final fantasy crystal chronicles Options

[Alisha]

did anyone else get this i picked it up tuesday and so far i love it and have about 20 hours so far a lot of magazines try to say single player is boring but i disagree ive been having a blast in single player it plays like the secret of mana games but its a lot better than legend of mana and the more i play it the more i wish i had more gba's to play multiplayer

[HC82]

My overall review on multiplayer(we played for a long time too) It differs with some of the more positive reviews on the boards. I just saw the game as being a very solid multiplayer experience,

Played multi over at a friends house(4 peeps). IMO it doesn't compare to PSO online, but the degree of team work required is far more intense. The aspect of teamwork has it's pros and cons. The goal of farming areas and maximizing equipment is a lot of fun, and it being an overall new experience adds a lot too the game.

The teamwork required in some cases is just simple communication(ie. i have the gba map, he sees the treasure on gba, she sees the enemies on gba etc.). This may 'sound' cool, but IMO it's truely a burden having to yell out, "DUDE, you see any treasures on your gba, I wanna know if I should go up or down?" "Chill DUDE, I'm trying to swap my magic in my inventory." I'm all for relying on people, but in reality it's putting an uneeded burden on everyone and doesn't tap into the true nature of teamwork.

Relying on others strengths to benefit you and vice versa is part of teamwork, but the differing gba maps feel too forced to create a reliant nature with your memebers, whereas discussing strategy and calling out combo spells is much more fun. If people like the differing GBA maps, "yea!" for them. I think everyone should have a basic map.

I also dislike the bonus point goals. Some goals are just plain better then others and having to conform your playing style, which in turn can hurt the dynamics of teamwork just doesn't work. Example, Don't cast spells. Ummm...If my team members need to do a fusion or need a heal, I'm gonna cast a spell. If I choose not to cast a spell to get the bonus, it's hurting the team so I can benefit, yet if the game requires teamwork to survive, the very ideal of the hidden bonus contradicts its self. Also the dual aspects of competition and teamwork essential clash against themselves. "A house against it's self cannot stand." When we play together, we just give the right artifacts to whomever needs it the most, so trying to fight over the artifcats defeats the purpose of working together as a group to find all the goodies. I think the bonus should of been redone so it rewards teamwork and or how well you play an an individual, not "pick up items!!!"

The combat is much too simplistic for my tastes. I personally crave depth, but that also alienates other gamers, so I'm not going to hold it against the game. 3 hit timed combos with no variety or strategical implication are much too cliche and does very little to add to the reflex and coordinated nature that makes "twitch" games fun. PSO uses 3 hit timed combos as well, but changing them up, delaying them, and limiting their useage to effect stagger times adds more strategy to the situation.

At times, despite all the crap flying around on screen, your characters seem a bit too slow to truely become one with the "twitch" nature of these types of games. I'm not refering to their movements, but without a true defense manuver(ie.dash) that is easier to access, the intensity of the game is capped. I breathe twitch, so maybe for someone else it's just the right speed. I just don't like seeing an attack come at me, yet cause I was charging I can't move out of the way in time.

Boss battles are very cool, no complaint there.

The dungeons are straight foward at times, yet the puzzle designs keep you interested enough to continue onward. Nothing revoluationary, but done well enough that it can be fun in multi.

Overall the game in multi is enjoyable, but I'd much rather be playing Guardian Heros for the sega saturn in multiplayer. The fact that the overall game is a new experience for me is why i'm enjoying it.

People are going to like and dislike certain things that are the reverse of why I liked and disliked the game, but hey...what ever floats their boats. The game is very solid.