I doubt that many of us will live long enough to see the day that Squaresoft release a Final Fantasy game that really is the final fantasy game. Not that I'm complaining, for a long time Squaresoft have without fail released one good game after another, most famously Final Fantasy 7 was a huge hit in the gaming world and unfortunately the recent Final Fantasies have only been available to those poor souls that own that other console. Not any more.

Final Fantasy : Crystal Chronicles is set to be the first Final Fantasy game to hit the GameCube (And if squaresoft continue as usual, likely not to be the last). A nice little touch is that Crystal Chronicles is GameCube exclusive, Maybe Square really did feel like they should reward us for waiting so patiently all these years.

For CC, The Final Fantasy series has returned to it's cutesy manga style (as seen in Final Fanasy 9 and a little in 7) as a pose to the sombre and realistic style of Final Fantasy 8. At first I viewed this as maybe a bit dubious, Nintendo already have a reputation for releasing less adult games than the other consoles but from looking at the screenshots it looks to work rather well as it meets the line between cartooney and childish with hints of Manga which makes the game strangely attractive.

This time round the story is set in a world ravaged by plague where the people depend on a blessed crystal, and in order for this crystal to maintain it's power and protect the people from the plague Mirula droplets are constantly needed and of course...Mirula droplets can only be found in the deepest, darkest and most progressively dangerous caves in far off dungeons and every year the Crystal Caravan must collect the precious Mirula Droplets, burdened with the fate of the villagers. This year, however, players and up to three friends must take the caravan that makes the vital excursion to save the villagers lives. Fighting through crowds and monsters to obtain the Mirul droplets at any cost. This is looking to be another roleplaying epic with quality graphics and gameplay Final Fantasy fans have come to expect.

With up to 4 player gaming and beautiful graphics and no doubt a Killer story, Crystal Chronicles is looking to be a smash hit. And personally I can't wait to lay hands on a copy. More should be revealed during E3.