"FFCC:RoF... Could It Be Better?"

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates... Could it Be Better?
By SaniSaniChan (Gamefaqs)

So. Yet another great FFCC game has been released, this time on the Nintendo DS. One would think that it would be slightly better than it really was, but it did live up to its expectations? Yes and no. Modern games are expected to have smooth graphics, a requirement which RoF only partially met (the opening sequence was absolutely wonderful; the storyline could've been better), but this was made up for by the fact that the storyline was excellent and some of the most important cutscenes were punctuated by the characters' voices, which I do not believe has happened in a Crystal Chronicles game before.

Being way too short, the storyline centered itself around a set of twins. The oldest, a girl by the name of Chelinka, wields the power of a crystal and is extremely important to the storyline, though you never actually get to use her abilities during battle directly (according to several FAQs across the world wide web, this could be partially false during one particular boss battle; I can neither confirm nor deny this). In short, Chelinka never actually gets to be the leader. The younger twin, a boy named Yuri, is the main character in the game and is the only character you can always control. The complex storyline involved a plot to overtake the throne, a Crystal Temple gone corrupt, and plenty of mysterious magic and spells; all of that wonderful Final Fantasy stuff.

Besides Yuri and Chelinka, there are several other sub-main characters (on the 'good' side): Alhanalem, a Yuke who teaches Yuri and Chelinka magic as children; Meeth, a Lilty who teaches (I believe) combat to them as children; and Gnash, an illiterate Selkie your party meets in the forest later in the game (who seems to always be hungry, and most likely speaks with animals). The 'evil' side in this game consists of a corrupt Yuke advisor (who, as far as I can tell, might possibly be the next character mentioned) who stole Alhanalem's name, a high figure within the Crystal Temple named Cu Chaspel, the leader of the Temple, and all those within the Crystal Temple itself (I believe, in this game, that the official term for evil is 'moontouched').

Anyhow, the storyline would recieve full marks from me. The in-game graphics I would give a 9/10; they could be better, but you can see the equipment you put on your characters and no pixels, or character 'pieces' (AKA my term for being able to see through a character, part of a character, split in half in some areas or while looking at him/her from some points of view, etc.) are visible.

As for the battle system? It is very in-game, using none of that (ahem) crap that was in the Game Boy Advance versions. You can take control of one character at a time and use their unique abilities (Clavics have offensive sword lunging techniques, Selkies the same but with arrows, Lilties can do many unique things with urns, and Yukes use 'magic thread' to solve puzzles and advance further through areas and dungeons). Instead of turn-based systems, the battle simulation is a tiny bit more realistic (despite giant metal scorpions and such attacking you), as it uses timing--sort of like the Legend of Zelda games, if you can't see where I'm getting at yet. The weapons, armor, etc. that you use also makes a visible difference in your stats and how well you can defeat a monster. Overall, I would rate the battle system 10/10--a rating even Zelda's Twilight Princess wouldn't get from me. So, go Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles!

A few extra notes:

I absolutely loved the voice casting for the main characters--especially Chelinka. Maybe I'm just way too easily entertained, or something... but it was really great. Also, the spell casting system was really great; in my opinion, it was better than the original Crystal Chronicles (for the GameCube). The way it 'leans' into that version was really great, also; the "monster crab" secret boss on the Hard and Very Hard levels (available after you beat the game and the Very Hard version after you beat the Hard level). The dungeon it resided in has "poison air" (as it was stated in many FAQs), AKA miasma in the original GameCube version, which is really great (and accurate)--not to mention that a Lilty urn can be used to ward off the 'miasma' (similar to the crystal carrier/caravan).

Overall? I really do reccommend this game. So it's not the longest; so its graphics aren't the very best. But Final Fantasy really is the best kind of fantasy/battle game, and the storyline makes up for most of its faults and flaws. I give it an overall 9/10; this is one of the best DS games yet.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/08

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