Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for Wii Reviews by Gamers

When CC first came out for the gamecube I rushed out to buy the all the cables and whatever else I needed to play multiplayer. It was a great idea, but the multiplayer soon got old since you did the same areas over and over. Rings of fate had a story line, but the multiplayer had nothing to do with your storyline characters so it was also disappointing.

I was so excited to find that Echoes of Time allowed for multiplayer through the storyline.

However things turned sour after that. I could handle them just putting the ds version onto the wii with the odd double screen and scrolling background. I could handle that ds graphics were what you had to settle for on the wii. Every time I go to pick something up or cast a spell I have to think about the controls they aren't intuitive to say the least. On top of that there are parts that are almost impossible (I felt like throwing my wii out a window) without a 2nd player to help. The AI is laughable your party will often run into spikes/ pits/ lava and they're not terribly helpful when fighting monsters. I often find my party standing around one monster while I am the only one beating the tar out of it.

I have 3 friends with DS-s who would gladly play with me, but each of them have to have the DS version of the game! I should have seen that comming since Rings of Fate also made each player have their own game. It just seems like it's a tactic to make more money off the same title. The only thing you needed for the gamecube CC was the gameboy connection cable which could be used for other games as well.

I'm just crossing my fingers hoping that next time CC finally gets it right.

I love cute looking games. I love final fantasy games. I love RPGs. So I figured this game would be amazing for me and my family. Unfortunately that is not the case.

Square Enix took a DS port and placed it on the wii. You have 2 tiny screens that look just like nintendo ds screens. The screens are so small that your playing screen is less than 1/8th of your tv screen- even when fully enlarged. If you do not have a high def tv- you will have a lot of trouble reading the text.

On top of the small screen issue- Square Enix has a tan background image. The problem is that background image is not stationary. It is moving the whole time. Gamers are forced to strain to see these small screens and are then getting motion sick from this moving background image. There is no way to make it stationary. Everyone here who tried the game complained of headaches and motion sickness due to the straining and the moving background.

Some other flaws in the game are the controls. They just don't feel natural. They are fine for a DS game, but they put jump and grab and attack in awkward places. The controls aren't very responsive either. The game camera can not be moved. Many times you are fighting in places that you can't see. Many times you will have to jump to solve a puzzle when you can't fully see where or what you need to do. The puzzles are overly annoying and just not necessary. Plus you will have a hard time playing solo in the later parts of the game. There are too many places where they made it thinking of co-op and not solo player. This is quite true with some of the puzzles and switches.

The online part is a nice addition- but the game is quite laggy. Hopefully nintendo will fix the server issues.

I really wanted to like the game. We stuck it out to nearly 3/4th of the game. But the headaches and the motion sickness took its toll.

Only rent if you are a huge fan of FF and have a huge tv. Even then, don't expect much.