Crystalis is a very unusual game on the original Nintendo. First of all it was one of the few home console exclusives developed by SNK. Yes, the same SNK that has made a million fighting games and not much else. That fact wouldn’t be so odd except that Crystalis is an action role playing game. It’s also deep rooted in fantasy with a sweeping story that draws from a number of inspirations. I first ran into this title at a mom and pop rental store long after the NES was on its way out. Being such a big fan of the genre I had to rent it. I fell instantly in love but never got a chance to complete it until just now. So how good is Crystalis? So good.
You start out by naming the main character. Not off to a good start in my opinion. Upon starting the game you awaken from a cryogenic chamber in what appears to be a medieval style fantasy world. There are swords, sorcery, and a land at peril from the monsters that roam it. This was once the modern real world but technology got the best of humans and everything was destroyed. Well, almost everything. The surviving humans swore off technology and have built a more primitive society. Meanwhile the nuclear fallout has transformed other living things into blood thirsty monsters that roam the landscape. An evil empire has risen from the ashes and if allowed to realize their ambitions will destroy the world once more. It’s up to our protagonist from another time to stop them.
Where this game excels is in the sense of wonder the setting provides. You have your generic fields, caves and dungeons but also areas such as floating islands, poisonous forests, etc. The latter of these really reminded me of the anime film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. As a matter of fact the whole scenario and world does. Nothing from this time period had a story and setting like this.
At first glance Crystalis looks like a simple Zelda clone. These were a dime a dozen back then, but this one is quite different. You view the action from an overhead perspective. You attack enemies with your sword like in Zelda, and touching them (or their projectiles) reduces your life like in Zelda, but this is an RPG. As you defeat enemies you gain experience points which allow you to gain levels which improve your fighting statistics making you more adept. You can also collect equipment such as weapons and armor as well. There are other items to collect as well and some can be purchased in shops in the many villages around the world.
What sets Crystalis apart from the pack of action RPG/adventure games is how perfectly it blends elements between these genres. It has a world map that feels as epic in scope as a traditional RPG as well as towns and dungeons that feel like they would belong in a big budget role playing game. The gameplay however is all action. You slash your sword in real-time and can charge it up to fire a projectile by holding down the button and releasing. Crystalis does require some grinding but because you’re not wading through menus it’s far less painstaking than in other RPGs. You will have to backtrack frequently in the story but this is made easier with a warp spell that you learn.
The dungeons are fashioned like in a typical RPG; most have a boss awaiting at the end of a labyrinth full of monsters, dead ends, forks in the road and treasure chests. The only issue I have is that they’re a bit simplistic. There’s hardly any puzzle solving and instead it’s just dead end after dead end thrown at you. Sometimes these areas are too maze-like and it can detract from the fun. What’s more is that the waves of enemies are also annoying. Flying enemies in particular are difficult targets to hit and you’ll find yourself frustrated often. Worse yet you’ll be hit with status ailments and lack the items to heal yourself and therefore will need to retreat to town.
The absolutely worst part of the game however comes in the form of enemy immunities. You see, your weapons consist of four different elemental swords. You begin with the sword of wind but must also collect those of fire, water and thunder. They’re all functionally the same but each are powered up by collecting items and have different projectile attacks. These can also open up new ways forward such as the water sword creating platforms over rivers, and the others destroy different barriers along the way. The big problem is that some enemies are immune to the different swords, and weak against others. There isn’t a shortcut to switching your sword; you have to go to the inventory and select it every time. This gets annoying fast, and the fact that this is a constant battle for the entire game is pretty frustrating.
Crystalis was a late generation game on the NES. The developers did a great job of taking advantage of the hardware in some pretty nice ways. First of all the environments have a lot of detail to them, and some even feature animation. The poisonous forest for example has some of the most impressive graphics I’ve ever seen on the console. The characters and enemies aren’t all that special, but the engine can handle a lot of action at once. As is usual there’s a fair amount of flicker but it’s not that detrimental here. The soundtrack on the other hand is a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. The town and cave themes play it safe and just sound generic for this type of game. The only song I actually enjoyed to be honest was the world map theme. It’s one of the most adventurous and high energy pieces of music you’ll hear in any video game.
It might sound like I’ve been ragging on Crystalis. It does have it’s issues but it’s still one of the most fun action RPGs I’ve played. What’s more is that it was released in an age when action RPGs sacrificed depth in many ways from the vanilla role playing games. This was not the case here. It does have some repetitious elements, and can be frustrating, but Crystalis has a lot going for it. This game presents one of the best and most fantastic worlds the genre has ever seen with incredible backstory and lore. It also has a fun battle system and fantastic environments to explore. It’s a shame Crystalis didn’t take off in the same way the Legend of Zelda did.
