-bent on making the game as frustrating to play as possible – drag Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers even further into the mire and despite boasting an engaging storyline and around 15-20 hours of gameplay, it never manages to extract itself.
While many Final Fantasy devotees may have considered this to be a tasty morsel before the main course of Final Fantasy XIII hits western shores, the sad reality is that this misguided attempt to expand the horizons of the series falls flat on its face and should be avoided in favour of less patchy RPG experiences.
