Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers Hands On

Layle’s Crystal Bearer power allows him to grab and pick up anything or anyone. You activate his ability by pointing at the object you want to grab and hitting B. Once Layle’s gravity power connects you can toss barrels (or victims, more on that in a bit) by swinging the Wii remote. If you pull the remote towards you Layle holds the object above his head and you swing the remote forward to throw it it.

You can be a total jerk in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. The first time you can play with the gravity powers is in the middle of a bustling city, which Layle nearly crashes his airship into. Lilties mind their business until you pick them up and throw them into each other. Sometimes you’re rewarded for doing this. An elderly Litly woman dropped coins after I threw her into town guards. There isn’t a penalty for being obnoxious either. If a guard sees Layle lifting civilians he will attempt to tackle and knock you down. That’s it.

You can also use your gravity powers for good. I saw an armored Litly guard lying on his back waving helplessly with a rock on top of him. I picked up the boulder and moved it. This didn’t push the story forward, but a quest message popped on screen.

To continue the story I searched for a yellow seal hidden on the town clock. When you target the seal Layle propels into the clock, which opens a gate to another area. He meets Althea, the Litly with glasses, here after her pet grabs Layle’s gem. Once you retrieve the gem with gravity bending magic a bunch of Litly frown on Layle’s actions. Crystal Bearers and their powers are feared. Althea explains you can’t use magic in towns right before a squad of Litly troops dash in. I guess I shouldn’t have thrown all those elderly women.

Layle and another Clavat driving a chocobo powered wagon escape, but she almost leaves without Layle. Instead of letting her drive off, Layle uses his telekinetic powers to pull the wagon back so he can jump on.

The game shifts to an on-rails light gun game… with gravity bending. Litly soldiers with chocobo steeds chase after you. Since the other Clavat is driving the wagon its your job to keep the Litly soldiers at bay. Unlike innocent townsfolk you need to keep the remote on a soldier for a few seconds before you can toss him. Layle can also pull columns and destroy bridges to impede his pursuers, but these objects are pre-set. If a solider catches up to Layle you get into a waggle battle where you can knock him back.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers also has other styles of gameplay. The demo began with a shooting sequence where Layle gunned down evil looking purple birds. This wasn’t revisited so it’s unclear if this part was a one shot deal.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is scheduled to come out as a holiday release this year. Expect to lob lots of Lilties then.