Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (??????????? ?????????? ,Fainaru Fantaji Kurisutaru Kuronikuru?) is an action role-playing game for the Nintendo GameCube. It is a spin-off of the Final Fantasy series, and the first game of the series on a Nintendo console since Final Fantasy VI. It was released in Japan on August 8, 2003; in North America on February 9, 2004 and in Europe and Australia on March 12, 2004.
Square (now Square Enix) created The Game Designers Studio, a second-party studio which included people who had worked on the Final Fantasy games for PlayStation to make Final Fantasy games for Nintendo consoles. Many new gameplay elements were included in this game, such as real-time fighting, as well as being the first console role-playing game to incorporate GameCube-Game Boy Advance compatibility. It was composed by Kumi Tanioka. The game was greeted with good reviews overall, with many calling the graphics beautiful and the multiplayer design innovative. Two further Crystal Chronicles games have been released (chronologically, one a direct sequel, one a distant prequel), and two more, one for the Wii and one for both the Wii and Nintendo DS are in development, making Crystal Chronicles a sub-series of the Final Fantasy series.