It's like PixelJunk Monsters without the heart and soul.
Crystal Defenders is a tower defense game (pew-pew-pew) set in the Final Fantasy universe...But being that the word "fantasy" implies a positive connotation, it'd be more accurate to say it's a game set in the Final Nightmare universe (zing!) And if you think that joke was too forced and abrasive, than you probably haven't played Crystal Defenders yet as nothing will seem too forced after experiencing it. Since coming off the "Crisis Core" high, the last FF inspired game I played, I just feel a little bitter that Squenix (apparently) didn't learn anything from the iPod launch of Crystal Defenders, which was probably just as half-baked as this XBLA version is.
I'm not a fan of tower defense games - even those as venerable as the PixelJunk series - so I made a point of making my expectations excruciatingly low for Crystal Defenders, in the hope that it would surprise me. The thing about low expectations is that they're usually easy to surpass, but if they aren't the game is a complete wash. In my now cynical opinion, CD fails. Like epic Hindenburg or Titanic failure - it launches fine but quickly explodes on its maiden voyage.
In typical tower defense gameplay fashion your job is simply to prevent a myriad of different enemies from crossing the game board. CD's big claim to fame is that all the characters are pulled from the Final Fantasy; yes, Chocobos et al. Some people will find it charming, but only for as long as their attention can be jedi-mind-tricked into playing an abysmal game. Also unique to CD is that instead of the typical power meter you're allotted a certain amount of crystals which get depleted as enemies cross your defenses. Needless to say it's brilliant and revolutionary... or not.
They actually did incorporate a few mechanics from FF games that actually translate really well into defensive strategies. For example, using your crystals to call on monsters is a nice tightrope to walk - they help out massively, but if you don't plan right the cost can quickly become your demise. Also specific attacks work better at dealing with specific enemies (and this is where FF knowledge might come in handy). That said it's basically what we've come to expect from tower defense.
All of the strategy in the game comes from managing your resources... It's like an accounting game where, instead of balancing the books, you're balancing your defensive placements in order to maximize your coverage area. Actually, Verizon, AT&T or Rogers, could very quickly rebrand it and make a cellular tower placement game, where you play a mobile phone executive trying to get the best coverage in a given region... it's essentially the same thing but with cell phones instead of chocobos. And here's the thing about that, no one would be interested in playing the Cellphone game, which means the only reason someone would get Crystal Defenders is because they're already FF fans.
