Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes in Time Review
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes in Time is the Wii entry into the Crystal Chronicles off shoot of the Final Fantasy franchise. In this game you will be able to play with up to four characters, either soloing and switching between them, or through multiplayer, but we'll get into that a bit later. You are an orphan without a past, but are raised in a small village in the middle of a forest. One day one of the villagers gets really sick and you are tasked with leaving the village and helping find a cure. This is where the real adventure begins.
The graphics for this game aren't up to Wii standards, but that's because the exact same game can also be found on the DS. Actually the Wii version has two screens that mimic what you'd see on the DS, so the only advantage to playing this game on the Wii is that you'll have a bigger screen. The character designs look like redos or the same models that can be found in the first Crystal Chronicles game. There actually aren't that many different enemy models either, as when you advance to a different area there's a good chance its the same model just a different set of colors.
The music for this game bothered me through the entire game. It wasn't bad, but I felt like I had heard the music for several of the areas before. You are not going to get lost in the music or sounds of the game, but this is one of the games that you're going to actually have no problem listening to. That is of course unless you want to pause the game and take a small break, which at least in the Wii version, pause doesn't exist and the music will keep on rolling.
The controls I have an issue with they are definitely as crisp as they need to be for this game, especially when you're trying to control a party. Because this game is in 3D it really needs a target lock on button, but it doesn't so you're going to spend times later in the game after you've leveled up your attacks either swinging at air or attacking a monster to an edge and then falling off because your next swing carries you off your feet and forward. There's also timing parts where you need to say jump at a certain point in a ropes swing, or jump as a block falls, but instead you just miss it and you have to do the whole thing again.
This game would have been a great game if you could actually play the game on the same Wii for multiplayer, but just like the GameCube version you're going to find yourself playing by yourself, or if you are lucky and have a friend with a DS version of the game you can play it on your TV while he plays it on his DS. The story really doesn't do much for me in this game, and I feel like the end result is a RPG that turns into a bad, frustrating, puzzle game. Yes you'll be leveling up your characters like crazy, but you're not really going to be able to tell a difference. Yes you can have unique looks as your weapons and armor change your appearance, but from what I've found your armor and weapons level up so there will come a point where you're not going to want anything else and you'll end up running around, your entire party, in black cat suits. In the end you're really going to spend the entire game in about 9 areas, many of which you're going to have to repeat several times. You're also going to be forced to do puzzles which sometimes won't be clear how to complete.
If you are a Final Fantasy buff and need anything and everything Final Fantasy go get this game. If you're looking for a good RPG for the Wii, don't get this game. If you want to spend a ton of money with your friends to play this game you're going to find it short, maybe worth it at times, but in the end a letdown of what doesn't quite feel like a complete game. Sad to say Square-Enix gets this one wrong, and I give it a 4.9 out of 10.