Despite featuring a few characters and items from other Final Fantasies, the game shares almost no similarities with the main series of games. Gone are the turn-based battles, replaced instead by a more real-time action form of gameplay, where characters attack, defend and use items in real-time. Players have limited melee attack options, and must make effective use of charged moves, called 'focus attacks', and magic to defeat enemies. One of the game's most popular features is its ability to link up with up to 4 Game Boy Advance systems to allow 4 player action. The game introduced 4 new playable 'classes', or Tribes, for the player to choose from, including the warmongering Lilty, the Mysterious Yukes, the calm and collected Clavats, and the loner Selkies.The game takes place in a world afflicted by a terrible poison, which can only be warded off with powerful crystals. However, to remain effective, these crystals must be recharged with the produce of certain magical trees once per year, and so it is up to the player to keep his or her town safe by collecting drops of Myrhh.StoryIn the un-named world of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, a catastrophe has rendered the world encased by the 'Miasma', a poison that covers much of the world. The only defense the tribes have is that of Myrhh, which forms crystals capable of temporarily dispelling the Miasma in an area. Each Town and Village has its own Crystal to protect it, and adventurers from each town venture out to collect more Myrhh to keep the Crystals topped up. It is the player who must assume control of Tipa caravan and collect Myrhh to protect the village of Tipa. Along the way, the adventurers must strive to find the source of the Miasma and put an end to it once and for all.CombatThe combat in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles takes place in real-time on the game map, without any transition to a battle mode. Characters can perform up to 3-hit combos with their physical weapon of choice. However, they can also perform 'Focus Attacks', which require charge times and cast magic. Magic is handled differently in Crystal Chronicles then other Final Fantasies. Instead of learning magic, players must pick up 'Magecite' orbs in each dungeon to be able to perform spells. These orbs must be re-collected every time a new area is entered. Despite the limited number of available Magicite orbs, many different spells can be casted using Spell Fusion, where 2 or more players cast spells consecutively or at the same time to 'fuse' the 2 spells into 1, often more powerful, or sometimes completely different spell. For example, Fire and Blizzard can be combined to cast 'Slow' on an enemy target. Magic can also be combined with focus attacks in a similar fashion. In a twist, players must remain within the radius of their 'chalice', which protects them from the dangerous poisons of the world.MultiplayerMultiplayer requires the use of one GameBoy Advance and Gameboy to Gamecube link cable per person to play. Each player can view his or her items and inventory on their individual screens, as well as their secret bonus mission for a stage. At the end of each stage, each player is ranked on his or her ability to follow the rules laid down by the bonus mission. Players then get to pick an artifact in the order of highest score first. The GameBoy screens can also house a map, information on the enemy, or the location of chests.TribesThere are four tribes for the player to pick from when making a character: Liltiy, Selkie, Clavat, and Yuke. The Lilties are a war-like tribe who once tried to rule the world. In the years since they have learnt to be more friendly with the other tribes, but their war-loving nature has not changed. Adept in the use of the spears, Lilties Boast the highest attack and defense of any tribe, at the cost of their magic stat.The Clavat are a peaceful tribe. They use swords and shields, and value a high defense, but without sacrificing their ability to use magic. They have a decent defense and magic stat, and an acceptable attack stat. They are proficient in all areas, rather then excelling at one. The Selkies are another well rounded choice. Recognizable by theirr blue/purple hair, the Selkies only think of themselves. Natural born thieves, they are very agile, and wield Rackets to defend themselves with. Despite being selfish, they have been accepted into villages of Clavats. Theirr stats are average in all areas, but they are able to charge and use Focus Attacks much faster then other tribes. Yukes are a mysterious group of tall, bird-like creatures, of whom no one knows the origin. It is said that they are simply a soul who chose to manifest themselves in the form they are to accent their magic casting abilities. Yukes can cast magic faster and with more range then any other tribe, but lack greatly in the Attack and Defense area.SoundtrackComposed by Kumi Tanioka, the music for the game makes liberal use of many medieval instruments, such as the Lute, to create a feel unlike other Final Fantasy Games. The intention was for tracks 'not to be limited to one country or culture'. The Soundtrack was released on CD on August 20, 2003, which did not include the english version of the game's intro song, ending theme or a few other songs with vocals by Donna Burke. Preorders of the game received a short, 17 minute CD containing some of the game's songs, including the English opening song.FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES Original Soundtrack Total length: 131:40Disc 1:Echo of MemoriesSound of the WindSerenityToday Arrives, Becoming TomorrowThe First VillageCaravan CrossroadDepartureMoving Clouds on the River's SurfaceTwilight of DreamingEchoes at the Mountain PeakIn the Sorrowful DarknessProsperity and TraditionShudder, MonsterIf it's Three People...?Oath in the EternityEnd of the TaleMaggie is EverythingBoth Amidatty and EleonoPromised WealthA Gentle Wind BlowsVoice of Wind, Song of TimeGoblin's LairMake a ResolutionMonsters' Dance ~Rondo~Water of LifeI'm MoogleNostalgic ProfileAnnual FestivalDisc 2:Endless SkyMeager AdvanceMy HouseOverlooking the Great OceanSomething Burns in the HeartEntrusting your Body to "Freedom"Sleeping Treasure in the SandOh, Light...!Aiming towards the New WorldStrength in SadnessThe Time of Many Smiling FacesWhen the Northern Sky is ClearMag MellAcross the DivideEchoes in the HeartLight and ShadowWe Don't Want to Forget...Sad MonsterUnite, DescentTo the Successor of the CrystalThoroughly BlueStarry NightOrgel of WaterStarry Night ~Arrange Version~ReceptionThough many critics liked the potential of 4 player using GBA's as screens, it was mostly seen as too costly and difficult to obtain all the equipment needed to get a 4 player game going. Considering the games strongpoint is unarguably the multiplayer, this impacted many peoples opinions of the game, causing them to feel the game took too much hassle to enjoy it's best feature, and the single player got a pretty lacklustre reception. On top of this, many thought of the combat as too simple and repetative; an unwelcome departure from the usual style of battles in Final Fantasy Games. The game was also criticised for it's lack of story or character development, as well as the complete lack of CG cut scenes the series was known for. The graphics, however, were considered a strong point of the game, and were often praised for looking good even in the in-engine story scenes. Overall, the game received middling scores, mainly hampered by the difficulty of setting up the multiplayer.
