Echoes of Time Review

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Square Enix
Action Role-Playing

This dungeon crawler starts out on your character’s birthday and with a coming of age ceremony of types, which seems to be a typical theme for the Crystal Chronicles series thus far. After choosing one of the four races and selecting a gender for you character, it’s time to go out into the world and become an adult. The races are the same four from the previous Crystal Chronicles games and unlike the GameCube version, there is only one character per race and gender, which is a step up from Rings of Fate, where you follow the story by playing as one of two characters who are twins. After a bit of training and some hack-and-slash in the woods, you get a crystal fragment as a symbol of having become an adult. Then tragedy strikes the village and a small girl is struck with “crystal sickness” and you must go out into the world to find the cure, because no one else in the village is able to leave it. Marauding through dungeons, slaughtering creatures, questing for treasure, puzzles and hours of side quests await your character in this action RPG.

The game is pretty straight forward. Your character keeps a journal of his/her adventure, so if you get lost you can always go back to it and try to figure out where to go next. There are only a few dungeons in this game, but many reasons for going back through and gaining more experience. In this game, you collect scrolls and items to create your own armor and weapons. There are a lot of differences in all of the scrolls and when you equip your character with new armor and weapons, his/her clothing and weapon visibly changes. Weapons and armor grow as your character grows, gaining levels and becoming stronger. You can also equip your weapons and armor with gems that give different boosts depending on if you want to max it out to a new level or make it do more damage or give it a higher critical hit ratio. Magic is also a bit easier to use in Echoes of Time than in Rings of Fate. Stacking spells may not be perfect yet, but it’s definitely better than trying to hold two buttons, use a stylus and aim a spell.

Multiplayer has become more assessable with Echoes of Time, but may cause the game to slow down a bit, especially with more players. Multiplayer is assessable with Nintendo WiFi. If you don’t wish to play with friends, you can create your own AI characters and customize them as much as you can customize the main character. If your character loses his/her life, you can just start using one of the other characters you created or you can revive yourself. You can set their sensitivity depending on if you want them to do: “Just Follow Me,” “Do Your Best,” “Don’t Use Magic,” “Protect Yourself,” and “Go Nuts With Magic.” The AI isn’t the best in this game, but there are some puzzles that require more than one character, for whatever purpose. If you just leave the AI at their original setting, “Do Your Best”, they will most likely use up their magic and more than likely end up standing around as ghosts during boss battles. So you will either have to have really high stats or keep reviving them so that they can revive you.

This game is ultimately made for the Nintendo DS, but was released for the Wii as well. Unless you like seeing the DS screens horizontally next to each other on your television set, leaving most of your screen unused, instead of vertical of each other, do not play this game on the Wii. On the Wii, you need to use the buttons to constantly resize the two mini screens, use the nunchuck to run around, the A button to fight, and point the Wii mote at the screen to use the menu, which is how you are able to use any kind of magic. Worse yet, the game was not redesigned for the Wii, so the DS art is blown up and looks fuzzy the bigger the television set. This game was not formatted for the Wii and should never have been produced and released as a Wii game.

The game should take an overall eighteen hours to complete the story. There is not a great deal of dungeons, but the game still has a lot to offer after the story. There are many mini-game type side quests and many of those are multiplayer. There is also a Save+ option once you complete the game. If you liked the story enough to play it again, it would be a good idea to start the game over with the Save+, you get to keep your equipment, armor and weapons and continue to level them up. Hack-and-slash, dungeon crawls have many fans and this one shouldn’t be passed up if you are looking for a little multiplayer or single player action.

I give this game 8 out of 10.

Pet Society

I played Pet Society, I wouldn't say that it is art, it doesn't give me anything to really give me anything to think about or to mull over. I think the design of the characters is artistic since you get to create it and give it color and what not but I wouldn't call it riveting high art.

Video Games as Art?

The Ebert article really stuck out to me. I feel like he didn't look up the definition of 'art.' According to dictionary.com there are twenty results and the first one is "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance" (Summary of Aesthetic Principles http://www.movierapture.com/summary.htm ) "Film achieves its artistic potential by offering experiences that are emotionally and easthetically profound - stories that resonate deep inside us, reveal truths about humanity, and alter our perception of the world" (Rodosh). While not all games are created for this purpose, there are some that have kept many people through the tough times. A game that asks the player to make a moral decision like whether or not to help someone out or a game where you are held accountable for your actions are rare but there are some. Most people who have played video games have found at least one game that is either "beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance" to them and maybe only them. Isn't that what art is? Art can appall people or appeal to people, its all about personal preference. Just because Ebert hasn't found a video game he likes, doesn't mean that he can dismiss video games as art.

(SPOILER ALERT)
I can think of a few instances where a video game has moved me to tears, but I will only write about one. How many people have played Final Fantasy VII? How many of those people do you think felt the pain that Cloud felt as he watched Aeris (Aerith) get run through be Sephiroth's masamune? What about the pain felt through the words that come from Cloud himself as he is yelling at Sephiroth? "Shut up!!!!! The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry... or get angry... what about us... what are we supposed to do? What is this pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!" The pain is as real as reading it in a book, the scene could be acted out on a stage or for a movie, would you be moved? Does just reading it make your fingers tingle, your mouth dry or your eyes burn? Does the emotional movement on the player make it art? Is it art because the player can't change the outcome of the this part of the game?

Chrono Trigger also comes to mind, where you are held accountable for your actions at a fair during your trial. If you eat the old man's lunch you are a thief, if you pick up the princess's necklace before talking to her you are accused of caring about the jewelry more than her well-being, etc, etc. Does that make it art for Daniel Radosh?

I agreed with Croal (I assume that is the author of this piece) that "[i]f, as Ebert believes, art is created by an artist, who is the artisht when we go to see a production of "Romeo & Juliet"?" Ebert says that Shakespeare was an artist, but during his time look at the critics of his plays and now they are classics, just like the critics of film when it was young and now look at where movies have gone. In just a few years, where could video games go? We could be like the guy in the youtube video and say Killzone 2 is the 2015 and that is the future of gaming and the future is now. The video game medium is young and growing, what does the future hold for it?

Stop Your Complaining - Its Their/Your Own Opinion

I am not going to lie, I was a whole lot turned off by the guy in the video. He was so confusing. Was it just me, or did he just not make any sense (I mean that as in he didn't even know what he was going on about).

I honestly don't see whats the big deal about giving a game like Killzone 2 a 7 out of 10. 70 percent is average. People can buy an average game and still like it. Most things are based on 70 percent being pretty decent. I can understand getting a little upset, but everyone has their own opinion about video games. I wouldn't say Halo is anything but an 8 out of 10. And before I hear any of your comments about that, I have tried playing it. Its fun, but not something I would enjoy outside of multi-player, but that's just my opinion. I am ONE person out the millions or more who have played the game.

I guess I can kind of understand where the hate comes from. I have been called a "fangirl" before. I like anime/manga and there are some that I like that I wouldn't think that someone else would. But that doesn't mean that I don't like them for saying something bad about it. Everything has its good and bad. Most of the games I play aren't the greatest games in the world, but if they got a 4 out of 10, I wouldn't be upset about it, I have different taste in games than others. I would probably be considered a Nintendo fan, because I have a Wii, DS, GameCube, GameBoy, GBA, and a PSP. I have 3 games for the PSP and they aren't that great, but I like them.

I think it is important for people who read reviews to understand that not everyone shares their opinion and that just because they have been waiting for a game for months/years and it doesn't get a good review doesn't mean that it isn't a game. I think that they are being shallow if they have to a good review about a game that they like or are hoping to like. Who cares? Play the game, see some game play online or something and then decide if the reviewer just doesn't have the same taste as you or if the game really isn't that great. Its all about personal preference.

Critiques and Reviews

I never really thought about the difference between reviewing a game and critiquing a game. I think that there should be more critical analysis of video games and less of a review of them. I may not be the best person to critique a game, but even I can find flaws in any of my favorite games. But, a game obviously can't be flawed too badly if I can consider it to be one of my favorites. Games shouldn't be just about the art and graphics, look at the number of people who love Final Fantasy VII, while the graphics aren't amazing, the story makes up for it. Look at its prequel, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII that was released for the PSP in 2008. The graphics for the game are a great improvement from the blocky armed/handed characters that you run around as in FFVII, but Crisis Core is nothing compared to the original. A criticism would go deeper into way I feel that way.

Anyway, back to what I was saying. I think that people need more informed reasons as to why a game gets a 3 out of 5. Was it the graphics, the story, the voice acting, etc.? There are a lot things that would get a game a low review, but would not necessarily make it a bad game. I am sure a lot of people would say that "Braid" is a bad game, but I have seen it played and it is really neat, weird and different, but really neat. Personally, I don't think that I could ever play the game, but watching it was amazing. The fact that the player has complete control over rewinding time and undoing mistakes, I mean how many times have YOU wanted to push the rewind button and undo something you did without having to go back to your last save spot, I mean you don't even have to die, you just rewind. I am sure a lot of people would give up or say whatever, but its new and takes an interesting approach for gameplay.

My Game History

My Gaming History

 

            The first games I remember playing as a child were all on the Nintendo (NES).  Games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pac-man, Burger Time, and Dr. Mario were given to me and my sister by our half-brothers.  My mother got the most use out of the NES and eventually she got us each our own brick, the Nintendo Game Boy.  Games like Super Mario Land II: Six Golden Coins, Tetris, Super Mario Land, Kirby Pinball and Kirby’s Dream Land were the first games that we played.  Overtime, we got all kinds of games.  I played with the Game Boy more than my sister and every year I would ask for a new game, but my sister would always get the new game or system, like the year I wanted a Game Boy Color so that I could play The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, and she was the one who got the Game Boy Color.

            The first game that I really got into was Super Mario Land II: Six Golden Coins.  I remember beating that game on multiple occasions.  Really any Mario game is amazingly fun.  When my boyfriend and I are bored, we will bust out the Super Nintendo (SNES) and play either Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World.  Then next game that I really loved was Pokémon Red.  I knew that game in and out.  Beating the Elite Four over and over again, getting into the Pokémon Hall of Fame, catching, evolving, trading with friends, it was amazing.  Even today, I still play Pokémon games and if I feel like playing with some original Pokémon, I turn on my Nintendo Game Cube and plug in the Game Boy game adaptor and play it with the television screen instead of on the battery operated Game Boy.

            Eventually, I started playing other games.  While I have never owned a system that was not made by Nintendo (except the PSP which was a gift, more on that in a second), my best friend had a PlayStation.  She got me hooked on the best videos of all time, Final Fantasy; the first one I had ever seen was Final Fantasy VII.  I would watch her play for hours on end.  When she was gone for whatever reason and I was there by myself, I would play my own save file.  That story drew me in so deep.  Eventually she got other games.  She got Chocobo’s Dungeon II and Chocobo Racing.  Can you see a theme?  Square Soft (now Square Enix) games were our favorite.  We played for hours and would unlock everything.  When she got her GameCube, one of the first games that she got was Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.  These games are what influenced my love for games and my love for RPGs.  We also were really into the MMO Asherons’ Call.

            Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was the reason why I scraped and saved for the GameCube.  I only have five or so games for it but the number of hours of game play, the time searching for the right materials and crafting of weapons and armor that is where the purchase paid off.  I can go through any dungeon in that game and know exactly where I need to go and what to do.  My second big purchase for the GameCube was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  While I still have never completed the game (honestly I am terrified to try to pick it up again, because I do not think I will remember what to do next), I have tried playing every Zelda game, whether or not I have ever completed them.  I do not think that I have ever fully completed a Zelda game now that I think about it.

            The Kingdom Hearts series of games (again with the Square Enix games) I have either watched my friends complete or I have mostly completed myself.  Over the years, I have found myself becoming more of a video game observer than a video game player.  Still never owning a Sony or Microsoft game console, I have played and borrowed them from friends, until 2008.  Final Fantasy: Crisis Core came out exclusively for the Sony PSP.  As a present from a friend, I was finally able to play my own game.  That same year I bought my Nintendo DS and I try to pick that thing up every day.  Currently my games of choice are Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, Pokémon Platinum, and Chrono Trigger.  I am still working on the later two.  I really like playing random games on the Xbox 360, when I get the opportunity at my boyfriend’s house that is.  I really do not own a lot of games, nor have a played a lot of games, but I play my games until there is not anything left to do, except for Zelda for some reason.

I always wanted to play Kingdom Hearts but I was always worried about how I would do so I spent a lot of my time watching my friends playing it on my PlayStation 2. This was during my down time from gaming systems. I use to be the observer of games for quite some time and now that I'm back playing again, I can't help but want to yank the controler from someone's hand and play the game in front of me. Usually because I feel they just suck and I've spent too much time since November learning how to play Xbox360 games. I really like your gaming history and remember these games. To be young again and have the time to play, wouldn't that be great? -Meredith Haddock 9/17/09 12:05 PM 

Meredith, As I've noted in responses to the gaming histories of others, I find it interesting how our devotions play out, causing more adherence to the actual games over the consoles. For myself, the majority of the games I'm interested in are on the 360, so that's what I have. With Chrono Trigger re-released for the DS, I soon had one in my possession. Having glimpsed the potential of Little Big Planet, I did what I could to acquire a PS3. Significant interest in a continuing series of games (or something that appears new, interesting or revolutionary) is what dominates my own gaming and I appreciate seeing that to some degree in your own gaming history, too. Thanks for sharing! -James Schirmer 9/19/09 3:59 PM 

Video Game Culture

I would claim that I am more of an avid manga and anime consumer than I am of video games, so I am not going to lie, I have been to a few anime conventions, but most of my favorite Cosplayers were dressed as video game characters.  While some are rather extreme, these people are not afraid to go out and show what they like.  Donkey Kong has been around for a long time, same as Zelda and the Final Fantasy Series and Metal Gear Series too.

(I took these photos either at Ohayoo con or Anime Weekend Atlanta.)

I would not consider these people as "The Hipsters of Gaming," but they are fans and have put a lot of time and effort into their costumes to show the rest of the anime fans that they do not just like anime, but games too.  "'A
hipster is judged by what’s now; gamers, by what they were playing in 1993.'" 

Being at any kind of convention whether it be for anime (ACEN, Ohayoo con, etc) or gaming (Gen Con) there is a different culture.  When all of these people get together they can find similarities and differences in gaming preference and style.  These people are not just casually playing a game on their cellphones or picking up a game that can be set down and picked up whenever, if they set one of these games down for a few weeks and then try to come back to them, they probably would have to start over because of the depth of the game that has been lost and forgotten.  Games like Zelda, Silent Hill, and Final Fantasy have so much depth that in order to fully enjoy the full extent of the game, the gamer needs to give full commitment to them.  The "Hipsters" of gaming would follow the fads and never truly appreciate to time and energy that these gamers have put into their game play (let alone their costumes for a convention).

For most, video gaming is not a hobby, its a way of life.

I think that video game vs videogame ...

I think that arcade games, card games and boardgames, even if played on a different medium than what they were originally created for, are still what they were originally called.  Some examples that I could think of were some of the games that I used to play when I was younger.

Examples:
    1) Arcade Games that I played on the Nintendo: BurgerTime, Pacman, and Donkey Kong, are just a few.
    2) Boardgames and Card Games released for the computer: Candy Land, Clue, Hearts, etc.

While they are played on a typical video game medium, they were originally made in another format.

I do not really like digital games, it seems to encompass too many things that I would not consider a game by definition.  I think that video game is best, it is a game that uses a video output, vs. videogame which seems to try too hard to bring everything together.  I really have never thought too hard about it, but I have always used video game without the space.

Sorry my post is so late, but for some reason I just did not realize that it did not post... At least Google docs saved it.

English Class Start

I got it to work...