GENRE
	Action Adventure
	DEVELOPER
	Square Enix
	PUBLISHER
	Square Enix
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is the latest entry in the Nintendo exclusive spin-off of Square Enix’s bread-earning franchise. What started as multiplayer-centric action RPGs on GameCube and DS has arrived on Wii with a brand new style much more reminiscent of a typical action adventure. Unfortunately, this simplification in game design is easily Crystal Bearers’ greatest weakness; Square Enix invested heavily in presenting a beautiful and interesting world but forgot to pay as much attention to the gameplay.

To start things off with a major positive, Crystal Bearers presents a compelling scenario that should immediately resonate with fans of the series, while also pushing the Crystal Chronicle world forward. Following the events of the original GameCube title, a great war erupted between the magical Yuke tribe and the more industrial, and onion like, Lilty tribe. The Lilties ultimately won and the Yukes disappeared entirely from the world. With the Lilty tribe leading the world, technology flourished and the crystals the series have always revolved around now serve as the fuel for the fires of Lilty industry. With the Yukes gone and crystals relegated to more practical purposes, magic users are a rare breed known as crystal bearers -- feared for their mastery of arcane arts and sought after for their unique skills. This setting opens the door to many fascinating possibilities, and for the most part, Crystal Bearers manages to take advantage of it while weaving its story.

The game focuses on Layle, a Clavat crystal bearer with telekinetic powers who has a good working relationship with the Lilty empire. Things kick off with Layle escorting the Lilty’s latest and greatest airship on its maiden voyage, a pleasure cruise that quickly goes awry when flying monsters start attacking the vessel. Layle fights off the monsters only to discover that they have been summoned by Amidatelion, the first Yuke to be seen since the tribe mysteriously disappeared. The powerful mage is on a quest to gather the crystal shards that power the Lilty machines while Layle is tasked with figuring out who this powerful foe is and what greater purpose the crystals serve. Overall, events unfold at a much faster pace than typical Final Fantasy titles but this is largely for the better; the story focuses more on keeping the action coming while avoiding overdrawn side stories and needlessly complicated plot points. The best part of this focus on action is ultimately the characters, they might not be quite as well developed as those in the primary franchise, but they are ultimately just as, if not more, likable because they are freed from the mountains of melodrama that have come to bog down the Japanese RPG genre.

Another major player in the quest to bring the Crystal Chronicles world to life is the exceptional visual presentation. Square has always been acclaimed for the ability to squeeze incredible graphics out of any hardware, and this title is no exception. Crystal Bearers is a good looking game, and not just by Wii standards. Right off the bat, the character models will most likely be the first thing to impress, every facial feature, hairdo and piece of clothing has been crafted with incredible digital craftsmanship. However, the most impressive facet of this visual jewel is simply the overall level of detail in the world as a whole; the environments are widely varied and brought to life thanks to each area’s unique and surprisingly realistic artistic direction. The attention to detail also comes through during the battles and more intense cut scenes, which feature some of the best lighting and particle effects on Wii.

Tragically, this review has to start going downhill someplace, and things start to gradually descend when it comes to the audio. The overall sound design in Crystal Bearers is actually quite good, but it shows many more weaknesses than the visuals. First and foremost, the sound track offers a well produced and unique set of tunes that varies from classically influenced pieces to banjo filled songs that sound like something out of a hoedown. The soundtrack might not prove as classic as those in other Final Fantasy titles, but the lighter approach fits in quite well with the game's overall faster and lighter style. The voice acting is the first real weak spot in Crystal Bearers’ armor; the dialogue is fairly well written considering the overall tone of the game but the acting is quite inconsistent with some characters being given justice and others being just plain laughable.

So, the story is good, the graphics are great, and audio is a mixed bag – too bad this is all wasted by the faulty foundation of gameplay. The focus of Crystal Bearers is on Layle’s telekinetic powers which are utilized by pointing at and grasping on screen objects and characters with the Wii Remote. While the pointer and motion based functionalities work just fine, almost every single aspect of the game relies completely on this mechanic. Puzzles and switches all require yanks with the Wii Remote and every battle revolves around throwing objects or enemies at other enemies. This wouldn’t be too bad if twists to the mechanics were added in every now and again, but the gameplay remains static throughout the game. Pick up and throw, pick up and throw, pick up and throw, pick up and throw. Needless to say, Crystal Bearers gets repetitive very quickly.

With the main mechanics being so simple and overused, Crystal Bearers needs something to add to the experience, but every other part of the game suffers from the same simplicity. The usual level grinding and stat boosting elements of classic Final Fantasy titles has been boiled down to simply collecting materials to construct new accessories and the only character customization to be found is choosing the emblem on the back of Layle’s jacket. Some side missions and minigames are thrown in throughout the story but these too feature simple ideas and repetitive mechanics. The only real motivation to continue playing after completing the story is an achievement like award system that ultimately falls flat thanks to too many uninteresting challenges and even fewer meaningful rewards.

Crystal Bearers is a game in desperate need of more variety. After putting in a couple of hours most gamers will be seasoned veterans of the game’s mechanics and start to grow tired of them. Taking into consideration the interesting setting, solid story, and beautiful graphics only makes the situation that much sadder because it serves as a reminder of how good this game could have been. Perhaps Crystal Bearers would have been better served it was a more traditional Final Fantasy experience where the fascinating world could have been more thoroughly explored with more tested gameplay mechanics. What could have been cannot change the final product now on store shelves, a game with one good idea that is never built upon and ultimately becomes boring.

6.5/10