Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring Of Fates

Rings of Equipment can be bought or crafted at one of the four stores in the game. Players will find materials and scrolls in the various dungeons; bringing the required materials along with the scroll to the store will enable players to make over 300 different weapons, armor and accessories that change appearance depending on which race makes them. Unlike in the original Crystal Chronicles, the characters' appearance changes depending on what armour they are wearing.

Single player

In single player, the player controls a party of up to four characters. Unlike the original Crystal Chronicles, the characters are not created by the player, but are instead pre-created, with their own names and personalities. As the adventure progresses, the player meets four characters -- one from each race. Characters can be switched by tapping their icon on the left side of the touch screen.

Multiplayer gameplay

In multiplayer mode, the player creates their own character, which remains totally separate from their single-player characters. Multiplayer always uses multi-card mode, with each player contributing their own character. It is also possible to play multiplayer mode with only one person, allowing you to develop your multiplayer character.

There is also a Moogle Trade mode via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection; this is used to trade customized moogles the player creates.Also the moogle can be used to trade items with other players over Nintendo Wi-Fi by dropping items in the vicinity of the moogle.The idea is the other player picks up the moogle and obtains the items it drops.

Plot

Setting

Ring of Fates is a prequel to the original Crystal Chronicles, taking place thousands of years beforehand, before Miasma plagued the world, during the legendary "Golden Age" where all the races lived in peace (mentioned in Crystal Chronicles), and when the Great Crystal, into which "all fates are etched", protected the people from the "malefic glow of the blood-red moon".

In the original Crystal Chronicles, the shards of the Great Crystal, shattered by the fall of the Meteor, are used by the numerous settlements throughout the land to ward off the Miasma, using myrrh to renew this effect when it wanes, and Rebena Te Ra is explored as the monster-filled ruins of one such settlement that was rendered as such almost immediately after the Meteor fell due to its close proximity to the Meteor's point of impact, while in Ring of Fates, the Great Crystal is complete, using memories as the source of its protective effect in much the same way that myrrh powers the miasma-repelling effect of its remnants, and Rebena Te Ra stands as an illustrious city and capital of the Golden Age.

Characters

• Yuri (ユーリィ, Yūrī^?) is the main protagonist in the game, Latov's son and Chelinka's twin brother. He is a fairly typical fantasy protagonist, who starts out uncertain of his abilities but becomes brave through the course of the game. He has some skill in magic, but it increases significantly when he is in the presence of his sister. Voiced by Mona Marshall in English version and Kumiko Higa in Japanese version.

• Chelinka (チェリンカ, Cherinka^?) is Yuri's older twin sister. Although she is never playable and almost never seen outside of cutscenes, she travels with the main party through every event, even those deep inside dungeons. She is scared of ghosts. She carries with her a mysterious crystal shard, which marks her as Starsigner like her mother and through which she and Yuri can derive magical power. This She loses the ability to speak when she sees her father murdered, and communicates telepathically, but regains the power speech when Yuri is near death. Voiced by Nami Kurokawa in Japanese version.

• Latov (ラトフ, Ratofu^?) is Yuri and Chelinka's father. He brought up the twins on his own, and loves them dearly. He was formerly a knight of the King's castle who confronted Galdes and battled him. He is killed by Cu Chaspel when he attempted to protect Chelinka from him. Voiced by Paul St. Peter in the English version.

• Meeth (ミース・クリム, Mīsu Kurimu^?) is a Lilty who serves as the cook for the village where the main characters live, although she has much more powerful alchemical abilities. Meeth is older than the children, but being a Lility she is quite short -- hence Yuri and Chelinka sometimes treat her like a child. She pretends to dislike this treatment, but obviously enjoys it. She used to tutor the King's daughter. Voiced by Michiru Wada in Japanese version.

• Alhanalem (アルハナーレム, Aruhanāremu^?) is a Yuke, and is affectionately known as "Al" by Yuri and Chelinka due to his habit of ending his sentences with an "al" sound. Like all Yukes, he has impressive magical abilities and a tendency to scholarly pursuits. He once served as the Royal Mage. Voiced by Keiichi Sonobe in Japanese version.

• Gnash (ナッシュ, Nasshu^?) is a Selkie who was brought up in the wild. Speaks in somewhat disjointed language. His wild upbringing has given him impressive athletic abilities and proficiency with a bow. Voiced by Miho Hino in Japanese version.

• Cu Chaspel (クー・チャスペル, Kū Chasuperu^?) is one of the game's main antagonists, possessing a monstrous appearance due to his mask and robes. He is one of the Lunites (those corrupted by the evil power of the moon,) and is the personal servant of the Lunite King. He was given the task to take Chelinka so his master can succeed in bringing the Red Moon to their world., killing Latov as a result. Years later, Chaspel is defeated by Yuri. Voiced by Liam O'Brien in English version.

• Hierophant Galdes is the main antagonist of the game, and the Hierophant of Rebena te Ra. Galdes is the Lunite King, and plots to harnesses the power of the Great Crystal through a Starsinger so he can recreate the world in his image and rule it. Voiced by Michael Sorich in English version.

Story

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Ring of Fates follows two protagonists named Yuri and Chelinka. Story elements include fraternal love, and recurring elements such as the four races and crystals, though the latter have a smaller part.

The story begins with Yuri and Chelinka observing their father, Latov, chopping wood, learning to work together when they couldn't chop the wood alone. After being given the hatchet, the twins make their way to the Valley of Heroes to find some treasure, confronting a ghostly image of a young girl their age. Soon after, the twins arrive with their father to the city of Rebena te Ra, where their encounter with a Behemoth was witnessed by Galdes, who sends his minion Cu Chaspel to retrieve Chelinka who would serve as his new Starsinger. In the confrontation, Latov is killed by Chaspel, and Chelinka is traumatized and is essentially in a coma. Yuri buries his father and thinks himself to be totally alone. He then vows to never have to bury a loved one again and begins training with his father's sword while taking care of Chelinka. For many months Yuri trains alone, until Chelinka wakes up. Yuri vows to protect her and then Yuri embarks on a adventure with Chelinka and their friends accompanying him .

Later, while in the realm of the dead, the twins and their companions learn of the creation of the world and of the Lunites under Galdes, who is reponsible for their mother's fate in his scheme to bring the Moon God back to Earth. They also learn that the crystals usually repel monsters, but when taken in by the allure of the moon they attract monsters, and make them vicious. In the end, the party goes to the Lunite Temple to stop Galdes, defeating Chaspel on the way. But in the end, Yuri is mortally wounded and near death from fighting Galdes. In spite of telling her not to, Chelinka sacrifices herself to save Yuri, turning into crystal herself. Eventually, Yuri manages to use the Crystal's power re-make the world without the Lunites so that he is reunited with Chelinka and their family.

Development

The creation of a Crystal Chronicles sequel was announced at the E3 in 2004. The Game was first announced for Game Boy Advance. IGN called Ring of Fates one of the "key games" to look out for in 2007. In an interview, Ring of Fates director Mitsuru Kamiyama explained that single player mode is very "deep", and was a larger undertaking than the original Crystal Chronicles. Additional quests were added to the American release. Kamiyama noted that a feature he particularly enjoyed was the ability to see the character wearing and using the equipment that was purchased.

Music

The original soundtrack by Kumi Tanioka (who worked on the soundtrack for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles) for the game was released on September 19, 2007 in Japan.

Aiko performs the ending theme, "A World with No Stars" (星のない世界, Hoshi no Nai Sekai^?).

Reception

The game has a special "Gemini edition" bundled with a stylized DS-lite. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates received the scores of 9 / 8 / 9 / 9 - (35/40) from Famitsu magazine. Nintendo Power gave the game a 7.0 out of 10, claiming it was "good, not great" and "Ring of Fates would be acceptable; for Final Fantasy, it is a major concern". It was rewarded "Editor's Choice Award" on IGN.com.

Kane Ikin from Alchemy SBS Radio gave the game 3.5 out of 5 saying that "... It has a lot of excellent features but it really is a game best shared with a friend..." Square Enix created a Ring of Fates card memory game on their website to celebrate the game's launch.

In Japan, the game sold 360,000 copies as of December 2007.

References

External links

• Official Japanese Site
• Original Soundtrack at Square Enix Music (Japanese)
• Official North American Site
• Official European Site