Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (video game)

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Main other{{#invoke:infobox|infoboxTemplate | child = | subbox = | bodyclass = ib-video-game hproduct {{#ifeq:|yes|collapsible {{#if:|{{{state}}}|autocollapse}}}} | templatestyles = Infobox video game/styles.css | aboveclass = fn | italic title =

| above = Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

| image = {{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image={{#invoke:WikidataIB |getValue|rank=best|P18 |name=image |qid= |suppressfields= |fetchwikidata=ALL |onlysourced=no |noicon=yes|Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (box art).jpg}}|size=|sizedefault=frameless|upright=1|alt=|border=|suppressplaceholder=yes}}

| caption = {{#if:Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (box art).jpg|North American GameCube cover art|North American GameCube cover art}}

| label2 = Developer(s) | data2 = The Game Designers StudioTemplate:Efn

| label3 = Publisher(s) | data3 = Nintendo (GameCube)
Square Enix (Remastered)

| label4 = Director(s) | data4 = Kazuhiko Aoki
Ryoma Araki (Remastered)

| label5 = Producer(s) | data5 = Akitoshi Kawazu
Ryoma Araki (Remastered)

| label6 = Designer(s) | data6 = Template:If first display both

| label7 = Programmer(s) | data7 = Mitsuru Kamiyama

| label8 = Artist(s) | data8 = Toshiyuki Itahana
Rubi Asami (Remastered)

| label9 = Writer(s) | data9 = Masahiro Kataoka

| label10 = Composer(s) | data10 = Kumi Tanioka
Hidenori Iwasaki (Remastered)

| label11 = Series | data11 = Final Fantasy Template:Small
Crystal Chronicles Template:Small

| label12 = Engine | data12 = Template:If first display both

| label13 = Platform(s) | data13 = GameCube
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
Android
iOS

| label14 = Release | data14 = GameCubeTemplate:VgreleaseRemastered Edition
NS, PS4, Android, iOSTemplate:Vgrelease

| label15 = Genre(s) | data15 = Action role-playing

| label16 = Mode(s) | data16 = Single-player, multiplayer

| label17 = Arcade system | data17 = Template:If first display both

| data30 =

| below = Template:EditOnWikidata

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Template:Nihongo foot is an action role-playing video game developed by The Game Designers Studio and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It was released in 2003 in Japan and 2004 in North America, Europe and Australia. A remastered version for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS was released in August 2020. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series and beginning of the series of the same name, Crystal Chronicles was the first title in the franchise to be released for a Nintendo home console since Final Fantasy VI in 1994.

Players take on the role of adventurers who travel in a caravan gathering mystical fuel for crystals which protect the world's settlements from the destructive Miasma. The single-player campaign has the player escort the vessel carrying the crystal's energy, defending it from enemies and solving puzzles to progress. Multiplayer, which uses Game Boy Advance units connected using the console's link cable, has up to four players protecting the vessel.

Deciding to partner with Nintendo for game development following severe financial problems created by the failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, franchise creator Square formed the Game Designers Studio as a shell company to develop for Nintendo hardware without impacting games for Sony platforms. The development team wanted to create an accessible gameplay experience focusing on multiplayer. The music, written by Kumi Tanioka, made extensive use of medieval and Renaissance musical instruments.

Upon release, the title was positively received by journalists, and was nominated for multiple awards. Reaching high sales positions in Japan and the West, it went on to sell over one million copies worldwide. The remastered version saw generally mixed reviews, with many faulting the change to online-only multiplayer, and by-then dated gameplay mechanics. Subsequent entries in the Crystal Chronicles series have released for Nintendo consoles, beginning with Ring of Fates for the Nintendo DS.

Gameplay

File:Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles battle1.png

Four team members in battle

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is an action role-playing game where players take control of a group of adventurers who travel the world searching for rare trees which produce "myrrh", used to fuel crystals protecting the world's settlements from the poisonous Miasma.<ref name="GSpot"/><ref name="NinGameplay1"/> Players are guided through a repeating series of events which dictate their progress through the game and its story. The adventurers set out from their village, travelling to the trees guarding the vessel which gathers the myrrh, exploring dungeons in which the trees reside, then returning home to renew their village's protective crystal.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp

Players choose their avatar character from one of four races; they can be male or female, each with four pre-set body types. Each race has specific strengths, such as the human-like Clavats having high defence and magic statistics and the nomadic Selkies being able to use special abilities with less cooldown time. Each character's attributes are further customised by choosing the profession of their family, which gives the character access to unique facilities and items each time they return to their home town.<ref name="GSpot"/><ref name="NinGameplay1"/> Players navigate the world map with their Caravan, and enter town and dungeon environments discovered during the journey. In towns, the player can freely explore and use the available facilities to create and upgrade both items and equipment using materials and blueprints gathered during their journey. The player can also encounter other caravans and travellers, triggering story events.<ref name="GSpot"/><ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp Items used to support the player are both bought in shops and received as gifts from the player character's family.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp

While exploring dungeons, players are confined to a safe zone created by the vessel, fighting enemies in a style similar to hack and slash games with actions assigned to command buttons; actions can be chained together into short combination attacks using equipped weapons to increase damage and charge up magic abilities. Magic can be used to damage enemies or trigger status ailments, with multiple spells able to fuse and create new effects in battle.<ref name="GSpot"/><ref name="IGNreview"/> The elemental affinity of the player's attacks can be changed using crystals found in dungeons. Certain elemental affinities are necessary for crossing into new zones otherwise blocked by streams of Miasma.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp Instead of an experience point system, character attributes and statistics are increased by completing challenges in each dungeon session which award skill points, and Artifacts found in dungeons which can be equipped to a character.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp<ref name="IGNreview"/>

In single-player, the player controls one character guarding the Moogle-held vessel from monster attacks while navigating dungeons.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp The game's multiplayer allows up to four players to join in a local gameplay session; multiplayer relies on the GameCube console linking with the Game Boy Advance (GBA) link cable. All players are displayed on the screen, while their GBAs both control their characters and allow functions such as shopping in towns and performing battle functions.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp<ref name="IGNreview"/> Character attributes are increased in the same way, except that the necessary points are given to the best player during that session.<ref name="IGNreview"/> In battle, players can raise attack meters using standard attacks in succession, and combine individual spells to create more powerful versions for higher damage.<ref name="NinGameplay1"/> The link cable can also be used in single player, allowing the GBA to be used both as a controller and a second screen displaying radar information. The type of radar and what it shows is determined by the color the player's Moogle—one of a recurring Final Fantasy race—is painted during stays in towns and visits to the adventurers' hometown.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp<ref name="NinGameplay2"/>

Plot

Crystal Chronicles takes place in an unnamed fantasy world inhabited by four races. The player takes control of a caravan hailing from the village of Tipa, in which members of the world's four races come together to help its mission.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp 1000 years before the game's events, the world's sustaining Great Crystal was shattered by a meteorite carrying an alien lifeform called the Meteor Parasite. The Parasite generated a poisonous vapour called the Miasma, which kills anyone it touches. Fragments of the Great Crystal ward off the Miasma from surviving settlements, but require renewal using myrrh, an energy harvested from magical trees using magical vessels protected by dedicated caravans.<ref name="Manuel"/>Template:Rp<ref name="CCguide"/> The Tipa caravanners go on missions across the world to gather myrrh, learning the world's history from travellers and characters found in other settlements.

The caravanners eventually reach the home of the Carbuncles, an ancient race who guided the world's races to the Great Crystal fragments before going into hiding. After hearing of their adventures, the Carbuncles direct the caravanners to the source of the Miasma, asking them to destroy the Meteor Parasite. The caravanners fight the Meteor Parasite, but before they can kill it are transported to an unknown realm. There they meet Mio and her evil counterpart Raem, metaphysical beings born following the Great Crystal's destruction. Raem attacks the caravanners, merging with Mio to increase his power, before being finally destroyed. Mio and Raem separate and fade away, then the caravanners are sent back to Mount Vellenge to destroy the wounded Meteor Parasite. The world is freed from the Miasma—allowing the four tribes to begin rebuilding civilisation—and the caravanners return home.

Development

Crystal Chronicles was the first original Final Fantasy title to be developed for a Nintendo console since the release of Final Fantasy VI in 1994.<ref name="GTretroXI"/> Final Fantasy developer Square had broken with Nintendo in 1996 to develop Final Fantasy VII and future mainline entries in the series for Sony's PlayStation platforms, resulting in a long-standing enmity between Square and Nintendo. In 2001, following the financial failure of the feature film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Sony purchased a stake in the company amounting to 19% of shares. After considering their still-poor financial situation and wishing to keep their staff from leaving, Square decided to begin developing titles for Nintendo consoles once again. Sony, whose rivalry with Nintendo had softened with the appearance of Microsoft's Xbox on the console market, agreed to the partnership on the condition that it would not impact development of titles for the PlayStation 2. This resulted in the creation of "The Game Designers Studio", a shell company for Square's Product Development Division 2 co-owned by Square and Akitoshi Kawazu, a staff member famous for his work on the SaGa series.<ref name="developer"/><ref name="studios"/><ref name="Retro1UPkawazu"/>

Development of the new project began in late 2001.<ref name="unlimited"/> The title was developed with the aid of Q Fund, a fund set up by Nintendo's Hiroshi Yamauchi to help first-time developers for the GameCube and GBA consoles.<ref name="developer"/><ref name="unlimited"/> Kawazu acted as the game's producer.<ref name="IGN"/> The director was Kazuhiko Aoki, a veteran of the Final Fantasy series who had worked on Final Fantasy IX. The artwork and character designs were created by Toshiyuki Itahana, who had also worked on IX.<ref name="GTretroXI"/> During the game's development in 2003, Square underwent a merger with Enix to become Square Enix, though the nature of the merger meant operations at the Gamer Designers Studio continued as normal.<ref name="SQEXmergerInfoA"/><ref name="SQEXmergerInfoB"/> Square Localization Specialist Aziz Hinoshita stated that the game was originally meant to be an offshoot of Final Fantasy, and once the series was established it would drop the connection to that series and would be called "Crystal Chronicles".<ref name="Untold"/> It was the only title ever developed by the company for the GameCube.<ref name="SQEXplatforms"/>

Similar to his SaGa games, Kawazu wanted to promote player freedom.<ref name="Retro1UPkawazu"/> The basic concept was to build a game around use of the link cable.<ref name="NOMinterview"/> Kawazu explained that using the GBA would "introduce different elements of gameplay".<ref name="IGN"/> He later stated that this type of multiplayer meant "the entry was a bit high" for potential players.<ref name="IGNCrystalInfo"/> The battle system was initially going to use the series' recurring Active Time Battle system, but instead chose a purely action-based system to allow more people to enjoy the gameplay. Leveling based on experience points was also removed to create a level field for players. It was initially planned to include a human sidekick character, but upon considering its impact on multiplayer, they changed it to the current Moogle system.<ref name="NOMinterview"/>

The game's event planner was Masahiro Kataoka, a Square staff member who had previously worked in that capacity on Final Fantasy IX.<ref name="Kataoka1"/> The central plot details of the Miasma and role of Crystals were established early on, based around the wish to keep players together. Each race's defining traits were influenced by the designers' decisions about their combat options, with story-based additions coming from the planners later in production. The narrations which accompanied new areas were written in the style of journal entries, designed to both fit the theme of a caravan and introduce a new area to the player.<ref name="CrystalRetroInterview"/> While previous Final Fantasy games were driven by their narrative, Crystal Chronicles was driven by its gameplay; the narrative was instead communicated through basic storytelling and environmental narrative. Despite this shift, recurring elements from the Final Fantasy were included.<ref name="NOMinterview"/> The many encounters players had along the way were important to Kawazu, with the scenario designers "pushing themselves as far as they could" to fill the game world with these encounters and accompanying lore. Most of them were created well after production had begun.<ref name="CrystalRetroInterview"/>

Itahana heard about the project while he was attached to Final Fantasy XII during its early production, and transferred over to work on Crystal Chronicles.<ref name="4Ginterview"/> The scenario was already decided upon, with Itahana working from their briefs. A recurring theme in his artwork was the phrase "Memento mori".<ref name="ItahanaRemastered"/> The four races were designed to have distinct sillouettes, so players would not get confused. Itahana originally created a cat-like race for the game, but Kawazu "hated" their design, so he created the plant-themed Lilties as a replacement.<ref name="CrystalRetroInterview"/> His work on the game lacked strong character designs due to the online multiplayer nature of the title.<ref name="4Ginterview"/> The player character designs were intended to be highly distinctive, allowing players to differentiate each other during play sessions. When creating the graphics, the team created graphical effects they considered possible only on the GameCube, and constantly checked background designs throughout development. Due to the multitude of elements new to Final Fantasy being incorporated into Crystal Chronicles, the development team faced multiple difficulties.<ref name="NOMinterview"/>

Music

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The soundtrack to Crystal Chronicles was primarily composed by Kumi Tanioka, while music programmer and arranger Hidenori Iwasaki provided one additional piece of music.<ref name="Credits"/><ref name="CCostLiners"/> Prior to Crystal Chronicles, Tanioka had worked on the score of Final Fantasy XI.<ref name="IGN"/> Beginning work on the score in 2002, Tanioka and Iwasaki decided to exclusively use period instruments.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/> The soundtrack makes extensive use of many medieval and Renaissance musical instruments such as the recorder, the crumhorn and the lute, creating a distinctively rustic feel. Tanioka said that the idea came to her while looking at illustrations of the game world, which gave her the idea of making "world music", where the tracks would "not [be] limited to a single country or culture". She also credits Iwasaki with doing "fantastic technical work" that brought her vision to life.<ref name="interview1"/> The live music was performed by the Roba Music Theater, whom Iwasaki and Tanioka had seen perform. In addition to performing, the musicians made suggestions about the use of instruments.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/>

The game features two vocal themes; the opening theme "Kaze no Ne",Template:Efn and the ending theme "Hoshizukiyo".Template:Efn<ref name="SQEXmusic"/> Tanioka originally composed a longer version of "Kaze no Ne", but to keep the opening at a reasonable length she had to shorten it.<ref name="FamInterviewRemaster"/> The Japanese versions are sung by Yae Fujimoto, while the English versions are sung by Donna Burke. Burke also provided narration for the English version of the game.<ref name="SQEXmusic"/><ref name="Burke1"/><ref name="Burke2"/> The lyrics for both "Kaze no Ne" and "Hoshizukiyo" were written by Kataoka.<ref name="Kataoka2"/> Describing her localization of the songs, Burke felt it was a challenge as Japanese is a more compact language than English, meaning she needed to "pad [the lyrics] out about 30-40%". Rather than a direct adaptation, Burke's work carried a similar message using altered words.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/>

A soundtrack album was released under the Pony Canyon label on August 20, 2003. It included all of the music from the game with the exception of the English versions of "Kaze no Ne" and "Hoshizukiyo".<ref name="RPGFOST" /> Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: A Musical Journey was a European promotional album which was given alongside the game on March 11, 2004 as a pre-order bonus. It contains six tracks from the soundtrack, including "Kaze No Ne" in both Japanese and English, the only time the English version has been released. It was published by Nintendo of Europe.<ref name="SQEXmusic"/> "Kaze no Ne" was released as a single by Pony Canyon, featuring "Kaze No Ne", an arranged version, and two other songs by Yae from her album Blue Line. The single was released on July 30, 2003.<ref name="RPGFOST2"/>

Release

The game was officially announced at the Jump Festa event in Japan in December 2002.<ref name="FFCCannounced"/> A Western release was announced in April the following year.<ref name="CCwest"/> The game was among those shown by Square Enix at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo, alongside a number of other titles including Final Fantasy XI and X-2, and other titles including Unlimited SaGa and Drakengard.<ref name="CCe3"/> Crystal Chronicles was released in Japan on August 8, 2003, after being delayed twice.<ref name="CCjpDate"/> The game came packaged with a GameCube-GBA link cable for use in multiplayer.<ref name="CClink"/> In North America, the game was released on February 9, 2004,<ref name="CCnaDate"/> in Europe on March 12,<ref name="CCpalDate"/> and Australia on March 19.<ref name="CCausDate"/> The game was published worldwide by Nintendo.<ref name="CCwest"/><ref name="CCpalDate"/>

Remastered Edition

A remastered version, titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition, was released in 2020.<ref name="CrystalRemastered1"/><ref name="CrystalRemastered2"/> The remaster includes enhanced graphics, new and arranged music, thirteen new dungeons, voice acting, and cross-platform online multiplayer.<ref name="4Ginterview"/><ref name="CrystalRemastered2"/><ref name="CCdate"/><ref name="CrystalRqa"/> The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS mobile platforms.<ref name="CrystalRemastered1"/><ref name="CCdate"/> The port's online engine environment, dubbed STRIX Engine, was licensed from Fantasy Earth Zero developer SoftGear.<ref name="RemasteredSoft"/><ref name="RemakeEngine"/> Originally scheduled for a release in January 2020, it was delayed past the original planned release so the development team could further polish the game.<ref name="CrystalRemasterDelayed"/> The game was released online worldwide on August 27.<ref name="JPremastered"/><ref name="WWremastered"/> A physical cartridge for Nintendo Switch was released only in Japan. A free downloadable Lite Version, acting as a demo covering three dungeons, was released alongside the retail version. Players of the Lite Version can join multiplayer sessions with retail version owners, allowing them to experience all thirteen dungeons.<ref name="CrystalDemo"/> The Lite Version was developed late in full production, when the majority of the remaster was in place.<ref name="SilRemastered"/>

Producer and director Ryoma Araki talked with senior staff about remastering older games after finishing work on another project.<ref name="4Ginterview"/><ref name="SilRemastered"/> Araki had joined Square Enix originally after seeing Crystal Chronicles, and so when the chance came he expressed his wish to revive the game for a modern generation.<ref name="CrystalRqa"/> While they had the option to remake it, Araki wanted to keep the game faithful to the memories of earlier players, both evoking nostalgia and assuring them that Crystal Chronicles was returning unchanged. Itahana returned, creating new lead character designs, but due to positive fan memories the original player designs were kept intact.<ref name="4Ginterview"/> Itahana worked on the new designs with Rubi Asami, who had previously worked on Mobius Final Fantasy.<ref name="ItahanaRemastered"/>

Araki estimated that around half the game had been remade rather than remastered due to the number of changes and additions.<ref name="SilRemastered"/> When consulting Aoki and Kawazu, Araki was asked to keep the project faithful to its roots and update it for modern players. In addition to enhancing the graphics, the team improved the AI character behavior.<ref name="FamInterviewRemaster"/> Along with the new features, many of the changes were small adjustments done to increase its playability for a modern audience. One of these changes was the timing system for casting magic, which was adjusted to both work through an online connection and be more lenient on players than the original version. The mimic mechanic, which allows players to appear as characters met during the story, was implemented as a way for players to continue travelling with favorite characters without breaking the narrative flow.<ref name="CrystalRqa"/> Unlike the original, the remaster does not support local multiplayer. During production, the team had to choose between local and online co-op rather than having both, so they opted for online to allow the maximum number of people to play.<ref name="CrystalRmultiplayer"/> Commenting on the delays, Araki said the team were prioritising a smooth playing experience, but he ended up being "reprimanded by a lot of important people".<ref name="SilRemastered"/>

Composer Hidenori Iwasaki was brought in to both compose new tunes and arrange the original themes, though this was originally unplanned.<ref name="4Ginterview"/> The remaster was planned to use the original score, but the team's passion for the project prompted the decision to also remaster the music tracks.<ref name="CrystalRqa"/> Remastering the old score was very easy as the original sound files had been kept in "perfect condition". While they worked on the game for a year, remastering the original score took only three months.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/> New themes were composed by Tanioka, who had become a freelance composer and performer in 2010.<ref name="FamInterviewRemaster"/> In order to recall her feelings to create new tracks, Tanioka listened to the original soundtrack.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/> While the new themes were mainly for the additional dungeons, other tracks were incorporated into the rest of the game.<ref name="SilRemastered"/> The new boss battle theme, while more energetic and modern-sounding than the original score, was written in the same style as Tanioka's earlier work.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/> Fujimoto and Burke both returned to record new versions of the opening and ending themes.<ref name="FamInterviewRemaster"/><ref name="FFCCRtheme"/> Burke enjoyed redoing the English theme, as she had gained more depth and experience since the original release.<ref name="CrystalComposer"/>

Reception

Template:Video game reviews Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu praised the game's fairytale aesthetic and unconventional treatment of the RPG genre;<ref name="FamReview"/> journalists Shane Bettenhausen, Jennifer Tsao and Kevin Gifford Electronic Gaming Monthly each gave the game high praise for its innovation in gameplay and graphical style.<ref name="egm"/> EurogamerTemplate:'s Rob Fahey gave the game a near-perfect score, noting the clear production values and calling it "one of the best action RPGs" he played; his only major fault was the implementation of multiplayer and its potential problems.<ref name="EuroReview"/>

Andrew Reiner—writing for Game Informer—was highly critical of the overall experience, calling the game "an experiment gone awry [...] unfit to bear the sacrosanct Final Fantasy name". A second opinion given by Adam Biessener supported this view, with Biessener feeling that the game did little to distinguish itself from other similar titles.<ref name="gameinformer"/> GameSpotTemplate:'s Brad Shoemaker enjoyed the game despite faulting its high hardware demands for the full experience,<ref name="GSpot"/> and his publication later named it the best GameCube game of February 2004.<ref name=gotm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mary Jane Irwin of IGN also gave praise to its gameplay concepts and design, but noted a lack of replay value and the steep entry requirements for multiplayer.<ref name="IGNreview"/> 1Up.com praised the Gauntlet-like gameplay while criticizing FFCCTemplate:'s item-management system that made juggling items a chore.<ref name="1UP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reviewers praised the game's art design and music, but most considered the story lacking compared to other Final Fantasy games. The gameplay was lauded for its implementation of multiplayer despite the hardware requirements and its detrimental effect on the single player campaign. A consensus in both Japanese and international reviews was that it was an innovative title, but with several flaws keeping it from being ranked among the best Final Fantasy games.<ref name="GSpot"/><ref name="IGNreview"/><ref name="egm"/><ref name="EuroReview"/><ref name="FamReview"/><ref name="gameinformer"/><ref name="1UP"/>

Remastered Edition saw generally "mixed or average" reviews on both Switch and PS4.<ref name="RemasteredNS"/><ref name="RemasteredPS4"/> Jordan Rudek of Nintendo World Report felt that the single-player campaign lacked compelling content, and the multiplayer was hampered by the new additions to the point of making it worse than the original.<ref name="NWRremastered"/> IGNTemplate:'s Seth Macy was very negative, feeling that the game only made the original frustrating mechanics worse and added new problems.<ref name="IGNremastered"/> Mitch Vogel, writing for Nintendo Life, felt that the game would not appeal to a wide demographic and the new multiplayer functions sapped much of the original version's entertainment.<ref name="NLifeRemastered"/> Bryan Vitale of RPG Site felt it was still "serviceable" as an RPG, but showed its age and lacked polish on top of the frustrating online multiplayer functions.<ref name="RPGremastered"/> Kirstin Swalley of Hardcore Gamer was notably more positive, noting the age of its graphics design but otherwise finding it a fun and enjoyable Final Fantasy title.<ref name="HardcoreRemastered"/> Reviews generally praised the art and music,<ref name="NWRremastered"/><ref name="HardcoreRemastered"/> but many faulted its archaic gameplay and unfriendly online multiplayer design.<ref name="NWRremastered"/><ref name="IGNremastered"/><ref name="NLifeRemastered"/><ref name="RPGremastered"/>

Sales

During its debut in Japan, Crystal Chronicles sold over 179,500 units, reaching second place in sales charts.<ref name="SalesJPa"/> During the next two weeks, it first dropped to third place then rose to second place again.<ref name="SalesJPb"/> By 2004, Crystal Chronicles had sold nearly 355,000 units, becoming the twenty-eighth best-selling game title of the year in Japan and boosting GameCube sales for August.<ref name="SalesJPc"/> Following its North American release, the game was the best-selling title of the month.<ref name="NPDcc"/> In the United Kingdom, the game was the best-selling GameCube title of its week of release,<ref name="CCUKcharts1"/> a position it retained during the second week.<ref name="CCUKcharts2"/> As of October 2007, the game has shipped over 1.3 million copies worldwide.<ref name="CCmillion"/>

The Nintendo Switch version sold 48,957 physical copies during its first week on sale in Japan, making it the third bestselling retail game of the week in the country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards and retrospectives

Crystal Chronicles received the Grand Prize at the 2003 Japan Media Arts Festival, based on its multiplayer function and graphical achievements.<ref name="JMAFaward"/> During the 2004 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers ceremony, the game was nominated for awards in the "Character Design", "Costume Design", "Game - Sequel RPG" and "Original Musical Score" categories.<ref name="NAVGTRaward"/> It was later nominated for the "Console Role-Playing Game of the Year" award at the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.<ref name="AIAScc"/>

IGN ranked the game in 2003 prior to its Western release as second in a list of the best co-op video games; while noting that the game's unusual features and chosen platform caused confusion within the Final Fantasy fan base, its multiplayer promised a high quality experience if other elements could live up to it.<ref name="IGNretro"/> EurogamerTemplate:'s Rob Haines praised the game's approach to the inherent conflict between multiplayer gameplay and narrative, and despite its drawbacks called its multiplayer function "the most fully-featured implementation of Gamecube-Game Boy Advance connectivity ever created".<ref name="EuroRetro"/> Henry Gilbert of GamesRadar, as part of a 2017 article ranking the best Final Fantasy spin-off games, praised the game's multiplayer elements and return to Nintendo consoles despite its extensive hardware demands.<ref name="GRadarCC"/>

Legacy

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Crystal Chronicles was the only original game developed by the Game Designers Studio, which had become a subsidiary of Square Enix following the 2003 merger. The Game Designers Studio was eventually renamed SQEX Corporation in 2005.<ref name="SQEXmergerInfoB"/><ref name="CCsqex"/> It was later merged with Taito in 2006 following Taito's acquisition by Square Enix, and eventually dissolved entirely during consolidation of Square Enix's arcade businesses in 2010.<ref name="third company"/><ref name="FourthCompany"/>

Multiple Crystal Chronicles titles were later developed for Nintendo's later consoles, with Square Enix's aim being to make full use of Nintendo hardware while developing the Final Fantasy franchise.<ref name="CCseries"/> The first was Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates for the Nintendo DS (DS).<ref name="ROFblog"/> Two further titles were Echoes of Time for the DS and Wii, and The Crystal Bearers for the Wii.<ref name="CCseries"/> Square Enix also developed two Crystal Chronicles titles for the Wii's WiiWare service; My Life as a King and its direct sequel My Life as a Darklord.<ref name="CCking"/><ref name="CCdarklord"/> All the Crystal Chronicles games share the same continuity, creating a narrative spanning several millennia.<ref name="CCworld1"/><ref name="CCworld2"/><ref name="CCworld3"/><ref name="CCworld4"/><ref name="CCworld5"/>

Kataoka would go on to work on the scenarios of multiple titles following Crystal Chronicles including Final Fantasy X and XII. He eventually left the company and founded Studio Reel in 2012. Studio Reel and Kataoka would work together with Kawazu on the development of the 2015 title SaGa: Scarlet Grace.<ref name="Kataoka1"/><ref name="Kataoka2"/>

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang

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