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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

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7.2 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 15 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Square Enix

Genre(s): Simulation, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: May 12, 2008

Summary

[WiiWare] You are a young king who must rebuild his kingdom, beginning with the castle town. When the king first reaches the borders of his realm, he finds that the crystal in the center of town has given him special powers to be a "master builder," a unique ability he uses to construct houses, shops and the like to rebuild and revitalize his kingdom. [Nintendo]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

NGamer UK

Massively enjoyable, tantalisingly addictive and packed with possibilities. [Aug 2008, p.73]

GamePro

Whether you pay $15 for the game itself or more than $30 for the title and its expanded content, you'll find a surprisingly fun and refreshingly original experience that rivals full-priced retail software in depth and scope. Just make sure that you give it a chance past its slow first hour. I'm glad I did.

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Nintendo Life

The scope of the game is enormous and there's never a lack of things to do as you live out each day of the adventure.

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Hardcore Gamer Magazine

It’s as beautiful as it is deep, and will keep you glued to your television screen as the hours fly by.

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Official Nintendo Magazine UK

The further you delve into the game's intricacies, the richer the experience. [July 2008, p.70]

Console Gameworld

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King packs a lot of depth into a small package just like Square-Enix intended it to.

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RPG Fan

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King is better than the sum of its parts. When you look at everything separately nothing sticks out as particularly fantastic, but its charm and addictive quality go a long way towards making it a great game.

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1UP

My Life as a King's depth is surprising for a downloadable title, and it suggests that this could have been slapped on a DVD and sold at retail price. But such as it is, downloadable is the way to go, and based on the evidence here, the Crystal Chronicles series has a bright future ahead of it.

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Cheat Code Central

It features very deep managerial gameplay, which it is easy to become entranced with. This title gives you so many options for gameplay that it is hard to resist the urge to level up your adventurers just one more time, or unlock a certain building before shutting it off.

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Games Master UK

Extremely original take on the familiar Final Fantasy format. Worth an expanded sequel. [Aug 2008, p.82]

games(TM)

It may be the most expensive WiiWare release, but it effortlessly ranks as the most notable. [Aug 2008, p.118]

N-Europe

A great title that really shows what WiiWare can do. The game is addictive and lasts for hours on end, and nice looking graphics.

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Zentendo

Despite its flaws, My Life as a King serves as a wonderful bridge title to bring Final Fantasy fans into the sim genre (and gamers at large, for that matter), blending strategy into the mix to add ample amounts of depth to the proceedings.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Our biggest complaint is that sometimes if feels like you're just filling in the blanks and it's only a matter of time before the game finishes playing out the way it's supposed to. On the other hand, the fast daily routine and quick rewards, like a new building or job class, make it easy to get sucked into playing for "just one more day" more than we'd like to admit.

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Gamervision

The games constant rewards and simple gameplay make it extremely fun, and the price may be the highest on WiiWare, but that doesn’t mean it isn't more than worth the money.

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NintendoWorldReport

Overall, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles My Life as a King is a deep and engrossing title.

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Eurogamer

Enjoyed in short delicious bursts, My Life as a King is one of the most impressive downloads offered on a current-generation console.

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Nintendojo

My Life as a King is not for everybody. The sluggish beginning will detract many gamers, especially those unfamiliar to the simulation and management genres.

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IGN

I liked My Life as a King more and more as I played it. Sure, it's basically a Final Fantasy game where you stay at home and send other people out to play Final Fantasy. But there is satisfaction to be gained from building a kingdom and keeping your subjects happy.

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Edge Magazine

There’s a terrific immediacy to the events, too. The days are short enough to guarantee a constant hustle and bustle, and the results of the previous day’s adventuring are cunningly given after the save screen, drawing you in to the next day before you realise it. [Aug 2008, p.98]

n-Revolution Magazine UK

Not an RPG, and not much to do at first, but it does get more interesting. [Issue#24, p.26]

Level7.nu

As one of the launch games for Nintendos download service WiiWare, My Life as a King is a great title. In small doses it's a lot of fun, but the formula grows tedious in the long run. Graphics-wise this game looks great, but it suffers from poor performance from time to time. Overall lack of depth reduces the grade for this otherwise great game.

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GameSpot

This light "strategy" game is charming enough, but its gameplay is wildly unbalanced.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jill K gave it a2:
I was so excited based on all the reviews to play this game. What a disappointment. The game plays itself. Your character is stuck at the castle while everyone else is sent off to do the exciting stuff which you only hear about in daily reports. Equally annoying is when your character is told it's his bedtime.

Manoel Q. gave it a9:
"Final Fantasy: My Life as a King" is a great beginning for the WiiWare, together with "LostWinds". The entertainment is amazing and the happiness of seeing your kingdom progress make this a great game. The additional downloads are good, some replaceable and some useless, and the interaction with your citizens are from good to regular: it could be better.

Justin Z. gave it an8:
Excellent story, fun gameplay, and beautiful graphics. Controls were not the best, but, other than that, a must buy.

Aster W. gave it an8:
I really enjoy playing this game, its almost mysteriously addicting. But I showed it to a friend of mine who helped me realize this is one of the most boring games to watch someone play. Oh well, his loss.

Steven B. gave it a10:
This game is easily one of the best god-simulation games out there. By combining Final Fantasy and a sim-city/sims type game; the end product is easily worth the $15-$25 price. If you own a Wii, this is a great game to try.

Ezekial gave it a7:
I received this game as a gift from a friend and was rather unsure about touching it after playing the FFCC for GCN and absolutely hating every single part of it. Well it seems they decided to make the game a new genre of game, not quite a strategy game and not quite an RPG. The game isn't difficult at all and has many things that needed to be improved. For sporting a 15$ price tag I managed to have 6 hours fly past playing this game as it is very addictive. My only real dislike about the game was the BGM that plays none stop is pretty annoying and you have no real impact on your adventurer's choice for Gil spending. The DLC is also something that strikes me as stupid. The game is quite short, but has replay value and it's easy to learn, and gives you the feeling like you're actually creating your own kingdom. Worth picking up for 1500 Wii Points.

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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

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