[Review] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition

About 17 years ago, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was released on GameCube. It was the first Final Fantasy title on a Nintendo console after Final Fantasy VI on the Super Nintendo. The game was characterized by the focus on multiplayer. At the time, that was local multiplayer which felt quite forced in combination with the Gameboy Advance. One thing was clear in the development of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition: multiplayer had to be made more accessible. You can read in this review whether that succeeded and whether Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is still a fun game in this time.

The story

For those who don’t know the original, let’s take a look back at the story that this Final Fantasy title is all about. The world is threatened by a perilous mist called miasma. The mist is so deadly that it is not just a matter of holding your breath and running away, but luckily there is a solution: the myrrh. Each town has a large crystal that can keep the miasma away from the inhabited area, but it won’t last forever. That is why you will have to add more myrrh to this crystal every year and that is also what the game is all about: your goal is to look for myrrh, which you do by going out with your caravan to enter different dungeons. . In all these dungeons there is a crystal tree from which you have to collect a drop of myrrh.

An adventure full of dungeons

The game is divided into different instance dungeons and towns that you can navigate to. You can navigate this by placing your caravan in the world map on the different logos of the towns and dungeons. If you do this you will be taken to the instance. It’s a unique style of gameplay and something I thought was appropriate for the atmosphere that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles wants to create. You feel like you are reading a very old book, while you are playing with the protagonists of that book themselves.

You can choose from a series of “protagonists”, each with their own advantages. You have the Clavat, who are balanced in what they can do, the Selkie, this breed has the advantage of being very fast, the Lilty, a breed that is physically very strong but cannot handle magic and finally you have the Yukes which are the opposite of the Lilty’s. In addition to the choice of a variety, you also get a choice of 5 different dolls per variety. This allows you to customize the protagonist a bit.

Unlike towns where you can walk around without dying thanks to the crystal, this is not possible in the dungeons. For this you have a special cup that keeps the poisonous miasma at a distance in a certain radius. When playing alone, it is carried by a cute moogle that moves with the player. You don’t have to worry about the location of the cup. Do you play together? Then a player must keep the cup with him to protect everyone.

Besides the dangerous miasma, there are also a whole slew of monsters that are only too happy to make your life miserable. It is useful if you defeat these, as they can drop powerful spells and various items. However, they do not give an exp, as a character’s progress is determined by different “relics” found at the end of each dungeon. This is not bad, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has never positioned itself as a classic RPG.

After defeating the final boss of a dungeon (who always have completely different mechanics at their disposal), you get a screen where the players can choose a relic. These relics give you permanent buffs that give you: + 1 / + 2 strength / magic / defense or an extra heart. In addition to these relics, you also get what you ultimately came for: the drop of myrrh to fill your cup. Only your cup is not filled after 1 drop, but only after 3 drops. When the cup is full, you can go back to your town and clear the crystal, which will keep the town safe from the harmful miasma for another year. This also means that you go to the next year within the game, which opens up new dungeons and roads for you.

There are also often events when you end up at an intersection. These events are videos that each play with their own group of characters. This can be anything from buying another caravan to being almost attacked by a gang of thieves. Gameplay-wise, however, this adds little and the events are completely random. However, you will be better taken into the story and you will get to know the different characters.

Multiplayer

Currently, multiplayer is both one of the pluses and minuses of the game. First of all, the online multiplayer works surprisingly well. The people you meet online work well together, alternate turns with who is holding the cup and help you with the progress of a dungeon. Communication is through a series of available comments that you can choose, which fit well with gameplay. You also have to communicate really well because in multiplayer there is no moogle present to hold your cup, you have to do this yourself.

The problem of multiplayer is particularly important when you get to the end of the dungeon and only 1 person gets the drop from myrrh. This is still acceptable if you are trying to finish the game with two people, but it gets annoying if you want to finish the game with four players. This means that you have to play a dungeon 4 times so that all members of your party have their own drop. You need this drop to continue with the main story.

A game that makes you happy

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is a remaster of quite an old game and luckily the graphics have had a good makeover. Of course you sometimes see some less beautiful textures and characters are sometimes not too detailed, but in general the game looks very good on the Switch. The world is colorful and generally looks sharp, and the game also runs fine. However, the highlight in the audiovisual field is clearly the sound. The original was already known for its beautiful soundtrack and wonderful music, that is again the case. The music will even make you happy! Films are largely recorded and the voice acting is fine. It is a pity that the music is always the same in boss fights, but otherwise there is little to nothing to criticize.

Conclusion

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is and will remain a part of the series in its own right, and is not a full-fledged RPG. Still, it can be said that the remaster is very successful. Not only in the audiovisual field, but also in terms of multiplayer, which is now a lot more accessible. It’s nice to relive the game, and continue playing the many dungeons online now. For 30 euros you get a very nice multiplayer experience with this!

Final grade: 8.0