In the end, Echoes of Time is one major step forward and several steps of varying size backward. Ring of Fates emulated the multiplayer aspect of Crystal Chronicles superbly to make an outstanding single-player experience. Echoes of Time instead hearkens back to the series roots by making a game that is an interesting experiment that could have shined with a bit more work. They got the multiplayer right, but the solo play is as bad as it was in the original game.
Also, the idea of a DS/Wii dual launch sounds great on paper, but the interface of the Wii version completely ruins the effect so badly that it feels like it was tacked on at the last minute. There are a lot of good ideas in this game, but the poor execution mars what could have been a breath of fresh air.
Graham Russell: "Generally, when you’re looking to play a game with friends, it’s much easier to do it on a home console. With portables, each player usually needs a system, and most need a copy of the game (and maybe some funky cables, if you go back enough). Generally, people haven’t bothered to take advantage of the technology. Of course, if you’re a crazy person like me, that’s more of an incentive than a barrier."
SPC: "Last week began the five week series of what I perceive to be the 50 best Nintendo DS games of the system's exhaustive library... This week we delve into ten more top titles for the Nintendo DS, one of the best-selling dedicated gaming platforms of all time, currently at around 150 million units worldwide across all revisions. On these ten titles for this week, we have a menagerie of memorable characters and series like Mario, Mega Man, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Remember that these games must have released in North America to be on this list. With that out of the way, are you ready for round two?"
Gaming Gauge writes:"It’s not a secret that I’m a massive fan of Square Enix’s Crystal Chronicles series, and oddly enough it was the second DS entry, Echoes of Time, that really cemented the series as one of my favourites. This was because it took the addictive multiplayer action online and really concentrated on making the experience natural and easy. There unfortunately hasn’t been a new entry in that style since then(fingers crossed there’s a new one at E3) but I was very excited when I heard that Square Enix was working with n-space on a new online dungeon crawling, hacking and slashing adventure for the 3DS; finally something to satisfy my hunger! My thought immediately went to how Square Enix should concentrate on this ease of use again and what lessons they should take away from Echoes of Time."
