Hands on: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

The Nintendo DS edition might share a few similarities in visual style and in gameplay to the GameCube game of the same name, but ultimately, at least in the short playtime we had with the game at the Square Enix Party in Japan this weekend, the DS "sequel" is pretty much its own game. And that's a good thing.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates opens up with a real-time cutscene that's fully voiced-over in Japanese -- we were hoping the entire game would be spoken dialogue but once the cutscene ends and leads into more interactive environments, characters speak in text exclusively. My lack of Japanese reading ability means that the story nuances were lost in the hands-on play, but I was there mostly for the gameplay and not for the tale that the game weaves. We'll enjoy that when the US version ships later this year with a full localized translation.

After a quick tutorial of the controls from Moogle-like critters that demonstrate the game's item pick-up mechanics and its combat system, it's off to the dungeons where you'll need to strut your stuff. Early on it's nothing more that swiping swords at fox critters, showing them what for with three hit combos with a simple attack-attack-attack pattern, or attacking them from the air with jump-swipes. Holding down the attack button while in the air will activate a powerful downward stab. You can even pick up enemies and attack them from underneath, or leap on their heads and whack them while they're under your feet.

Even though the game's mainly played with the D-pad and action buttons, the touch screen comes into play not just in weapons selection, but also in special attacks. Most of the action takes place on the upper screen...but hold the R button down and the two screens swap places. Then, while this is active, tapping on an enemy that's on the touch screen will activate your special attack that, if connected properly, will knock off a bit more HP from the enemy. You'll need a good amount of special points in reserve to pull off these attacks.

Full article