Crystalis

Crystalis
Box art from the original NES release.
Developer(s)	SNK (NES)/Nintendo Software Technology (Game Boy Color)
Publisher(s)	SNK (NES)/Nintendo (Game Boy Color)
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, known in Japan as God Slayer: Haruka Tenkū no Sonata (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. It was released on April 13, 1990 in Japan and later that July in the United States. The game was later ported to the Game Boy Color by Nintendo Software Technology in 2000.

The game begins with a man's awakening from a cryogenic sleep one hundred years after a global nuclear war. Even though he is unable to recall his name or who he was, he begins to discover that he may be the key to save this world from destruction. Aided by four wise sages and a mysterious woman, he rises up against the tyrannical Draygonia empire to ensure that humanity ultimately has a future.

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

Plot summary

Crystalis takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, one hundred years after a global thermonuclear war has reverted civilization to a primitive, medieval existence populated with fierce mutated creatures. Science and advanced technology have been abandoned though the old ways of magic have survived.

The survivors of the terrible destruction built a floating "Tower" to prevent any future cataclysms, as its occupants would have the power to govern the world due to the Tower's weapons systems. However, a man known as Emperor Draygon has revived the forbidden ways of science and combined them with magic. With these skills, he controls the world's last remaining military power and seeks to conquer what's left of the planet by attempting to enter the Tower.

File:Crystalis tower.png

"The Tower"

To combat Draygon, four wise sages created four swords, one from each of the four elements, wind, fire, water, and thunder. The swords also have the potential to combine into the sword of crystal, "Crystalis." When Draygon learned of the four swords and that they were too strong to destroy, he scattered them across the land.

The protagonist is a young boy who has been cryogenically frozen for one hundred years. He awakens in the future and, assisted by four sages, gradually learns that he is the destined savior of humanity. His purpose is to aid Mesia, another survivor from his time, and to reassemble the four components of the legendary sword, Crystalis. Together, they must defeat Draygon before he uses the Tower to destroy what remains of the Earth.

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). The "Village of the Valley of Wind" (called Leaf in the English translation) also may have been influenced by Miyazaki.

Game mechanics

The gameplay is similar to other action RPGs. The world is presented in a top-down perspective so the player can move smoothly in eight directions using the control pad. Two buttons are reserved for attacking, and using a spell or item. The other two buttons pause the game and bring up either a status screen or the inventory menu, respectively. Defeating monsters will allow the player to gain experience points, as well as levels which boost his defense and attack strength.

The main method of defeating monsters is through the use of the five swords scattered throughout the game. Each sword is capable of either a normal slash, or a powered-up attack in which energy projectiles are launched from the swords. Each sword is also imbued with an elemental power (Wind, Fire, Water, Thunder, and Crystalis), making each sword more effective than the others in various situations.

Crystalis gameplay, in the town called Portoa.

In addition, the player can cast spells after learning them from the four sages, can equip various suits of armor and shields, and can also use items. Due to the restrictions of the NES controller, the secondary button is mapped to a chosen 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 in the four cardinal directions, but can also move diagonally, allowing for smoother control; in this way, the mechanics are similar to those in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES. The gameplay of Crystalis is perhaps best described as having Zelda-style combat blended with traditional RPG spellcasting and the earning of experience points.

On the NES, Crystalis utilized the MMC3, a standard Memory Controller that allowed access to more than 64kb of read-only memory (ROM).

Characters

The anonymous protagonist (named Simea by default in the Game Boy Color version) and his female accomplice, Mesia, are scientists who were cryogenically frozen for one hundred years.

The protagonist is assisted by four sages named Zebu, Tornel, Asina, and Kensu, primarily in learning magic spells from them. They are encountered frequently throughout the game, and the player can seek their advice using the Telepathy spell. In the GBC version, the sages are each responsible for creating one of the four swords: Zebu for Wind, Tornel for Fire, Asina for Water, and Kensu for Thunder. Some NES version players conjecture that Tornel is instead responsible for Wind (since he is looking for the Tornado Bracelet on Mt. Sabre) and Zebu for Fire (since the path behind his cave can only be accessed with the Sword of Fire). In addition, the Telepathy spell lists the sages in the order of Tornel, Zebu, Asina, and Kensu.

File:Crystalis Draygon.gif

Emperor Draygon's true form.

There are also four recurring boss characters, "Draygonia's Finest Four" (an attempt at a neutral translation of the phrase "shitenno"). Comprising this group are a warrior named General Kelbesque (Wind), Sabera the witch (Fire), the swordsman Mado (Water), and Karmine the wizard (Thunder). With the exception of Karmine, each is encountered twice during the game.

Though not the final adversary in the game, Emperor Draygon is the ultimate antagonist and the root of all of evil in Crystalis. After defeating him in his human 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 rereleased it for the Game Boy Color on June 26, 2000. However, this version is a wildly different game, exemplified by an opening without October 1 1997, "the End Day" on which civilization nearly destroyed itself. The plot twist at the end of the game was likewise removed. The Tower is no longer an ancient structure created by the game's protagonist; it is now a weapon created by the game's antagonist, and the protagonist has been elevated to a hero of ancient prophecy destined to save the world.

Other major changes include a completely modified soundtrack and retranslation differences (for example, Draygon is now known as Dragonia, as in the Japanese version). The game now has a longer end due to the incorporation of a new dungeon and a new final boss, excluded from the original game due to space constraints. Also a digital voice was added to state the name of each sword upon discovery. Unlike the original 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.

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. Due to these and other various modifications to the plot, gameplay, and soundtrack, the Game Boy Color version is largely seen as an inferior release.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Crystalis moved to #7 in the Top 50 chart of Nintendo Power (achieving a 'purple' color usually attributed to big movers). This can be linked somewhat 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.

The King of Fighters

File:Kensu asina.jpg

Kensu and Asina, as depicted in the original Japanese manual.

Four of the characters from Crystalis are subtle nods to other SNK characters from the King of Fighters series. The latter two sages, Kensu and Asina, are based on Kensou Sie and Athena Asamiya (of the Psycho Soldier arcade game) respectively. Since Asina, Ashina, and Athena (and many others) are all possible romanizations of the original Japanese アシーナ, it is very likely that the translators missed the reference. It should be noted, however, that in the King of Fighters series, Kensou is well-known for his obsession with Athena, a quality surviving even in Crystalis.

Likewise, Ralph (the village elder of Joel) and his younger brother Clark are based on Ralf Jones and Clark Steel, both originally from the 1986 arcade game Ikari Warriors, and later The King of Fighters.

External links

• Crystalis at MobyGames
• Template:GameFAQs
• RPG Classics Shrine
• Hardcore Gaming 101 Article
• Crystalis Speed Run at Speed Demos Archive