Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles GameCube

Over the past decade, the feud between Squaresoft and Nintendo has been one of the industry's more interesting tiffs. It saw Final Fantasy taken from Nintendo platforms, after which a disgruntled Nintendo president made his bitter feelings quite clear for some years to come. However, the two giants did get around to resolving their issues, and Square's best-selling franchise finally came back to Nintendo. Square's first Nintendo offering since Final Fantasy VI on SNES was Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA, but Nintendo loyalists and RPG enthusiasts alike demanded a full-on 3D adventure, and so Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles was born. In a world ravaged by plague, the people depend on a blessed crystal. In order for this crystal to maintain its sparkle and power, Mirula Droplets are constantly needed for replenishment, but these crystallised drops can only be found in the deepest, darkest caverns of a far-off dungeon. Every year, the Crystal Caravan must collect the precious Mirula Droplets, burdened with the fate of the villagers. This year, however, players and up to three friends must take the caravan that makes the vital excursion to save the villagers lives... Mirula Droplets? Crystal Caravan? Okay, you'll probably agree that this is one of Final Fantasy's cheesier plots. In fact, as you'll quickly learn, the whole approach to this offering is quite different. We don't know if it's Nintendo's influence or a Square Enix strategy, but Crystal Chronicles is clearly aimed at a younger audience. Crystal Chronicles is quite unlike the others in the FF series. Ditching millions of hit points, magic points and random battles, Crystal Chronicles is less complex with regards to its play mechanic. Here, players wander a cartoon-like 3D world - which happens to be beautifully rendered - hacking, slashing and casting spells along the way. Enemies can be spotted from a distance, and can normally be dispatched by means of several swipes of your sword. In this respect, there are similarities of Nintendo's own RPG ser