"The best game for DS by far."

Let me start by saying this. I have never been big into DS games. They were just something to do when I had a few minutes spare time. This game has been a major exception. This is the only DS game that I have genuinely wanted to play for hours on end.

Who would like this game?
Everyone has their own tastes in games, right? Well this is no different. If you liked the first Crystal Chronicles game for Gamecube (an equally good game, but I wont go into that here), then you should love this one as well. It keeps some of the same elements, using the same 4 races and using magicite to cast your magic. Some of it is a lot different, but the general aspect of the game is the same.

Graphics: 10/10 (compared to other DS games)
The graphics of this game are amazing considering the simplicity of the DS. The game is, of coarse, in 3D. It also has some very pleasing scenes. I've found that many of the characters, enemies, and landscapes are very detailed. The only problem with the graphics is sometimes you can clearly make out the whole bitmap of the characters. This usually only happens in scenes, when they switch camera angles for effect. Otherwise, it's perfect.

Story: 9/10
The story wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either. The story went into great detail and was FULL of scenes. There were times when the story went on so long, you got tired of watching it. I consider this a good AND a bad thing. I mean, it's good that it has an interesting story that plays out nicely and is full of content. On the other hand, sometimes you just want to go and hack away at the enemies. Either way, it's not that hard to endure, and in the end it pays off.

Gameplay: 9.5/10
The best gameplay of the DS. It plays much differently than the other Final Fantasy games. Similar to Crystal Chronicles for Gamecube, you are free to walk about and hack away at enemies when you want. There's no turn based systems. In the single player mode, you can switch control between 4 different characters at any time you please. In the multiplayer mode, you control one single character of any race you please, while your friend may choose a character too. The gameplay also offered a good challenge. In the beginning, it feels a lot like they aren't really fighting back. It gets a bit more difficult towards the end of the game, then the enemies start to catch up to you.

The gameplay also offers a great replayability value. After you "beat" the main story mode for the first time, you can continue on in a harder difficulty. It's basically the game thing but harder. You can keep all your levels and items throughout this second play through. After you beat it a SECOND time, you can go for a third time. This is also the same game, but on a higher difficulty level. That gives you 3 playthroughs on one file. The game took me about 11 hours to complete the first playthrough, so right there you have 33 hours of play minimum (Assuming you spend all 11 hours on the other times through).

If you were a fan of FF:CC for gamecube, you may be sad (some might be happy) to hear the chalice has not made a return. This story takes place either before or after the miasma took over the planet(I can't tell because the stories don't seem to be connected, except for one moogle that was in the first). The exclusion of the chalice also creates some funky camera angles (the reason for the 9.5 is because of this). The camera puts itself in odd ways sometimes, and this can mess you up big time if in the middle of a fight. Before you could just put down the chalice and have the camera stay still on that one place, but now the camera tries to focus on the character you control at the time. But it also seems to try to anticipate what you're going to do (meaning you can see more in the direction you're facing, rather than having an equal space around your whole character). This sometimes helps when trying to hit targets far away, but it has also gotten me killed more times than one.

Multiplayer: 7/10
Basically, the multiplayer isn't just multiplayer. You have a choice to do multiplayer multiplayer and single player multiplayer. This is because the multiplayer mode differs a little from the main one. You only control one single character, but it can be from any gender of any of the four races. If you are playing with a friend, then it's still the same, but you're both there. It's kinda fun playing it with a friend. It isn't the same as the game before it, though. The multiplayer is a little less fun and makes me feel like something is missing. You don't play multiplayer if you want an interesting story, to say the least.

One major lacking feature is Wi-Fi play. The multiplayer mode must be played DS to DS, and can not go over Wi-Fi. This is a bit of a turn off, since it's not always convenient to have to be next to your friend to play a game that you both love. The Wi-Fi sticker on the box is somewhat of a hoax. The wifi play is just a trading system that lets you give some items to your friends. In my opinion, this is pointless. The game is simple enough so you shouldn't ever need to trade to get an item. It should be easy enough to come across it on your own.

Glitches in the game/Minor annoyances:
There are a few glitches in the game. Sometimes when you jump at an odd angle at a ledge, you go straight through the floor to a black nothingness. This doesn't effect the gameplay at all, as it resets you after a second or two, but it just gets to me sometimes.

The AI doesn't seem to know what to do sometimes. Your partners just sit there with a blank stare on their face as you're being comboed by an array of enemies. I've run into this a lot. They don't feel like helping you fight. Occasionally one might hit them with an arrow, but they wont do anything to actually kill them. Another AI problem is when your partner is on the other side of a ledge and he's trying to get to you, but he doesn't realize there's a ledge there. He will fall straight off into the black nothingness, or water, and take about 5% damage, and then will respawn on top of the ledge. At this point, instead of just stopping, he will do it again until he has 20 HP left. This is a problem a lot of the time when you're low on potions or other healing items.

When a boss dies, they drop about 20 different items for spoils. With some bosses, when they die, an obstacle is triggered (like a moving platform) and that covers your spoils. This just bothers me because I'm someone who likes to get everything in games, and even though you can get all of these items elsewhere, I can't stand not getting them. Similar problems happen when you kill a certain boss close to the ledge, and 1/2 the items go straight off and you can't get them.

Overall: 9/10
This game is great. In the question of "Rent or Buy", I would definitely buy this one, because if you're a true fan of the FFCC game, you will want to play it again. Though it isn't as good as the game before it, it offers a very pleasing story, fun gameplay, and a lot of replayability.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/08

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