CE or FoE...Which To Review

[Zatchara]

So, hi! I just started up vidya gaim reviewin' back in early July and after having gotten my hands wet with two games, I found that I rather enjoy dissecting games to understand what creative elements went into making them..well...enjoyable. As such, I was drawn back to one of my favorites, Chrono Trigger, though due to the popularity, I felt reviewing it wouldn't necessarily make the most sense. So, I turned my attention toward Crimson Echoes, which many people know about, but I feel like very few people have reviewed it, if any. So, as I was writing my CE review, I was Googling some information on the game, as one is bound to do with any piece of review material and found out about FoE. So, here's where my dilemma kicks in. I've read that FoE is the most up to date version, but it also has many storyline/gameplay elements that differ from CE, much to the chagrin of Kajar Laboratories. Though, the feelings are quite mixed, or at least that's how it seemed from what sources I could gather.

Obviously, I'd want to play the most up to date hack, but at the same time I want something oozing with quality that was reminiscent of CT itself. Should I review CE because it was the first and most true hack? FoE because it is the most up to date? Or should I review both and compare? I didn't want to jump into anything, as I feel I'm in way over my head with this. Hell, CE may even be more up to date than FoE at this point, I've been out of the loop for a while. So...advice? Thanks.

[Mr Bekkler]

FoE is a touchy subject around here. Personally I view it as sort of a Special Edition, like what George Lucas did to Star Wars. Some might like the changes, but that's not how it was supposed to be originally. The big problem, when it comes down to it, is that the FoE team refuses to acknowledge that the CE team did all the dirty work for them, not the fact that they're changing it. They took out the credits from the beginning of the game and replaced them with their own names. It's just bad practice.

I'd prefer to watch/read a review of CE in all its flawed glory and not give the FoE team the recognition they crave, but a comparison review would also be interesting, as I'm actually open to hear about the pros and cons of each.

[Zatchara]

Hm, I see. I probably shouldn't have brought it up, then. At any rate, I'm unsure of where I could find both games in their most updated versions. That's pretty screwed up that they removed names from credits, though. Childish, even.

[Mr Bekkler]

Unfortunately I can't help you find the games, but it's totally fine to bring it up, I was just stating my opinion. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in something like this.

[Zatchara]

Fair enough. I know I could find at least -one- version of each game, but finding the most updated version of them could potentially be taxing, or at least for FoE it would be. There'd also be the issue of FoE potentially updating mid-review. At any rate, thanks for the help. I'll decide upon how to go at this and later I'll post the review here~

[Manly Man]

I know I've seen Flames of Eternity on vizzed.com, but I'm not sure just how up-to-date that particular version is. I'm not sure if Crimson Echoes leaked to the site, but it would be pretty cool if it did, since I imagine the play count would be at least decent, and maybe a person or two had left a review.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Hey man, I'd say do both.

Here's the thing: a LOT of work was done in Crimson Echoes and it was never completed... It was about 98% completed when the C&D came out. Flames of Eternity then took the unfinished beta and began to "finish" it. Over time they made more and more changes. From what I can gather, the most recent Flames of Eternity edition is still about 75% identical to Crimson Echoes. I'm glad that they're working on it, as their product is more polished, but that's not to say that it isn't without it's own flaws (which you will see if you review it).

One problem with Flames of Eternity is the fact that they took the work of Crimson Echoes and have claimed it as their own. In no way to they publicly acknowledge the hard work that Zeality, Agent12, and others put into the game. It's a shame, really. I would be more willing to lend them some credibility if they gave proper credit where credit was due, but really they're sort of internet thieves. They have a public distaste for the Compendium and particularly Zeality (which happens; hey, it's internet!).

At the end of the day, Flames of Eternity and Crimson Echoes are very similar. The differences lie mainly in the fact that Flames of Eternity is a more complete version of Crimson Echoes, plus with some changes in artistic vision.

[mondaybasil]

I think a review of both that compares them directly would be really interesting.