Crystalis

Crystalis
Box art from the original NES release.
Developer(s)	SNK
Publisher(s)	SNK
Platform(s)	NES, Game Boy Color
Release	Famicom/NES version JPN: April 13, 1990 NA: July, 1990 GBC version NA: June 26, 2000
Genre(s)	Action-adventure game
Mode(s)	Single player

Crystalis (ゴッド・スレイヤー はるか天空のソナタ, Goddo Sureiya Haruka Tenkū no Sonata, lit. God Slayer: Sonata of the Far-Away Sky) is an action adventure video game produced by SNK for the Nintendo Entertainment System and released on April 13, 1990 in Japan and in July of that year in the United States. The game was ported to the Game Boy Color 10 years later in 2000 by Nintendo Software Technology.

The story begins with the player waking up from a cryogenic sleep 100 years after a global nuclear war has taken place. With the help of the four sages, the player must defeat "Dragonia's Finest Four" and ensure humanity has a future.

Crystalis never became a runaway hit, but it is now considered a cult classic, among other titles such as River City Ransom.

Gameplay

The game plays similarly to other action RPGs. The player can gain levels by defeating enemies, which raise defense and attack. The main method of attack the player has is to swing one of the game's five swords (Wind, Fire, Water, Thunder, and Crystalis, which are all found/bestowed, rather than purchased); each sword can shoot energy in the form of its respective element. The player can also cast spells (which are all bestowed), use items, and equip various shields and suits of armor (these are purchased, and are greater in number than the five swords in the game). As the NES controller has only two action buttons, the scope for many moves is limited, and so one button is used for the sword while the last button can be mapped to another desired action, such as a magical power or an item from the player's inventory. This method of control is similar to the earlier NES action RPG, The Legend of Zelda. The main difference is that in Crystalis, the player is not limited to moving up, down, left, or right, but can also move on diagonals, allowing for smoother control. The game mechanics feel similar to SNES's The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

The mechanics of Crystalis are best described as having The Legend of Zelda style combat well-blended with traditional RPG spell casting, gold collecting, and earning of experience points.

On the NES, Crystalis utilized the MMC3, a standard Memory Controller that allowed access to more than 64kb ROM.

Crystalis gameplay

Story

Plot

Crystalis takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, 100 years after a global thermonuclear war has reverted civilization to a primitive, medieval state where science is forgotten in favor of magic and fierce mutant creatures populate the scorched earth. What little remains of humanity has built a weapon of mass destruction known as "The Tower". The construction of this was aimed to prevent any future cataclysms, as its occupants have the power to rule or destroy the world.

A man known as Emperor Draygon has revived the forbidden ways of science and has combined this knowledge with magic to create a computer capable of simulating his magic powers. He controls the world's last remaining military power and is attempting to conquer what's left of the planet. To this end, Draygon is attempting to enter the Tower.

File:Crystalis tower.png

"The Tower"

To combat Draygon, good magicians have created four swords from each of the four elements, wind, fire, water, and thunder. If the swords are combined, they create a sword made from a fifth element, crystal; this legendary sword is known as "Crystalis". When Draygon learned of the four swords, he took them for himself. The swords were too powerful to be destroyed, so Draygon scattered them across the land.

The player takes the role of a young 20th century boy who has been cryogenically frozen for 100 years. He awakens in the future and, assisted by four sages, gradually learns that he is the destined savior of humanity whose purpose is to seek out another cryogenically frozen survivor, a girl known as Mesia, and to reassemble the 4 components of the legendary sword. Together, they must defeat Draygon and destroy the Tower before it can end what remains of life on Earth.

In the end, the player discovers that the main character, as well as the other frozen survivor, were both scientists who worked on the tower and the computer that controls it. Both of them were preserved to be awakened at a future date, at which time they would judge how humanity is progressing. Although evil does re-emerge, it comes not from the humans themselves, but from the android Azteca. Azteca was left behind by the scientists to guide humanity in a positive direction. However, he had been built too well and experienced negative human emotions. He cut off all these emotions, and this resulted in a personality split. The negative emotions formed a personality that called itself Draygon, the villain of the video game. After the hero defeats Draygon, he and Mesia disable the tower, allowing humanity another chance at peace.

It is noteworthy that the plot of Crystalis brings focus to the tyrannical Dragonian empire, which, itself, pales in importance when Azteca's split engenders Draygon.

The game's story appears to be somewhat influenced by that of the Hayao Miyazaki anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and some aspects of the art design appear to be, as well (for example, the giant insect boss in the swamp appears almost identical to the giant insects seen in the movie).

Characters

Both the anonymous male hero and his female accomplice, Mesia, are scientists who had been cryogenically frozen for 100 years.

Assisting the player with the journey are the four sages: Zebu, Tornel, Asina, and Kensu. The sages are hidden throughout the game, and the player can additionally get hints from them using the Telepathy spell. The Game Boy Color version attributes the creation of the four swords to these four sages (Zebu - Wind*, Tornel - Fire*, Asina - Water, and Kensu - Thunder).

• Some contend that Zebu is affiliated with Fire and Tornel with Wind in the NES version. This is believed because Zebu's cave near the town of Leaf has a pathway blocked with a wall of ice (only destroyable by the Sword of Fire and the Ball of Fire together) that leads into the icy mountains of Mt. Sabre. During the search for the Tornado Bracelet, an amplifier of power for the Sword of Wind, Tornel is found also searching for it on Southern Mt. Sabre. Also, as the order of acquiring the four swords is Wind, Fire, Water, and then Thunder, the telepathy menu aligns the four wise men in this order: Tornel, Zebu, Asina, and Kensu.

File:Crystalis Draygon.gif

Draygon's True Form!

Akahana is a minor character that you will see throughout the game. When he is first encountered, he enquires about a statue he had lost. Upon returning the statue, the player is rewarded with a Gas Mask. The player encounters Akahana again later on in the Waterfall Cave, where he has been turned to stone. After being freed, he gives the player the Shield Ring, which increases shield strength when worn. The player's last encounter with Akahana is in the town of Shyron. The town has been attacked, the four sages having been kidnapped and taken to the Fortress of Goa by Mado (one of the "Finest Four" warriors). When the hero arrives, he finds that Akahana and the other townspeople are either dying or already dead. Akahana speaks to the player one last time before he dies. Akahana is one of the possible forms the player can take with the Change spell.

In addition to four sages there are four recurring boss characters. These four characters are referred to as "Dragonia's Finest Four". Comprising this group are a warrior named General Kelbesque (Wind), a witch named Sabera (Fire), Mado (Water), and Karmine (Thunder). Each of these characters are boss characters that the player will encounter and will find vulnerable to the sword of their respective elements. General Kelbesque, Sabera, and Mado are all encountered before entering Goa Fortress. Therein, the hero will be reunited in another fight with each before meeting the fourth, Karmine, in a climactic fight for the final bracelet.

Though not the final adversary in the game, Draygon is the ultimate antagonist and the root of all of evil in Crystalis. After defeating him in his human(oid) form, the hero will encounter him again and reveal his true, dragon-like form. After defeating Draygon a second time, the hero will gain access to the tower for a final showdown.

Differences between the NES and Game Boy Color versions

File:Crystalis box.jpg

Box art from the Game Boy Color version.

Nearly ten years after the game's initial release, Nintendo bought the rights to Crystalis and released it for the Game Boy Color on June 26, 2000. The remake is a wildly different game, exemplified by the opening that does not include the "End Day" of October 1 1997, where civilization nearly destroyed itself. It is largely seen as inferior to its NES counterpart, due to the many modifications to the plot and gameplay. The change with the most impact is that the plot twist at the end of the game has been removed. The Tower is no longer an ancient weapon created by the game's cryogenically frozen protagonist; it is now a weapon created by the game's antagonist, and the player is now a hero of ancient prophecy destined to save the world.

The reduced resolution of the Game Boy Color screen, compared to that of the NES, results in a field of view far smaller than in the original, making the GBC port considerably more difficult, as it is much harder to see approaching enemies in time to deal with them.

Other major changes include a completely modified soundtrack, retranslation differences (for example, Draygon is now known as Dragonia, as in the Japanese version), and a longer end to the game, incorporating a new dungeon and a new final boss which was excluded from the original due to space constraints. Also added due to the new space allowance was a digital voice which stated the name of any sword the hero happened to find. One gameplay adjustment in the port that is often seen as positive is that unlike in the NES version, enemies are no longer immune to certain elemental swords; this negates the need to constantly switch between weapons during the game. Similarly, the requirement of attaining a particular level in order to even harm new enemies has also been removed.

Critical reception

Upon its release, it moved to #7 in the Top 50 chart of Nintendo Power (achieving a 'purple' color usually attributed to big movers). This can be linked to an initial review of the game by the magazine. However, a more extensive walkthrough never occurred (NP coverage stopped at the swamp area) and within a month the game disappeared from the gamer's radar, and consequently, the Top 50. In retrospect, Nintendo Power tended to follow games developed exclusively for the American market, such as Snake's Revenge and StarTropics, which became runaway hits after full walkthroughs over several issues. Crystalis had no such luck. Crystalis did get an extended Player's Corner coverage by the magazine many years later; this was during the heyday of the Super Nintendo, and other games were given the same treatment, such as StarTropics and Destiny of an Emperor. In December 2005, Nintendo Power ranked the NES release of Crystalis at #115 in a list of the 200 best games ever to appear on a Nintendo system, the "NP Top 200".

The original NES version of the game was praised for its advanced graphics and high quality soundtrack, and also for its elaborate plot. The main criticism of the game was its repetitive gameplay, as the majority of the game's enemies can be overcome by continuous rapid pressing of one button, together with poor collision detection. The Game Boy Color port was not received so favorably, the majority of reviews citing it as an inferior copy, due to reduced screen resolution and altered plot, as well as the fact that the game is seen as "out of date" compared to more recently made games. The port was given an 8.0 rating by IGN, however, which denotes an "impressive" game, but the reviewer in question had not played the original game. IGN criticized the game for being too linear and having a low difficulty level, but praised the game for its bright colors and collision detection.

Trivia

• Two of the wise men, Asina and Kensu, have made many cameo appearances in other SNK games. Asina is an alternate romanization of the character Athena Asamiya. Kensu comes from Sie Kensou, a character known for his obsession with Athena in The King of Fighters series. However, both are based on the versions from the Psycho Soldier arcade game.
• Likewise, the village elder Ralf is based on Ralf Jones and his younger brother Clark is based on Clark Steel, both originally from the 1986 arcade game Ikari Warriors, and later The King of Fighters.

External links

• Crystalis at MobyGames
• Template:GameFAQs
• Crystalis Speed Run at Speed Demos Archive