Reviewing: Final Fantasy: The Crystal Chronicles

My play through of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles was done in the summer of 2011. Although a year old, the videos provide a walk through for the game. It can be watched by clicking here.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is a game released to North America in 2004 for the GCN. It is not apart of the main Final Fantasy series, and was considered a spin-off. It features a real time combat system, and multi player with up to four characters when connecting to a Gameboy Advance system. This alone sets it apart from others with the same name. It was the first game to be released in the "Crystal Chronicle" series, and five games in the series later followed. 

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Synopsis:

The world you live in is surrounded by a powerful and evil force - miasma. Miasma is like a plague that threatens humanity. It is responsible for the presence of monsters, and is extremely toxic and dangerous to humans. The player must travel across the world searching for myrrh - the only force powerful enough to oppose the threat of miasma. In each town throughout the world, there is a crystal, filled with the power of myrrh, to drive away miasma's affect on humans. It is the player's responsibility to collect the myrrh for their town's crystal. If myrrh is not collected, the town's crystal will lose it's brightness, and it will fade, allowing miasma to engulf the town.

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Pros:

1. You're able to customize your main character, and are able to keep up to 8 save files. 

Unlike the main Final Fantasy series, you are able to choose, customize and change your main character. With 32 different character models divided into four different clans, there's a great range of choice that will cater to each player's specific preferences for aesthetic value and skills. Although each clan has specific strengths/weaknesses, they are not limited. When you pick a "class" (such as a mage), you are generally hindered in physical strength, but excel in magic. If you pick a clan that has higher base stats in Crystal Chronicles, you are not limited by that throughout the course of the game. The player is given many opportunities to increase any stats that they choose throughout the course of the game, allowing you to create a fully balanced character, or one that heavily excels in one skill.   

The game allows you to have 8 characters, which gives the game replay value, allows multiple players to use the same system/memory card, and creates choice when playing in multi player mode. Each file has it's own save file attached to it, so you can have up to 8 characters that can be in 8 different places in the story. Additionally, each character that you create will have a changeable name and family profession. Each clan has their own individual crest and weapon set, making each clan unique in their own ways.

2. Exploration and the "open world" aspect that the game is based upon.

To successfully advance on in the game's story, the player must complete three levels per year in order to return home and fill their chalice with myrrh. The player has more and more choice on what levels they would like to complete and where in the world they would like to travel as the game progresses. Because the game is technically "never ending" (if the player chooses), this gives a world of choices, and allows the player to replay levels they favor and to avoid ones that they dislike. This also allows the player to "grind" for stat boosts, items, and weapons without the game play getting stale. This also optimizes single and multi player mode, as some levels are difficult without a partner. 

The possibilities are endless, and it really makes you as the player feel like you are in complete control. Crystal Chronicles features many unique levels, towns, and an over world that is great to explore over and over again. It's a great feeling knowing that you are able to explore every nook and cranny of that world without somebody nagging at you to get back on track. Keep in mind of course that this is not always true, as there are obstacles to complete and requirements to be met to reach certain worlds when the game begins. But, I personally found it very rewarding to have a lot of "down time" in between when I was done with the main story and when it was that I wanted to fight the final boss. I had choice in when I wanted to fight the boss, and until then, I was able to take my time to prepare, and I had a lot of choice in where and how I was going to do so. 

Additionally, while on the road, the game had a series of cut scenes, events and side quests that will randomly happen while travelling. Some side quests and events progress as time goes on, and it gives more insight to the world around you. You also keep a diary with worlds that you've visited, people you've met and important details.

3. The game's unique battle system.

Final Fantasy is better known for a turn based battle system, but because Crystal Chronicles is a spin off, they tried a different battle system with the game that turned out to be one of the most interactive and exciting battle system type that I've played to date. I will admit that the system is a bit clunky at first, but when you get used to the controls, it's easy to handle. 

• You are able to toggle between items, spells, and attack/defend commands in mere seconds, which is great with the fast active time system. This eliminates having to go through menus to find an item/spell, and allows for easy switching quickly. Additionally, you can store life restoring items which is extremely useful if your character has been downed in battle.
• There is a barrier created by the chalice that the player carries. You are unable to travel outside of this circle or you will be exposed to miasma and will get damaged. This creates environmental threat, and it is one more thing that the player must take into consideration when playing. In multi player, it forces the players to work together as a team and to take time carrying the chalice. In single player, your moogle will carry it for you, which leaves you at his mercy if he slows down or becomes stuck. 
• There is a battle condition that is randomized in each level when you enter. In the right circumstances, you can generate points at the end of the level for meeting the condition, which allows the player to get rare artifacts. This also works in reverse if the conditions were not met. 
• There are other benefits to the battle system, such as creating powerful spells with a partner (called spell fusion). Spell fusion allows you to take down difficult foes with a partner, or by finding multiple magical orbs. Spell fusion also allows you to unlock chests and other special things in certain levels.

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Cons:

1. The game is optimized for multi-player.

Back before the days of wifi, playing with friends was somewhat of an inconvenience. For those of us without working equipment, multi player was a non-existent feature. Being that Crystal Chronicles wasn't a common game back in the day and nobody I knew had it, I was stuck saving the world on my own. While the game is fantastic and still fun to play on your own, the game itself was optimized to be played with two or more people. 

There are certain levels with puzzles that are nearly impossible in single mode, but simple and easy with two or more people. A computerized moogle that only listens half of the time and has half of the abilities of a human player is much harder to deal with then just having some good ol' fashioned team work. Additionally, some skills are only available in multi-player, such as spell fusion, which by the way, is one of the most useful skills to have in the game. In single player, you need to combine different magic (which you might not even find in a level), or get your moogle to help you (and he'll only do certain spells if he's painted a certain way). Frustrating. I never minded playing in single player much until I played multi player later in my life as a group of three. I then felt like my experience of the game wasn't full for all the years I played it, and I felt a bit robbed. It would have been nice if the game creators weren't so biased for those who didn't have the privilege of being able to play in multi-player. 

2. The lack of weapons and armor.

For a game with so much customization in character design, character skills and a diverse map with many chests in each world, there was a serious lack of different weapons and armor for each class. There was only a handful of weapons/armor for each clan, and the strongest weapons were always difficult (at least for me) to craft. Items and crafting materials were supposed to change with each year, but being that items were completely random, there wasn't a strong chance that you'd be able to fully optimize a character. 

Additionally, a lot of equipment went to waste if you so happened to pick up something that was created for another clan. The game programmed it this way so you could give it to a partner in multi-player, but even then, what if you were all the same clan? It always seemed like a waste to me, especially in single player. That being said, you could always use artifacts to improve strength or defense, but that makes the amount of time you have to play longer. Not a huge flaw overall, but I love having a variety with weapons and armor, as it gives more choice and makes the game more fun. It would have been nice to have an opportunity to mix weapons and armor as well, and not keep them clan specific, but that's just my personal opinion.

3. The game may feel repetitive after a few years.

After 5 or 6 years in game, you should have done the "main" story part of the game. At this point, no new worlds will come into play, and you'll have your pick of where you want to go, but each area will be somewhere that you've already visited. Each world gets more difficult in each cycle, and enemies and chests change each year, but the maps themselves and bosses don't change. Some people may find this boring and be discouraged to quit. If you're not a dungeon crawling grinding type, then it may be hard to see the game all the way through. For me it's not necessarily a con, but for others I can see it being a problem.

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With more pros than cons, I encourage others to really give this game a shot if you haven't already. With multiple choices, a game that changes each coming year, a great multi-player system and the non-linear game play, Crystal Chronicles caters to many players. Spin off games are not necessarily a terrible thing, and this game is one of the many exceptions, and is, in my opinion a very successful spin off (even if others don't think so!)

Reviewing: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Back when I was very new in the Youtube community I did a very amateur job of capturing footage of this game. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life was the first Harvest Moon game that I had ever played. I have this game to thank for my love of the series as I grew up. I have, and will always love Harvest Moon. I have played and own both the male and female version. Since they are very similar, I will be only reviewing the main male version, but I will include examples of the female version: Another Wonderful Life. I put the female version on my Youtube page, which can be viewed here. I apologize for the quality! 

Synopsis: For those of you that are not familiar with the series, Harvest Moon is a game that never ends. With no ending, the player can play as much or as little as they'd like and they have many choices to make to effect how their life turns out. Because it is a simulation game, it's very similar to The Sims. Your character (either a female or male, depending on the version) has come to a quiet valley to start a new life. Your father has passed away, and you've decided to take over his farm. That's all - the rest is up to you! Have a... WONDERFUL LIFE. See what I did there?

Pros:

1. The pace in which time passes in game.

In traditional Harvest Moon games, a year is 120 days divided into 4 seasons. This gives the player plenty of time to do time specific tasks and events in a month. Each month has 30 days, and you generally have 16 hours (approximately) in a day to do what you need to do. A minute in real life generally causes 10 minutes in game to pass. This makes for a very, very long game. Especially when the game never ends, and some things are missable! 

However, A/Another Wonderful Life is unique in that they do not have the same system! Each month only has 10 days rather then 30. They've kept the four seasons, and having 40 days in a year instead of 120 makes a huge difference. The game has compensated so that it does not interfere with game play. A second in real life is a minute in game time, and you can see the minutes tick by so you know exactly what time it is. It's a much more effective system. I love it and wish that more Harvest Moon games would do the same.

  

2. The amount of content was perfect. I never felt overwhelmed! 

Everything in this game was planned out so nicely that you never felt you were on a tight schedule. There wasn't so much to do that you never got around to things you wanted to do, but there wasn't a lack of things either! It was perfectly acceptable to do your chores for half of the day, and still have time for other things later on in the day. The number of love interests and villagers incorporated into the town was just right, and you actually really wanted to engage in conversation with everybody. They included various Harvest Moon variables from other games, but they did it in moderation. It is honestly very invigorating, and makes the game so much more enjoyable. Even to do those mundane tasks that nobody likes doing in Harvest Moon games (generally)!

3. It's got a touch of realism to it that other Harvest Moon games don't have.

Harvest Moon is meant for audiences of all ages, and so the content of the game is clearly very G rated. Harvest Moon: A/Another Wonderful Life got away with having a E rating, but still adds very real life characteristics that other games didn't have. A few examples include: divorce, aging, characters dyiing, and somewhat graphical scenes when your animals die. I enjoyed that your own character, your family, and villagers actually aged as the years went by. You had to maintain relationships with people, or else things wouldn't stay the way they were, and characters were "killed" off. It bought a very refreshing bit of changes as the years went on, and allowed for some great character development. This game also technically has an "ending" unlike a lot of games, just like your life eventually comes to an end. It made this game so much better, and put it in my list of favorite Harvest Moon games.

4. Your children actually develop, grow up, and you have influence in their lives. 

By far my FAVORITE part of this game, which puts it apart from every single Harvest Moon game. In most games, your child goes from a baby stage to a small child, but then growth stops. A/Another Wonderful Life is beautifully unique in that your child grows into a young adult! It takes 7 full game years (until the game ends), but it was so rewarding in a sense to see something come out of your efforts. Your child develops his own unique personality, own appearance, and you can even sway your child's career choices. It's something that I am praying more Harvest Moon games of the future do, because it's such an under rated idea that Natsume really ought to look back on. It is again, part of that realism part of the game. You don't just have this little baby forever, you age, along with your child. You run into the good (and the bad) as they grow up, and you see them blossom into a human being. Metaphorically, of course. The amount of diversity in this feature is something that again, is sorely missed.

Cons:

1. The map is unfortunately very dull, small, and doesn't offer much variation. 

As much as I love the pace of this paticular Harvest Moon game, it slows down after a few years of playing. You don't want to stop playing, because things change every year. However, things easily become dull and repetitive and it's very hard to keep playing after 3 or 4 years. The terrain doesn't change much, villagers don't hustle and bustle or change often, and there's never any new areas unlocked. The only area that you are able to go that's outside of the actual village is only accessible by connecting a Gameboy to the Gamecube. It's a huge hill that just teases you! Other villagers will come and go, but you never can. *sigh* Even expanding onto your farm isn't all that interesting, unfortunately. If the map was bigger, there might be more to explore, and more things to do in a day to keep the game a bit fresher as the years went by. 

2. Your character gets hungry, and the game reminds you. CONSTANTLY.

One of the most annoying bits of the realism part of the game is that your character does in fact get hungry! He/she does have to eat. If you choose not to feed your character, then be ready to face the consequences. The game is not shy in reminding you, every few minutes (or so it seems) that your character needs to eat! Your character will hold their stomach as it growls. The more time you allow to pass without feeding your character, the less of a gap there will be in between growling. This really interferes with game play. It slows you way down! Fortunately, your character can and will eat practically anything edible in game. Having to go and search for food when you are trying to perform another task, however, is just an added nuisance.

3. The game forces you to have children and get married.

This isn't something that bothers me personally, because I always get married in the game (eventually). You always have a child when you get married, so that comes naturally. But I don't think it's fair that the game forces you. If you don't know much about the game, or about the girls/boys that are available to marry, you might not get the results you want. You may miss events, or miss opportunities to impress one person or another. You only have 40 days to impress the one you want to marry, and if you don't propose to somebody they will come to your house and propose to you! If you say no to the proposal, the game will only go on for another year before it ends for good. The game will not let you continue without getting married, and you lose your chance after the first year. Most games give you plenty of time to get married, giving you time to get used to the game. Luckily for you, you only have three choices to choose in between... but be prepared to make a quick decision!

Reviewing: Lost Odyssey

Like with MagnaCarta 2, I have done my own play through of Lost Odyssey on my Youtube channel. If you'd like, feel free to view it here. It is one of my most viewed pieces of work to this date, and I'm happy to say that because the game deserves the recognition.  

Lost Odyssey is an Xbox exclusive, and came to North America in February of 2008. Being that this game was produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, you know you are in for a treat. Final Fantasy has forever left it's mark in the gaming world, and Mistwalker did the same quality work when creating Lost Odyssey. The game scored highly not only with professional reviewers, but also by players alike. I think that most people who have played the game can agree that it is a great game for this generation. 

Synopsis: 

You are playing as Kaim Argonar, a man who is immortal. He has lived for over 1,000 years with no memory of his time spent on earth. Through his journey, the player will rediscover Kaim's memory, and piece the last 1,000 years of his life together. A constant shadow over Kaim's own life now imposes a greater shadow over the entire mortal world, and it is up to Kaim and his comrades to stop it. 

Pros:

1. The emotional power this game has over you is like no other that I have experienced before.

This game literally had me in tears, or close to on several occasions. Because of the game's depressing atmosphere, your heart strings are tugged at each sad event. The character's all have very human like behavior and characteristics, almost making you feel as if you could be in their shoes, or experience something similar yourself. I'd much rather play an emotionally overpowering video game then watch a sappy and sad movie personally, and Lost Odyssey does not disappoint. I promise.

2. Unique and fresh designs, and beautiful graphics in a traditional JRPG style. 

It is so refreshing to see a game that doesn't recycle environments, and enemies. So many games will take one enemy and recolor it 10 different times, which just gets stale and boring. Each area within Lost Odyssey has unique enemies, that had thought put into them. Not only do they all look different, but they did the liberty of giving enemies special abilities, and really making them a formidable opponent. Really a huge plus, because it makes battle that much better. Towns all have very fitting themes, and custom music to go with it, which makes each town stand out. Even dungeon in this game suited the surrounding areas and were all very well done. The JRPG designs really never fail to disappoint me, because they are always so hauntingly beautiful. Paired with a fantastic artistic value, and a gloomy atmosphere, Lost Odyssey's environments were just great. 

3. Customization 

Without giving away too many spoilers, there are characters you can really customize and have fun with (immortals) and characters that are really only suited to one class with a specific ability (mortals). By linking your mortals and your immortals together, you can create powerful and diverse characters. Your immortals can have increased stats, skills, and become "tanks" in battle while your mortals provide back up support with their specialized class. Accessories also have the same effect, and it makes the player feel as if collecting items is worth it because you can get rewarded for it. Because this is a turn based JRPG, the game requires a little bit of skill, and can be very difficult in certain sections. The customization allows the player to change your party for each unique dungeon, and to have an easier, and more enjoyable playing experience. For the MLG gamers out there, the exact opposite is true - you can customize to make the game harder, which is also another beauty. It's the perfect balance in my opinion. 

Cons:   

1. Loading times and length. 

I personally am a fan of long games with tons of side quests and things to do, such as a JRPG should be. However, the downfall with this game is that it really (in the grand scheme) doesn't have that much game play. It's 4 discs long, which was new for the Xbox when it was released. Despite that, the four discs are mostly jammed packed with massively long cut scenes. Again, this is a negative and a positive. It really helps with the story, and the cut scenes are beautiful and wonderful to watch. Sometimes though, it feels as if you get next to no game play in before you are thrown into a massively long cut scene. The loading screens in this game are also insanely ridiculous, probably the longest loading screens that I have seen with a game in a long time. This would be manageable if it was every once in awhile, but it's present throughout the entire game, from start to finish. At the end of the game you've played through four discs, but most likely only have about 25 or 35 hours of game play, which feels a little.. off when you think about it. It's a minor complaint really, and has it's ups and downs. Because of all of the cut scenes, it forces you to really pay attention to the game and to follow along. Sometimes you just want to be lazy, but with a game like this, it can be easy to get lost on to what's going on.

2. The story and game overall is great, but unfortunately builds up too quickly, and then crashes just as fast. 

I would say that the first two discs are the best. You get all of the great story build up, character recruitment, and the game really feels like a wonderful joy ride as you piece everything together. They throw you the whole story within the first two discs, but then it all slows down dramatically. The third disc is nearly all cut scenes, and the fourth is when you finish the game, and do all of the last minute side questing and exploring. It was like all of the major game play was the first part of the game, and it was all cut scenes after that. I understand that they were trying to break the two up, but I feel they did a poor job of doing so. By the end of the game, it's so ridiculously easy (if you did all of the side quests) that the final boss isn't a challenge, and you've known how the ending of the game was going to be like from an early date. 

3. The game's visibility is limited at times, and the color scheme could have been better. 

A light grey background with white writing certainly was NOT the smartest choice in being nice to the player's eyes. I remember playing this game my first time on a small TV and it was torturous to read. Not only that, but the font is very small, and there's no option to change the color or size. Thank goodness the game does have subtitles if you need them, but good luck trying to read them! It gave the game the "darker" feel by staying away from bright and sassy colors, and it suited the game.. however it was a bad game mechanic.

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Overall, I highly recommend Lost Odyssey. I would have to give it a 9/10, because I just love this game. It's emotional power and cut scenes make it worth playing. I can get over limited amounts of game play at times, because of the nature of the game, and how it was created and how it came together in the end. If you are a lover of an involved story and powerful emotion then this is the game for you. I cannot give you the experience, there is so much more to this game then what I mentioned! So until next time, I hope that you've enjoyed and I will be back with more games in the future.

Reviewing: MagnaCarta 2

My MagnaCarta 2 play through was done on my Youtube channel, and can be viewed here. If you're interested in the overview/review, then feel to scroll down and read. 

MagnaCarta 2 is a JRPG, originally being released in October 2009 exclusively for the Xbox 360. By professional reviewers, like IGN, the game scored pretty poorly in the grand scheme of things. While I do agree that there are much better games out there, I often feel that "pro" reviewers are much too hard on games, and much too biased. The community of players themselves ranked the game to be about a 6.5/10, and I'd have to agree. I am no pro, but being that I have beat and played through the game (three times to be exact), I feel I can tell you some things I liked, and some things I did not.

Synopsis:

In a time of warfare, our main character, Juto also struggles with his memory. Having amnesia, he floats through the world somewhat carefree and lost. When war claims his best friend, Juto sets out on a quest to reclaim his memory and to reap revenge upon the one who took his friend's life. Through these simple goals, Juto discovers much more then he is bargaining for, and will unlock a power that has long been hidden within him. 

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Pros:  

1. It has what you would expect from an RPG.

Like many RPG's, this game is very long. The two discs are loaded with beautiful cut scenes, lots of dialogue, and a diverse and very large map to explore. There are always tons of side quests which allows for extra exploration, as well as extra items and gold. Character development was very well done, and trying to complete this game 100% proves to be a challenge. This game ends up being about 50+ hours of game play, which is perfect. 

2. The story starts very generic, but builds up, and ends up being very well written. 

The whole "character who lost his/her memory" is EXTREMELY over done in gaming, however, it's not always a bad thing. I feel that MagnaCarta 2 was a game that really did this idea well, and warped it into a creation that the player was not expecting. The story starts out simple, and ends up being very complex near the end. Dungeons were well designed around this idea, as well as some of the characters in this game. Not to mention that the story is well explained so that the player is not confused by the end of the game. There is nothing worse then playing a game through for 60+ hours and then saying, "well that made no sense." No spoilers here, feel free to play the game on your own to judge for yourself.  


3. Character design, development, and voice acting are all well done. 

Fortunately, I really don't find myself hating any of the characters in this game. Characters have their moments, sure, but in the end you learn to love them. They all have their own unique back stories, and each character's own life was well incorporated into the game and into the story. Each character compliments each other, even if it is in negative ways, which I admire.  This is mostly true for your main party/protagonists, but you can't leave out the antagonists either. They are not simply evil people thrown in for no rhyme or reason, and they made the game that much better, for many reasons. Voice acting was well done, and JRPG's rarely disappoint me with characters overall. My favorite character? Crocell. <3 

4. Graphics

Ah, yes. The graphics/artwork of this game was awesome. The characters all looked very human like (the human ones anyways), and featured unique designs when designing other characters. The world map was well done, and was very diverse. Cut scenes looked especially impressive, and I really enjoyed the cinematic parts in the game because of it. Even while reading text boxes, the character movement and crisp animation made it bearable to sit through the mountains of dialogue. Even if I feel they could have worked on the text a little bit, this game is overall, very easy on the eyes.  

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Cons: 

1. MagnaCarta2 brought a unique, but very disappointing battle system. 

I feel the battle system for this game was supposed to be one of the selling points. I will say that it is unlike any I've seen before, and I do give the developers props for at least trying. I feel that you either love it, or you it's a huge pain in the ass for you, and I am the latter of the two. It's pretty difficult to explain, so bear with me. First thing is that you can control all three characters on the field, and not just one. While it's tempting to only control one and let the other two be, the AI is dimwitted, and you will not get very far controlling only one character in a battle. In order to pull of chains, you must control characters in a timely and effective manner, which can be very difficult. Chains are easy to screw up by "overheating", or if the AI stupidly screws it up while you're getting another character ready for a chain. The gauge to pull off special attacks is slow to fill up, and again, you must monitor all three characters. You can't go out all crazy with attack or you will "overheat" which will not only screw up chains and generated Kan, but it will also leave your character defenseless and useless to attack. Very frustrating, and very slow. Battles end up taking longer then they have to because of the little room for error. This battle system feels like a task, almost like a chore. Disappointing. 

2. Lack of camera angles.

Ugh. Camera angles seem to be an issue with a lot of games, and this one is really no exception. It's more the lack of a camera angle that bothered me. There was no zooming in, first person view, and it took away from potential good points that the game had. There is a free camera when you're out exploring the map, but that is about it. In battle, the camera angles are fixed, and they give you the worst angles at the worst times. The text on screen is small enough as it is, and having to concentrate on your character being clustered into an area and unable to change the camera angle makes it worse. Not to mention, they put in a custom camera angle for each move you do. This is not only a waste of time, but it is incredibly inconvenient when you get back to the battle and are confused on where you are. Overall, a poor game mechanic, and very distracting.  


3. Absolutely no replay value. NONE.

*sigh* This was probably the most disappointing thing about this game. Most long RPG's have a way to reward you for finishing the game (besides achievements/trophies), by having a "new game+" option or something of the sort. You know what this game did? Absolutely nothing. It could have been something simple, even if it was crummy. Allowing you to keep your items/weapons, or your level for example. For such a long and involved game, I felt almost robbed at the end, expecting there to be something at the end when there was absolutely nothing. Because the game was so long, I feel people would have replayed it again to collect things they missed the first time, or to finish quests or something. But because you have to start from scratch, it feels like an inconvenience and a waste of time. 


4. Somewhat linear, and having little choice in big decisions.

Not as linear as Final Fantasy XIII, but still as annoying. You eventually gain the ability to warp, but not as early as I was hoping for. Even when you do, it is limited. Often, you'll walk into a region and be unable to leave. Warp points are extremely spaced out I find, which makes for a lot of unnecessary travel on the world map. Some of the side quests are time sensitive, which is frustrating if you forgot to do one or two before moving on. As for choices, you can't skip a lot of the dialogue. Considering the mountain of dialogue, this is very frustrating. I feel I'm tapping A like crazy, as with the owl in Ocarina of Time. You just want it to stop! Performing a special move in battle will show you a cool cut scene for it, sure. This is only fun to watch the first 100 times, and not being able to skip it was quite irritating. Save points are in set locations and feel sporadic to me. If you do die, you can potentially lose a lot of progress. There is no difficulty settings, and so players can't challenge themselves if they did hypothetically want to play through a second time (even though the game provides nothing). Characters are given two weapon types only, which is a good and a bad thing. It limits creativity and customization, but it does allow you to optimize your characters faster. These are all small things, but they build up over the course of the game. Together, the small things really took away from the overall game play. 


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I am a religious RPG player and maybe that's why I cut the game some slack. Overall, I wouldn't dismiss this game completely, and still believe it is still worth playing at least once. You have to give the game a chance, and I did really genuinely like the game. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get in to it the game can be pretty addicting. For those of you who have played, let me know what you think. Hope you enjoyed, and see you for the next game I'll be looking at! 

LP List

Nintendo 64:

Bomberman Hero
Bomberman 64

Starfox 64

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Yoshi's Story

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Banjo Kazooie

Banjo Tooie

Harvest Moon 64

Quest 64 

Gameboy (Color/Advance/DS)

Lufia: The Legend Returns

Lufia: The Ruins of Lore

Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire II 

Tales of Phantasia

Golden Sun

Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Kirby's Dream Land

Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Children of Mana

Shining Soul

Shining Soul 2

Dragon Warrior III

Dragon Warrior: Tara's Adventure

Dragon's Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen 

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dragon
Harvest Moon: GB
Harvest Moon 2

Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar

Harvest Moon: DS

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness 

Sword of Mana

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

Gamecube:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Resident Evil

Playstation 2:

Tales of Legendia
Tales of the Abyss

Final Fantasy XII
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
Innocent Life: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Chulip


Xbox 360:
Fable
Fable 2
Fable 3
Lost Odyssey
Alice: The Madness Returns
Dead Rising 2
Dead Island
Magna Carta 2 
Bully


Wii: 
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Arc Rise Fantasia
Phantom Brave
Kirby's Epic Yarn