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Echoes of Time coming to Europe on March 27
Europeans rejoice! You don't have much longer to wait for the next Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title than your American cousins. Both the DS and Wii versions will be available on March 27 and, as you're no doubt aware, will allow you to play across platforms -- similar to the original Gamecube title's gameplay; sans requiring you and your mates to purchase otherwise-pointless GBA link cables. Square Enix hasn't given us a price for the game yet, but we'll keep you updated.
New Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Crystal Bearers trailer! Really!
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is out in Japan this week, bringing a delightful bonus along: the promised Crystal Bearers trailer, which a helpful YouTube friend has uploaded (though with a watermark to forever remind us of his helpfulness). Head past the break to see the new footage.We haven't seen footage of this game since May 2007, and it wasn't really enough to get a good idea of gameplay. But this trailer features entire, sumptuous minutes of in-game footage, revealing one of the weirdest Final Fantasy games ever -- and that's even if we ignore the incongruous soundtrack! It appears to be an action game in which players pick up items and monsters with a sort of telekinetic power, and toss them. We very much hope that it turns out to be better than Square Enix's other recent physics (and tossing-stuff)-based action game, Dawn of Mana. Unfortunately, the trailer doesn't offer new information about any release plans, but its very inclusion suggests it's coming soon![Via NeoGAF]
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time clocks in March 24
Square Enix sent word by Moogle mail today that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time should arrive punctually at North American retail on March 24. Echoes allows Wii and DS gamers to play alongside one another with a bit less hassle than the original Crystal Chronicles. Remember all those link cables?The game will cost $40 on either platform and will allow Wii players to use their Miis, some of which no doubt already look like Final Fantasy creatures. Gallery: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Echoes of My Life as a King
New screenshots of the dual DS-Wii release Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time show off a lot of rather interesting new things! First, and most obviously, hey, it's the King and Chime from My Life as a King! Actually, as far as we can tell, it's player characters in costumes resembling the stars of Square Enix's WiiWare strategy game. Second, it seems that the Wii version has received a bit more of a visual upgrade since we last saw it. It's smoother, anyway.Echoes of Time features a (fairly standard) "New Game Plus" mode in which players can start again after finishing the game, to find more items, including many that are unavailable the first time through. We assume that's the only way to get these costumes, for instance. You can choose either to start again with your same character and continue building, or to start a new character, which increases the difficulty! Gallery: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
DS releases for the week of January 26th
There's plenty available to DS gamers this week. Heck, when is that not the case? Gosh, we love the DS. It just gets so many darn good games. Like, all of the time. So, check out which games are going to be begging for your money this week below.This week's North American releases are: The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity Imagine: Cheerleader Jojo's Fashion Show Coraline Head past the break for the rest of this week's releases around the globe.
Comparing Echoes of Time on Wii and DS
Some new videos for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time have hit GameTrailers and they show us what we're dying to see: integration between the DS and Wii versions of the game. As you all know, playing the two are very similar, so it should be nothing but good times come this spring when the game releases.Check out the comparison video above, then head past the break for two more videos, which show off character customization and two-player gameplay.
Final Fantasy Cattle Drive Chronicles
The latest update about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, Square Enix's DS/Wii action RPG, shows off some of the extra stuff that can be done in-game with pals. You can get new quests from Stiltzkin the Moogle, who has previously appeared in Final Fantasy IX and both previous Crystal Chronicles games, as well as from people around town.One of the quests shown: wrangling wayward cattle in a dungeon! Your team must use red flags to direct wandering cows to their destination without allowing any of them to get killed. Now that's adventurin'!When not corraling, you'll also be able to play a few multiplayer minigames, including boss rush and some kind of game about getting a floating beach ball into a whirlpool. Gallery: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Might as well Jump for new Dragon Quest IX, FFCC Echoes of Time trailers
We're slowly being converted into full-on Dragon Questism by the Dragon Quest IX hype, and this trailer from this weekend's Jump Festa event is certainly effective in that respect. It just looks like pure fun in a genre that is often dour and pretentious! We are officially in love with Koichi Sugiyama's Dragon Quest theme now. Square Enix and Level-5 may have been planning changes to the gameplay at one point, but any traces of action-RPG are gone now, and this is absolutely canonical Dragon Quest. After the break, a trailer for another Square Enix RPG that may not inspire as much adoration in so many: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Your enjoyment of this trailer may hinge upon whether you think Echoes of Time's cross-platform release is innovative or merely cheap. %Gallery-15248%
First look at the Echoes of Time DSi
Square Enix has finally revealed the special edition DSi for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time that was announced last month, and it's just as described: a cat in a bowtie. But the smaller detail really helps this design stand out; unlike the last round of limited edition handhelds from Square Enix, with their gray or black-on-white designs, the Echoes of Time system has a little color. Not a lot -- just a soft splash of blue here and there -- but the effect is simple and stunning. For those looking to buy the Wii version instead, or in addition to the DS version of Echoes of Time, the Wii title will include a trailer for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, the game that is, apparently, still going strong. Let's just hope it's a new trailer. Gallery: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Crystal Bearers trailer included with Echoes of Time
Anyone who picks up a copy of the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time will get a bonus: a trailer for the oft-discussed, much-delayed, and not-canceled The Crystal Bearers. As to whether or not it's an all-new trailer, we can't say. We can only report that it's a "special" trailer. But hey! The real news here is that Square Enix wants us to be reassured that The Crystal Bearers lives, and it's coming. And maybe we'll get lucky and it will be an all-new trailer filled with amazing footage that will knock our socks clean off. We'll find out come the end of January, when Echoes of Time is released.%Gallery-3302%
FFCC Echoes of Time in Europe this spring, English screens now!
The North American release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time will be echoed in Europe, according to a Square Enix press release. There's no solid date beyond "spring," but the press release specifically mentions both the DS and Wii versions of the game.The cross-platform RPG features both online and local wireless multiplayer, through which up to four DSes can play together with one hosting, or one DS can host three DS players. The European release features English, Spanish, French, and German language modes, with multiplayer across languages also supported. To aid in communication, Echoes has a selection of fixed macros as well as user-customizable ones.Check our gallery for the first English screens (of the DS version, mostly)! Gallery: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Rumor: Dragon Quest IX spreading to Wii
Square Enix's announcement that Dragon Quest IX would be exclusive to the DS effectively signaled the end of this generation's console wars in Japan. Now, according to an EGM rumor, the DS will have to share the title with the Wii. "Quartermann," EGM's pseudonym for various rumermongering staffers, says that Protectors of the Starry Sky will be ported to the Wii, probably in the same manner as the dual DS/Wii Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. If true, this is actually a pretty decent arrangement: people desiring the more traditional Dragon Quest experience would be able to play at home on the TV, DS players can enjoy it on the go, and both can engage in the new multiplayer mode. If it isn't true ... we can just play it on the DS. It's the best kind of rumor: the kind that isn't really that disappointing if it turns out to be bunk.
Echoes of Time gets spring release in North America
Square Enix has announced plans to release Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time in North America next spring. The cross-platform ARPG will let players of the DS and Wii editions fight, level up, and build junk together, regardless of which console they're playing on. Both versions will come out on the same day, because that's kind of the point. Worryingly, GameStop has the Wii game priced at $10 more than its DS cousin -- in Japan, both cost the same.Lumping DS and Wii players together means both games are pretty much identical (minus some on-screen furniture), but also allows us to pass the DS gallery off as a Wii gallery. Handy! [Via press release]
Square Enix announces Echoes of Time DSi bundle
Square Enix can barely release a game nowadays without also producing a matching limited edition console, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time will continue this trend when it ships with customized hardware in Japan on January 29th.For ¥23,940 (just under $250), buyers will be able bag a copy of Echoes of Time and a "Crystal Chronicles Edition" Nintendo DSi system. Square Enix has yet to release images of the console, but states that it will be a white DSi with the game's logo and the cat-in-a-bowtie motif that features in the boxart. There will also be a pre-order bonus for the game, a CD featuring four tracks from the Crystal Chronicles series.The race to become the first special edition DSi just heated up, and is now between Square Enix and ... Square Enix!%Gallery-26441%
Final Fantasy Crafting Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Thanks to the return of the item crafting system from previous Crystal Chronicles, you'll have plenty of cool junk to show off to your friends in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. You'll be able to buy power-boosting jewels from shops and add them to slots in your weapons, permanently changing the weapon into a more powerful one. You can also have your own custom armor and other items made out of materials found while adventuring.Since the game seems to change your character model to reflect your equipment, that means that you can customize your appearance, and look as good as it is possible to look in a DS game played on your TV.
DS Daily: Your Final choice?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time utilizes a specifically designed game engine that allows Wii and DS owners to play online together.Both versions of the title will look, sound, and cost (¥5,040 in Japan) the same, but there are slight benefits to each. Even with its screen-within-a-screen design, the Wii game will still feature a larger viewing area when hooked up to your TV, while the DS edition obviously has the bonus of increased portability. If you are getting Echoes of Time, which platform will you be buying it for, and why?%Gallery-33397%
Nintendo reveals early 2009 lineup, Mario & Luigi 3 in Feb.
Nintendo has revealed its Japanese lineup for the onset of 2009 (via IGN). Unsurprisingly, the list consists largely of games that will likely never see an official release overseas, but a few titles stand out. Mario & Luigi RPG 3 is coming February 11 to DS (no release date yet for other regions), while Castlevania Judgment and Play for Wii Mario Tennis are coming January 15. As previously revealed, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time will be coming to both DS and Wii on January 29.Not listed are the recently unveiled Sin and Punishment 2 and Punch-Out!! for Wii. Looks like we'll be waiting a while before getting our hands on them.
Connect and play anytime, anywhere with FFCC Echoes of Time
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time has received a lot of attention for its bizarre cross-platform release: the same game will come out on the same day on both the DS and the Wii, and it will look the same. So, yes, by virtue of looking good for a DS game, it will be a not-that-great-looking Wii game. But the point is that it can be played anywhere. And that's what this trailer gets across: any combination of DS players and Wii players, in any location with Internet access, can play Echoes of Time together. If you feel like blowing a bunch of money, you can play it on both systems.
Echoes of Time (and Miis)
If you were just itching to see someone else's Mii in a DS screenshot of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, then you've come to the right place. Along with some other excellent new shots, we have that very thing in the gallery below. Like the way the game looks? Your lucky day rolls on, because we heard a little rumor that there may be some wallpapers available on the official site by the end of the week.The DS/Wii release Echoes of Time is slated for January in Japan, and, unofficially, some time that isn't soon enough for the rest of the world.%Gallery-33397%
Echoes of Time to support worldwide play, evidence points to North America release
Super sleuth Spencer from Siliconera found something interesting at the Japanese site for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time: a menu screen. It might not seem like a big deal, but one of the selectable options on that menu screen shows the game to have a feature that allows gamers to connect with players from other regions than their home. Why would Square Enix put this in the game if it wasn't destined for release in North America? We really can't think of a reason.We suggest you head on over to the site and do some poking around. Also, it looks like there'll be some wallpapers and whatnot available for download on October 10th.[Via Siliconera]
