Final Fantasy: Echoes of Time (Wii) Review

Echoes of Time doesn't fair so well on the Nintendo Wii.

A lazy port on a Nintendo console? Whatever next?

As a fan of the Final Fantasy series - a saga which seems to be the Marmite of the gaming world - I was looking forward to this release. Despite this game being a port from the tiny DS to the regular world of the Wii, I was interested to see how the bods from Square Enix would turn this into a solid console masterpiece.

With such a big screen to play a game made for such a small console, it's pint-sized to say the least. Factor in the Crystal Chronicles character stylings - an RPG for Borrowers - and you have the most cutesy-looking game you could possibly want on the Wii.

You know the game is a port from the first moment you study the graphics; this isn't the standard you expect for the Wii. The step up from PSP to the PlayStation 2 for Liberty City Stories turned out to be relatively credible and, despite the hardware difference, I thought Square Enix would have at least given it a go with Echoes of Time.



The graphics aren't immediately rescued by the storyline either - it's all pretty standard RPG fare to start off with. One of your friends is dying of so-called 'crystal sickness.' After turning 16, you've just come back from an initiation by beating the hell out of a few monsters in the forest, so you're understandably tired.

However, if you don't find a cure for the disease then your friend will essentially kick the bucket. Obviously this isn't a good thing because she's only a young girl, so it'd be harsh if you didn't go out and fetch the cure.

The storyline develops in a relatively linear manner, with the odd bit of magic and mysticism thrown into your travels but this isn't really that fascinating.



Luckily, the addictive yet untraditional gameplay saves the game a little. I had Vietnam-style flashbacks to the glory days of Zelda: A Link to the Past, such was the remarkable work on the dungeon approach in Echoes of Time.

The battle system is also intriguing, based around a real-time combat strategy with a smorgasbord of weaponry at your disposal as you travel. It's not kosher but it's still sound, but the blows you deal in the fighting sequences are of such a low graphical quality that they're less convincing than even those portrayed in the PlayStation's Final Fantasy VII.

In the true fashion of a FF title, it also has a cracking soundtrack.



The real draw, however, is the online mode, which allows you to fight side by side with your friends whether they're on the Wii or DS. This is a bit freaky. I managed to play wirelessly for a few minutes and although I could see why it could be good with your mates, playing with a total stranger turned out to be a bit crap.

Sadly, I didn't get pulled in by the game's overall appeal. It's still a port and they haven't really done anything other than crowbar the odd Mii into the game. It could've been a bit more innovative and the split-screen system, which contains both displays from the DS version side-by-side, looks beyond cheap due to its boring border and is seemingly impossible to change. The camera angles are bloody awful at times too.

It's built for the DS and there it should remain. The game's great but it's the kind you pick up and put down with great ease, not really bothering with a demanding storyline because that's what the DS is all about. I won't go as far as to say that the port itself is a cash-cow but this isn't not far off.



If you can get over its bargain-bucket graphics and pretty non-existent storyline, you might find a lot to like about this game. If you're one of the ten or fifteen people who play the Wii online, there'll be even more to love, especially when paired with a DS-playing friend. My advice? Give it a few months and wait for the proper Wii Crystal Chronicles title.

5/10

Matt Gardner