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.

FFCC:CB turns out be a pretty good game but very short lived. I was able to pass the game in under 10 hrs, so typically you can get through the game in 9-13 hrs. With very little game play and too many cutscenes, FFCC:CB turns out at the end of the game wanting more.

Visuals: Stunning graphics & best I've seen on the Wii. Unfortunate downfall is with great graphics on the Wii comes short gameplay. Too many cut scenes which are the most epic battles.

Storyline: It pulls you in but after you get through the game half through. The beginning starts off really slow and boring at first. They don't do a good explanation of what a "crystal bearer" is or the background story, as with most typical FF games. They just sort of throw you into the game which feels like it would be mid-story.

Gameplay: Found the gameplay too easy. I only died maybe once or twice tops w/no memorable battles. There are no experience points, which make upgrading your character a pain. The only way to "upgrade" is to equip accessories & collecting Myrhh hearts that increase your HP by 1 point by closing Misma streams. Found the streams annoying, since they open & close every 5 mins, so if you don't defeat the enemies in time, you'll find yourself waiting around for another 5 mins until it reopens so you can get the Myrhh heart.

Controls: What I found most annoying, relies on the Wiimote movement too much, hurting my wrist in the end. Camera angles were also a pain to deal with. Main character uses nothing but magic and no melee attacks.

Music/Voiceover: A lot of twangy western music in the game, which I found annoying. The voice actors were horrible, especially Belle's voice who sounds like a 13 yr old valley girl from the OC.

It could have been a great game, if more effort was put into gameplay rather than cutscenes. Too many useless minigames that give you nothing except pts. Lets you play newgame+ after beating, w/little change in gameplay except lets you carry over items/"exp". 6/10