In 2004, Square Enix released FINAL FANTASY: CRYSTAL CHRONICLES for the Nintendo GameCube. This title, unlike any FINAL FANTASY before it, allowed four friends with Game Boy Advances to connect and play together in an action-oriented role-playing game.
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates brings the same spirit of the original FFCC to the handheld Nintendo DS.
“When the Nintendo DS was released, the development staff discussed how it was the perfect hardware for FFCC,” says Mitsuru Kamiyama, previously main programmer for FINAL FANTASY: CRYSTAL CHRONICLES, and now both director and main programmer for Ring of Fates. “We decided to create a new installment of FFCC that would be even better than the GameCube version.”
With the basic premise set - four friends playing an action-RPG together - the development staff began focusing on the unique qualities the DS offered over the GameCube.
“Since every player would have their own screen, we were able to create much more dynamic elements,” says Kamiyama, “and the touch screen also improved usability.”
The original FFCC restricted the players to one television screen for functional reasons as much as narrative ones; if a player wandered off-screen and away from the party, not only was that player hidden from view, but also was that player’s health eroded by the miasma which covered FFCC’s world. With each player able to view the action on their own personal DS, though, the setting of Ring of Fates sprawls out before the players on a grander scale.
And while the action takes place on the top screen of the DS, the touch screen handles mainly inventory and party management duties. Actions traditionally relegated to submenus removed from gameplay are now only a tap or slide away.
However, gameplay mechanics only reflect a portion of the improvements the team conceptualized. In addition to the basic premise established by the original, Ring of Fates also features a full-fledged, single-player Story Mode.
Says producer Kiyoko Maeda, “The numbered FINAL FANTASY games are traditionally linear in storytelling. We wanted to challenge ourselves by creating both Story Mode and Multiplay Mode. It was quite difficult. . . However, the entire development team was very motivated and was able to complete this ambitious endeavor.”
Ring of Fates also takes place in the same world as the original, unlike most numbered FINAL FANTASY titles, and although second in the series, it is actually a prequel to its predecessor.
“Ring of Fates is set several thousand years before the events of the first FFCC,” Maeda explains. “In the first FFCC, the many races have built their own [separate] societies, but in Ring of Fates, they all live together in peaceful harmony. Ring of Fates serves as a signifier to the first FFCC’s evolutionary changes.”
It also sets the stage for two more entries in the series: FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King for WiiWare, and FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: The Crystal Bearers for Wii. Ring of Fates is no mere stagehand, though. Maeda and all of the development team have successfully orchestrated a triumphant return for the acclaimed series.
“Ring of Fates is truly a detailed game, down to the seemingly trivial things, and it’s my wish that all those who play enjoy a fulfilling experience.”
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About FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates
Fantasy Violence
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Platform: Nintendo DS™
Genre: RPG
For more information, visit the official site at http://na.square-enix.com/ffccrof
and the official blog at http://na.square-enix.com/ffccnews
