DS: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
The game releases in the US tomorrow, March 11, and it looks like it's getting fairly good reviews.
I was reminded of this old thread asking for multiplayer dungeon hack type games here: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/36681
A few places are calling it an excellent dungeon crawler with good loot drops.
You can check out some trailers for yourself here:
http://www.gametrailers.com/game/3921.html
I think it looks excellent for a game on the DS, and your outward appearance changes with the equipment you pick up and equip, which is not standard on RPGs for the DS. The high pitched voices bug me a bit, but I deal with it in Zelda without too many issues so I don't think it would be a major issue.
IGN had some nice things to say about it as well:
There's an incredible amount of depth in combat, with the ability to combo, air attack, grab enemies, hang from flying enemies, grab other players, use touch-integrated specials, and even smash baddies into walls to find hidden items they wouldn't normally drop. When working with a team (it's still Crystal Chronicles, so even when you're playing this one alone you can have a squad up to four on the screen at once) you can stack magic attacks, pull AI players back to your spot instantly, and manage their gear and levels accordingly.
And finally this in regard to multiplayer (the #1 reason I'm interested)
Those looking to pick Crystal Chronicles up for the classic multiplayer experience won't be disappointed, but you might not get exactly what you expect. For starters, the game takes a noticeable hit with four players on screen, dropping to about 15 frames per second (or far less, in some specific instances) just to keep up with all the character and enemy animation. It's far from perfect, but if you can get over some lag issues, it's still extremely fun. Since the game is multi-card only, you've got access to the full Crystal Chronicles experience, so you'll create your character, choose his class and stats, and save your items and equipment as you play. You can grab a few friends and traverse any area in Free Mode, or actually head to Rebena Te Ra and get multiplayer quests, which lead to special items and equipment. In fact, each of these quests are actually built around having a specific group of players (and classes), making teamwork essential, and giving the experience a great Four Swords feel along the way. It's really a shame that the frame rate couldn't be locked down, as it really makes what could have been a simply incredible experience one that's a bit less inviting. Along those same lines, we can't help but wonder why Square Enix won't take that final step into online, as nearly every DS launch so far makes use of some online modes, but never the ones we'd kill to get. This is again the case with Crystal Chronicles.
Just remember that it's local multiplayer only; No online co-op.
Xbox live:Scaphism
Like a good curry, they burned me twice. - ApplepieChamploo
Well, that's kind of poopy. Ahh well, I imagine the framerate problem would be even worse on online co-op anyway.
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
No online co-op? WTH. Wasn't this one of the titles Nintendo was originally touting for their DS internet WiFi service?
This went from a "maybe buy" to a "no buy". If I want this game solo, I've got Monster Hunter Freedom 2 on the PSP.
Looks like there is some copy protection incorporated in the game. And a quite clever one, it seems. Nice.
You can't take the sky from me.
Local multiplayer is enough for me but it's not a day one purchase either. Obviously wi-fi multiplayer would be better.
Xbox live:Scaphism
Like a good curry, they burned me twice. - ApplepieChamploo
I picked it up, and played to the first save point. I'm liking it. Coming on top of Revenent Wings this seems so much more kinetic. Cute factor is dialed up to 4000, but it's not quite as ick making as the Gamecube due to the limitations of the hardware. I do miss the character choices from the Gamecube version (that little Clavat girl already annoys the living daylights out of me), and I haven't learned how to deal with magic yet. We'll see how this goes.
Duoae wrote:
This scared me. But it looks like it's totally transparent. Whew.
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
I wish this was on PSP I look at the screenshots and cringe. I liked the gamecube version, but I only played it with 2 other people.
PSN ID: Stric9
I've had enough time to drop about an hour into the game, and it feels like a fairly standard action dungeon crawl, with all the normal Square polish. I haven't gotten to the magic system yet, which seems to be a bit deeper in this game than the GC version. I think I'll be pretty satisfied with it.
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
I've played about 3.5 hours of the single player and so far I give it a serious thumbs up.
The story is meh and the kiddie voices are annoying, but those fade (the kids age). The fact that they have voice acting (decent after they drop the kiddie voices) is surprisingly cool.
Combat is where the game shines. I'm getting a very good Secret of Mana/Zelda vibe. The game looks a lot like Ocarina of Time, on a small screen. In other words, it looks fantastic and plays well.
I'm still at the beginner stages so puzzles are fairly rudimentary - hit this block, shoot that target, but so far it's a lot of fun.
Combat is pretty damn cool as well. It's all real time, it controls how you want it to and I can see how collecting materials to craft with could be a lot of fun - you get a lot of loot, and the equipment you craft actually appears on your character. I'm currently wearing some dopey sailor-style hats and I can't wait to get something that looks better.
I'm not sure what else to say. I hope to try multiplayer soon and I'll let you guys know how it works out. In the meantime, I'd say it feels like an excellent Zelda game that lets you switch between characters in your party to access different abilities rather than switching weapons. I enjoyed Phantom Hourglass but somehow it didn't feel charming - they made the touchscreen controls work really well, but I didn't enjoy going to or fighting through locations very much. So far FF: CC: RoF (enough abbreviations?) has been excellent in that regard.
Last note: I haven't totally gotten the hang of it, but magic seems fairly simple. The touchscreen is an inventory system - you tap an icon to select which item you want to be your "Active" item - Fire, Ice, Thunder, Heal, Revive, Potion, etc... and it's also used to switch between members of your party. You cast magic by holding down the X button and "charging up," which creates a target icon underneath you. You move the icon to your target, where you can release the spell or "lock on" to the target while you roam freely. You can double up (cast the same spell on the target twice) and when you get more party members you can have them all cast a spell (the same spell, e.g. Fire x2 = Fira) on the target. I haven't messed around with combining different elements to see what happens. I hate standing still which gives monsters a chance to hit me, so I tend to use normal attacks more often. Still, it seems to work pretty well and would probably be even more fun in multiplayer.
In short: Story is silly (but appears to be improving), Combat is great, Graphics(characters and environments) are great, Sound is fantastic, and I'm getting a very good vibe going forward.
Xbox live:Scaphism
Like a good curry, they burned me twice. - ApplepieChamploo
Update: The story is pretty standard fare (not noteworthy) but the dialogue is horrid. Nearly everyone on your party has a speech impediment where they are forced to talk like a moron.
Gameplay is fantastic. Each character gains new abilities as they level up, from charge attacks to blocks to counter attacks and being able to multi-cast a spell. It is a lot of fun, and I imagine in multiplayer you wouldn't have to deal with Team Speech Impediment at all.
As for challenge, it falls a bit on the easy side for me. I guess they're trying to make it approachable for a broad audience, but I really wish there was some kind of hard mode.
The AI of your teammates is not very good - they tend to stand around a lot while you fight, but you don't really need them to do much besides not getting their asses handed to them (which they generally succeed at). Monsters try and target the character that you're actively controlling.
I'd recommend it for purchase, or if not, definitely for rental.
Xbox live:Scaphism
Like a good curry, they burned me twice. - ApplepieChamploo
Well I finished the game, and my impression remains positive.
Apparently there are New Game+ and New Game++ modes, so I may check those out as well.
The mechanics on this are pretty solid. Each party member plays differently and seeing their appearance change as they get new equipment is enjoyable. I hope it gets even better in New Game+ mode, but I don't know yet.
The story is better left forgotten.
I wish I had some multiplayer impressions but I don't know anyone else who has the game locally.
It took me 14+ hours to beat but I got stuck on the penultimate dungeon for a while, so I went around in circles killing everything and grabbing more loot.
Xbox live:Scaphism
Like a good curry, they burned me twice. - ApplepieChamploo
I'm probably going to get lynched for this, but I'm not enjoying this game. I've played for 13 hours and I'm ready to trade it in for something less frustrating. My major complaints are:
1. All the jumping and the total lack of control over the camera angle that, could you change it, might enable you to see where you are jumping to.
2. Unclear instructions regarding Tribe abilities. I got killed a lot before I figured those out.
3. Watching the other characters die quickly while you fight everything yourself. The stackable rings could be useful if the enemy would be so kind as to stand still while I prepared to kill them. They never do though. They just hack away until I die trying to stack rings and then kill the rest of the party.
4. Spending an hour to get somewhere, only for number three in this list to happen again and then get sent back to the last save point so I can do it all over again. Not fun (unless wanting to pitch a fit and throw something counts as fun).
I'd like to finish this game, but I probably won't.
Between the swearing and complaining I've managed in the 13 hours of game play I've invested, I think I've just discovered that I'm too immature for video games.
LilCodger wrote: