So, for the first time in years, I gathered up the Gameboy Advances and link cables, and sat down to play Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles with friends. And though I had beaten the game long, long ago, it was only as a single player, but this time, we did it together beginning to end.
And to be honest, I love the hell out of this game... but I'm less sure than ever exactly why. In going back to it, I was kind of shocked to find how simplistic things were. Spell fusion admittedly adds a bit of complexity into the mix, but for the most part the game largely consists of just plain constantly hitting things with your basic attack or spell. Even the equipment is a pretty simplistic list, with just a handful of different weapons/armors that are largely incremental upgrades (though some do admittedly give basic advantages to status effects and the like).
Not only that, the game brings with it plenty of annoyances. First and foremost is probably the bucket. Which I actually don't hate, but the game IS expecting one player to lug something around constantly. The bigger issue, though, is the downright frustrating way some levels are laid out. The big old wall is a real annoying one early on, in that you just plain can't see the paths as well as you should, which is lame. And in the ruined village of Tida, those stupid webs that need to be hit with fire catch you up WAY more than they should. The big one, though: that damn swamp level. Those walkways just plain aren't wide enough, and the tons of ghosts that need to be holy-ed to kill reasonably (the boss especially being a giant pain) just make the whole thing an exercise in frustration. So of course the best artifact drops in the game come from there. Oh, and I love the level, but Moschet Manor glitched on my group twice in a row in terms of not spawning the final chef (and trust me, we searched THOROUGHLY), so we didn't beat that one.
If I were to peg one thing that DOES make me love the game, though, it's the presentation.
Despite it showing its age to a very real degree in terms of complexity and some textures, I still really love the look of this game. And those openings where each level gives you a passage read before entering in really work well for me. Plus I like the way that for most of the game, the plot is subtly interwoven in the background. Though ultimately
The rest of my group rather correctly (IMO) pointed out that it kind of feels like stumbling into a Kingdom Hearts game right at the end there.
Oh, and the music is absolutely perfect and fits the game so, so well. To just give the one that always stuck with me rather than dumping a ton out there, the music from Veo Lu Sluice is just so, so good.
So yeah, any thoughts on this? What IS it that makes this game stick so well with me, and pretty much anyone I've ever discussed it with? Is it just that it's a nice, easy to get into co-op game? Because it admittedly was pretty cool when we became a battle hardened machine to beat the final boss, switching seamlessly between offense and healing/defense to deal with everything it throws at you (which is a pretty insane difficulty spike, btw. We actually COULDN'T reasonably beat it the first time we tried... and then realized we hadn't saved in a few hours, and there's no way to back out of a level once you hit the boss, so that kind of screwed us and seems like a bit of a design flaw). Does that feeling of claustrophobia brought about by the bucket system actually play well into the oppressive feeling many of the levels try to impose? Or does the simple system of using the Gameboy screens to add separate objectives and tactical advantages (maps, enemy info) add well to that feeling of diversity? (BTW, kind of sad that we never got a straightforward sequel that used a DS or 3DS to hook up to a console version for a similar yet different experience).
Also, how would you guys say the followups compare, especially as multiplayer experiences? I played the first DS sequel (but solo the whole time), but I haven't touched the second sequel, nor the spinoffs. Is there anything out there that really scratches the same itch? (Kind of Monster Hunter I guess, but that feels kind of different somehow. I do love the hell out of that series, though).
Oh, and holy crap does ye olde wagon Mario Kart suck hard as a minigame. Gave it a try for the first time, and my friends and I couldn't find a way to back out, so we had to play a whole match. And that is one hell of crappy minigame to shoehorn in. Like, "ever want to play a crummy, super slow kart racer? No? Well too bad, we made it anyway!"
tldr: I still really love this game, but it's kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what makes it feel like such a standout experience for me.
And to be honest, I love the hell out of this game... but I'm less sure than ever exactly why. In going back to it, I was kind of shocked to find how simplistic things were. Spell fusion admittedly adds a bit of complexity into the mix, but for the most part the game largely consists of just plain constantly hitting things with your basic attack or spell. Even the equipment is a pretty simplistic list, with just a handful of different weapons/armors that are largely incremental upgrades (though some do admittedly give basic advantages to status effects and the like).
Not only that, the game brings with it plenty of annoyances. First and foremost is probably the bucket. Which I actually don't hate, but the game IS expecting one player to lug something around constantly. The bigger issue, though, is the downright frustrating way some levels are laid out. The big old wall is a real annoying one early on, in that you just plain can't see the paths as well as you should, which is lame. And in the ruined village of Tida, those stupid webs that need to be hit with fire catch you up WAY more than they should. The big one, though: that damn swamp level. Those walkways just plain aren't wide enough, and the tons of ghosts that need to be holy-ed to kill reasonably (the boss especially being a giant pain) just make the whole thing an exercise in frustration. So of course the best artifact drops in the game come from there. Oh, and I love the level, but Moschet Manor glitched on my group twice in a row in terms of not spawning the final chef (and trust me, we searched THOROUGHLY), so we didn't beat that one.
If I were to peg one thing that DOES make me love the game, though, it's the presentation.
Despite it showing its age to a very real degree in terms of complexity and some textures, I still really love the look of this game. And those openings where each level gives you a passage read before entering in really work well for me. Plus I like the way that for most of the game, the plot is subtly interwoven in the background. Though ultimately
I had forgotten how heavy handed the game got in the finale. Like, it's a pretty damn long stream of the game giving you direct dialogue drilling in "did you get that this game is about memories? Huh? Huh?"
Oh, and the music is absolutely perfect and fits the game so, so well. To just give the one that always stuck with me rather than dumping a ton out there, the music from Veo Lu Sluice is just so, so good.
So yeah, any thoughts on this? What IS it that makes this game stick so well with me, and pretty much anyone I've ever discussed it with? Is it just that it's a nice, easy to get into co-op game? Because it admittedly was pretty cool when we became a battle hardened machine to beat the final boss, switching seamlessly between offense and healing/defense to deal with everything it throws at you (which is a pretty insane difficulty spike, btw. We actually COULDN'T reasonably beat it the first time we tried... and then realized we hadn't saved in a few hours, and there's no way to back out of a level once you hit the boss, so that kind of screwed us and seems like a bit of a design flaw). Does that feeling of claustrophobia brought about by the bucket system actually play well into the oppressive feeling many of the levels try to impose? Or does the simple system of using the Gameboy screens to add separate objectives and tactical advantages (maps, enemy info) add well to that feeling of diversity? (BTW, kind of sad that we never got a straightforward sequel that used a DS or 3DS to hook up to a console version for a similar yet different experience).
Also, how would you guys say the followups compare, especially as multiplayer experiences? I played the first DS sequel (but solo the whole time), but I haven't touched the second sequel, nor the spinoffs. Is there anything out there that really scratches the same itch? (Kind of Monster Hunter I guess, but that feels kind of different somehow. I do love the hell out of that series, though).
Oh, and holy crap does ye olde wagon Mario Kart suck hard as a minigame. Gave it a try for the first time, and my friends and I couldn't find a way to back out, so we had to play a whole match. And that is one hell of crappy minigame to shoehorn in. Like, "ever want to play a crummy, super slow kart racer? No? Well too bad, we made it anyway!"
tldr: I still really love this game, but it's kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what makes it feel like such a standout experience for me.
It's just a very warm-feeling game, from its artstyle to the folksy soundtrack. I hope Square revisits the franchise on Switch.
