Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition Reviews
Dated design, clunky multiplayer systems, and unacceptable load times make playing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition a terrific chore.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition feels like a squandered opportunity. The game has seen a number of delays over the last year, but it doesn't feel like Square Enix utilized that time to improve the game over its predecessor. The voice work is rough, the controls are frustrating, load times are laughable, and the lack of couch co-op is glaring. The game's music and overall presentation are great and multiplayer is still fun after all these years, but it's hard to recommend the game when it feels like such a step back.
Disappointed. That feeling sums up well what I felt with a game that could finally present an experience better adapted to the current systems. Whoever had the opportunity to play the original on the GameCube and looked forward to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition to have an improved experience, sorry but, being very sincere, you will not have a good time. The game remains a charismatic and cute adventura, but several things get in the way, resulting in a dungeon crawler that is difficult to play with friends.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There are better Final Fantasy remasters and remakes on all the platforms this is out on, and your time would be better spent with any of them.
It pains to criticise this remaster so harshly, because there was a great fondness for the original title that sprang to life if local multiplayer with friends was taken advantage of. Square Enix has shown little desire to give Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles the makeover it deserved, however, and its many dated issues only become more apparent next to the removal of local multiplayer and region-locked online play. There is still a case for chancing it for friends that enjoy dungeon crawlers and can deal with the limitations, but beware of the strange control schemes and tedious gameplay.
Crystal Chronicles is fundamentally broken in its current state. The overall package feels rough and unfinished for a remaster and patching in local co-op won’t fix the dull and boring gameplay or the anemic story.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered is a lot of things, but a classic is not one of them.
I imagine Square Enix will get the online working consistently in due time, negating a huge chunk of this review. But even if it does someday become consistently available, I worry it won't greatly improve on the final product. Too much of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is tied to an experience that is no longer available. The moment in time that made the GameCube original possible has long passed, and trying to capture that nostalgia with so many missing pieces, is a fool's errand.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered presents players with an enjoyably short yet not overtly memorable single player experience with enough restrictions and issues to multiplayer matchmaking that only the most dedicated of fans will want to overcome.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is a gimmick game without the gimmick.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered is an overall disappointing re-release that keeps both the original game’s charm and faults intact.
What reason is there to purchase Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition? That's really the problem here. There isn't one.
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered sadly isn't going to appeal to new fans due to its poor multiplayer and outdated gameplay mechanics, while those who played the original may find their nostalgic memories aren't quite as satisfying as they remember.
It must’ve been a huge task to take a game originally designed for couch co-op and convert it to online play. But Crystal Chronicles Remastered shows just how incompatible the conversion is. Huge chunks of the original game are rendered either useless or far more difficult than it has to be. Square may have been better off making a brand new Crystal Chronicles game to take advantage of online co-op, because this is a poor way to introduce new players to this forgotten Final Fantasy spinoff. The bones of a great game are in here, but there’s not much meat on them.
Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition's uniquely cozy atmosphere and charming story can't save it from feeling significantly more lonely this time around.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a game that I hoped to love, but with all of its shortcomings in the Remastered Edition, maybe some things are just better left in the past.
The original was hardly viewed as a classic even at the time and while a lot of work has gone into this remaster it can't hide the game's intrinsic shallowness and repetition.
Crystal Chronicles Remaster gave us a chance to try an old underrated game, however, this seems just a port with no fixes whatsoever mixed with bad and limited online experience which leaves the game more playable and fun in singleplayer mode
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Long story short, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered isn't an awful game. Seriously, it isn't, but it isn't the best remaster around. It feels like it got a small touch up, a couple of modern features, a few edited dungeons, and gear to add something different. Without something to make it stand out, besides being a popular game in the past, it struggles to find value. For some revisiting a beloved game is enough, whereas others might opt for better experiences.
Not the best Final fantasy to choose for a re-release and not the best remaster at all, with cumbersome online multiplayer and n o local co-op. Better save your money for the next entry in the franchise.
Review in Italian | Read full review