"Well, I don't normally like Final Fantasy Games, BUT..."

Just to let you know, I'm not a fan of turn based battling. I don't like most Final fantasy games, but I did like FFCC on the gamecube a BIT. I'll be very short and snappy in this review.

Graphics 9/10
Outstanding for the DS. The opening cinematic is beautiful. The graphics really are great and consistent, each weapon and piece of armour has nice unique detail. However, the framerate can slow down quite a bit at times (especially during hectic boss fights) - unless my DS lite is just strange.

Music 8/10
It can be expected that a Final Fantasy game will have nice music, I'll accept that most final fantasy games do have this. And the music in this game is very nice, if somewhat repetitive (You'll notice that most boss fights feature the same music)

Story 10/10
The story is great. Best story for a game I have ever seen on the DS. Zelda and Mario games are normally: Bad guy's got princess, go save her. This game really has a marvellous story, and it can be very complicated at times if you don't read most of the text. But the story is very gripping, and you'll be looking forward to the next cutscene to see what the spooky villain does next, and what's in store for your party. With death, pain, friendship, and love, the story is amazing.

Gameplay 9/10
You'll love this game if you liked FFCC on the gamecube, and you'll be happy to see no chalice, and no MIASMA. UGH. You can go wherever you like without holding the chalice. It also feels great to jump onto things, climb, pick things up, throw them, stack things, pick up your friends, throw them etc. There really is a way to get nearlly everywhere, if you just use your head. There are many shortcuts if you look at it that way. The Combat is great, with combos, hidden moves, and techniques that your characters learn as they progress, and special tribe abilities such as creating magicites& stronger hits. Magicites are similar to how they worked in FFCC on the gamecube, and you can combine them to get all sorts of combinations by having each party member use a different magicite and use them on the same spot. But anyway, yeah, seriously, get this game.

Overall Verdict: 9/10
Buy this game. Now.
Completely better than FF3 DS, and FFCC on the gamecube.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/08

Game Release: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (US, 03/11/08)