There's no question that Wii owners have been starved of RPG experiences, even now, three-and-a-half years since its release. One game that Wii owners have been holding out for to deliver that experience is The Crystal Bearers. Unfortunately for Wii owners, The Crystal Bearers is much more of an adventure title than it is an RPG, and a mediocre adventure title at that.
The Crystal Bearers starts off with a bang, featuring an extremely fast-paced, high energy opening sequence that has players gunning down enemies, performing quicktime events and navigating a giant ship to safety. Those familiar with the work of Quantic Dream will immediately connect with the on-screen action.
This sequence is the start of the adventure of Layle, a Crystal Bearer who possesses the power of Telekinesis - the ability to move things with one's mind. This ability is used to perform all actions within the game, from communicating with friends to defeating foes. Items are picked up and tossed, enemies thrown into one another, and switches are turned all with a simple flick, point and button press of the Wii Remote.
While the mechanic works very well throughout the extent of the game, it unfortunately is the only mechanic there is. Though interesting at first, it doesn't take long to grow bored with the simple move and the redundant combat. Because this singular mechanic is the cornerstone of the experience the game itself becomes boring and tedious as a result.
In order to maintain interest in the title, players must enjoy exploration and fetch quests, as they define the majority of time spent in the world of The Crystal Bearers. No matter where Layle travels, players will be grabbing and opening chests (containing some of the most hideous looking coins ever seen in a current generation game) while traversing the landscape via his special power.
Oddly enough, though The Crystal Bearers offers an extremely varied set of locales, much of the experience felt very linear. As I moved along through the game, I couldn't help but feel like I was on a very long road that just happened to have changing scenery and even a few towns built into it along the way. It's an odd situation as it takes away from the wonderment of exploration and the structure of a well-defined world with each of the areas having a distinct purpose.
Much of The Crystal Bearers is based around its somewhat mundane story arc. Fans of the Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy world will undoubtedly appreciate what is presented, but most others will wish there was a way to skip cutscenes whenever the flat characters push the boring storyline forward.
Without much attachment to the story, it was hard for me to find a reason to keep moving forward. Bland combat, a lack of feeling of exploration, and a boring storyline was a losing combination. Regardless of its faults, the game does have a sense of personality.
The graphics hold up quite well, though some anti-aliasing would've gone a long way, and the sound is interesting and extremely versatile. More often than not, I found that the new songs featured in each area were the most interesting part of the game. The character designs are also top notch, making for some of the coolest looking renditions of classic Final Fantasy characters seen to date.
The few boss battles that exist in the game prove to be entertaining, but the horrendous camera work definitely sucks a certain amount of enjoyment from them. Because players must use the D-Pad to direct the camera, it's never easy to put the camera in the right place while lots of action is occurring on the screen.
It's a true shame that Square Enix didn't invest more effort into Layle's telekinesis mechanics, as some variety would've made the experience much more enjoyable. Combined with the fact that players can't level up in the traditional sense, the unvaried gameplay is its downfall. The abundance of personality in both the graphics and sound only make this sting worse.
Hopefully Square Enix takes note of the shortcomings of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers and produces a follow-up that carries on the game's personality and basic concepts but varies and improves them to create a much more engaging experience.
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