Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, GBA-GC mutterings

[Mark E]

Hoo boy. I'm cool with the Cube getting its new, action-based, Secret of Mana-esque Final Fantasy game and all, since I'm sick to death of those damn CGI-movies-as-games in the core series. I mean, damn, Secret of Mana is amazing to play with a bunch of people.

 

What I'm not so impressed with is the recent revelation that every person in multiplayer is going to have to have a GBA in order to play the bloody game. I mean, c'mon, I'm all for the connectivity thing, but I think requiring every person to have a GBA to use as a controller really bites the big one.

 

I have to say that this is notching things from "must-buy" to "probably-buy" on my list. I've got four friends I could easily rope into playing FF with me, but there's no chance they'll be getting GBAs to do it.

 

In general I'm all for the GBA-GC connect thing, but I have to say that when you're gutting core features out of your game just because people don't have GBAs, that's pretty damn rotten. Even ONE GBA I could see, but four? Criminy.

 

Moderator, if this post is too bitchy, please lock it. Oh, wait :mrgreen:.

[Mark E]

I'll addendum this to bump it up again and make my forum look active . Apparently latest word down from IGN's mailbag is that you need a SINGLE GBA in order to activate the multiplayer features. That's a relief. This now claws its way back up my purchase list .

 

I recognize and acknowledge what they're trying to do with the multiplayer features here, but damn, there's only so far you can take that sort of thing. Now it hurts less. I'm looking forward to a nice Mana-esque smackdown game.

[Camp]

pparently latest word down from IGN's mailbag is that you need a SINGLE GBA in order to activate the multiplayer features. That's a relief.

 

Yea, but the game requires every player to have a vagina.

[Mark E]

I think that'll work if we can default to letting women sit in our lap while we play and having that count. In fact, I wager that controller arrangement would sell more copies.

 

"What the hell was that?"

"Uh... the rumble pack..."

[Whooter]

Check this out

 

:shock:

[Camp]

I showed that to my girlfriend...she wants to try it. Looks like I'll be moving the PS2 to another room.

[Mark E]

IGN has the trailer movie up from the Japanese side of things. It looks decent, very few action shots, though supposedly everything's done in the one engine so it should be representative.

 

I really, really love the music in the trailer. Great tribal sort of beat. I'm hoping this is just a fun little beat 'em up. Very excited.

 

It's at http://cube.ign.com for anybody looking for it.

[Mark E]

Diverting from my rantings and vibrator talk above (that's not my vibrator talk though I should point out ), we now have dead-on confirmation from the Japanese Final Fantasy site that, yes, every single player in the multi-player game is going to require a GBA in order to play.

 

I really hope nobody has to wonder why when this title doesn't sell. :roll:

 

http://cube.ign.com/articles/427/427706p1.html

[Romier S]

A discovery made by an owner of the import copy of the game:

 

Well, after spending some time with the game, and exploring various modes...I found out how to allow the usage of the GBA in single player, and the GCN controller in multiplayer.

 

Whenever you go to "New Game" or to "Load Game", they always ask you if you want to play single player or multiplayer mode.

 

To use the GBA in single player, have the GBA hooked up at the title screen. Select either "New Game" or "Load Game". When at the prompt for single of multiplayer, choose multiplayer (yes, multiplayer). You go through the whole character selection/creation screen just like in multiplayer, only there will be one person playing. There is a downside to using the GBA in single player however. You have no moogle to carry around the Mana Container, and normally when you would access in-game menus, it would pause the game. Not in this case. So be sure you are either quick with the GBA usage or you're out of the range of any enemies before playing around with your status menus.

 

To use the GCN controller in multiplayer, you do need a single GBA+ link cable to begin with. Select either "New Game" or "Load Game", and select multiplayer with the single GBA hooked up. Then, on character creation, create a character using your GBA in controller port one until it's all but ready to begin the game (there should be a prompt to "Push A to begin."). However, don't push "A". Instead, unplug the GBA from slot 1, and plug it into slot 2, and repeat. Do this for how many characters you have. After a character is created, and the GBA is moved to the next slot, plug a GCN controller into the origonal slot...Once all the players have their own characters made and GCN controllers plugged in, everyone just has to push A to begin gameplay. There is a downside to using the GCN controllers also, however. You have no access what-so-ever to in-game status menus because they all took place on the GBA screen. Be sure that you give other players a chance to pick up magic from slain enemies, as you won't be able to trade without unplugging GCN controllers and plugging a GBA back in...there would be a lot of controller swapping...

[Mark E]

Er, that's good after a fashion, but with no status screen access doesn't that mean you'd never be able to tell when your character was about to bite it?

[Romier S]

Er, that's good after a fashion, but with no status screen access doesn't that mean you'd never be able to tell when your character was about to bite it?

 

Don't shoot the messenger. :wink:

[Mark E]

Looks like the onerous requirement for the four GBAs hasn't kept the Japanese from embracing this one. There's a report over at n-philes that quotes a business release showing this puppy has moved close to 200,000 copies in the course of its first three days of release.

 

It's second on the charts just under the latest Konami soccer title. Cube hardware sales also took a spike, nearly doubling themselves. Hopefully this will keep the momentum moving to get good third-party sales for Cube titles.

 

Source: N-Philes - http://www.n-philes.com/php/epyplkyelfefpaklayaf.php

[dogbert]

Er, that's good after a fashion, but with no status screen access doesn't that mean you'd never be able to tell when your character was about to bite it?

 

It sounds like a giant workaround rather than a real feature - he's "fooling" the game into thinking there's multiple GBAs when there's really one, and he's effectively playing through the multiplayer game rather than as a single player when on his own.

 

Or am I reading it wrong?

[Mark E]

Brian, no question it's a workaround, but I think it's partially what you said and partially not. From what I was able to glean from that, you can set it up so you use the GBA as your controller in single-player by fooling the game, or you can set up your regular GC controller as the multiplayer controller.

 

Hence my 'er' comment, as it's obviously a solution to not using the GBA in multiplayer, yet it doesn't sound like a terribly good one since you can't access information you "should" have in front of you.

 

I still hold out hope that the delayed release date for N.America is partially to lessen this control scheme to a GBA or two.

[GreenMonkey]

Aha! ! That's what I thought I gleaned from the E3 releases. I argued this with Morgan for a while. Too bad. A must-sell turned into a must-pass. Oh well. Not surprised.

[Mark E]

Yeah, very unfortunate on that count. I realize that in Japan that may not be as big an issue, but I think over here it will really cut into the accessibility of a title that would otherwise sell like friggin' gangbusters.

 

And understandable about the misconceptions, I've been trying to track down a definitive answer to that for ages now and finally pieced it together from a bunch of sources. Damn shame eh?

[adamsappel]

From today's Penny Arcade:

People are always telling us that you have to have four GameBoys to play it, as though this is proof of some nefarious Nintendo plot. I am assuming that they say this in an effort to be quarrelsome. It's excellent fun with any number of players. The fact of the matter is that it's going to be much harder to find a GameCube than it is to find four people who own GBAs, or even one guy with a couple on hand - maybe he had the old one and got an SP or something. The installed bases for the two systems aren't even close - take a look at some of these charts over at The Magicbox if you don't believe me. The disparity is shocking.

 

And if you do have a GameCube, I mean, let's be honest - it's got to be because you're a Nintendo fan. You know what you're in for. I shudder to think about the gamer who purchases the GameCube unwittingly, their rage growing with each Mario title released. The GameCube owner is one of the most long-suffering creatures on God's green Earth, there is no reason to own it aside from a devotion to Nintendo. They have this devotion because every now and then, according to some secret calendar filled with alien holidays, they are rewarded for their diligence. This is one of those times. It would be hard to count me among that congregation, as my faith is far from unwavering. I had to be convinced through actual play - something that separates us from many if not all of the critics - that the GBA/Controller gimmick is more than some perverse marketing scheme. It is. Don't you assholes remember when you all said that the new Legend of Celda was for Fags, and then when it came out you had to admit it was great? Let me cut out the soul-searching phase for you.

 

If you're playing the game Single Player, you know, no GBA required. There's even an advantage there, because in that mode you have a moogle that carries the bucket Gabe mentioned, and he never drops it short. Also, you can paint him - try that shit on your friend Bob. Probably not.

The comic's pretty funny, too.

[Mark E]

The comic is hilarious, in fact. Sadly none of my friends have GBAs, maybe I DO need new friends . PA is such an awesome site.

[Romier S]

So FF:CC releases in but a short week and I'm curious as to who will be picking the game up? My interest is piqued at the moment but I'm leary of just going at it in a single player capacity as I doubt I'll find many folks that will play with me in multiplayer (those that will already have GBA's anyway so thats not an issue).

 

So whos giving it a go? Reservations? Thoughts so close to release?

[Josh]

I have the same concerns, Romier. While I really want to play it, I doubt anyone I know IRL will want to sit down and trudge through it with me. I'll have to test the waters on that one.

[Jeff W]

I reserved it today, I own a cube, gbasp, and link cable. 2 of my roommates have gba's but no link cable although I get a free one for pre-ordering, I'll see if I can talk them into playing but if not I should be able to at least use their gba's and get some other friends to give it a whirl with me. I'm usually not an rpg kind of guy,(I bought KOTOR and a guide book and played it once for a half an hour) but the hack n slash type gameplay intrigued me on this one.

[danger9777]

I preordered this one myself. I managed to get 2 other friends of mine in town to commit to playing this game with me. Both of them have GBAs and GC's and link cables. So, I volunteered to buy the game and we'd get together once a week at a different person's place to play the game. So, it should be a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to trying this out and I've been looking for an excuse to make a game night with my friends. I may have a 4th person interested as well, but it's not definite.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to it

[The Daisy]

My wife and I are looking for a new game to play together and since I have two GBA's now... this one should fit the bill.

 

Glen

[Starhawk]

I'm not so sure just yet. I've been playing more games of the single player variety latley, not entirely by choice. :?

[kittycatgirl2k]

I want it! but I blew my video game budget already and Everquest:CON takes priority... so... I'm afraid its going to get backburnered for awhile when I thought it would be a "DAY ONE" purchase.... ah well. I have two GBA's and maybe could sucker someone into playing it but who knows?