December 14^th, 2002 (12:00am) - Scans from the new issue of Famitsu magazine have revealed some new and interesting details about the GameCube’s Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Most of this new information reveals more about the game’s story which he have attempted to decipher from the magazine article which is written in Japanese.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles returns to the classic Final Fantasy mythos of the crystals. The crystals are what guide people’s lives and what give life to the world. These crystals exist and even grow in proportion to their need, so depending on which area you travel to the crystals will vary in size from small crystals to large ones. Every year it becomes necessary to purify the crystals with the difficult to find Mana Water. Since it is very difficult to find, groups of young travelers set up Crystal Caravans in order to search for Mana Water.

The game’s story will unfold depending on which young traveler you choose at the start of the game, but to what extent this is not known.(I would be expecting something along the line of the Saga Frontier games) You may choose a character from one of the game’s four different tribes or races. Each tribe or race features their own special features and abilities for instance the odd Yulk, who look like knights, chocobos and dragons all into one, are gifted with magic powers in the armor of their bodies. The Selkie, a race of thieves, are agile amd graceful but the follow the motto of looking out for number one. Next you have the peaceful Clauvert, a tribe which co-exists with nature and believes in pacifism. And finally, you have the Lilty. The Lilty are a race of small creatures that look large acorns, which have something of an abrupt personality, these creatures’ lives would normally revolve around trade and business.

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My Thoughts:

Personally, to me this game sounds like a cross between Secret of Mana, the Saga Frontier series, The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy all in one. I’m still curious to see how the GBA link-up will work but the magazine article translation was still a bit too vague to get a good idea of what it could be. Honestly though, Crystal Chronicles sounds like an offline RPG which was meant to be online. I guess we can only find out in time.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles seems to be the most promising game Square has conjured up in a long, long time.