Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers

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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Developer(s)	Square Enix
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Toshiyuki Itahana (director)
Artist(s)	Toshiyuki Itahana
Composer(s)	Hidenori Iwasaki
Series	Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	JP November 12, 2009[1] NA December 26, 2009[2] PAL February 2010[3]
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer[citation needed]
Rating(s)	CERO: B ESRB: T
Media	Wii Optical Disc

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (ファイナルファンタジークリスタルクロニクル クリスタルベアラー^?) is an upcoming action-adventure game for the Wii. First announced to the public at E3 in May 2006, the story revolves around an established hero character named Layle.^[4] The game was released on November 12, 2009 in Japan and is planned to be released on December 26, 2009 in North America.^[1][2]

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 2.3 Story 3 Development 4 Reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

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Like its GameCube predecessor, Crystal Bearers will feature fully real-time combat. Enemies and regular civilians apparently will be able to show emotion or status effects via symbols hanging over their heads, such as hearts for attraction or musical notes for satisfaction. The producers have suggested that enemies do not necessarily grow stronger as the game progresses, but that they gain a wider variety of tactics and abilities instead. It has also been shown that some enemies have the ability to hurt fellow creatures also opposing the player. This is part of a reaction AI system, in which different creatures react in unique ways to other creatures nearby and to the player's attacks.

Telekinetic abilities will feature heavily in the game. The player will be able to perform different combat actions via telekinesis, including moving certain enemies against their will and utilizing various objects as telekinetic projectiles. The player will also be able to perform some type of reaction element with creatures that will affect them in different manners, though details of this are currently limited to video glances.

To further the telekinetic gameplay, the player will be able to utilize his abilities to interact with the environment, such as to activate switches or even grab onto ledges from a distance via an energy-based grappling hook; furthermore, he will even be able to perform such actions as moving civilians against their will. Some civilians also share a trait with enemies in that they will be able to knock the player away with force.

Based on the most recent video trailers and the general setting of the game, fighting in the sky might also be a feature of the gameplay, though this is unconfirmed. Quicktime events will also appear throughout the game, forcing the player to take necessary actions with the controller during certain events, such as aiming the remote and shooting demons while falling through the sky. It's been commented that while most of these events are for mere enjoyment, some must be completed in order to advance the story. Other gameplay aspects as hinted at by the trailers include participating in minigames, traversing the land on chocobos (which can ram through enemies and some background objects and also what appears to be chocobo racing), riding on trains, and swimming.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting

The timezone in this game is far into the future of the Crystal Chronicles franchise, taking place in the same world as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, populated by four races.^[5] However, due to a war with the Lilty race, the Yuke race has supposedly died out, though that clearly isn't the full story. The setting has been recently described as a time when "swords have changed to guns" and the arcane arts are outlawed by the Liltian Kingdom. However, magic is given to a selected few, who are known to others as the Crystal Bearers. In March 2008, an official advertising article about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates noted that the Nintendo DS installment "sets the stage" for The Crystal Bearers.^[6]

[edit] Characters

• Layle (レイル, Reiru^?): A Clavat and the protagonist of the story. He is already an established hero by the game's beginning. One of the eponymous Crystal Bearers, his crystal, which is located on his right cheek, gives him control of a strange gravity-based power.
• Belle (ベル, Beru^?): A dark brown-haired female Selkie who is always with a camera (which is probably stolen). Though claiming herself to be a photographer, she finds and exchanges information for her own benefit. She stows away on the Alexis's maiden voyage and encounters sensitive information that lands a bounty on her head from the Lilties. However, she remains defiant and continues to pursue her next big story.
• Keiss (クァイス, Kaisu^?): A red-haired male Selkie wearing a bandana. He is Layle's partner. Unlike other Selkies, Keiss devotes himself to the Lilty kingdom, working directly under High Commander Jegran. He is tasked with escorting the passenger airship cruiser Alexis.
• Amidatelion (アミダテリオン, Amidaterion^?): A lavishly decorated Yuke who, as well as being another Crystal Bearer and last of its race, appears to be the game's primary antagonist. It appears to also possess the ability to bend space, giving it the ability to warp objects to some degree, an ability not yet demonstrated by Layle.
• Althea (アルテア, Arutea^?): A Lilty with spectacles who is the princess of the Liltian Kingdom. Her mother died while she was still young, and her father currently lies sick, causing there to be a power vacuum.
• Jegran (ジュグラン, Juguran^?): The megalomanical captain of the Liltian guard.^[7]
• Cid (シド, Shido^?): Former engineer of the Liltian Kingdom who has a certain interest in Crystal Bearers.
• Vygari (バイガリ, Bigari^?): A member of the Selkie Guild.

[edit] Story

A thousand years have passed since the events of the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. The destruction of the Yuke Crystal during the Great War, with the Yukes suffering apparent annihilation, had at last brought the victorious Lilties dominion over the world as they bring it into a new age of science and reason with the use of magic outlawed and rule over the Clavats and few Selkies who comply to the new order. In this new era exists a rare breed of powerful beings called "crystal bearers", whose seemingly magical abilities have led them to be feared and scorned by the public. The young mercenary Layle is one such crystal bearer, who has been hired to escort the new passenger airship Alexis, the pinnacle of Lilty technology and a symbol of their current dominance. However, when the Alexis is suddenly besieged by a horde of monsters, Layle comes face to face with an adversary thought to have vanished from the pages of history, on a quest that may threaten the future of the world...^[8]

[edit] Development

The Crystal Bearers is intended to be a more "single-player experience", as opposed to the GameCube installment which focused on cooperative play.^[9] The game director stated he wants a more "world weary" protagonist, and wanted him to seem rugged, which influenced the hair design of the character.^[10] The game is intended to feature a more "mature" design to help bolster the heroic structure of the story.^[9]

The game director wanted to make "an exhilarating tale of this great hero set against sweeping blue skies", which influenced many decisions in game design and story.^[10]

The game's existence was announced at E3 2005 ^[11] and at E3 2006 a short pre-rendered teaser trailer was included within a Wii games compilation video. In May 2007 a new trailer including gameplay was released and a few interviews with the developers were given.^[12][13] Since then no further information about the game has been given. Crystal Bearers has had no presence at recent Square Enix events or on the Square Enix website (the Crystal Chronicles developer blog has not made mention of Crystal Bearers since June 6, 2007 "^[14]) coupled with the developers of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King refusing to comment when asked about the status of The Crystal Bearers at the Game Developers Conference of February 2008, stating only that the public should "wait for a press release."^[15]

In November 2008, in response to a section in the December 2008 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly stating that the game had been "quietly canceled" Square Enix released a statement confirming that the game had not been canceled and that they fully intend to release it, although no release date could be given.^[16]

In Early December 2008, it was announced that a new trailer for the game would be packaged with the Wii version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. The trailer shows the game in a further state of development, and displays game characteristics such as combat, magic, puzzle solving, and an overworld, as well as traditional elements of the Final Fantasy series, such as the Cactuar and Bahamut.

At the end of March, an official teaser site opened up^[17]. At first it only featured the aforementioned trailer but with the promise of "More Visits, More Movies!" In just a few days, more short movies have been released featuring some interesting game play elements, including a reference to the original Crystal Chronicles game for the Nintendo GameCube.

[edit] Reception

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers was scored a 30 out of 40 by Weekly Famitsu. The magazine praised the game's plot elements, with one reviewer stating, ""The way the story develops, along with the unique characters and world setting, is brilliant. There are lots of little details to everything." However, the publication criticized game's map, finding it difficult to pinpoint the player's location with respect to the surroundings.^[18] On its first day of release in Japan, The Crystal Bearers sold 26,000 units, which is about 34% of its initial shipment in the region.^[19]

[edit] See also

• List of Wii games

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Official North American Site

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