Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time[lower-alpha 1] is a Wii and Nintendo DS action role-playing game in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series developed by Square Enix.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:
Echoes of Time
Developer(s)Square Enix
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)Mitsuru Kamiyama[1]
Designer(s)Hiroyuki Saegusa[2]
Artist(s)Yasuhisa Izumisawa[3]
Writer(s)Hiroyuki Saegusa
Miwa Shoda
Composer(s)Kumi Tanioka[4]
SeriesFinal Fantasy
EnginePollux Engine
Platform(s)Nintendo DS, Wii
Release
  • JP: January 29, 2009
  • NA: March 24, 2009
  • EU: March 27, 2009
  • AU: April 2, 2009
Genre(s)Action RPG
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The game was released in Japan on January 29, 2009.[5] The North American version was released on March 24, 2009 and the European version was released on March 27, 2009.[6][7] The Australian version was released on April 2, 2009.[8]

Gameplay

Echoes of Time is a hack and slash action role-playing game[9], that allows the players to create their own character by choosing one of the tribes: Clavats (swords), Yukes (magic), Selkies (jumping) and Lilties (spears).[10] Each dungeon is filled with monsters that need to be defeated and puzzles to solve (pushing blocks, activating switches, etc...) in order to progress.[11] Certain parts of the game consist of platforming in isometric view.[12] All the non-player characters (some voice-acted) exist in two separate locations, one of them being reserved for guilds and shops. Their statements will change along with the plot progression.[13] The real-time combat system requires the player to be close to the enemies rather than select items, which makes it different from the main entries of the Final Fantasy series.[14] The players can visit towns to receive quests, recruit allies or to buy and craft armor or weapons.[15] When a certain level is reached, a new ability will be unlocked. The weapons can also level up, and materials can be combined to create new ones.[16] Besides physical attacks, there are seven spell types which can be combined and are represented by symbols on the screen: Blizzard, Cure, Clear, Fire, Rise and Thunder.[17] Both Nintendo DS and Wii versions can link up via wireless, where four players can play together, online or offline.[18]

Plot

The protagonist of the game returns from a forest where they battled a great number of monsters to celebrate their sixteenth birthday and coming-of-age ceremony. Upon completion, a Clavat cat-girl named Sherlotta rewards them with a personal crystal. The hero returns home to find a young village girl, Eryll, suffering from "crystal sickness". The hero then sets out to find a cure for the disease. However, he is unaware that outside his village lies a world where crystals are merely artifacts of the past and no longer exist.

In the town, they meet a man named Larkeicus, who agrees to make them a cure in return for a favor. Obtaining the necessary ingredients, the hero is able to make the potion and saves Eryll. As part of the bargain with Larkeicus, the hero must activate two long-dormant statues atop a fire and ice mountain.

When they complete their task, Larkeicus begins plotting against the hero, first by destroying the "Crystal Core", which is said to be the last crystal remaining in the world. The following day, the hero awakens to find their village empty, as if all the villagers had left. Eryll is still left behind and asks him to find the broken pieces of the Crystal Core, believing that putting it back together will bring everyone back to their home. Larkeicus goes rogue and attacks the player, but returns from the dead after defeat, warning that should they meet again, he will kill them. Later finding an immortal Yuke Veriaude who worked alongside Larkeicus 2000 years ago, Veriaude gives them a method of locating the crystals and hopes that by doing so he amends for some past mistake of some sort.

One by one, the hero locates the crystal fragments, discovering more about their infancy and the town's history through sudden flashbacks, particularly Sherlotta, who found the hero abandoned as a baby and raised them as a child. They also note that none of the villagers seemed to have aged from their past selves. When the crystal core is complete, it suddenly manifests itself into the hero's body, giving them the power to interact with ancient technologies. They use their newfound power to delve further into the forests near their village, where they learn a startling revelation.

The hero discovers their village in ruins. Sherlotta appears and explains that Larkeicus and Veriaude apprentice razed the village 2000 years ago, and all of the inhabitants were slaughtered in the attack. Sherlotta and Eryll were attempting to escape, but Eryll was killed and Sherlotta was made immortal when she made indirect contact with the Crystal Core. It also gave her the power to create crystals, although Sherlotta herself doesn't understand why it chose her to be the harbinger of such powers.

The Crystal Core also made the villagers live, although they could not age, and their existence was tailored toward the Crystal and to the minds of those who wish to see them. Sherlotta and the villagers lead empty lives for 2000 years, until they found an infant which they could grow and raise to live for them in the outside world, the infant being the hero. With this, Sherlotta accompanies the player to put an end to Larkeicus's plan, as he wishes to stop a future event that was so powerful it destroyed all the crystals and his city which ran on their power.

Sherlotta and the hero attempt to find a way to gain access to a tower which emerged when the hero activated the two statues, as she believes that is where Larkeicus plans to stop the future event. To do so, they gather a number of artifacts, including the hero's crystal locator and an 800-year-old spirit-witch made by Larkeicus to guard the artifacts (Who later aids the player greatly in finding the later artifacts). During this search, the villagers begin their slow process of disappearing from the world, valuing every moment the hero comes by to see them.

Eventually, only Norschtalen remains, as she is the second orphan the village raised and still mortal in her time. With nothing left to cherish or protect, Sherlotta and the hero goes to the tower. To open the way, they use the artifacts and abandon the witch to an isolated spot near the entrance, saying that maybe someday somebody will come to retrieve her. At the top, the hero is surprised to see another, human Sherlotta, blind and deaf to her surroundings.

The cat-Sherlotta explains that her present was made after Eryll's pet cat had also retrieved the power of immortality. Through the cat, Sherlotta was able to live off in a depression until she found the hero, where the meaning of life and death became clear in her head again as she and the villagers dedicated their lives to helping you grow into a suitable adult. She then gives one final request to the player, to kill her so that her lifeless body cannot aid Larkeicus any longer with its powers. Larkeicus appears to make good on his promise to kill the hero, after a long battle where he destroys Sherlotta's cat-form and continually abuses her power, the hero and he reaches a stalemate.

The human Sherlotta suddenly grabs hold of Larkeicus and summons the Crystal Core, realizing that it was created by her so that she may live, and that its choice to give her power must have been fate. Larkeicus and Sherlotta realize that it is the destruction of the Crystal Core that destroys the crystals of the past. With Larkeicus unable to move in the Crystal Core's presence, Sherlotta asks that the hero destroy it as the finale of their coming-of-age ceremony to prove that they are a worthy adult, despite the fact that its destruction will result in the death of the immortals and destruction of all crystals.

The hero does so, and returns home triumphant, though deeply depressed at the cost of victory. With only they and Norschtalen inhabiting the village, the hero makes one final pilgrimage through the forest where they received their own crystal. Still holding the crystal they received, they throw it into the pond where the Crystal Core was once located and walks away, their past gone and future ahead.

After the credits roll, the player is free to continue playing on harder difficulties. It is also revealed that Eryll's cat, conveniently named Sherlotta, is still alive. As such, the hero takes notice of the reminder of the past. It is also shown that the tiny crystal the hero had thrown into the pond has grown into a larger one, resembling the Crystal Core. It is likely a new Crystal Core created by the hero's own will. It is presumed that the hero will live out the rest of their adult life seeking comfort and happiness, just as their family (the villagers) would have wanted.

Development

The game was revealed to the public at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show. It uses a new engine created by Square Enix called the "Pollux Engine", which allows players to link up and adventure together in multiplayer mode regardless of which version of the game (Wii or Nintendo DS) they are playing. The Wii version of the game contains a new trailer for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticDS: 75/100[19]
WII: 64/100[20]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer7.75/10[21]
IGNDS: 8.5/10[22]
WII: 6.5/10[23]

In the first week of release, the DS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time sold 101,718 copies in Japan, while Wii version sold only 21,721 copies.[24] The following week, the DS version sold an additional 33,985 copies.[25] By the end of the year, the DS version had sold nearly 260,000 copies in Japan, and the Wii version nearly 57,000 copies.[26] Sales in its first week in North America weren't so positive, as approximately 25,000 were sold on the Wii and 16,000 were sold on the DS.[27] As of May 31, 2009, the game has sold 570,000 copies worldwide.[28]

On Metacritic, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time has an aggregate score of 75/100 based on 37 reviews for the Nintendo DS version, and a score of 64/100 for the Wii version based on 29 reviews.[19][20] Famitsu magazine gave the Wii version a 29 out of 40 and the Nintendo DS version a 30 out of 40.[29] Reviews in the west were also positive. IGN gave Echoes of Time 8.5 out of 10 (but only 6.5 for the Wii version), commenting on the tighter controls and gameplay, particularly praising the multiplayer, stating, "multiplayer is a blast with Echoes of Time".[22][23] Game Informer gave the game 7.75 out of 10.[21]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ファイナルファンタジークリスタルクロニクル エコーズ・オブ・タイム Hepburn: Fainaru Fantajī Kurisutaru Kuronikuru Ekōzu Obu Taimu

References
  1. Ashcraft, Brian (September 3, 2009). "How Square Enix Ports DS Games To The Wii". Kotaku. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  2. Parish, Jeremy (September 22, 2014). "Who Makes the Best Final Fantasy Games?". USGamer. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  3. Takizawa, Osamu (December 22, 2008). "スクウェア・エニックス、Wii版限定特典やオリジナルDSiのデザインを公開 Wii/DS「ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル エコーズ・オブ・タイム". jp:Impress Watch. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  4. Gann, Patrick (February 18, 2009). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time OST". RPGFan. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  5. "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Slated For Spring". Siliconera. December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  6. "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Gets Official Release Date". IGN.com. January 26, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  7. Square Enix (2008-12-10). "FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time // Press Release". gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  8. "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (2009) on Nintendo DS". April 2, 2009. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  9. "Square Enix Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time". PC World. April 7, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  10. Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 1, 2009). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Review". VideoGamer. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  11. Petit, Carolyne (April 8, 2009). "There's compelling dungeon-crawling action to be found here, hiding amid tedious puzzles and an awkward transfer from the DS". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  12. Sterling, Jim (April 11, 2009). "Destructoid review: FF Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time". Destructoid. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  13. Gann, Patrick (April 17, 2009). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time". RPGFan. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  14. Donaldson, Alex (March 23, 2009). "FF:CC Echoes of Time Review". RPGSite. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  15. Sykes, Tom (April 2, 2009). "You've got time on your hands. Just make sure it stays there". GamesRadar+. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  16. Cook, Mike (March 31, 2009). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on August 30, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  17. Parkin, Simon (March 27, 2009). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  18. Kohler, Chris (May 6, 2009). "Review: Echoes of Time Links Wii, DS for Unique Final Fantasy". Wired (magazine). Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  19. "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  20. "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  21. Reeves, Ben (2009-09-22). "The Best Crystal Chronicles Game Yet...And It's Still Average". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2019-08-08. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  22. Bozon, Mark (2009-03-24). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  23. Bozon, Mark (2009-03-24). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  24. Tanaka, John (February 6, 2008). "FFCC Echoes of Time: Wii Beats Ds". IGN.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  25. Tanaka, John (February 13, 2009). "Tales Tops Japanese Charts". IGN.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  26. "2009年ゲームソフト年間売上TOP1000" [2009 Game Software Annual Sales Top 1000]. Famitsū Gēmu Hakusho 2010 ファミ通ゲーム白書2010 [Famitsu Game Whitebook 2010] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Enterbrain. 2010-05-21. p. 385. ISBN 978-4-04-726511-0. Archived from the original on 2015-06-27.
  27. ronin90 (April 5, 2009). "Echoes Of Time Fails To Impress North American Gamers". Final Fantasy Union. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  28. "Results Briefing: Fiscal Year ended May 31, 2009" (PDF). Square-Enix.com. May 19, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  29. "GoNintendo » Blog Archive » Famitsu's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time review details lag". GoNintendo.com. January 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
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