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DS | RPG | Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

Boxart for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates 57 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.50
  • SOUND: 4.50
  • CONTROL: 3.00
  • FUN FACTOR 3.75
  • AVG USER SCORE 0.3
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.8

Hands-On: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

Hands-On by Dave Rudden | 05/17/2007 | 17:18:21 PM PST

The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series continues on the DS with Ring of Fates. Will this one Ring rule them all on the DS?

The original Crystal Chronicles had an engaging, unique concept but the lofty requirements needed to truly enjoy the game--a GameCube, four GBAs, four link cables, and most importantly, four players--doomed the title to a small audience. The logical move would be to gear the potential-filled series to a more popular system, and Square-Enix has followed logic. With a home on the DS, the second iteration of the teamwork-based Crystal Chronicles series has a greater install base and the development team will hopefully please them with new additions they say will address the original's ills.

The Chronic-WHAT-cles?

In addition to the logistical problems, the original Crystal Chronicles suffered from a problem common to multiplayer action RPGs--a lackluster single player mode. The team has said that they have addressed that problem with a more engaging single story on par with Square-Enix's strictly single-player ventures. The story, from what we can gather, is a much more focused affair that centers on a set of twins with magical powers and two friends who try to aid them in their adventures. Unfortunately, that means the ability to craft your own hero from scratch has been scrapped, but if the story can be made more engaging as a result, then it might not be such a bad trade-off.

It's a <i>sacred</i> bowling ball.

It's a sacred bowling ball.

While we couldn't judge the quality of the story in the all-Japanese build, we were able to get some quality time with the single-player demo. For what it's worth, the single player does seem a little more focused and enjoyable. The puzzles seemed to be suitable for a single to tackle, and the combat has been beefed up so that one person can pull off quite a few attacks. In addition to sword strikes and magic attacks, you can also pick up and throw objects, enemies, and allies. There was also a super-strike of sorts that utilized the touch screen. Choose the attack, then tap your enemy and your character will perform a homing attack on them. With that being the only gameplay-focused application of the touch screen we found alongside dull tasks like inventory and spell management, we hope the final product ends up taking more advantage of the DS' unique hardware. As it is, Ring of Fates is a nice evolution of the fun but flawed original Crystal Chronicles, but it could be on the the DS' best with a bit more interactivity.


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