Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for Wii Reviews by Gamers

FF:Crystal Bearers is definitely an interesting title. It's probably half a great wii game, and half a frustrating one, although it's a gorgeous game all around.

What's great about it is it's unique gameplay mechanic, revolving around the main character's telekinetic abilities. It's a great use of the wii remote - just point at an object or person and hold 'B' to grab them, then once they're yours, just flick the wii remote to send 'em flying in that direction. The depth comes in seeing how different enemies react; for example, there's a fireball guy who'll explode if you throw him 3 times. Experimenting with everything is very fun, and adds depth to the combat, while also making the worlds seem more alive. If only the game kept a laid back pace.

You see, the game has a horrible camera. There's no way to lock-on to enemies, and the only way to move it is to use the dpad, which is clunky. Actually it's horrible, I was just being nice. While this isn't a problem while exploring - you're just leisurely going around and playing around with stuff in the world - it's a massive problem in combat. Not only is it incredibly difficult to keep a bead on your enemies, but frequently the objects you're holding above your head will block your view. To compound things further, battles are usually timed. There's no on-screen indicator however; your only warning that a battle will end is an obnoxious chiming that kicks in 4-5 seconds before all the enemies disappear. It's very aggravating; both having a random battle start up when you're exploring, and also when the enemies run away before you can vanquish them - it's just rude to break the pace of the game so badly, and serves no real purpose.

FF:CC Crystal Bearers is an interesting game, to be sure. There's lots of variety in the missions, a likeable story and some gorgeous production values. Also, the core gameplay is very fun. But there's too much that goes wrong to consider it a purchase. A great rental though.

The controls, which have you play like a rail-shooter/action-RPG hybrid, aren't very good, but short of that, it's a great game. It's a well-paced ten-hour adventure if you go straight through, with enough shifts in the gameplay to really make the most of the protagonist's telekinesis. In other words, a terrific rental.

The problem is that the main focus of the game--locking onto an enemy, or part of an enemy, and then manipulating it (either up, down, left, or right)--grows repetitive, due to the necessary trial-and-error being coupled with a less-than-responsive control. And unless you're a completionist, wanting to unlock the 340+ "medals" for finding all the different ways to interact with the enemies, there's little room for replay let alone side-questing or exploration. It's the sort of game you want to play for the story but which you simultaneously want to finish ASAP; to put it another way, the FMV is the best part of the game.

That said, the world design is nice, the few characters that do interact with you are vivid, and the "bad" guys are nicely done: bearable, indeed.