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chuckroI’ve also played the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles recently, and the first DS sequel Ring of Fates a few years ago.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is an action/adventure rpg with 3/4-view that plays very similarly to FFCC: Ring of Fates (complete with problematic platforming). The engine seems pretty much identical, though they've changed the magic system to use MP instead of single-shot spell orbs, and you can now gain experience for your weapons (each weapon can gain levels) and each magic type (you collect orbs that level up each type of magic).
The economy of locales is a little annoying: You need to revisit the first three dungeons at least once, going through all of the same areas, though some of the puzzles change. Also, those same dungeons are used for the "quest" mini-games, in which you need to search them for hidden treasure, or lead a lost cow through them, or defeat a certain number of monsters in them. (The fact that they look very much like the areas from Ring of Fates makes it seem all the more repetitive.) There also aren’t that many different monsters, even when accounting for palette-swaps and undead versions.
There are several puzzles that really seem like they were designed for multiplayer, because they're incredibly frustrating to do by yourself but would obviously not be if you had a second person. You can—and should—add NPCs to your team, but while they're decent in combat and not prone to messing up puzzles you're trying to solve, their pathfinding is problematic and they are useless for actually solving those puzzles. They won't even stand on switches and stay put. Also, I've had a bunch of cases where I'm not sure if I'm solving a puzzle the way I'm supposed to (and it really is that annoyingly picayune) or I'm missing something that would make it simpler. That, and I’m pretty sure that I actually short-circuited a couple of puzzles using the double-jump ability of Selkie characters.
While most of the NPCs are generic characters you create at the guild, there are bonus characters you can recruit when you’ve passed certain milestones, such as unlocking a certain number of scratch cards or playing on Very Hard mode. There's a bonus character you meet in the first half-hour who won't join you until you've logged 100 hours of play time. While I enjoyed the game, I have a sneaking suspicion I won't ever be recruiting that guy.
The game has a cute little riddle of a plot, but the fact that the hero is an "insert name here" rather than a specific character undermines that for me. I preferred the established characters of Yuri and Chelinka in the previous game.
If anyone I know buys this game, please let me know, because I want to try the multiplayer quests. Many of them look like fun.
Overall, I enjoyed this game and thought was fun, but nothing particularly stood-out as brilliance or a big advance in video gaming. It’s a copycat sequel to Ring of Fates with a bunch of features added, and if you liked one, you’ll like the other.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is an action/adventure rpg with 3/4-view that plays very similarly to FFCC: Ring of Fates (complete with problematic platforming). The engine seems pretty much identical, though they've changed the magic system to use MP instead of single-shot spell orbs, and you can now gain experience for your weapons (each weapon can gain levels) and each magic type (you collect orbs that level up each type of magic).
The economy of locales is a little annoying: You need to revisit the first three dungeons at least once, going through all of the same areas, though some of the puzzles change. Also, those same dungeons are used for the "quest" mini-games, in which you need to search them for hidden treasure, or lead a lost cow through them, or defeat a certain number of monsters in them. (The fact that they look very much like the areas from Ring of Fates makes it seem all the more repetitive.) There also aren’t that many different monsters, even when accounting for palette-swaps and undead versions.
There are several puzzles that really seem like they were designed for multiplayer, because they're incredibly frustrating to do by yourself but would obviously not be if you had a second person. You can—and should—add NPCs to your team, but while they're decent in combat and not prone to messing up puzzles you're trying to solve, their pathfinding is problematic and they are useless for actually solving those puzzles. They won't even stand on switches and stay put. Also, I've had a bunch of cases where I'm not sure if I'm solving a puzzle the way I'm supposed to (and it really is that annoyingly picayune) or I'm missing something that would make it simpler. That, and I’m pretty sure that I actually short-circuited a couple of puzzles using the double-jump ability of Selkie characters.
While most of the NPCs are generic characters you create at the guild, there are bonus characters you can recruit when you’ve passed certain milestones, such as unlocking a certain number of scratch cards or playing on Very Hard mode. There's a bonus character you meet in the first half-hour who won't join you until you've logged 100 hours of play time. While I enjoyed the game, I have a sneaking suspicion I won't ever be recruiting that guy.
The game has a cute little riddle of a plot, but the fact that the hero is an "insert name here" rather than a specific character undermines that for me. I preferred the established characters of Yuri and Chelinka in the previous game.
If anyone I know buys this game, please let me know, because I want to try the multiplayer quests. Many of them look like fun.
Overall, I enjoyed this game and thought was fun, but nothing particularly stood-out as brilliance or a big advance in video gaming. It’s a copycat sequel to Ring of Fates with a bunch of features added, and if you liked one, you’ll like the other.
