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Added by Brad on Dec. 1, 2008 15 comments
Lonely, lonely screenshot.
Following up on the previous Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles game, Ring of Fates, Square Enix sent out a release today for the newest entry in the series, Echoes of Time.

Good thing they didn't try to continue the Ring of Fates series with this game. Can you envision the four-layer nested branding on this one? Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates: Echoes of Time. Blech. That's at least three colons too many for any respectable game title. There's a single screenshot to accompany the release, over there to your right.

The big story here is that the new game is hitting both the Wii and DS at the same time--and what's more, you'll be able to run a single multiplayer game with users of both versions playing simultaneously.

Because it's late in the day and I'm sick, I'm just going to crib shamelessly from the press release here.

Players can choose to play alone or with friends, whenever and however they like in FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time. Arriving simultaneously on both Wii and DS, this latest entry in the FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES series introduces a new concept in multiplayer gaming, enabling users of either Nintendo platform to adventure alongside each other for the first time.
 
Maintaining the intuitive control scheme of FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates® and enhancing the gameplay experience with an integrated system that allows players to switch between the single and multiplayer modes in-game, FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time is set to take multiplayer gaming to new heights as it brings together Wii and DS users from around the world next spring.

Story

A triumphant return from a monster-infested forest marks the completion of the 16-year-old hero’s coming-of-age ceremony. However, the hero’s joy is short-lived as a young village girl is found to be afflicted by a mysterious illness known as “crystal sickness.”  Determined to obtain the cure, the hero steps out of the secluded village for the first time, only to discover a world in which crystals are merely artifacts of the past and no longer exist…

Features

  • Play anytime, anywhere with anyone! Multiplayer connectivity reaches new heights in FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time, where players can team up or compete with friends and players around the world!
  • The intuitive control scheme introduced in FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates returns, now adapted to Wii for double the action
  • Players can switch between single and multiplayer modes within the gameworld itself, giving them two great gaming options in one integrated experience
  • A personalized hero can be generated from a choice of the four familiar races of the series; Clavats, Lilties, Selkies or Yukes. Players joining from the Wii can also introduce their Miis to the world of FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES
  • Create and customize materials, armor and equipment for characters with tailored appearances and abilities — no two heroes will be the same!
  • A vast selection of quests provides hours of fun, even after completion of the main adventure

I haven't been much for the Crystal Chronicles series since I tired of constantly hauling a bucket around in the GameCube original, but I have to say, getting a DS/Wii shindig going simultaneously is a pretty neat feature. I'm curious to see how that pans out in the final analysis. No release date for Echoes of Time is listed, so stay tuned for that.
15 Comments

Media_Master
on Dec. 1, 2008
Not interested

Six
on Dec. 1, 2008
It sucks being sick, huh?  
Cool that there is some DS + Wii action working I guess.

pikadeth
on Dec. 1, 2008
@_@

TheWesman
on Dec. 1, 2008
That was some shameless cribbing there, Brad.  Get well soon!  Also, this announcement makes me a little sad, and that screenshot sucks.  Guess I'm being harsh, Final Fantasy as a whole is awesome, but this cross platform, buy-more-systems gimmick was old a generation ago.

MordeaniisChaos
on Dec. 1, 2008
Get bettttttttttter!


Meh, am I the onbly one who thinks FF is becoming the latest sell out? I'm really tired of this fad v.v Although this is certainly interesting with the cross platform gameplay, it would have been a hell of a lot more appropriate and far more fitting with a new title.

Wait, i just reread and I caught this little snippet:
"Players joining from the Wii can also introduce their Miis to the world"
Oh god no, NOOO!!!! Seriously, it would make sense if like Mii's didn't look oh I dunno, RETARDED not to mention completely unfitting with the visual style, but seriously. No.

Superchris129
on Dec. 1, 2008
Echoes of Time, eh? If it's a cross between "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes" and "Zelda: Ocarina of Time" it sounds great. Oh wait, Final Fantacy? no thanks.

TheGEL
on Dec. 1, 2008
This does make me happy except that the Wii release seems to be a quick copy/paste of the DS one. This is an issue not just because of the graphics, but because it's looking like only one player can play on the Wii at a time.

...meaning I'm buying 3 copies of this...AGAIN...only now the Wii release complicates things slightly.

Seriously, this needs 4 players on a single Wii, dammit.

Milkman
on Dec. 1, 2008
I had some fun co-op times with the original Crystal Chronicles but I never got around to playing Ring of Fates. I might check this out.

Red
on Dec. 2, 2008
Ring of Fates had good control? I doubt it.

ahoodedfigure
on Dec. 2, 2008
We each were given a maximum of one colon for a reason!  It's unnatural to have more than one subtitle!

If they had a single console multiplayer, I'd be down with that.  Sort of like a FF version of Dark Alliance?  I really think there's a big market for that that people aren't capitalizing on.  Some of my funnest moments on the Gamecube were split screen Phantasy Star Online (but offline) sessions.

zityz
on Dec. 2, 2008
Sounds like an interesting concept, but givin the limitation of the DS, I'm thinking in order to make it work it's going to have to hamper the Wii Version.

Andrwmorph
on Dec. 2, 2008
Sweet! After two years of the Wii Nintendo finally delivers what they promised before launch! Woot!

bshirk
on Dec. 2, 2008
MordeaniisChaos,

To answer your question about the FF series becoming a sellout, no, you aren't the only one who thinks so.  Square sold out ever since they merged with Enix, and then they began milking the FF series like crazy, putting out crappy release after release that morons kept gobbling up because it had the FF name, even though titles like Lost Odyssey are much, much better.  Anyone who has continued to support this company should be ashamed of themselves.  I want the old Square back, but I'm in Hironobu Sakaguchi's camp for now. 

Tackchevy
on Dec. 4, 2008
How does this even work? Is it like a low res version on the DS that just links in with the "High Res" Wii version? Or is the DS a controller like they did with the Gamecube? And didn't this concept fail horribly the last time they tried it? So many questions. 

dsplayer1010
on Dec. 4, 2008
Have you finished FFIV yet?



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