Crystal Bearers: (Coincidentally) Pushing Final Fantasy Forward

[@MidnightWanderX]

my favorite part was when layle beared his crystal

[@twilightpixel]

I wish Layle would bear MY crystals 🤤

[@nicktoons125]

Thanks KZbin for not telling me this came out! I'll watch it soon but I'll say this - This is one of my favorite FF games ever! I love it! This game is underrated and Layle is a underrated protag!

[@Kevan33]

I bought the mangas, I’ll be scanning them soon and eventually machine translating them

[@NovaZoneTV]

That'd be neat. If you put up the raws too maybe a translation team can pick it up for a full fan project.

[@Kevan33]

@@NovaZoneTV I definitely will! Keep an eye out for my internet archive account, it’s Kevan33. Thought I replied earlier but I guess it didn’t send?

[@snazzydrew]

So, when I was a kid, I actually loved X-Play... because whatever negative opinion they had on a JRPG I knew I was going to love it. Unironically played every single jrpg they slammed just because they slammed them.

[@wolffster25]

1:32:08 there I am there is my review of FF: Crystal Bearers written on GameFAQs 14 years ago. A lot has changed since then FF14 is no longer a dumpster fire and I am excited for the release of Dawntrail at the end of the month. Other RPGs like Persona and Xenoblade released filling the hole left in the wake of FFXIII. All in all this video took back in time and I appreciate all the things the game was attempting to do at the time I also just realized the FFXVI borrowed some story ideas from Crystal Bearers what’s wild world we live in.

[@NovaZoneTV]

Insert SA1 Sonic saying, "You made it Tails"

[@EddyTheTrinity]

Crystal Bearers was my first Crystal Chronicles so I didn't have the experience or knowledge of previous entries, I mean I only found out about CB because of a random tv commercial and I was immediately interested as an already long time Final Fantasy fan. I went in completely blind (if you don't count said ad) and I was hooked. Telekinetic gameplay on wii felt like a perfect idea and the way I had my things setup and how I as a tryhard would finesse my movements and timing, had such a flow going this game quickly became a favorite of mine. It's actually my second favorite wii game behind Xenoblade Chronicles (and I have my eyes on The Last Story for wii). I had issues of course, some of which you mentioned. The overabundance of mini games and how they were hit or miss, traversing through a bigger than I expected overworld, the game sometimes not telling you things, the hidden timers, and the missed opportunity of big fights. But overall the game kept me coming back. The fun in coming up with creative battle maneuvers especially. I did multiple new game+'s, invited a friend to play with me (he was also there when I first played and the achievement I got for picking up the nut item for the first time "my first nut" had us two high schoolers cackling for like 5 minutes), and to this day I still gush about the world, the characters, and the gameplay. And while it's been too long and quiet to hope for a sequel, even with the CC remaster, I love to imagine how they would carry one out post-Wii. I mean look at The World Ends With You. 14 years and they finally brought us a sequel post-DS's duel screen gameplay of the original and that sequel hit so hard for me. Waited so long, hoped so hard, and the wait was worth it. I loved it. But back on topic, your video was amazing. Your insight brought things to my attention that I missed or even forgot about. But I'm glad you enjoyed CB for what it was and I hope that maybe we have another fan to our little group and that group will continue to grow and with a miracle, the world of CB could expand. I'm not holding my breath though lol. Thank you for the video!

[@meow762]

i see you haven't mentioned Pandora's Tower in your Wii game mentions, i really recommend it! it's in my top 5 Wii games for sure

[@BNSecrets]

MY SECOND FAVOURITE GAME OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

[@alexanderkane7586]

I played some of the game spoken of back when I was younger, and while I encountered some of the problems mentioned, I also thought the game was neat in its own way. In fact, watching this review and remembering the Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles series and some of what I made up for the series(Fan characters & stories), has gotten me excited to revamp and completely rework at least one of my old characters. Thank you, @NovaZone, for making this video! :) I'll definitely have to check out your other videos in this retrospective.

[@acupofnick4757]

I played through the entire game when I was a teenager as I found it at a second hand store. I still sometimes think that game didn’t exist and it was just a fever dream 😂

[@ajflink]

That is both cool and funny that some ideas from this game ended up being in Final Fantasy XVI. However, Final Fantasy XVI never dances around its subjects and goes straight for the throat yet is never in your face about said subjects and depicts them in a surprisingly believable manner. Like on one side quest, you get the implications that you are seeking out a runaway cat...I am going to stop right there as that still feels fresh in my memory despite having done that side quest practically a year ago by now for the first time.

[@NovaZoneTV]

THAT SIDE QUEST WAS SO FUCKED UP! I love 16. Maybe the most immersive an FF game has been for me

[@ajflink]

​@@NovaZoneTVThen, the second one that you can take is very messed up on so many levels as well but more in an engaging sense. When you hear the, um, "imperials" (I guess that is still correct) shouting and getting mauled by the very the same thing, I smiled to myself like it was dark poetic comedy, only to be a bit horrified at myself for being happy about that regardless how horrendous those two people were. I think, aside from the Fallen DLC which gad me grinning from what seems to be now reoccurring Square Enix gag of the Three Stooges characters, the only quest where you it felt more lighthearted was the only where you help some guys out...only to find out (which is apparently misable, unless they changed that) that you mistakenly helped criminals. I may be misremembering or projecting but I swear I remember Clive's reaction was essentially: "Oh....Well....*&^$..."

[@pedroportela6476]

FF16 is many things. Subtle is not one of them. I love that game, but it tells its themes and messages straight to the player's face in as blunt of a way it could possibly be, to the point of coming across as cartoonish at times, even if the things on display fall in line with the worst of human behaviors. It is very much "in your face". A game that "goes for the throat" as you put it can't afford not to be.

[@twilightpixel]

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO CRYSTAL BEARERS VIDEO TIME BABYYYYYYYYYY

[@HarbingerYT]

Never really heard of this game, until I played Dissidia Opera Omnia, which had Layle, Keiss, Amidatelion and Jegran as playable characters.

[@NovaZoneTV]

I'm interested in watching all the cutscenes for OO at some point. I might at least watch Crystal Bearers in the near future since that's the only other thing with those characters

[@aeonstar293]

FF9 and OG Crystal Chromicles are both my favorite FF's, for different reasons. Great memories, thanks for the video

[@meow762]

I had only played a bit of FF X-2 as a small child; my older sisters are HUGE fans of basically every main game so they let me try that one a few times but i quickly gave up: I didn't know how to play with turn based combat at all and kept dying. Fast forward to when I got my own console for the first time, the Wii. My sister downloaded a bunch of random games with Homebrew for me and one of them was Crystal Bearers. I had SO much fun. It didn't matter that I was a dumb kid who didn't even understand english (an official translation in my language doesn't exist), I still mostly manged to do what I had to do and, man.. the scenery, the character design, the music.. I was captivated! I couldn't finish the game because the final boss had me really confused, so I tried again years later and had even more fun, especially since I could actually understand english at that point (funny story: I used to think Layle's name was "Christopher" because I kept hearing the word "crystal" and somehow associated it with that name, lol). I understand why long time fans would either refuse to play it, or try it but dislike it a lot. Now that I'm more familiar with FF I can tell that it's REALLY really different and how it could have instantly felt like a let down, but it is still a really fun experience by itself, especially for those who aren't as familiar with the other games. Next time my diehard-FF-fan sister comes to visit I'll make her finally try it out, I'm very curious about her thoughts after actually playing it!

[@HybridAngelZero]

The seventh console generation was rough, especially for someone who loves RPGs. I didn't have either of the HD consoles until 2011, so it was all about PS2, DS, PSP and Wii for me. So, of course, I was very excited to get a Final Fantasy on my newest console. I had no experience with the Crystal Chronicles games (aside from knowing they existed), so I came in with out any expectations besides "Final Fantasy action game" and wow did it deliver. This game, despite all its flaws, is something really special. The charm, style and sheer pinache are off the charts, and I hope it grows to gain more recognition in the future. I know Layle appeared in the mobile game Opera Omnia, and if there's ever another Dissidia fighting game, I really hope he makes it as a playable character, he would be AMAZING in that gameplay style

[@snazzydrew]

I respect Jack's Strength!!

[@ddgaming9717]

I loved this game I thought it was fun only 30mins in so far digging the review but it had lot of fun set pieces like the start and the "beach" game also the dance was cool moment among others also I'm glad I'm not the only one who always made the ship hit the wall lol

[@VanitasSentiment13]

Been waiting for this.

[@VanitasSentiment13]

Damn. X-Play's race jokes did not age well at all

[@NovaZoneTV]

Haha, that review ONLY got worse 💀

[@snazzydrew]

The entire show did not age well. 🤣😭

[@AD3SPG]

Being a ff fan and my partner had a wii so i remember going to a local store for a Mario game and saw this and said what the heck, i enjoyed it especially throwing enemies but honestly i don't remember much else kinda just one and done.

[@nathangomez4409]

I thought this game was a fucking fever dream dude. I played the fuck outta this game as a kid. I hated it lmao I remember not liking it but somehow still being entranced by it for some reason

[@flaffy_p]

First

[@NovaZoneTV]

Last if I never hit "publish"