Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (series)
Encyclopedia
is a series of video games by Square Enix
. Created by Akitoshi Kawazu
, the Crystal Chronicles series is a spin-off series of the Final Fantasy
media franchise, and has so far only appeared on Nintendo
consoles.
The series also comprises a browser game
, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King - Everyone's Kingdom, and a manga
, titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ~Hatenaki Sora no Mukō ni~.
races. The titles take place at different points in the world's history.
Thousands of years later, a meteor strikes and fragments the Great Crystal, setting up the events of Crystal Chronicles. In this time, the world is covered in a noxious gas known as "miasma", to which direct exposure can prove fatal to humanoids. Monsters are immune, but towns, villages and other settlements throughout must be protected from the ill effects of miasma by fragments of the Great Crystal, which generate a barrier that miasma cannot penetrate. The crystals' effect last for about a year before they must be recharged with the liquid substance "myrrh
" obtained from "myrrh tree
s". Due to its close proximity to the Meteor's point of impact, Rebena Te Ra is a monster-filled ruins that was rendered as such almost immediately after the Meteor fell. My Life as a King takes place shortly after Crystal Chronicles and portrays the world as free from the effects of miasma as kingdoms are rebuilding.
Years later, the events of Crystal Bearers occur following the apparent extiction of the Yukes in a war with the Lilties who became the world's ruling race. Through the Liltie world order, technology is run by the crystals and magic was made illegal and an arrestable offense, especially in the case of the Crystal Bearers.
The are biologically similar to humans and are a very peaceful race. In Crystal Chronicles, Clavats' main advantage in battle is their high defense, they fight with swords, and use shields as their race-exclusive armor. They also wield axes, as seen first in Echoes of Time.
The are a proud, stout race of warriors and knights. In the past they ruled the world in an empire, founded off the weapons forged from materials of the Cathurigian mines. The Lilties have a unique, flower-like appearance and are the shortest race in the game—as an adult Lilty is noticeably shorter than most other characters, though they are redesigned for Crystal Bearers to be more human like in size and physique. Of the four races, Lilties are the most powerful with a naturally high attack stat that lets them do heavy damage. In Crystal Chronicles, they take the longest time to cast a spell, equip gauntlets as their race-exclusive armor, and use spears as weapons. Lilties can also use hammers in Ring and Echoes and are use urns for various reasons in Rings. By the events of Crystal Bearers, the Lilties are the dominant race of the world.
are taller than Lilties, around the same height as Clavats, and usually have silver, blue, yellow or light purple hair. They are a rugged race that dress in furs and stolen goods, and are mostly thieves. They usually put their own interests first and are often scorned by the other tribes. In the past, the Selkies were under the control of the Liltian empire and migrated from their ancestral homes to search for a safer place to live. It is said that they come from the sea. Selkies are the speediest of the races and tend to take enemies down with a hit-and-run tactic. In Crystal Chronicles, Selkies' race-exclusive armor is belts and they use rackets as weapons. In Ring of Fates, Selkies attack with bows are the only species able to double jump. By the events of Crystal Bearers, the Selkies tend to be at odds with the Lilties every so often.
are tall, slender creatures adept in magic that assume form within suits of armor. Yuke armor tends to have long, feathered, striped arms and small, vestigial wings. Yukes are powerful magic casters, but are weak physical attackers. In Crystal Chronicles, Yukes use hammers as weapons and their race-exclusive armor is helmets. Their "Defend" command in the game is possibly the most useful for Yukes, as it makes them immune to all physical and magical attacks. Yukes can use the "magic needle" ability in Rings and equip spell books as done in Echoes. Prior to the events of Crystal Bearers, the Yukes were seemingly driven into extinction after their crystal was destroyed. Also on "Crystal Bearers" It shows that if Yuke could die if their armor is damaged beyond repair and can enter unpossessed back up bodies in such cases.
. Kumi Tanioka
is the main composer for the series, having composed the three released soundtracks. Hidenori Iwasaki is filling that role for The Crystal Bearers, while the composers have not been announced for the other unreleased titles. Nobuo Uematsu
, the main composer for the regular Final Fantasy series, contributed one track to the Ring of Fates soundtrack. Yae and Donna Burke
sang the Japanese and English versions of the theme song for Crystal Chronicles, respectively, while Aiko
sang the theme song for Ring of Fates.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Original Soundtrack was released by Pony Canyon
in 2003, as was its single, "Kaze no Ne", and a promotional album Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - A Musical Journey. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates Original Soundtrack and the double A-side "Hoshi no Nai Sekai"/"Yokogao" were released by Pony Canyon in 2007. The latest release is that of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Original Soundtrack by Square Enix in 2009. All the albums and the singles received generally positive reviews, although the Crystal Chronicles album was the most universally appreciated of the three soundtracks. Unlike the soundtracks to the numbered Final Fantasy games, no songs from the Crystal Chronicles soundtracks have appeared in any compilation albums produced by Square Enix or any official Final Fantasy concerts. "Morning Sky", the opening theme for Crystal Chronicles, was played in the first Games in Concert performance in Utrecht, Netherlands on November 26, 2006.
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
. Created by Akitoshi Kawazu
Akitoshi Kawazu
is a Japanese game producer who was born in Kumamoto Prefecture. He studied ceramics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Kawazu joined Square in 1985...
, the Crystal Chronicles series is a spin-off series of the Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
media franchise, and has so far only appeared on Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
consoles.
Titles
- Final Fantasy Crystal ChroniclesFinal Fantasy Crystal Chroniclesis a action role-playing game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was published by Nintendo and developed by The Game Designers Studio, a shell corporation for Square Enix's Product Development Division-2. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, the game spawned a metaseries of the same name...
(GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
) (2003) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of FatesFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fatesis an RPG for the Nintendo DS developed and published by Square Enix. It is a prequel to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the Nintendo GameCube. The game takes advantage of both the local wireless and Wi-Fi capabilities of the system and features voice acting.-Gameplay:Most of the gameplay...
(Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
) (2007) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a KingFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a KingFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is a video game developed for the WiiWare service of the Nintendo Wii console by Square Enix...
(WiiWareWiiWareWiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
) (2008) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of TimeFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Timeis a Wii and Nintendo DS action role-playing game in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series developed by Square Enix.The game was released in Japan on January 29, 2009. The North American version was released on March 24, 2009 and the European version was released on March 27, 2009...
(Nintendo DS, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
) (2009) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a DarklordFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a DarklordFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord is a tower defense video game developed and published by Square Enix for the Wii and distributed through the WiiWare download service. It is the most recently announced game in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series...
(WiiWare) (2009) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal BearersFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearersis an action-adventure game for the Wii and was first announced to the public at E3 in May 2006. The game was released on November 12, 2009, in Japan and on December 26, 2009, in North America.-Gameplay:...
(Wii) (2009)
The series also comprises a browser game
Browser game
A browser game is a computer game that is played over the Internet using a web browser. Browser games can be created and run using standard web technologies or browser plug-ins. Browser games include all video game genres and can be single-player or multiplayer...
, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King - Everyone's Kingdom, and a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ~Hatenaki Sora no Mukō ni~.
Setting
The titles in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series take place in an unnamed world inhabited by four humanoidHumanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
races. The titles take place at different points in the world's history.
History
Ring of Fates takes place during the legendary "Golden Age" where all the races lived in peace, and when the Great Crystal—into which "all fates are etched"—protected the people from the "malefic glow of the blood-red moon". The world is protected from miasma by the Great Crystal, which uses memories as the source of its protective effect. Rebena Te Ra stands as an illustrious city and capital of the Age.Thousands of years later, a meteor strikes and fragments the Great Crystal, setting up the events of Crystal Chronicles. In this time, the world is covered in a noxious gas known as "miasma", to which direct exposure can prove fatal to humanoids. Monsters are immune, but towns, villages and other settlements throughout must be protected from the ill effects of miasma by fragments of the Great Crystal, which generate a barrier that miasma cannot penetrate. The crystals' effect last for about a year before they must be recharged with the liquid substance "myrrh
Myrrh
Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. An oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum....
" obtained from "myrrh tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s". Due to its close proximity to the Meteor's point of impact, Rebena Te Ra is a monster-filled ruins that was rendered as such almost immediately after the Meteor fell. My Life as a King takes place shortly after Crystal Chronicles and portrays the world as free from the effects of miasma as kingdoms are rebuilding.
Years later, the events of Crystal Bearers occur following the apparent extiction of the Yukes in a war with the Lilties who became the world's ruling race. Through the Liltie world order, technology is run by the crystals and magic was made illegal and an arrestable offense, especially in the case of the Crystal Bearers.
Races
The world of Crystal Chronicles is inhabited by four humanoid races: Clavats, Lilties, Selkies, and Yukes.The are biologically similar to humans and are a very peaceful race. In Crystal Chronicles, Clavats' main advantage in battle is their high defense, they fight with swords, and use shields as their race-exclusive armor. They also wield axes, as seen first in Echoes of Time.
The are a proud, stout race of warriors and knights. In the past they ruled the world in an empire, founded off the weapons forged from materials of the Cathurigian mines. The Lilties have a unique, flower-like appearance and are the shortest race in the game—as an adult Lilty is noticeably shorter than most other characters, though they are redesigned for Crystal Bearers to be more human like in size and physique. Of the four races, Lilties are the most powerful with a naturally high attack stat that lets them do heavy damage. In Crystal Chronicles, they take the longest time to cast a spell, equip gauntlets as their race-exclusive armor, and use spears as weapons. Lilties can also use hammers in Ring and Echoes and are use urns for various reasons in Rings. By the events of Crystal Bearers, the Lilties are the dominant race of the world.
are taller than Lilties, around the same height as Clavats, and usually have silver, blue, yellow or light purple hair. They are a rugged race that dress in furs and stolen goods, and are mostly thieves. They usually put their own interests first and are often scorned by the other tribes. In the past, the Selkies were under the control of the Liltian empire and migrated from their ancestral homes to search for a safer place to live. It is said that they come from the sea. Selkies are the speediest of the races and tend to take enemies down with a hit-and-run tactic. In Crystal Chronicles, Selkies' race-exclusive armor is belts and they use rackets as weapons. In Ring of Fates, Selkies attack with bows are the only species able to double jump. By the events of Crystal Bearers, the Selkies tend to be at odds with the Lilties every so often.
are tall, slender creatures adept in magic that assume form within suits of armor. Yuke armor tends to have long, feathered, striped arms and small, vestigial wings. Yukes are powerful magic casters, but are weak physical attackers. In Crystal Chronicles, Yukes use hammers as weapons and their race-exclusive armor is helmets. Their "Defend" command in the game is possibly the most useful for Yukes, as it makes them immune to all physical and magical attacks. Yukes can use the "magic needle" ability in Rings and equip spell books as done in Echoes. Prior to the events of Crystal Bearers, the Yukes were seemingly driven into extinction after their crystal was destroyed. Also on "Crystal Bearers" It shows that if Yuke could die if their armor is damaged beyond repair and can enter unpossessed back up bodies in such cases.
Music
Crystal Chronicles, Ring of Fates, and Echoes of Time have had released soundtrack albums to date, and Crystal Chronicles and Ring of Fates each have an associated singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. Kumi Tanioka
Kumi Tanioka
is a Japanese video game music composer and musician. She is most known for composing the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series.-Early life:Kumi Tanioka was born in Hiroshima, Japan. She studied music and composition while in school and enjoyed listening to video game music as her younger brother...
is the main composer for the series, having composed the three released soundtracks. Hidenori Iwasaki is filling that role for The Crystal Bearers, while the composers have not been announced for the other unreleased titles. Nobuo Uematsu
Nobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
, the main composer for the regular Final Fantasy series, contributed one track to the Ring of Fates soundtrack. Yae and Donna Burke
Donna Burke
Donna Burke, a singer, narrator, and entrepreneur, was born in Perth, Australia, and moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1996. She lives with her guitarist and husband Bill Benfield and her three cats....
sang the Japanese and English versions of the theme song for Crystal Chronicles, respectively, while Aiko
Aiko (singer)
Aiko is a J-Pop singer-songwriter and vocalist. She studied popular music vocals at the Osaka College of Music, and after graduating in 1996, she became a DJ on FM Osaka...
sang the theme song for Ring of Fates.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Original Soundtrack was released by Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
in 2003, as was its single, "Kaze no Ne", and a promotional album Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - A Musical Journey. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates Original Soundtrack and the double A-side "Hoshi no Nai Sekai"/"Yokogao" were released by Pony Canyon in 2007. The latest release is that of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Original Soundtrack by Square Enix in 2009. All the albums and the singles received generally positive reviews, although the Crystal Chronicles album was the most universally appreciated of the three soundtracks. Unlike the soundtracks to the numbered Final Fantasy games, no songs from the Crystal Chronicles soundtracks have appeared in any compilation albums produced by Square Enix or any official Final Fantasy concerts. "Morning Sky", the opening theme for Crystal Chronicles, was played in the first Games in Concert performance in Utrecht, Netherlands on November 26, 2006.
See also
External links
- Official developers' blog
- Official developers' blog
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Series) at the Final Fantasy Wiki (WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
)