The Nintendo Press Conference made a huge deal out of GameCube and Game Boy Advance connectivity this year. It should come as no surprise that the star pupil of RPGs to utilize this power in their booth would be Square Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Through the maddened fanboys, the haze of lights and machine made fog, the uproar of the Mario Kart tournament, and my ringing ears I managed a very brief firsthand glimpse of the game in action.

First off, it was no lie when they said it was action oriented. The game plays in a manner not all that dissimilar to Gaunlet Legends, except for the obvious franchise elements such as spectacular magic effects and enormous boss enemies. The use of the Game Boy Advance as a status menu is extremely genius and requires the players to interact when they become separated or lost. Little or nothing of the plot is distinguishable from the demos.

Nintendo and Squaresoft might not have worked together in over 5 years but Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles looks and feels very much like it has always been said it would. If this means that Square Enix and Nintendo have maintained good relations and might plan future cooperative projects, so much the better for all RPGamers.