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WiiWare Games: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (Wii)

By Jorge Fernandez on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 11:20 PM EST  

As our weekly review of the WiiWare’s launch games nears its conclusion, Primotech will now cover the WiiWare title that is bound to garner the most attention, based on the pedigree of its developer. Developed by RPG giant Square Enix, My Life as a King is a WiiWare spinoff of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, a Nintendo produced series that began life on the Gamecube and has moved on to the DS, with a future Wii sequel to follow.

Following the events of the original Crystal Chronicles, King tells the story of a young boy king named Leo who has traveled to a remote area in the hopes of rebuilding his kingdom, previously destroyed by the evil Miasma that once plagued the world. With the help of his diminutive Lilty knight Sir Hugh Yurg, and his well featured Selkie chancellor Chime, young Leo will use the mysterious power of Architek granted by the town crystal to rebuild and repopulate his lost kingdom, remove all outbound threats that near the recuperating town, and unravel a mystery involving his missing father, a dark lord, and an enigmatic and rudely outspoken penguin.

As the game begins, players are given a sprawling but ultimately empty town, save for Leo’s castle. With the power of Architek, however, the empty fields can be filled with buildings of all kinds, starting with small houses. After summoning Chime with a mere flicker of the Wiimote, a building option is available, instantly creating the house in the blink of an eye. For every house created, a denizen of the former kingdom will also be transported, surprised but ultimately grateful for their majesty’s new house building powers.

Unfortunately, Architek is not a limitless power, and requires a certain amount of Elementite for every building created. The initial supply of Elementite will quickly deplete after the first couple of houses are restored, but fortunately for Leo, every house has a young supporter who is willing to risk life and limb to collect more Elementite. Able-bodied youths that wish to assist the king can be commissioned as an Adventurer, who can then be ordered to explore one of the many nearby dungeons, besting foes, mining for Elementite, and discovering further paths and treasures with every dungeon, cave, or forest they explore.

The recruiting and training of Adventurers is one of the most crucial features in order to advance the game, requiring several components to micromanage. Every commissioned Adventurer will begin as a Level 1 Warrior, and can be issued Behests, requests that can be posted on a local billboard every day. There are several Behests that can be posted, mainly involving the exploration of a local dungeon and/or the slaying of the boss that guards it. There are other Behests that can be posted as the game progresses, such as scouting the town for additional information or scanning the streets to collect a certain item, but all Behests will be read by every one of the king’s Adventurers, who can then be ordered to complete the request from the king himself.

While all Adventurers begin with a fierce determination to serve and defend their king, they must all first train and build their levels before tackling the fiercer monsters outside the castle walls; Any challenge that will prove too much for an Adventurer will usually result in a preemptive escape, or a serious injury that will keep them bed ridden for a whole day. Adventurers who successfully complete a request will return to the kingdom with their heads held high, while those that have failed will bear the shame of failing their king and the realm. Those Adventurers that have completed the arduous task of slaying a boss can be issued a medal of honor from the king, with each medal boosting his or her stats according to the player’s choosing. News of a slain boss will also add a temporary boost of morale for the entire kingdom.

Indeed, keeping the town’s morale at a constant high is also an essential duty for players; Taking control of the little king, players can engage in short conversations with all the citizens of restoring kingdom. The fact that the king would take the time to speak with a townsperson is enough to boost morale, and as these conversations build up, so will the morale meter, a small bar on the top left of the screen. Once the bar is filled, the collected morale will fill up a small sphere, which can then be used by Chime to temporarily increase the morale of every person the king will talk with, including giving Adventurers a small boost in their abilities. It is especially important to talk with Adventurers who begin to doubt themselves, either from failing a Behest or losing to a powerful foe, as the brief talk will help them to recuperate much quicker. If an Adventurer is still feeling down, they can be ordered to take a day of rest that will let them return the day after with renewed vigor.

At the end of each day, Chime will address the king with a daily report, which summarizes the activities of each Adventurer, as well as a financial report of the amount of gil spent and earned, as well as any Elementite collected by Adventurers in their outdoor excursions. Currency is yet another factor worth focusing on, as money has several uses; Whether an Adventurer has succeeded or failed a Behest, they must all be paid a sum for each Behest they attempt. Money can also be used to fund the research of several shops and guilds, once opened; A Weapon Shop can be given funds to create higher level weapons, while an Item Shop can create stronger potions to cure damaged or afflicted Adventurers; Buildings that can allow Adventurers to change their jobs can also be funded to unlock new abilities for Adventurers to learn, should they choose to change their job once the request is posted. Once all these shops are available, all Adventurers venturing outside will stop at each of the buildings first, so it pays to pay these shops to discover new materials and abilities to further strengthen the Adventurers. It should also be noted that all gil is earned via daily taxes from the townspeople; The more people in the kingdom, the more gil the king will collect from their taxes. And since the money all helps boost the Adventurers’ abilities in some way, a more successful Adventurer may yield more Elementite, which yields more buildings to create, and thus more citizens to tax. In short, every action taken will result in a circle of circumstances that will ultimately lead to a more populated and prosperous kingdom.

For any fans of the Final Fantasy franchise that much rather venture out into open fields and slaying monsters, a word of warning must be said; All combat and exploring is left primarily to the Adventurers. Not once will King Leo be able to step out of the city gates, and all Battle Reports of an Adventurer’s exploration are told entirely through text. Even though the purpose of this game is to create and manage the kingdom and its townspeople, it would have been a welcome diversion to at least witness some of the battles an Adventurer partakes, perhaps through a small window that illustrates the kind of threats they engage in the name of the king.

Even if players are content with the Sim-style approach to this Final Fantasy spinoff, it should also be noted that it can take a while before the small barren world begins to open up; Since new buildings, jobs, and features can only be unlocked with an Adventurer’s successful exploration of a dungeon, several days will be required to level grinding in order to make the king’s men strong enough to proceed to more dangerous tasks, but ultimately reaping greater rewards. Fortunately players can take as many days as needed, as the story will only advance through the acquisition of new buildings or the defeat of certain bosses. Completing the story for good will enable a New Game+ feature, which will allow players to discover anything they may have missed the first time. And with the sheer number of content, including extra races, buildings and even outfits that can be purchased through Downloadable Content, this is one WiiWare title that can last as long as a standard RPG adventure.

Even though the lack of combat may prove disappointing for fans of RPG level grinding, and the day to day interactions with the town’s citizens may grow repetitive, the sheer amount of maintenance and experimentation of King Leo’s ever growing kingdom, as well as a charming presentation of colorful characters and uplifting music that is synonymous with Square Enix’s higher budgeted titles ensures that hardcore RPG players and casual Wii players alike will want to experience the life of a king with just a peasant’s pittance.

Primotech Rating: ★★★★☆

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