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Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is a new fantasy RPG from Square Enix. It’s a prequel to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the Nintendo GameCube, taking place a millennium prior to that game.

In most FF titles, I’d start talking about how great the story was or how immersing the game is, but in this one I was immediately sucked in by the graphics. It’s a DS title that looks as good as many PSP titles, and that should give you an idea of how nice everything looks. There’s dynamic lighting effects, and though the characters aren’t exactly life-like, they are beautiful in their own stylized sort of way. Magic particularly looks as good as on the typically better-looking handheld.

Most of the action happens on the top screen. The bottom screen is often just a means of getting to menus and skipping cut-scenes. You control the game by a combination of stylus and buttons. I have complained about this dynamic in other reviews, and it’s still the case in this one. I would not say the game controls poorly, just that your hands can quickly become cramped and uncomfortable.

Like most FF titles, the game does get somewhat text-heavy at times, but it is worth it if you care about the characters. And you should. The fraternal twin main characters are so well fleshed out that you can see the love they share, even in the text.

The score that accompanies this title is excellent. It’s another area in which the DS’s capabilities were likely stretched to the limit.

You’ll spend most of your quests beating the baddies up, then collecting the loot they drop, and doing it more. This works pretty well in most cases, where you’ll use the characters together to take out even some pretty tough bosses. And there’s a decent amount of gameplay there, considering it’s a handheld; it’s more than 10 hours long.

But it doesn’t always work. There are many times when it would be extremely nice to have friends who also owned this title. So, I’d say it might be a good time in multi-player, because you could actually make it through with a lot less hassle. In single player, though, it gets a little rough.

Additionally, though most people will find the characters cute and their dialog varied and interesting, the game’s tone is much more kid-friendly than I would have liked. There are some dark themes, but they are not as consuming as they might otherwise be. Still, it’s not quite a Final Fantasy Fables title, and even if it were, adults could still find some enjoyable gameplay there.

All told, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is a beautifully rendered, family friendly title that lives up to its name. It’s not quite as epic as I would have liked, and sometimes combat can frustrating if you are going solo, but it’s still an above average game. I’d suggest setting aside a time to rent it with a couple friends so you can try out the multi-player, and only buy it straight up if you are a die-hard FF fan.

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