Editing Crystalis

{{Short description|1990 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}{{distinguish|Chrysalis|Crystalise|Crystals}}
{{redirect|God Slayer||God-slayer (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Crystalis
| image = Crystalisboxart.jpg
| caption = Box art from the original [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] release
| developer = [[SNK]] <small>(NES)</small> <br> [[Nintendo Software Technology]] <small>(Game Boy Color)</small>
| publisher = SNK <small>(NES)</small> <br /> [[Nintendo]] <small>(Game Boy Color)</small>
| director = Kazuto Kohno
| producer = Kazuto Kohno
| artist = T. Furuta <br> M. Yamashita <br> Yoshihisa Maeda <br> T. Tokyo
| programmer = Yukio Gu <br> F. Sasami <br> Satoru Okada
| writer = J. Satoh <br> H. Kino <br> Kiyoji Tomita
| composer = Yoko Osaka
| designer = 
| engine = 
| released = '''Nintendo Entertainment System'''<br />{{vgrelease|JP|April 13, 1990|NA|July 1990}}'''Game Boy Color'''<br />{{vgrelease|NA|June 26, 2000}}
| genre = [[Action role-playing]], [[Action-adventure game|action-adventure]]
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
| platforms = [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], [[Game Boy Color]]
}}

'''''Crystalis'''''{{efn|Known in Japan as {{nihongo|'''''God Slayer: Haruka Tenkū no Sonata'''''|ゴッド・スレイヤー はるか天空のソナタ||lit. "God Slayer: Sonata of the Far Away Sky"|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}}.}} is a 1990 [[action role-playing game|action role-playing]] [[video game]] developed and published by [[SNK]] for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]. A [[Video game port|port]] for the [[Game Boy Color]] developed by [[Nintendo Software Technology]] and published by [[Nintendo]] was released in 2000.

The game begins with a young magician awakening from the [[cryogenic sleep]] he was placed in by the villains of the Great War before nuclear war rained down in the year 1997. Even though he is unable to recall his name or who he was, he exits the Mezame Shrine and discovers 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 Draygonian Empire to ensure that humanity ultimately does not repeat the Great War.

The original NES version has been re-released via the ''[[SNK 40th Anniversary Collection]]'' on [[Nintendo Switch]], [[PlayStation 4]], [[Windows]], and [[Xbox One]].

==Gameplay==
[[File:crystalis gameplay.png|frame|left|''Crystalis'' gameplay, in the town called Portoa]]
''Crystalis'' is an [[action role-playing game]].<ref name="GameSpot" /> The world is presented in a [[top-down perspective]]<ref name="Gaming Age">{{cite web | url=http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=gameboy&game=crystalis | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010714150145/http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=gameboy&game=crystalis | url-status=dead | archive-date=2001-07-14 | title=Crystalis Review for Game Boy Color | first=Jason | last=Allen | publisher=Gaming Age | access-date=2007-10-22}}</ref> so the [[player character]] can be moved in eight directions using the [[d-pad|control pad]]. One action button is used for attacking with a [[sword]] while the second is mapped to either an equipped [[magic (gaming)|magical power]] or an item from the player's inventory.<ref name="GameSpot">{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/gbc/rpg/crystalis/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review | title=Crystalis for Game Boy Color Review | first=Miguel | last=Lopez | website=[[GameSpot]] | access-date=2007-10-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525073446/http://www.gamespot.com/gbc/rpg/crystalis/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review | archive-date=2011-05-25 | url-status=live}}</ref> The start and select buttons bring up the status screen and the inventory menu, respectively. In addition, the player can equip various [[suits of armor]] and [[shield]]s. Defeating monsters allows the player to gain [[experience point]]s which increases his level thus boosting his [[health (gaming)|health]], defense, and attack strength.<ref name="GameSpot" />

The primary means of defeating monsters is through the use of four elemental swords scattered throughout the game (the fifth sword, Crystalis, is obtained in the final dungeon). The swords are capable of both normal slashes and powered-up attacks that launch elemental projectiles.<ref name="GameSpot" /><ref name="All RPG" /> Each of the four swords is imbued with a distinct elemental power (wind, fire, water, and thunder), making each sword more effective than the others in various situations.<ref name="GameSpot" /> The elemental nature of each sword also provides a necessary means of traversing otherwise impassable obstacles;<ref name=HG101 /> certain barriers succumb to the power blasts of individual swords, and the Sword of Water creates a bridge of ice across some shallow, narrow sections of rivers.<ref name="GameSpot" /> Some enemies are immune to certain types of elements and must be killed using the opposing element (for instance, ice creatures are weak against fire). Also bosses and enemies require the hero be a certain level or else they cannot be harmed, even if the correct sword is used. The player can also jump over enemies, and certain enemies can form puddles to slide under the sword's reach.

==Synopsis==
===Plot===
''Crystalis'' takes place in a post-apocalyptic world,<ref name="Gaming Age" /> in 2097, one hundred years after "1997, October 1, The END DAY", when a global thermonuclear war began that reverted civilization to a primitive, [[medieval]] existence populated with fierce [[mutated]] creatures.<ref name=HG101 /> Science and advanced technology have been abandoned, with the survivors deciding to study the ways of [[magic (fantasy)|magic]].<ref name=HG101 /><ref name="GameSpot" /> The survivors of the 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.<ref name=HG101 /> A man known as Draygon, however, revived the forbidden ways of science and combined them with magic.<ref name="GameSpot" /><ref name="Gaming Age" /> With these skills, he controls the world's last remaining military power and seeks to conquer what is left of the planet by attempting to enter the Tower.<ref name=HG101 />

The protagonist awakens with no memory, but, guided by four wise sages, gradually learns that the world is sinking into turmoil, due to the Draygonia Empire's destructive influence.<ref name=HG101 /> Entrusted with the Sword of Wind, he seeks to aid Mesia, another survivor from his time, and to combine the four elemental Swords of Wind, Fire, Water, and Thunder into the legendary sword, ''Crystalis''.<ref name=HG101 /> Together, they must defeat Draygon before he uses the Tower to achieve his evil ambitions.

===Characters===
The [[anonymity|anonymous]] male [[protagonist]] (named SNK by default in the NES version, Simea in the Game Boy Color version) and his female accomplice, Mesia, are scientists who were [[cryogenically frozen]], to be released when the tower began to activate.<ref name=HG101 /> The protagonist is assisted by four sages named Zebu, Tornel, Asina, and Kensu, primarily in learning magic spells and gaining information about the world and the quest.<ref name="GameSpot" /> They are encountered frequently throughout the game, and the player can seek their advice using the [[telepathy]] spell.<ref name=HG101 /><ref name="GameSpot" /> In the GBC version, the sages are each responsible for creating one of the four swords:<ref name="GameSpot" /> Zebu for Wind, Tornel for Fire, Asina for Water, and Kensu for Thunder. The original game does not mention who forged the ancient swords.

There are also four recurring [[boss (video gaming)|boss]] characters, "Dragonia's Finest Four". Comprising this group are: General Kelbesque, Sabera the Witch, the Swordsman Mado, and Karmine the Wizard. Each of them has a distinct elemental weakness and, with the exception of Karmine, each is encountered twice during the adventure.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/nes/crystalis/boss.shtml | title=Crystalis Shrine - Bosses | author=Sinistral | publisher=RPGClassics | access-date=2007-10-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206104525/http://www.rpgclassics.com/shrines/nes/crystalis/boss.shtml | archive-date=2008-02-06 | url-status=live}}</ref> 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 his [[false self]], the hero encounters the real one and reveals his true, [[dragon]]-like form. After defeating the real Draygon, the hero gains access to the Tower for a final showdown<ref name=HG101 /> with a machine called DYNA.

==Development==
Two of the characters from ''Crystalis'' are subtle nods to earlier [[SNK]] characters who later became part of ''[[The King of Fighters]]'' series; the latter two sages, Kensu and Asina, are based on [[Sie Kensou|Kensou Sie]] and [[Athena Asamiya]] from the ''[[Psycho Soldier]]'' arcade game.<ref name="HG101" /> In ''The King of Fighters'' series, Kensou is well known for his obsession with Athena,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamegen.com/fightgen/characters2/kensou.html | title=Sie Kensou Profile | publisher=gamegen.com | access-date=2007-10-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208134429/http://www.gamegen.com/fightgen/characters2/kensou.html | archive-date=2007-12-08 | url-status=dead}}</ref> a quality demonstrated even in ''Crystalis''.

== Release ==
The game was released in Japan on April 13, 1990,<ref name=":0" /> and later released in North America in July.<ref name="NintendoList">{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/nes_games.pdf |publisher=Nintendo of America |access-date=August 9, 2015 |title=NES Games |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611225644/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/nes_games.pdf |archive-date=June 11, 2014}}</ref>

===Game Boy Color version===
Nearly ten years after the game's initial release, [[Nintendo]], with licensing from SNK, re-released ''Crystalis'' for the [[Game Boy Color]] on June 26, 2000. This version, however, is a significantly different game, exemplified by a different opening sequence. The nature of the Tower's origin and its purpose were fundamentally altered, with the Tower now being 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.<ref name=HG101 /> This story sequence was used in the instruction manual for the NES version.

Other major changes include an almost completely new [[video game music|soundtrack]], re-translation differences (for example, Draygon is now known as Dragonia, as in the Japanese version) and rewriting of story-items and events<ref name="RPGFan" /> (Kensu's Body and the dialogue in the Dwarven village, for example). The game now has a different final sequence too: in the original, after defeating Draygon's two forms in the pyramid, a character named Azteca dies and then the players travel to the flying tower to fight the final boss DYNA, the computer controlling the tower. In the Game Boy Color version, the players go to the flying tower directly (which has been shortened compared to the original). Once inside, the players fight DYNA and then fight Draygon's two forms. The re-ordering of these last battles caused Azteca's death scene to be excised from the game. Also, a digital voice was added to state the name of each sword upon discovery.

Unlike the original version, enemies are not immune to certain elemental swords.<ref name=HG101 /> The lower [[display resolution|resolution]] of the Game Boy Color screen, compared to that of the NES, results in a field of view smaller than in the original, making the GBC [[porting|port]] more difficult;<ref name="1up Console vs Handheld" /> some enemies can now attack the player from off-screen.

===''SNK 40th Anniversary Collection'' version===
SNK re-released ''Crystalis'' for the [[Nintendo Switch]] in November 2018, as part of the ''[[SNK 40th Anniversary Collection]]''.<ref name="snk40th.com">{{cite web | url=https://snk40th.com/games.html?p=crystalis | publisher=SNK | title=Crystalis Console Version | access-date=2019-01-27 | archive-date=2019-01-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127152444/https://snk40th.com/games.html?p=crystalis | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Nintendo.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/games/detail/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-switch/ | publisher=Nintendo | title=SNK 40th Anniversary Collection | access-date=2021-09-10 | archive-date=2021-09-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910085101/https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/games/detail/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-switch/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Thumbsticks.com">{{cite web | date=2018-07-06 | last=New | first=Daniel | url=https://www.thumbsticks.com/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-release-date-07062018/ | publisher=Thumbsticks.com | title=The SNK 40th Anniversary Collection gets a Switch release date | access-date=2021-09-10 | archive-date=2021-09-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910085058/https://www.thumbsticks.com/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-release-date-07062018/ | url-status=live}}</ref> This collection, including ''Crystalis'', was released in 2019 for [[Sony PlayStation 4]] on March 19,<ref name="Playstation Lifestyle">{{cite web | last=Garcia | first=Janet | date=2019-01-10 | title=SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Announced for PS4 With a Hilariously Old School Trailer | url=https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/01/10/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-ps4-release-date-set-for-spring/ | publisher=Playstation Lifestyle | access-date=2021-09-10 | archive-date=2019-08-19 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819035809/https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/01/10/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-ps4-release-date-set-for-spring/ | url-status=live}}</ref> for [[Xbox One]] on May 2,<ref name="MajorNelson.com">{{cite web | date=2019-04-25 | title=SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One | url=https://majornelson.com/2019/04/25/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-is-now-available-for-digital-pre-order-and-pre-download-on-xbox-one/ | access-date=2021-09-10 | publisher=MajorNelson.com | language=en-US | archive-date=2021-09-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910075329/https://majornelson.com/2019/04/25/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-is-now-available-for-digital-pre-order-and-pre-download-on-xbox-one/ | url-status=live}}</ref> and for [[Steam (service)|Steam]] on June 7.<ref name="Gematsu">{{cite web | date=2019-06-07 | title=SNK 40th Anniversary Collection now available for PC | url=https://www.gematsu.com/2019/06/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-now-available-for-pc | access-date=2021-09-10 | publisher=Gematsu | language=en-US | archive-date=2021-09-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910075339/https://www.gematsu.com/2019/06/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-now-available-for-pc | url-status=live}}</ref> The PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam releases of the ''SNK 40th Anniversary Collection'' mark the first time that ''Crystalis'', a game once exclusive to the NES, had been made officially available outside of a Nintendo console.

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
|Fam=28/40 (NES)<ref name=":0" />
|GSpot=8/10 (GBC)
|IGN = 8/10(GBC)
}}

The original NES version of ''Crystalis'' was praised for its advanced [[2D computer graphics|graphics]],<ref name="All RPG">{{cite web | url=http://www.allrpg.com/games/crystalis/index.php3?page=review&num=1 | publisher=All RPG | title=Crystalis (NES) Review | first=Adam | last=Caldwell | access-date=2007-10-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927104007/http://www.allrpg.com/games/crystalis/index.php3?page=review&num=1 | archive-date = September 27, 2007}}</ref> high quality [[video game music|soundtrack]],<ref name="Switch RPG" /> and elaborate plot.<ref name=HG101>{{cite web | url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/crystalis/crystalis.htm | work=Hardcore Gaming 101 | title=Hardcore Gaming 101: Crystalis | first=Robert | last=Greene | access-date=2010-02-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329035716/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/crystalis/crystalis.htm | archive-date=March 29, 2010 | url-status=dead}}</ref> For their review of the Nintendo Switch emulated port of ''Crystalis'' in the ''SNK 40th Anniversary Collection'', ''Switch RPG'' noted that "''Crystalis'' features one of the best soundtracks from the NES era".<ref name="Switch RPG">{{cite web | url=https://switchrpg.com/reviews/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-crystalis-review/ | publisher=Switch RPG | title=SNK 40th Anniversary Collection: Crystalis Review (Switch) | first=Ben | last=T. | date=2018-11-14 | access-date=2021-09-10 | archive-date=2021-09-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910062315/https://switchrpg.com/reviews/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-crystalis-review/ | url-status=usurped}}</ref> Critics remarked that the story and art design seemed to draw heavily from the [[Hayao Miyazaki]] anime film ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]''.<ref name="1up Console vs Handheld" /><ref name=HG101 /> The main criticism of the game was its repetitive gameplay,<ref name="All RPG" /> as many enemies can be overcome by continuous rapid pressing of one button.<ref name="RPGFan" /> The reviewer "Pocket Squirrel" also mentioned flawed [[collision detection]] in his review for ''RPGFan''.<ref name="RPGFan" /> IGN ranked Crystalis #42 on its list of the Top 100 NES Games.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 100 NES Games |url=https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-nes-games/42 |access-date=11 July 2022 |website=[[IGN]] |archive-date=11 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711092315/https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-nes-games/42 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Japanese gaming magazine ''[[Famitsu]]'' gave the game a score of 28 out of 40.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?a=page_h_title&title_id=000000005417|title=ゴッドスレイヤー はるか天空のソナタ|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808043051/https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?a=page_h_title&title_id=000000005417|archive-date=2018-08-08|url-status=live|access-date=2018-08-07}}</ref> Famitsu writers compared it as similar to both ''[[Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished|Ys]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]''.<ref name=":0" /> In December 2005, ''Nintendo Power'' ranked the NES release of ''Crystalis'' at number 115 in a list of the 200 best games ever to appear on a [[Nintendo]] system, the "NP Top 200".<ref>{{cite magazine | title=NP Top 200 | magazine=[[Nintendo Power]] | issue=198 | date=December 2005}}</ref> In a retrospective, [[Kotaku]] stated that "''Crystalis'' has flaws, but makes up for it with bold strides in its narrative and gameplay".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tieryas|first=Peter|title=The Classic JRPG About Two Scientists Saving The World|url=https://kotaku.com/the-classic-jrpg-about-two-scientists-saving-the-world-1835592816|access-date=2020-12-22|website=Kotaku|date=22 June 2019|language=en-us|archive-date=2021-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117004312/https://kotaku.com/the-classic-jrpg-about-two-scientists-saving-the-world-1835592816|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[1UP.com|1up.com]]'' called it a "hidden Gem" for the NES, and said it was one of the better games inspired by Zelda on the system, contrasting it with ''[[Willow (NES video game)|Willow]]'', which they said was quite poor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/features/hidden-gems-rest-nes?pager.offset=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314031241/http://www.1up.com/features/hidden-gems-rest-nes?pager.offset=2|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-03-14|title=Hidden Gems: The Rest of the NES|date=2016-03-14|access-date=2018-08-18}}</ref> ''Switch RPG'' called ''Crystalis'' "easily one of the best action RPGs from the NES era".<ref name="Switch RPG" />

The Game Boy Color [[porting|port]] was not received as favorably, the majority of reviews citing it as an inferior copy, due to reduced screen resolution<ref name="1up Console vs Handheld">{{cite web | url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3133565 | title=Console vs Handheld: Crystalis | publisher=1up.com | access-date=2007-10-23 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211333/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3133565 | archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref> and altered plot,<ref name="RPGFan" /><ref name=HG101 /> as well as its being seen as dated compared to more recently made games.<ref name="1up Console vs Handheld" /> The music is regarded as one of the port's worst aspects.<ref name=HG101 /><ref name="RPGFan">{{cite web | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/crystalis/Crystalis_gb.html | title=Crystalis (Game Boy Color) Review | author=Pocket Squirrel | publisher=RPGFan | access-date=2007-10-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518062600/http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/crystalis/Crystalis_gb.html | archive-date=2007-05-18 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="IGN" /> The port was given an 8.0 rating by ''[[IGN]]'', however, which denotes an "impressive" game. ''IGN'' criticized the game for being too [[Linearity (computer and video games)|linear]] and having a low difficulty level but praised its large world and visually detailed "cinema cutscenes".<ref name="IGN">{{cite web | url=http://uk.gameboy.ign.com/articles/163/163597p1.html | title=Crystalis (Game Boy Color) Review | first=Craig | last=Harris | website=[[IGN]] | access-date=2007-10-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713004631/http://uk.gameboy.ign.com/articles/163/163597p1.html | archive-date=2011-07-13 | url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[GameSpot]]'' also gave the Game Boy Color port an 8.0, saying of the original NES release: "Crystalis' sheer depth - and the quality of its presentation - was without peer, and it is still regarded as a milestone title in the [action RPG] genre".<ref name="GameSpot" />

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{moby game|id=/crystalis}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crystalis}}
[[Category:1990 video games]]
[[Category:Action role-playing video games]]
[[Category:Game Boy Color games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:Nintendo games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Software Technology games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Classics games]]
[[Category:Nippon Ichi Software games]]
[[Category:Post-apocalyptic video games]]
[[Category:Role-playing video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:SNK games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games set in the 2090s]]