Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time

Final Fantasy is one of the biggest names in gaming. The first Final Fantasy game was released way back in 1987 and the series has grown from strength to strength ever since, with games on multiple formats.

Echoes of Time is the latest in the Crystal Chronicles spin-off, which aims to offer a more accessible experience. The Final Fantasy series is, largely, made up of role playing games with a reputation for complex gameplay and in-depth storylines, making it somewhat daunting for newcomers and casual players.

Echoes of Time is more focussed on the action side of things, however, and you’ll spend most of your time exploring dungeons, battling monsters, collecting loot and completing simple puzzles. If you’ve ever played a Zelda game then it will seem familiar.

It kicks off with you selecting a character from one of the four races, each offering a slightly different experience depending on whether you want to fight with a sword and other melee combat, magic and ranged weapons.

Basic combat is easy; just hammer the button to slash away at anything in front of you. Later on it gets a bit more complex as you have to combine these attacks with jumping and lifting moves, then you also get access to magical powers.

Killing monsters allows you to collect money and items, which includes raw materials that you can use to build your own weapons and armour and a lot of the fun in the game comes from creating your own unique gear.

What’s really clever about Echoes of Time this is how you can recruit three friends to play along with you using Nintendo DS handheld consoles. By hosting the game on a Wii four people can play together, combining their attacks and helping each other out. It’s a very clever idea that’s easy to set up and it works smoothly.

Verdict: 87%

It’s a simplistic but very fun dungeon crawl action-adventure with loads of loot to collect. The clever multiplayer functions are really appealing allowing you to play with friends and family.