Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord

Last updated
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:
My Life as a Darklord
FFCC Dark Lord logo.jpg
Developer(s) Square Enix
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Director(s) Hiroyuki Kaneko
Producer(s) Takamasa Shiba
Hiroaki Iwano
Designer(s) Hiroyuki Kaneko
Programmer(s) Satoshi Kitade
Artist(s) Yasuhisa Izumisawa
Writer(s) Motomu Toriyama
Sachie Hirano
Composer(s) Kumi Tanioka
Series Final Fantasy (main)
Crystal Chronicles (sub)
Platform(s) Wii
Release
  • JP: June 30, 2009
  • PAL: July 17, 2009
  • NA: July 20, 2009
Genre(s) Tower defense
Mode(s) Single-player

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord [lower-alpha 1] is a 2009 tower defense video game developed and published by Square Enix for the Wii and distributed through the WiiWare download service. The game is an entry in the Final Fantasy franchise, forming part of the Crystal Chronicles subseries. Taking place after Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King , the game follows the titular Darklord as she defends her mobile tower from waves of attacks as it travels across the kingdom.

Contents

Planned during production of My Life as a King, My Life as a Darklord began development in 2008. The game's aesthetic was influenced by lolita gothic and punk fashion. The narrative, and the protagonist, were designed to subvert both series and genre conventions. Composer Kumi Tanioka returned, having previously worked on the other Crystal Chronicles titles. The game received generally positive reviews, with critics generally praising the game's gameplay and presentation while critiquing a lack of in-game depth.

Gameplay

A level in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord; waves of soldiers attack, beginning at the bottom floor and fighting against soldiers positioned inside. CC Darklord screenshot.png
A level in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord; waves of soldiers attack, beginning at the bottom floor and fighting against soldiers positioned inside.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord is a tower defense video game; the player is tasked with defending their tower from waves of attacking enemies. Each level takes place in a different part of the kingdom, as the tower is mobile, and consists of multiple waves of attacks. Unlike most tower defense games, the gameplay takes place in a side-viewed tower with enemies marching through each of the tower's floors linearly, rather than through a top-down perspective of a circuitous route. The player places traps and combatants in the floors of the tower, which then cannot be removed. The level ends when the attackers have reached the Dark Crystal at the top of the tower, or when they have all been defeated. [1]

Defeating enemies gives the player Negative Power, which can be spent in the level to place more obstacles, upgrade existing obstacles to more powerful ones, or build more floors onto the tower. [1] Karma is earned for finishing levels, and can be spent between levels to increase the maximum size of the tower or the starting power of the units. [2] The floors come in different varieties, and provide offensive, defensive, and supportive powers to the obstacles placed on them or the enemies walking on them. [1] Each floor has an artifact, which if reached by the enemy is destroyed, in turn destroying all units and traps placed on that floor, removing any status effects the floor provided, and allowing the attackers to move onto the next layer. [2] Traps and units are divided into melee, ranged, and magic categories, with the three types dealing extra damage to each other in a rock-paper-scissors manner. [1]

Each level begins with all obstacles removed, and completing levels earns the player additional types of units and structures to build. The path that the player takes through the levels of the game is not linear; there are side paths that can earn the player additional Negative Power and units. If a level is failed, the player retains some of the Karma they had earned before being defeated. Despite being released for the Wii, there is no support for motion control with the Wii controller. [1]

Synopsis

My Life as a Darklord takes place in the direct aftermath of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King , following the vanishing of Miasma from the world as depicted during the ending of the original Crystal Chronicles. [2] [3] The world is divided between the four allied races—Clavats, Lilties, Yukes and Selkies—and monsters that terrorised the world during the Miasma's existence. [4] [5] Following his defeat in My Life as a King, the original Darklord went to sleep within the Dark Crystal, allowing monsters to continue existing following the loss of Miasma. Upon her ascension, the Darklord's daughter Mira resolves to mount a campaign against the rest of the world. Over the course of her campaign, it is revealed that Mira's mother was one of the Clavat tribe, and the Darklord's wish was to create a bridge between monsters and the other tribes. After the final campaign against King Leo, protagonist of My Life as a King, Mira decides to forgo her plan for world domination and fulfil her father's wish of bringing coexistence between monsters and the other tribes.

Development

The plot outline for My Life as a Darklord was in place during production of its predecessor My Life as a King. The original plan was it to be another city building game, but the team decided to make it more original. [6] Production began in 2008. [7] The initial design for the tower would have required fourteen unique floors, which would have been laborious to create. With the idea of artifacts, the team were able to impelement customisation, providing variety between floors without the additional workload. [8] According to producer Hiroaki Iwano, testing and game balance was the most strenuous aspect of production. [6] [8] Scaling traditionally large or ungainly Final Fantasy monsters so they could fit inside the tower floors was also an issue. [9]

The scenario director was Motomu Toriyama, who had previously worked on My Life as a King, and built the story around flipping the traditional protagonists of Final Fantasy being both righteous and humanoid. Similar to the subseries' recurring theme of family, Toriyama made the game's main theme the bond between Mira and her monster army. [6] As the game was a sequel to My Life as a King, it was decided early on that characters from that game would appear. Director Hiroyuki Kaneko also decided to provide cameo appearances for characters from the original Crystal Chronicles. [9] Rather than a professional voice cast, members of the development team provided voice clips for characters and monsters. [8]

While monsters were the focus of both gameplay and narrative, the planned female lead led to a "cute" aesthetic being adopted, with a recurring visual motif being a heart symbol. [9] The art design drew inspiration from the lolita gothic and punk fashion movements. [8] The castle was designed around a number of key words including "beauty" and "glamour". [7] The characters were designed by Yasuhisa Izumisawa, who had previously worked on My Life as a King. [10] When designing Mira, Izumisawa went counter to common design tropes seen in anime and video games, creating an asymmetric visual design. This design was challenging for the modellers, who needed to create the entire model as a single unit rather than their usual method for asymmetrical characters of joining up two half-models. [8]

Music

The music for My Life as a Darklord was composed by Kumi Tanioka, who had worked on previous entries in the Crystal Chronicles series. [11] Due to its tonal difference from other entries, Tanioka wrote the score of My Life as a Darklord to reflect its protagonist and style of comedy, while retaining the established instrumentation. [8] At the time, she was working on both My Life as a Darklord and Echoes of Time , meaning she could not contribute much to the next entry The Crystal Bearers . [11] A digital soundtrack album was released on June 30, 2009 featuring music from both My Life as a Darklord and My Life as a King. [12]

Release

My Life as a Darklord was revealed at the 2009 Game Developers Conference alongside fellow WiiWare title Final Fantasy IV: The After Years . [4] It was also showcased at E3. [13] The game was released internationally during 2009; in Japan on June 30, Europe on July 17, and North America on July 20. [14] [15] [16] A free demo of the game was available on the Wiiware service from November 2009 to January 2010. [17] [18]

There is additional downloadable content for the game, such as new items or levels. [1] At launch time there were 14 different DLC packs, with more added later. [2] Initial DLC packets included two Mira costumes, three new monster types, two floor types, and three items for various amounts of WiiPoints. [19] A DLC package included costumes, abilities, and characters from Final Fantasy IV: The After Years . [20] The game became unavailable with the closing down of the WiiWare in 2018. [21] Costumes themed after the characters of My Life as a Darklord will be released as DLC for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition. [22]

Reception

My Life as a Darklord has received generally positive reviews, garnering a rating of 73 out of 100 on review aggregate site Metacritic based on 14 critic reviews. [23] Daemon Hatfield of IGN called it "an amusing strategy game and a standout title on WiiWare", praising the gameplay and presentation while saying there were clear limitations due to its release platform. [1] The website also named it the best WiiWare of the month for July 2009. [26]

Dan Whitehead, writing for Eurogamer , praised the depth of the gameplay but complained that without purchasing any of the downloadable content the player has "little room to really dig deep into the tempting tactical depths that the concept so clearly offers". [2] Nintendo Life's Sean McDermott lauded the gameplay depth created by the variety of units and replayability, but he disliked the types of DLC being released and noted that players would eventually feel repetition due to a lack of mission variety. [24] Alex Donaldson of RPG Site faulted the high difficulty and the fact that the DLC releases seemed designed to exploit this, but otherwise enjoyed the game despite a lack of variety. [25]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Hikari to Yami no Himegimi to Sekaiseifuku no Tō: Fainaru Fantajī Kurisutaru Kuronikuru (Japanese: 光と闇の姫君と世界征服の塔 ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル, lit. The Princess of Light and Darkness and the Tower of World Conquest: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles)

Related Research Articles

<i>Final Fantasy IV</i> 1991 video game

Final Fantasy IV, known as Final Fantasy II for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main installment of the Final Fantasy series. The game's story follows Cecil, a dark knight, as he tries to prevent the sorcerer Golbez from seizing powerful crystals and destroying the world. He is joined on this quest by a frequently changing group of allies. Final Fantasy IV introduced innovations that became staples of the Final Fantasy series and role-playing games in general. Its "Active Time Battle" system was used in five subsequent Final Fantasy games, and unlike prior games in the series, IV gave each character their own unchangeable character class.

<i>Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles</i> (video game) 2003 video game

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is an action role-playing video game developed by The Game Designers Studio and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It was released in 2003 in Japan and 2004 in North America, Europe and Australia. A remastered version for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Android, and iOS was released in August 2020. A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series and beginning of the series of the same name, Crystal Chronicles was the first title in the franchise to be released for a Nintendo home console since Final Fantasy VI in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akitoshi Kawazu</span> Japanese video game producer and designer

Akitoshi Kawazu is a Japanese game designer, director, producer and writer. After joining Square in 1985, he went on to become a central developer for the first two Final Fantasy titles, then acted as creator and lead developer for the SaGa series.

<i>Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers</i> 2009 video game

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is an action-adventure game developed by Square Enix and released for Wii. It was released on November 12, 2009 in Japan and on December 26 in North America. The game received a mixed reception.

<i>Dragon Quest Swords</i> 2007 video game

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and 8ing and published by Square Enix for the Wii game console. The game is a spin-off from the Dragon Quest series, and was first released in Japan in July 2007, and worldwide the following year.

<i>Final Fantasy Type-0</i> 2011 video game

Final Fantasy Type-0 is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Released in Japan on October 27, 2011, Type-0 is part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries, a set of games sharing a common mythos which includes Final Fantasy XIII and XV. The gameplay, similar to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, has the player taking control of characters in real-time combat during missions across Orience. The player also engages in large-scale strategy-based battles on the world map, and has access to a multiplayer option during story missions and side quests.

<i>Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates</i> 2007 video game

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is an action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS, developed and published by Square Enix. It is a prequel to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube. The game takes advantage of both the local wireless and Wi-Fi capabilities of the system and features voice acting.

<i>Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy</i> Video game series

Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy is a series of games within the Final Fantasy video game franchise. It was primarily developed by series creator and developer Square Enix, which also acted as publisher for all titles. While featuring various worlds and different characters, each Fabula Nova Crystallis game is ultimately based on and expands upon a common mythos focusing on important crystals tied to deities. The level of connection to the mythos varies between each title, with each development team given the freedom to adapt the mythos to fit the context of a game's story.

<i>Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King</i> 2008 video game

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is a video game developed for the WiiWare service of the Wii console by Square Enix. Square Enix decided to make a game for the WiiWare service that would be high profile, and it was decided that the game would be a simulation game and, later in development, a Final Fantasy title.

<i>Final Fantasy IV: The After Years</i> 2008 video game

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is an episodic role-playing video game co-developed by Matrix Software and Square Enix, as the sequel to the 1991 title Final Fantasy IV. Set 17 years after Final Fantasy IV, The After Years follows the original cast and their descendants in episodic tales as a new villain appears, setting into action a mysterious chain of events that threatens the fate of the Blue Planet. Largely utilizing assets, locations, and mechanics from its predecessor, the title incorporates higher quality character graphics and several new gameplay systems.

<i>Crystal Defenders</i> Two tower defense video games by Square Enix

Crystal Defenders is a set of two tower defense video games developed and published by Square Enix. The games use the setting of Ivalice and design elements from Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, forming part of the wider Final Fantasy franchise. The games feature a selection of characters sporting Final Fantasy-based character classes, and play out tower defense scenarios against recurring series of monsters. The first game in the series is Crystal Guardians, which was released in three parts for Japanese mobile phones in 2008. It was adapted for iOS later that year as Square Enix's first game for the platform, and renamed Crystal Defenders. Under that name, the game was also released between 2009 and 2011 for Android, Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, and PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via the PlayStation Store. It was re-released with graphical improvements for iOS as Crystal Defenders Plus in 2013. A sequel, Crystal Defenders: Vanguard Storm, was released for iOS in 2009.

The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles video game series consists of Crystal Chronicles, a spin-off of the main Final Fantasy series, its sequels My Life as a King and My Life as a Darklord, and their spin-offs, Ring of Fates, Echoes of Time and The Crystal Bearers. Crystal Chronicles, Ring of Fates, and Echoes of Time have had released soundtrack albums to date, and Crystal Chronicles and Ring of Fates each have an associated single. Kumi Tanioka is the main composer for the series, having composed the three released soundtracks as well as the music for My Life as a King and My Life as a Darklord. Hidenori Iwasaki is filling that role for The Crystal Bearers. Nobuo Uematsu, the main composer for the regular Final Fantasy series, contributed one track to the Ring of Fates soundtrack. Yae and Donna Burke sang the Japanese and English versions of the theme song for Crystal Chronicles, respectively, while Aiko sang the theme song for Ring of Fates.

<i>Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time</i> 2009 video game

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is a Wii and Nintendo DS action role-playing game in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series developed by Square Enix.

<i>Final Fantasy Dimensions</i> 2010 video game

Final Fantasy Dimensions is a role-playing video game developed by Matrix Software and published by Square Enix for mobile devices. Similar to Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, it was initially released as an episodic game, with the first two installments released in September 2010 on the Japanese i-mode distribution service, and in December 2010 for the EZweb distribution service. The game was remade for the iOS and Android platforms and released internationally in August 2012.

The development of Final Fantasy XV, a Japanese action role-playing video game, began in 2006 shortly before its announcement at that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Square Enix handled primary development on XV, and the game was released worldwide in November 2016; the total development time covered approximately ten years. The game was originally announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, a PlayStation 3-exclusive spin-off title. It was part of Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos: while retaining thematic links, specific references were removed to aid with marketing. Additional media was created to portray the world of XV without using sequels; dubbed the "Final Fantasy XV Universe", it included a feature film, an original net animation, a virtual reality simulation game, multiple mobile projects including an abridged version of the game, ports to Windows and Stadia, and a novel The Dawn of the Future depicting an alternate finale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noctis Lucis Caelum</span> Final Fantasy XV character

Noctis Lucis Caelum, "Noct" for short, is a character from Square Enix's Final Fantasy video game series. Noctis is a playable character and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XV, which was originally a spin-off titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The crown prince and protector of Lucis, Noctis must reclaim his country's Crystal from the empire of Niflheim, going on a journey to become the True King of legend and save his world from darkness. Noctis has also appeared in the game's expanded media, Final Fantasy crossover titles and other games, including Puzzle & Dragons and the fighting game Tekken 7.

<i>Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future</i> 2019 novel by Emi Nagashima

Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future is a fantasy novel, written by Emi Nagashima and published by Square Enix. It is based on the universe and characters of Final Fantasy XV, an entry in the company's long-running Final Fantasy franchise. It was first released in Japan in April 2019, before being released worldwide in June 2020 as one of the debut titles in the company's newly formed Western publishing house.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a series of video games within the Final Fantasy franchise developed by Square Enix. Beginning in 2003 with the game for the GameCube, the series has predominantly been released on Nintendo gaming hardware and covers multiple genres, including action role-playing. The Crystal Chronicles series takes place in an unnamed world inhabited by four tribes. Recurring themes include creating objects from memory and the importance of family. The gameplay, which has always been aimed at as wide an audience as possible within a genre, generally involves either multiple players or a large group working together.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hatfield, Daemon (July 22, 2009). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord IGN review". IGN . IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Whitehead, Dan (2009-07-23). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord Eurogamer Review". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2012-09-28. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  3. ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (2008-02-25). "GDC 2008: My Life as a King Interview". IGN . Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  4. 1 2 "GDC: Two Final Fantasy WiiWare games". Eurogamer. 2009-03-25. Archived from the original on 2009-03-27.
  5. ↑ "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition Release Commemorative Special Interview!". Square Enix . 2020-08-20. Archived from the original on 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  6. 1 2 3 光と闇の姫君と世界征服の塔 ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル - From Creator. Square Enix (in Japanese). p. 3. Archived from the original on 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  7. 1 2 光と闇の姫君と世界征服の塔 ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル - From Creator. Square Enix (in Japanese). p. 1. Archived from the original on 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 光と闇の姫君と世界征服の塔 ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル - From Creator. Square Enix (in Japanese). p. 2. Archived from the original on 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  9. 1 2 3 光と闇の姫君と世界征服の塔 ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル - From Director. Square Enix (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  10. ↑ "FFTCG Illustration Showcase Interview #7: Yasuhisa Izumisawa". Square Enix . 2019-05-21. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  11. 1 2 Fletcher, J. C. (2009-06-11). "Interview: Square Enix's Akitoshi Kawazu on Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers". Joystiq . Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  12. ↑ 「光と闇の姫君と世界征服の塔 ファイナルファンタジー・クリスタルクロニクル」が本日配信。追加コンテンツやミニアルバムも配信開始. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2009-06-30. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  13. ↑ Brendan Sinclair (May 29, 2009). "Front Mission Evolves on 360/PS3/PC, Nier revealed". GameSpot . Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  14. ↑ Dillard, Corbie (2009-07-06). "FFCC: My Life as a Dark Lord Coming to Europe July 17th". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  15. ↑ Tanaka, John (2009-06-12). "FFCC My Life as a Dark Lord Dated in Japan". IGN . Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  16. ↑ "Art, Cards and Crystals Have Gamers Seeing Spots". Nintendo . July 20, 2009. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  17. ↑ IGN Staff (November 16, 2009). "Nintendo Download: 11/16/09". IGN . Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  18. ↑ "WiiWare demos to end on 31 January". Official Nintendo Magazine . 2010-01-28. Archived from the original on 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  19. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (2009-06-30). "FFCC: My Life as a Dark Lord Gets DLC". IGN . Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  20. ↑ Yip, Spencer (2009-07-28). "My Life as a Darklord Meets The After Years". Siliconera. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  21. ↑ Byford, Sam (2018-03-23). "Nintendo's WiiWare dies this weekend, so download these games while you can". The Verge . Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  22. ↑ Vitale, Adam; Stenbuck, Kite (2020-08-20). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition details post-game dungeons, cosmetic DLC Items, and more". RPG Site. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  23. 1 2 "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord for Wii Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  24. 1 2 McDermott, Sean (2009-07-19). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord Review". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  25. 1 2 Donaldson, Alex (2009-07-25). "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord Review". RPG Site. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  26. ↑ IGN Staff (July 31, 2009). "Game of the Month: July 2009". IGN . Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.