The latest issue of Jump Magazine has brought with it some long-awaited news regarding the Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles franchise... but it's not what you might expect. Rather than blowing out the seemingly-vaporware Crystal Bearers, we've been graced with a new iteration of the series: Echoes of Time. The details, however, are confusing at best.
Proudly toting the "Pollux Engine: Cross Platform System" moniker, Echoes of Time claims to be playable on both the Wii and DS. Explaining how this will actually function, though, is a vexing proposition. It seems that Echoes of Time is a DS game through and through, but it can be played via the Wii in some capacity. The sole Wii-labeled screen in the magazine shows what looks to be the two screens of the DS version of the game displayed side-by-side. Is this just a TV-based display being beamed wirelessly from the DS?
Adding to the confusion, the game clearly interacts with aspects of the Wii firmware. Miis are seen in the DS version of the game, which implies that there will have to at least be some kind of shell software installed on the Wii, whether it's downloaded as WiiWare, purchased on a disk, or beamed onto the Wii's internal memory from the DS. Will you be able to buy the game on the Wii by itself, only to find that you're playing a DS game on your TV? Will the DS ever be required in any capacity?
The magazine claims that the Wii and DS versions of the game will be able to interact directly with each other for multiplayer online play, which is a long-desired first for the FFCC franchise, though that also begs questions of exactly how independent from each other these two versions of the game are. Hopefully we'll have some more solid information after October's various press events.
Echoes of Time is set for release in Japan on January 29, 2009.
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Adding to the confusion, the game clearly interacts with aspects of the Wii firmware. Miis are seen in the DS version of the game, which implies that there will have to at least be some kind of shell software installed on the Wii, whether it's downloaded as WiiWare, purchased on a disk, or beamed onto the Wii's internal memory from the DS. Will you be able to buy the game on the Wii by itself, only to find that you're playing a DS game on your TV? Will the DS ever be required in any capacity?
The magazine claims that the Wii and DS versions of the game will be able to interact directly with each other for multiplayer online play, which is a long-desired first for the FFCC franchise, though that also begs questions of exactly how independent from each other these two versions of the game are. Hopefully we'll have some more solid information after October's various press events.
Echoes of Time is set for release in Japan on January 29, 2009.