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    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

    Game » consists of 3 releases. Released Dec 29, 2009

    Abandoning the multiplayer co-op gameplay of previous games, The Crystal Bearers is a single-player action-adventure game telling the story of a persecuted race of "Crystal Bearers", capable of magic-like super-powers, trying to survive in a very conservative world.

    Square's The Crystal Bearers E3 Trailer

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    Al3xand3r

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    #1  Edited By Al3xand3r

    Update: Gameplay video!

      

    Original post:
      
    It's perhaps not their best trailer yet, but it's also told the game will be playable on the showfloor. I can't wait to see more :)

    THIS WINTER
    , bitches!

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    ArcBorealis

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    #2  Edited By ArcBorealis

    I'm already liking the main character. Bad. Ass.

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    Al3xand3r

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    #3  Edited By Al3xand3r

    Hah, yeah, he is.

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    #4  Edited By hide

    That was a pretty cool trailer.

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    Meowayne

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    #5  Edited By Meowayne

    ITS ON THE WII EOLLOLLL

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    Al3xand3r

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    #6  Edited By Al3xand3r

    Really nice quality (for an off-cam stream) of some airship piloting and city wandering. The game looks REALLY good...

      
      

    Why is there no hands-on of this ANYWHERE ffs? I thought Square promoted it pretty well with awesome trailers. GO PLAY IT YOU JOURNOS.
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    Al3xand3r

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    #7  Edited By Al3xand3r
    YES, FINALLY A HANDS-ON ARTICLE. FROM SILICONERA:
    "Layle’s Crystal Bearer power allows him to grab and pick up anything or anyone. You activate his ability by pointing at the object you want to grab and hitting B. Once Layle’s gravity power connects you can toss barrels (or victims, more on that in a bit) by swinging the Wii remote. If you pull the remote towards you Layle holds the object above his head and you swing the remote forward to throw it it."

    "You can be a total jerk in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. The first time you can play with the gravity powers is in the middle of a bustling city, which Layle nearly crashes his airship into. Lilties mind their business until you pick them up and throw them into each other. Sometimes you’re rewarded for doing this. An elderly Litly woman dropped coins after I threw her into town guards. There isn’t a penalty for being obnoxious either. If a guard sees Layle lifting civilians he will attempt to tackle and knock you down. That’s it."

    "You can also use your gravity powers for good. I saw an armored Litly guard lying on his back waving helplessly with a rock on top of him. I picked up the boulder and moved it. This didn’t push the story forward, but a quest message popped on screen."


    This all ties into a fame/infamy type of system Square has spoken of before, of course it wouldn't be visible in a little demo. Remember, this isn't your daddy's Final Fantasy, it's got extensive open-world style situations and potential. I can't wait <3
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    Meowayne

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    #8  Edited By Meowayne

    ITS ON THE WII LMAOROLLO

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    Endogene

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    #9  Edited By Endogene

    Not sure if they confirmed this but it looks like the part where the ship is crashing plays out in the overworld. Which means that there will be vehicles to travel across the over world in real time, something that have been missing since 8 (?).

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    Al3xand3r

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    #10  Edited By Al3xand3r

    Don't know, that part is basically a cut scene, only interactive (you pilot the ship avoiding collisions earlier). They say they pushed to make as much of it as they could interactive like that, where in other FF games you'd have simple cut scenes instead. So in the intro you have the Space Harrier sequence as you're battling the monsters while free falling, then you have the sequence where you pilot the ship after its engines get damaged, then later on you have another chase sequence where the chick is "driving" a chocobo carriage and you fend off enemies that try to approach you, stuff like that. And inbetween those bits, you have the usual exploration, with a twist, as it incorporates a fame/infamy system and you can be a jerk or a hero doing side activities and such, and the NPCs will react and treat you accordingly. It's meant to be a very open-world style game (though the story is probably still very linear). The combat system with the gravity and how you can also use it outside combat and in quests and such is also awesome. That it looks so good on top of that is an awesome bonus. I don't know about vehicles in the overworld, we've certainly seen him ride a chocobo though. I'm not sure if that was in the overworld actually, it might have been a normal area. Either that, or the overworld is actually to-scale, which is fucking awesome if so. We've certainly glimpsed some very expansive areas to go through (some Hyrule Field like stuff, other areas with train tracks, tunnels, and so on), so I have a feeling that's how it is, but even if not, it's still got huge areas to explore. I'm telling you this is the freshest thing Square has done in ages, and they seem to have absolutely NAILED it too.

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    Meowayne

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    #11  Edited By Meowayne

    Oh god. I want Overworld + Vehicles. just for nostalgia.


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    Endogene

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    #12  Edited By Endogene

    Its mostly the fact that the close up of the city is so incredibly low in detail compared to the rest of the game that makes me think that it is a close up of the overworld.

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    Al3xand3r

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    #13  Edited By Al3xand3r
    Oh it's certainly the overworld, but that's basically an interactive cut scene. Bad guy damages the yacht, Layle steers it with his powers and you get to swerve left and right to avoid collisions until you reach the city and see the sequence in that last video. We don't know if you get full control of a vehicle at some point, but I'd say it's very likely given the game's world and style.
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    Al3xand3r

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    #14  Edited By Al3xand3r

    Some more videos from E3. It's too bad the demo was so limited, the game appears to be simply awesome.

      

    They mention it's in the final stages of development, they're merely adding details and polish at this point :D~

    Also, the Japanese official website has been updated with a new character and a world section that also has several new mini video clips. Some of them are the same videos seen in this thread, so here's a picture highlighting which ones are new:

    And this is the new character:

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    Coltonio7

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    #15  Edited By Coltonio7

    When I think of crystal bearing I think of carrying that dumb-ass pot around in Chronicles.

    This sounds a lot better.

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    Al3xand3r

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    #16  Edited By Al3xand3r

    It is xD

    It's an open-world JRPG with real-time super-powered physics-based combat, fame/infamy system for NPC relations, all sorts of random shit happening, side activities, and lots and lots of interactive mini-sections that would otherwise be cut-scenes like the intro where you space-harrier-up the invading monsters and later pilot the damaged airyacht. AWESOME :D

    Awesome interview with many details about the game, like so:

    RPGSite:The Crystal Bearers is very different from the previous Crystal Chronicles games – what inspired you to take a change in direction?
    Toshiyuki Itahana:We began work on this title almost simultaneously with our DS title. At this point we decided to go with multiplayer model for the DS title, and a single player title on the Wii console.

    RPGSite:Did you feel forced at all to make use of the Motion Control with the Wii, or did it come naturally?
    Toshiyuki Itahana:No, actually at the beginning of creating it, we did not direct to deliberately use the Wii functionalities – we actually told the team the motion sensor and pointer were optional methods of control. It was just lucky that the team felt these were the best methods of control and worked well!

    RPGSite:Now, talking of areas being connected this brings up the issue of loading. Will there be much? What steps have you taken to minimize it?
    Toshiyuki Itahana:We’re managing it by assigning just the right amount of memory to each area. Luckily we have a comparatively big memory to work with compared to other platforms. Thanks to that, we can allocate a lot of memory to each scene. Because of that you will barely notice loading – not just between maps, but also between story scenes and different gameplay modes.

    RPGSite:We’ve noticed that on Square documentation this game has changed from being referred to as an Action-RPG to being called an Action Adventure. How would you categorise the game?
    Toshiyuki Itahana:The change in the designiation is more of a promotional thing in order to attract the attention of action-lovers. The game itself hasn’t changed much from the original design, which is very Final Fantasy. The gameplay is more action based, but still noticeably an RPG.

    RPGSite:Would you say the design philosophy behind this game is the same as the other, multiplayer FF:CC games or is it a closer feel to the main FF games?
    Toshiyuki Itahana:The game is aiming towards a more traditional Final Fantasy feel – we wanted to create a game similar to the main series on the Wii. It is more action oriented, though and we have more than one mode in the game like shooting mode and exploration mode.

    RPGSite:If you could sum up this game in a few words, what would they be?
    Toshiyuki Itahana: [laughs]Difficult question! It’s more than a few words, but I’d say “Traditional FF narrative – Tight storyline with Open, Free Action.”

    If I keep it up I'll end up quoting all of it so, I'm done! I strongly suggest reading it :D

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    Al3xand3r

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    #17  Edited By Al3xand3r

    Another interview:

      
      

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    Linkyshinks

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    #18  Edited By Linkyshinks

    Square Enix has set release periods/windows or its forthcoming games and titles to be published on behalf of Eidos, including FFCC: Crystal Bearers. Square sent out a press release detailing titles they will show at the 2009 GamesCon next month, including Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and the DS-exclusive Kingdom Hearts entry.

    • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii) - Winter 2009
    • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS) - Autumn 2009




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    Al3xand3r

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    #19  Edited By Al3xand3r

     A short gameplay video from the Japanese website's world section. There's also a new character profile, and the English website has one too.
     

      
    It's various different very short clips put together as one, that's why it's disjointed and weirdly paced, not much like a real trailer. Anyway, we see one new element of the combat mechanics, as apparently when you grab enemies with your gravity bubble you can also activate an attack from them. Arrow shots from the first, needles from the cactuar, etc. Other than that, they're small clips from various cut scenes or other gameplay elements.

    Update: 3 more short, random clips from the Japanese website's world section.
    Update: 2 more:
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    Al3xand3r

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    #20  Edited By Al3xand3r
    New scans. Sweeeeeeeet (save them to view whole width if your browser's window's too small).
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    Willy105

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    #21  Edited By Willy105

    Looks like an impressive game. It's easy to mistake this from a numbered game.

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    #22  Edited By Linkyshinks

    I  hope the framerate holds up in heavily detailed environments, otherwise they will lose appeal instantly.

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    Al3xand3r

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    #23  Edited By Al3xand3r
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    Black_Rose

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    #24  Edited By Black_Rose

    Looks incredibly badass.

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    Cornman89

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    #25  Edited By Cornman89

    I don't yet know if this will totally ruin the game for me, but it needs to be said: that twangy, country battle music is just terrible. Beyond terrible. Gameplay mechanics look promising though, if a bit esoteric, so we'll see.

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    Al3xand3r

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    #26  Edited By Al3xand3r

    It's got some pretty awesome music in many of the videos (and the official websites too), I dunno why everyone's getting so worked up over a tiny intentionally comical section, as if Final Fantasy games have been devoid of that in the past... Especially since he's fighting some pretty wacky looking enemies like cactuars in that particular section, among others of course. Once the trailer changes to be serious, so does the music.

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    Cornman89

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    #27  Edited By Cornman89
    @Al3xand3r:  I dunno. The same jaunty tune has featured in every combat-focused video I've seen thus far. Including the one in which he's fighting a Behemoth. Not a very comical guy, the Behemoth. I'd say it's fairly likely that it's just the straight-up battle track... which is discouraging.
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    AgentJ

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    #28  Edited By AgentJ

    Wow, this is looking pretty decent. I wasn't expecting much after that first little clip we saw, but the game seems to have turned out nicely. Could it possibly be top 10 worthy?

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    Al3xand3r

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    #29  Edited By Al3xand3r

    As said before, the US gets this game this year. THIS YEAR. Now we have the date. What about Europe =(

    FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS Brings Action Adventure to Wii on December 26th
    First Major FINAL FANTASY Experience for Wii Available This Holiday Season

    LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix(R) interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that FINAL FANTASY(R) CRYSTAL CHRONICLES(R): THE CRYSTAL BEARERS(R) for Wii(TM) will be available at North American retailers on December 26, 2009.

    This latest installment in the franchise offers a fresh take on the beloved CRYSTAL CHRONICLES universe, launching the series into the action-adventure genre and onto the Wii system. FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS combines the storytelling depth, immersive event scenes and graphical quality of the FINAL FANTASY franchise with motion-driven gameplay and the ability to freely explore the game world.

    Enter a world where realistic gameplay and fantastical art direction combine for a truly unique experience on Wii. Accessible for gamers of all ages and levels of expertise, FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS invites players to embark on an unforgettable adventure this holiday season.

    STORY
    A thousand years have passed since the events of the original FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES. The destruction of the Yuke Crystal during the Great War had at once brought the victorious Lilty Tribe prosperity, the defeated Yuke Tribe apparent annihilation, and the world a new age of science and reason. In this new era exists a rare breed of powerful beings called "crystal bearers," whose seemingly magical abilities have led them to be feared and scorned by the public. The young mercenary Layle is one such crystal bearer, who has been hired to escort the new passenger airship Alexis, the pinnacle of Lilty technology and a symbol of their current dominance. However, when the Alexis is suddenly besieged by a horde of monsters, Layle comes face-to-face with an adversary thought to have vanished from the pages of history, on a quest that may threaten the future of the world...

    FEATURES
    Enjoy a new chapter of the series that takes place a thousand years after the events of the original FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES, where technology has advanced to its peak and magic is considered taboo
    Encounter the first FINAL FANTASY game developed exclusively for Wii, complete with motion-driven gameplay and intuitive controls that are accessible for gamers of all levels. Enjoy a variety of actions and third-person shooter style gameplay
    Step into the hero's shoes and experience the action first-hand! Control Layle's crystal bearer powers to battle adversaries, navigate through obstacles and move objects at will in a highly interactive environment
    Traverse the terrain, swing from high places or take a swim in a world in which all areas are open for exploration
    With an extra Wii Remote(TM), friends and family can jump in to assist the player in times of need

    FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS is rated T (Teen). Please visit the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) website at www.esrb.org for more information about ratings. FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS will be available for Wii for $ 49.99. The official website can be found at http://www.thecrystalbearers.com.

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    Willy105

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    #30  Edited By Willy105

    They barely made it out this year! Better late than never.

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    Al3xand3r

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    #31  Edited By Al3xand3r
    US & Jap box art. Nice :-)

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