Seven prolonged years have passed since a Final Fantasy game last graced a Nintendo place of abode console.

Seven prolonged years have passed since a Final Fantasy game last graced a Nintendo place of abode console. And in the wake of Final Fantasy III in succession Super Nintendo, the franchise has undergone several radical changes—darker story lines, cinematic cut-scene and more realistic characters made the FF titles immense mainstream hits on PS1 and PS2 nevertheless don't expect any of that gloom-and-doom cloth from Crystal Chronicles. Nope, Square Enix's first GameCube offering strikes not at home in a bold, new direction, mixing classic Final Fantasy sensibilities with addictive multiplayer action.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles moves a simple premise: A collection of young pilgrims must revive magical crystals that guard the land from a host of poisonous gas known as Miasma. The game's definitely light forward narrative, but odds are you won't miss all the conversation—gameplay stars here. Action explains much like in Square's classic unrevealed of Mana as you explore areas, thwack beasties, and unfold simple puzzles. You even imprison down a button to power up attacks and cast periods in real time, just like in the Mana games. That Miasma junk attends to get in the way, although so you'll have to rely upon a moogle buddy to carry the air-purifying Crystal Cage in the single-player game.

As enjoyable as the single-player experience is, nothing compares to the thrill of playing Crystal Chronicles with four players. This Gauntlet-meets-FF hybrid focuses squarely forward cooperation. Coordinated simultaneous attacks and seasons produce special effects—mix Fire and Blizzard to come by a nifty Gravity effect, for example. Plus, since single in kind teammate must always remember to bring the Crystal Cage, strategy must result into play.

Of course, the remainings of finding three friends willing to sit down with you within a massive action-RPG aren't useful Luckily, the developers took this into consideration, in the way that characters can jump in and without of games at any point. When you bring your hero from one side of to the other via memory card, your equipment carries through the whole extent of but not your spells. to such a degree in each area, you must scramble to pick up turn orbs from enemies.

All this multiplayer mayhem tend hitherwards at a strange price, though—Crystal Chronicles forces Nintendo's evangelical connectivity universal on players in a big way. If you want to play with more than undivided player, you must use a Game male child Advance connected to GameCube via the GC-to-GBA link cable. wherefore on earth would they do this? Well, the GBA guard serves many functions during play: It provides maps, equipment cloaks and an interface for buying items, among other things. This way, when any player has to fiddle with submenus, the overall action isn't paused. It's definitely a neat feature, unless the amount of equipment indigenceed to enjoy this mode is a bit daunting.

Ultimately, fans expecting a traditional Final Fantasy epic might be taken aback by means of this unconventional action-RPG, but open-minded gamers with a taste for adventure should investigate it when it first attempts Stateside in February. Breathtaking visuals, simple further addictive gameplay, and the awaited sense of Final Fantasy magic make it a worthwhile journey. Just be fast to prepare by buying the requisite pile of Nintendo-approved cabling and accessories.

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