Crystalis

"A very under-rated game ported from the NES, it’s Crystalis!"

Cystalis for the Game Boy Color. A very well done game in my opinion, very much like the NES version of the game. It’s much like other video games such as Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Final Fantasy for the NES. That’s partially why I like this game. I also like this game because of the length- 50 to 100 hours.

Story (9.1/10)

In this Game Boy Color remake, there had been a huge attack of mutated animals. After that passed, the survivors of Earth were set to rebuild the Earth with magic, harmony, and peace. Unfortunately, a magician named Dragonia had much different plans. He decided to take over the world using forbidden technology and dark magic. Four of Earth’s best magicians made swords using elements. (which were Fire, Wind, Thunder, and Water) When the powers of the swords combine, they form Crystalis, the ultimate weapon. Unluckily enough, Dragonia showed up and foiled their plans, hiding the four swords in the four corners of the world! When it seems as if all hope is lost, it’s not! Two warriors with magical abilities that have been asleep for ages finally awake to save the world! And you are one of them.

Gameplay (9/10)

Like most Zelda games, except with less puzzles that require less skill. You level up like in most RPGs, and buy weapons/items to become stronger. The battles are real time, you go up to your enemies and slash them with your sword. Another kick is getting to use magic in your battles, which can help a lot at times. There is also many spells to master.

Graphics (9.1/10)

A little improvement over the NES, your character is large and drawn a bit better. The towns, villages, caves, and other places you visit are drawn with vivid, sharp, and bright colors. New cinemas were added to the game with nice graphics, clearly meeting the standards for a Game Boy Color.

Sound (5.5/10)

This is the major downside of the game. They changed the nice and catchy music from the NES version to this scratchy, annoying thing they call ‘music’. A few tracks, though, were actually done pretty nicely and had a nice tune to it.

Hardness Factor (7.8/10)

At the beginning, it’s pretty hard because as you start out it is hard to hit enemies. You get used to it pretty soon though, as the Zelda style of the game kicks in with a good outcome. The hardness factor goes down a bit as you can avoid battles and save anywhere.

Replay Value (8.1/10)

It’s still quite fun to play through this game again, but of course no where near how fun it is to play through it for the first time. The next time through, you can make different decisions, go different ways, etc. You won’t be going through it again very soon because of it’s great length, though.

Overall (9/10)

With few flaws, and despite how under-rated this game was, it is still an excellent game. I highly recommend this to any person who likes Adventure/RPG’s or Zelda. Newcomers to the genre might not like it as much because of inexperience only. Hardcore gamers would also probably love this game

Buy/Rent/Not? If you like Zelda or the genre of Adventure/RPG, buy this game immediately. If you don’t like the genre much or have never played a game of this genre, try borrowing it from a friend or renting it, then see if you like it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/02, Updated 08/08/02