Announced at half of the decade, its release date was not until the end of it. I did refer to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. Some of you will remember even small clavata, which has been shown during a preview at E3 2006. Although the hero is still blond, he has come a long way. This game has been in development for nearly 5 years to finally reach the shelves December 26, 2009. For your pleasure, I made a point to analyze the contents of my 26 hours of gameplay for those who are strangers to the series Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, each episode is a common universe where four tribes meet. The Lilt, men plant species often associated with onions in bad jokes, the Selkies, physically close to humans but with surprising agility; The Yukes, which are armor animated by a soul and finally Clavats, which are humans very simple. Of course, the classic Final Fantasy bestiary are also always present, ranging from simple to Chocobo Behemoth and Tonberry. For fans of Moogles, they await you at every corner of the world as vendors and artisans.
The story takes place 1,000 years after the Great War, the Lilti became the dominant tribe and Yukes are endangered. We stand for Layla, the protagonist of the story, a “Crystal Bearer” who possesses the power of gravity. This power, which we use throughout the game and on which the whole gameplay is based, is very similar to telekinesis. Propelled into the heart of the matter in the first minutes, we are introduced to gambling by a multitude of mini-games and cutscenes that may confuse us more than each other. Our first fight is occurring after one or two hours of play, the feelings of the player will have very mixed record at this point. Especially if you have any expectations at the genus level, the game takes more the form of an experience of adventure and exploration rather than an action game or even a role play. Indeed, the main story short occupying only 6 to 10 hours of play, and this by counting every time you lose by trying your next destination will therefore not satisfy the hungriest of gamers and this is time that the word exploration makes sense. Scattered in every nook and cranny, challenges, mini-games and “Easter Egg” await you. Whether to find how to defeat the mighty Marlboro or to catch fish using our powers, we indicated that there are over three hundred secrets to find in the system of medals in the game himself, moreover takes the form of a charter or when we find one of his medals, clues are revealed to us on those adjacent.
It is also important to mention that the combat system is very … Orthodox? Each of these take the form of paintings called “Miasma Streams” that appear intermittently in the areas of exploration outside the cities. You are armed only with your powers and you have to use them and your environment. But hey, if only to find the medals mentioned earlier, throwing stones very quickly becomes boring. Fortunately, most battles can be skipped by leaving the area but at a price of not being able to explore the area without the influence of “Miasma”. For when you finish a battle, the area returns to normal, allowing you to explore it for a short duration until the “Miasma Stream appears again after few minutes. This can often be frustrating, I assure you … Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is still merit a passing grade, even if I almost launched my controller when I got the impression that the controls of mini-games were not working properly. If time permits, I would play well a second time just to see additional cinematics and quietly fun to discover the medals in the world spread out nicely. But beware, it’s a game that we learn to love and who gives a very mixed feeling in the early hours as I mentioned earlier.