Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicle begins your journey as you set off to gather Myrrh to protect your village from the miasma poisoning the land.

I have been anticipating this game since before last year’s E3, so I was really excited when it finally came out. I started a multiplayer game using the Game Boy Advance and created a female Lilty. The other two characters were a Clavat and a Selkie. The graphics were amazing – typical of Square Enix but not anything too special. Other than that, my first impression of the game was not good.

Because we were using the GBA, the controls felt a little awkward. I was impatient and selecting between the GBA screen and the TV screen was a little bit confusing but eventually I got it down.

Next we went into the first dungeon. The thing that annoyed me most was the limit of movement. To be protected from the poisonous miasma that covers the world, you have to be within the crystal’s area. One person has to carry it at all times so if you’re the one carrying it, you have to drop it to attack or use magic on the enemy.

But that was my first impression. After playing for a while, the annoyances disappeared. The controls are second-natured and carrying the crystal chalice is now very efficient. One of us carries the chalice while we all walk up to the enemy. Once the carrier is in range, the chalice is dropped, and the carrier joins in the melee. Once the enemy is defeated, whoever is closest to the chalice picks it up and it continues.

The game started having fun once we got used to the system that everything that was different about this Final Fantasy didn’t matter anymore. We started looking at the GBA screen to see what our particular job was. I have the map – you have the enemy list – you have the treasure map. And we started to fulfill our individual requirements (which is the basis for the MVP system). Use focus attacks – Do no heal yourself – etc.

After each dungeon – you receive a drop of myrrh. And after three drops – a year passes by and you return to your village, celebrating your success.

This game is fun but it has the potential to be really short. You can technically finish the game after 5 years (14 dungeons). But to really enjoy the game – you need to do the little things like find the moogle nests, playing the mini games, getting the ULTIMATE WEAPON!!