Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

"A Game Fit For A King!"

For a WiiWare title, this game is almost as good as it gets. It's long, re-playable, fun, and many other positive things you can think of. Let's get straight to the review.

Story (7/10) -
The story of the game isn't that great, but the game isn't about the story. The story is still mildly interesting, and there are some cool cut scenes. You are basically a little king, who comes to an uninhabited kingdom. You gain the power to build things, and you slowly start rebuilding the kingdom. You send out adventurers to new area to kill bosses and get more building material, as well as to continue the story. . There is more to the story itself, but I don't want to spoil it.

Graphics (8/10) -
Not bad at all. Looks like Crystal Chronicles, and for a WiiWare game, it's very nice. Some of the textures and skins are a little bland, but later on when your town is full of moving and detailed objects and your Wii is lagging, you'll be glad there isn't more detail on stuff. So, very good for a WiiWare game.

Controls (9/10) -
You can use the Wii remote, or you can use other things like a Gamecube controller. I personally chose the Gamecube controller, as it has always been my favorite, and the controls worked very well. They were simple and quick to respond.

Sound (8/10) -
The sound is not bad here. Characters grunt and make small sounds, but there is no voice acting. This might be a good thing, since the file would be huge if they did this. The music isn't bad, and it's almost catchy, and luckily they have a few different tunes. Sound effects sound nice too.

Gameplay (9/10) -
The meat of the game, and luckily this is a well cooked steak. You send out adventurers to new area to kill bosses and get more building material, as well as to continue the story. They will also get new types of buildings and jobs, as well as materials for stronger weapons. You supply the adventurers with houses, jobs, weapons, and etc, and they bring you more materials and buildings. You have to keep managing your money to keep adventurers happy, to get more of them, and to keep them well equipped. I got very addicted to this game. Unfortunately, it does get a little repetitive, and the final boss is the most boring part of the game. Every day you send out your adventurers, and if they manage to reach the boss, they take a tiny bit of his HP away and get KOed. Luckily, the final boss doesn't heal, and luckily, he can't kill your adventurers. This isn't that great though. Your adventurers will never die, they'll just reach 0 HP and somehow walk back to town. There is no way to lose the game, and there is no punishment for sending them to a high level area that they can't handle yet. They'll just heal in 2 days and be back again. Other than this game having no bad consequences though, it's pretty dang fun! The only other problem I spotted was the amount of lag your Wii goes through near the end of the game. It's pretty bad.

Replay Value (8/10) -
The replay value of this game is very good. In fact, this is one of the only games I ever played over again. It's addicting, and when you win, your new game plus allows you to chose harder difficulties. This means more areas and buildings! The only problem is that the game stays exactly the same otherwise, and is still repetitive, but if you enjoyed the game, you might not mind playing more. Also, downloadable content (ranging from 100-800 Wii points) extends the game even more!

Overall (9/10) -
A Great Game. An okay story, great gameplay, nice graphics, good controls, enjoyable sounds, and a very good replay value bring this game to the top of the WiiWare game charts.

Rent or Buy?
You cannot rent this game unfortunately, but if you're into simulators like SimCity, or you enjoy the Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles universe, I would get the game. It's only $15, and I could find a lot worse games that cost more than triple that price. Buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/09

Game Release: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (US, 05/12/08)