Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Comments by Simon Parkin

#1

Real-time combat and not tailored to the Wii? I'll pass.

Is it possible to play with two players on Wii?

I was hoping the Wii version would look fine, but that really doesn't sound good. I think I'll go for the DS one.

Loved the first FFCC. I was younger back then. Had more time to spare. Maybe most importantly, I had lots of friends with more time to spare.

In single player the AI is stunningly stupid. The game seems to taylor the puzzles based on how many are in your party and not on whether the AI can actually handle the puzzle. A good example of this, without adding any spoilers, is a simply switch puzzle (of which there are many). The switches raise and lower platforms but, require someone to be standing on the switch for it to work. The AI has one objective, follow your ass around the level. It's not clever enough to stay put when you manouver it to a switch so everytime you raise the platform, switch to another character to use the platform, the first character leaves the switch and the platform lowers. You effectively have to trick the AI into a position where it is on the switch but, can't follow you because it is blocked in.

This is a serious flaw in single player and leads to great frustration. Is it even mentioned inthe review?

I'm sure there must be many complications in having multiplayer across two systems, but surely they could have made an effort on the Wii version? It's always the same story...

@ Nabokov

Nope.

does it look visually the same on both platforms? I don't like the sound of playing in a window...

Penhalion, the first Crystal Chronicles game on the Gamecube had similar problems in single player.

Scored well on EG (higher than this game in fact), just as undeservedly as Echoes of Time. In single player it is practically broken. You reach a point in the game where you need a combo of two spells to open a gate for instance, of course you can't direct your AI partner you just stand around like a moron casting one spell again and again hoping your partner will join in with the necessary spell...

An hour later I consulted the official guide. I was doing exactly what I was supposed to, that was how the game worked in single player, unless I kidnapped somebody with a GBA and bought another cable and a GBA myself I was stuck. Players should avoid this series purely because it was crippled from inception, after funding a Final Fantasy, Nintendo was feeling a bit of a sting so Crystal Chronicles became a vehicle for shifting their hardware and accessories. A couple of iterations later they still don't seem to have got the single player component working in a satisfactory manner.

Gauntlet managed a satisfactory single player game plus up to four players on one screen without expensive doohickies because Atari were happy enough with your 10 and 20 pence pieces.

Reviewer wrote: "capricious random battles"

Like we know what that means!

Stop showing off Simon.

EG says > this is closer in style to the mediocre Ring of Fates
So 7/10 EG score means mediocre game?? I don't care if the game is acually mediocre or not, but there's something inconsistent when rating a game 7/10 and saying it's mediocre. Either it's mediocre and it has a low score either it's OK and gets à 7?

@Jasugun: Could it be that they were reviewed by different people?

erm...

Why should 'close in style' mean 'scores the same'?

AC/DC Live: Rock Band and Rock Band are 'similar in style', yet one was scored 2/10 by EG and the other 8/10.

@ Vinicity: Yes that the case. however, i think there should still be some editorial consistency, because you read EG's reviews as a whole, and not particularly rob or simon's reviews, right?
It's just seems 'unreliable' to have the same website citing a game as OK then plain mediocre some time later. (even if it's perfectly understandable that two individual opinons differ and that two people might find the same game mediocre for one and OK for the other). It's just as if EG had denied it's own previous review, as a whole. That just how i feel.

"Gauntlet managed a satisfactory single player game plus up to four players on one screen without expensive doohickies because Atari were happy enough with your 10 and 20 pence pieces."

Put that on the VCA!

@Pac-man ate my wife
I'm not comparing the two FF games. The previous FF chronicles installment, ring of fate, got 7 back then. I'm just aking, how come now it's become mediocre (the same game, not Echoes of Time)?

jasugun +1

Im with you on that EG really need some editorial consistency. The lack of it really shines thru.

So... can one DS host a game for another DS? And in this scenario are two carts needed? Sounds like an expensive game to play co-op.

RoF was mediocre at best.

It is clear that the DS version is vastly superior but then why am I tempted to get the Wii version?

I liked Ring of Fates, so if this is better, as many reviews are saying, then I'll need to pick this up at some point. On DS of course.

This is a serious flaw in single player and leads to great frustration. Is it even mentioned inthe review?

Try fucking reading it, unless you're going to pay one of us to be your PA.

Umm Cappy, in single player on the Gamecube there was no AI other than the moggle for carrying the chalice. If you wanted to cast a combo spell you selected the two spell components, put them in the right order and merged them on your inventory screen which would create the combo spell.

Uh.. No.

The Moogle was not only your chalice bearer but also an AI companion to fill the role of another player for puzzles. Such as requiring two different spells to be cast on two different points at the same time, something that is difficult to coordinate with an AI partner. You can influence the type of spell the Moogle will cast by colouring his fur, you don't have any control over when the Moogle will cast the spell though.

Odd. I don't remember my moogle ever casting a spell. I thought painting was just for fun? It is as Gastrian says. You double up spells yourself.