Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Review
By Ben Salter
NOTE: This is a review of both the Wii and DS version as they are essentially the same game. Check out our Wii Review as they have scored differently.
Connectivity between the Wii and the DS is an interesting concept, and one that I’m keen to see more of. While Nintendo is dominating in both the home console and handheld arena, now seems like the best time to truly take advantage of connectivity between the two platforms. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time on the Wii and DS once again attempts to connect the two together, as past titles in the series have tried to do. While the Wii version is in shambles the DS incarnation of Echoes of Time has a lot more to offer. The Crystal Chronicles games have always been about team play, so how does this fair online, offline and between two consoles?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time on the DS is a great game on its own, while the Wii is less than stellar. If you’re looking for a superb old school dungeon crawler Echoes of Time on the DS is worth a look. If you’re looking for a Wii game, you may want to wait for the true Crystal Chronicles title The Crystal Bearers later down the track. The Wii version is clearly just a DS port with a Wii logo slapped onto it. You may think that ‘straight forward port’ is a bit of an exaggeration, as handheld to console seems like a strange choice, but that’s exactly what it is. The Wii version is essentially the DS version, with some minor changes such as tacked on Wii Controls and a strange layout. Square Enix has decided to include the DS’s touchscreen combat menu to the side of the Wii’s main combat screen, rather than adapting it to suit the console. The Wii’s motion controls are mainly used for inputs on the right menu screen (replacing the DS’s stylus), which is disappointing to say the least. To be honest this game is only on Wii to experiment Wii to DS connectivity. In that right it's successful, but as a game on it's own Echoes of Time on Wii is hard to justify.
You begin your quest by choosing a character from one of four different races: the sword-carrying Clavats, the spell-casting Yukes, the jumping Seklies or the long-distance Lilties. On the eve of your 16th birthday you set off for your coming-of-age quest in the forest that borders the village. This acts as a tutorial to introduce you to basic combat. Each character has a stock move, determined by the race and weapon type which will guide you through the first few dungeons. Later on it becomes more important to combine these attacks with jumps and lifts as well as magic. Right from the offset you can run into the first town and add a group of allies to fight along side you. If you want four mages, go for it, or perhaps a mix of everything; whatever you want it’s available from the get go.
The core gameplay is the same regardless of which version you play. The intuitive combat system from the previous FFCC games is back, with some slight changes to magic use. The orbs to refill your magic stocks are gone and have been replaced with a more familiar MP bar system that is refilled with potions. Echoes of Time also introduces a much more involved item synthesis system. When you defeat enemies they will drop raw materials which can be combined to form a diverse range of objects as long as you have the scrolls with the information on how to piece them together. Echoes of Time does what its predecessor, Ring of Fates on DS, did not. Rather than overload the player with story it goes back to the dungeon crawling elements that has made the series so successful. While this is at the expense of story quality the improvements to the core gameplay more than make up for this.
It’s clear that
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is meant to be played as a multiplayer game. It’s the first Nintendo game to allow online play between two consoles (Wii and DS owners can play online together), and also offers local play between a Wii and several DS’s or just four DS players. Connecting systems is easy, as is playing online. Unfortunately no voice chat was included, but the text based chat system is a decent substitute. The game uses an invite or visit system and requires one player to be the host. If using a Wii, then that player must host the session as they have no option to visit in local play. If you want to play co-op with two Wii consoles this must be done online. The drop-in system works smoothly and that ability to carry or even playfully fight with your team mates is a nice touch and introduces an element of humour.
Unfortunately the AI when playing alone comes nowhere near matching playing with mates. They don’t heal themselves; pick up items or even attack if you don’t command them directly. If you want to heal characters, or give them an item to use then you must switch to them via the touch screen (or right screen on Wii) to do it yourself. This is almost impossible to do in the heat of battle and makes simple tasks frustrating. While you can work though this Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is best played with at least one other human player if not three.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is presented in full 3D and looks fantastic on the DS. The vibrant character models combined with fantastic animations makes this one of the best looking games on the system. This obviously depends on what console you are playing on, as it looks terrible for a Wii game. The game feels at home on the DS, it looks better, and controls almost perfectly with the use of the touch screen as a menu, while the action takes place on the top screen. The same can not be said for the Wii version, as the Wii Remote’s IR pointing control becomes more of an annoyance. Each screen can be increased or decreased in size with the + and – buttons, and while this is a nice touch the whole system works much better on the DS.
The orchestrated music and voiceovers are top notch on DS, while perhaps a little below par for what is expected from a Wii title. The overall presentation reigns supreme on the DS with better controls, visuals and sound quality. Despite being the same game (with the exception of the DS having the better controls) the respective platforms must be taken into account, and this just isn’t good enough for a Wii game.
The Final Verdict
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is a fantastic dungeon crawler on the DS, and one of the best on a system that has a wealth of RPG’s and for that matter Final Fantasy games. It’s one of the best multiplayer experiences available both on and offline, and the console connectivity is great. While porting a DS game to Wii is a shoddy attempt at best it’s still one of the best online multiplayer games for both platforms, and a solid experience on Wii if you can look past the control and visual flaws if you have no access to a DS. The touch controls and two screen presentation works fantastic on DS, while it’s a let down on the Wii as the tacked on IR control just doesn’t work with the two screen system as it should. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time looks great for a DS game, it sounds great for a DS game and should be played on the DS.
Gameplay
8.5/10
Echoes of Time is a great Dungeon crawler and one of the best in the Crystal Chronicles series to date. The touch controls work fantastically with the intuitive battle system and make this a must have for any portable Final Fantasy fan.
Graphics
9.0/10
The Crystal Chronicles games always look suburb, and this is no exception. The vibrant character models and open 3D worlds make this one of the best looking games on the system.
Sound
9.0/10
The orchestrated music and voiceovers are a joy to listen to.
Value
8.5/10
Multiplayer is how Echoes of Time is meant to be played, but the single player still offers a decent experience. It’s one of the best console to handheld connected games yet and online is a treat.
Overall
8.6/10
Submitted by ICC_06
21/04/2009
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