Review by: Cole Jones

While last generation’s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles may have been quite the link cable-laden oddball, it was still best known as the single shining Final Fantasy beacon on the GameCube. While there’s been other titles since Crystal Cronicles’ inception, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is FFCC’s true spiritual successor. It brings console/handheld compatibility to a different level with an interactive (and literally identical) experience; allowing anyone with a DS or a Wii to jump in on the action.

For the most part, FFCC: Echoes of Time is an enthralling, easy-to-play adventure that harkens back to all the fun times you might have had with its predecessor. It features a standard crystal-based Final Fantasy story that's served up with a heaping scoop of the whimsy that's reminiscent of the tales found in Chocobo’s Dungeon or other lighthearted FF adventures. The playful tone of the game is echoed throughout your character's conversations, and even when they’re not informative, they're regularly welcome and even solicit a few laughs along the way.

As an action-RPG that plays out like a mini-MMO, Echoes of Time is meant to be shared with others. It truly shines when you’re in the heat of the battle with some friends, beating the living crap out of some humongous baddie that otherwise would otherwise decimate your puny character. Playing Echoes of Time single-handedly, while completely possible and still enjoyable, just doesn't quite do the game as much justice. For starters, the game’s A.I., which is intended to help you along the way, does little more than offer up some bumbling comrades to plod alongside you. While they’ll often get in a few hits in here and there if you let them (and can quickly double up your spells), they’re hardly half as effective as a real-life compatriot– especially when they follow your every move in boss battles instead of keeping up the good fight.

Yet even when playing alone, Echoes of Time remains a lengthy, enjoyable game with lots of optional quests to embark upon, and loads of items to be discovered, synthesized, and improved upon. Synthesis scrolls and jewels, the latter of which can be added to equipment to garner stat boosts and other abilities, can be bought or found on your journey to help customize your favorite warrior – something that becomes even more fun when you notice that each article of equipment modifies your characters appearance as well. The game looks noticeably better on the DS than the Wii (as the Wii version is simply an ugly, blown up, emulated version of the pint-sized game), but considering the system’s meager 3D capabilities and stellar soundtrack, it’s hard to harp on its quality handheld presentation.

Echoes of Time's control layout is one of the most intuitive on the DS that I’ve seen in quite some time. Since the game is meant to be played with multiple characters (be they NPCs or WiFi friends), one half of the control screen is filled with tappable/clickable character portraits that allow you to quickly switch between your characters, while the opposite half of the screen holds your six selectable, stackable spells. It might not be as deep as, well, almost any other Final Fantasy, but the way it allows you to quickly tap (or point and click) to juggle characters and spells works without much of a hitch; especially on the spacious DSi. On the Wii, however the control system works simply "alright;" making it extremely obvious that this game was designed for the DS.

Although it does an admirable job keeping the 3D action looking pretty, slowdown and camera problems occasionally impede on the experience. It’s not so bad in the earlier parts of the game, but when you’re hits away from being annihilated by a giant monster that can take away half your HP with a power move, slowdown is the last thing you need – and especially embarrassing on the more powerful Wii.