Did you know that in an interesting turn of events, Square Enix, famed roleplaying game developer of the Final Fantasy franchise, has made a Wii port of the DS game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time? Did you also know that owners of the Wii version will be able to play online with owners of the DS version? The catch is that the Wii version’s graphics are nearly identical to that of the DS version.
Echoes of Time plays vastly similar to Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. It is an action RPG in which the player travels from place to place on his journey, completing quests, defeating monsters, getting stronger and acquiring better and rarer items. I guess you could say it’s Final Fantasy meets Diablo: which is actually a pretty good thing.
As I mentioned before, one of the big selling points has been it’s online, but in addition to the online multiplayer mode there is a singleplayer option, which may be more convenient if you just wish to play through and enjoy the game’s storyline. Either options are appealing and insure some good replay value.
But one thing you may be curious about is how they solved the problem of the two screens that are required to play the DS version. Simple: there are still two screens in the Wii version, side by side. You can customize each screen’s size, and use magic and switch characters and use items etc, by using the pointer on the extra screen where in the DS version players would use the stylus. You can also use the d-pad to switch characters and use magic; it’s your choice. This is one of the few notable differences gameplay-wise between the DS and Wii versions, one of which is that in the Wii version load times are pretty much nonexistent.
While it may have seemed a bit of a weird decision to port a handheld game to the Wii, it may be one that really pays off, at least commercially. Square Enix knows what they are doing. And anyways, if you are willing to forgive some lacking graphics for the sake of engaging gameplay and some features the DS version happens to be without, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time may be for you.
