Crystalis
System: NES
Release Date: July 1990
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Genre: RPG
Hack, slash, and explore to save the world in Crystalis. The Great War engulfed the world leading to the downfall of civilization. Peace reigned over the remnants for one hundred years until the rise of Draygon. Once he understood the mixture of technology and magic would make him unstoppable be set his plan into motion. A hero from another age, you awake to set things right once again.
After receiving your sword, you can attack by pressing the B Button. Holding the B Button and standing still charges your attack. You start with level one attacks, but as you collect the sword’s corresponding ball and bracelet, you get level 2 and 3 attacks respectively. These take longer to charge, but do more damage. The level 2 attacks are often necessary to break down a barrier of some kind. Level 3 attacks are sword spells that cost MP to unleash. Enemies walk around on screen and you need to attack or avoid as you move through the relatively linear story path. As you go along, you collect new elemental swords. Some enemies are immune to certain elements and vulnerable to others. This leads to a lot of item switching in the menu screen.
There are plenty of single use items, plot items, and permanent items that you find throughout your journey. I found myself using the rabbit boots to jump around a lot, but once I found the warrior ring that let me shoot level 1 blasts at the touch of the button, that’s what I relied on. There are armor and shields that you can upgrade to as you amass your fortune. Honestly, there were too few upgrades in the grand scheme of things and they are made obsolete near the end of your quest with the Psycho Armor and Shield.
There are also a number of magic spells that you get. I found out if you are stuck, just start paralyzing everyone in the towns. Sooner or later one of them will do something special for you. Honestly, the instruction manual gives good hints that will help you brute force your way through the game in item descriptions. Some secrets are found by changing into different characters and talking to the right NPC. Once you get Flight, you can soar over obstacles which is fun. The most useful spell, however, was Teleport, which allowed me to go back to the first town to stay at the Inn for a pittance at the cost of 20 MP.
Boss battles happen occasionally through your adventure. Most of them require a small amount of trial and error, but their patterns are usually easy to pick up on. If you happen to die, you are sent to the last safe space you were in, but without any gold or experience you earned. The plus side is you keep any items you may have used, so don’t feel bad if you die, because experience is gained back quickly. This is especially true late in the game and once you hit level 16, you’re capped. You can get yourself into an unwinnable battle against Draygon if you go to the wrong place. Something I wish I would have realized before I spent 20 minutes in a single battle trying to kill him…
Graphics: 3.5
There are various terrains, large, well animated sprites, and plenty of character.
Sound: 3.0
The music is good, but I wouldn’t put it at the great level. Some of the dungeon songs can get grating.
Gameplay: 3.0
There were times when lining up shots didn’t work well, and getting massacred by enemies that fly on screen without any warning, but it mostly works well.
Difficulty: 3.0
For the most part, you’re given clear instructions on what to do. What you aren’t spoon fed, you can figure out from hints or experimentation.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I had a pretty good time throughout, but I was getting burnt out by my last session of play.
Overall Rating: 3.1
Crystalis earns a B. This is a totally solid game that you should check out if you’re at all into hack and slash RPGs.