Crystal Chronicles always tends to feel like Final Fantasy-lite– a little simpler, a little cuter, and a little more action-oriented. Of course, in the first title for GameCube it wasn’t simpler, because you had to have a stack of Gameboy Advances lying around to play it in any meaningful way, and multiplayer was the meat of the game. Ring of Fates clears up both of these issues by making a decent single player story and taking advantage of wireless play on DS for up to four-player co-op adventuring.

Instead of replenishing magic crystals, this time you’ll take control of a pair of Clavat twins named Yuri and Chelinka (although Chelinka sort of folds into Yuri except during cut scenes). Tragedy strikes their homestead outside the town of Rebena Te Ra, when their father is killed by an evil wizard henchman-type jerk, as if losing their mother at birth wasn’t enough.

Along the quest for answers and revenge your party is rounded out by members of the other three Crystal Chronicles world tribes: two old friends– Alhanalem, a Yuke mag, and Meeth, a Lilty (pot-wielder), plus a new friend– Gnash, a Selkie archer.

Obviously with their powers combined you can overcome any challenge, including (for a totally random example) puzzle dungeons. Gnash’s double jump, Meeth’s flying pot, and Al’s magical stepping stones make each character vital to making your way through each environment. Unfortunately when you’re not directly controlling them they are likely to fall off cliffs, step on freezing ice, or take a lava bath.

The fights are streamlined, real-time action affairs that generally keep you pounding away at the A button despite the availability of some cool-looking optional moves like throwing enemies into a wall or stomping on their heads. Casting spells is entirely dependent on having the right Magicite bauble in your inventory, which means if you need to one to open a door you may have to go grind some monsters to find it.

As in the previous game, you can get more powerful spells by using multiple Magicite orbs, but putzing with the reticule for aiming spells always felt so clumsy to me that I never wanted to bother. I much prefer the stop-and-go of Secret of Mana ring menus to the tricky on-the-fly reticule.

Shopping is often taken care of with Moogles (whom you can paint and also earn a racing mini-game from). They seem to always be on hand in dungeons. Besides just buying equipment and consumables, there is a crafting system that allows you to construct your own weapons and armor from bits that drop off of monsters. Often these items will have extra stat bonuses and you can get even more added quality by tossing a jewel into the mix.

In general, due to the frustrating AI, the multiplayer mode is still tops. There is a surprisingly high amount of voice acting and lots of great cinematic cut-scenes for single players to enjoy, but co-op is much more rewarding than switching between characters on your own. The solo solution is greatly improved from the Gamecube game’s, but I’d still recommend picking up Ring of Fates with a party of friends already in mind.

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