Game Club 199X #11 - Crystalis (NES, GBC)

[Feynman]

AND SO IT BEGINS. But first, I need a name for my hero! Hmmm...



I'm really hoping I get some amusing lines from NPCs out of this.

Crystalis is an amazing game, but there is a lot of annoying shit to deal with... which I intend to list as I play through the game!

Annoying shit #1:


Since I'm only level 1, I can't hurt this monster. Every monster has a level requirement needed to damage it, which is super annoying since it's so easy to fall behind the level curve in Crystalis. Forced experience point grinding sucks!



The first boss is a total pushover, but I still managed to die to him. I landed the final blow, assuming the bats he summoned would disappear. They did not. It just goes to show that bats are assholes no matter what game you're playing.



REVENGE IS MINE!

Annoying shit #2:


Everybody who has ever played Crystalis remembers this part. You need to find this guy's statue to get a key item, but finding it is an absolute nightmare.



The statue is right here. No, really!



See? How the developers expect you to find that if you don't already know it's there is a mystery to me. There's no indication the statue is there whatsoever. The only reason I know about it is that I've played the game before, and the first time I played this game I needed to use Nintendo Power to pass that part.

Annoying shit #3:


This guy challenges you to a button mashing contest in order to learn the telepathy spell. Unfortunately, the contest is rigged. You cannot win the first two fights against him, and only on your third attempt is it possible to win. That makes it very easy for a player to mistakenly assume they can't beat him until later in the game. You need this spell to progress, which makes this scene extremely poor design.

Annoying shit #4:


This screen may not look annoying, but the right hand side of the screen is the entrance to the swamp. You need to equip the Gas Mask in order to avoid taking constant damage, and if you don't know the swamp is there ahead of time, you will probably not have the mask equipped, and lose half your health bar before you realize what's happening.

Annoying shit #5:


That enemy I'm attacking? It's not taking damage. Certain monsters can only be harmed by certain weapons. This isn't necessarily a bad mechanic, but switching weapons in Crystalis is a tremendous pain in the ass. Not only do you have to open up your menu to change swords, but if you want access to more powerful sword skills, you need to change your orb/bracelet as well. In a fast-paced game like Crystalis, it really kills the pacing of the game.



Ha! I knew I'd get some great lines from using that name!

[Snarboo]

Any chance you can condense that into a more consumable snack form, Feynman?

I'll be sure to add both of your guys' tips sometime tonight!

[munchy]

I know this game is pretty linear by and large, but I somehow get lost anyway.

[Deleted]

The "level cap" applies to regular enemies as well - if you come back a level later they might be killable. YEAH!

That's interesting about the fight with Stom; I thought it was level-based. Cool!

[glow=red,2,300]Warning! A Contest Approaches![/glow]

By the way, as I remember, the level cap on enemies/bosses was lifted in the GBC version (but it makes it more difficult to kill them). I guess here's a pre-emptive "Lingering Question" for the podcast - What's the lowest level that you can complete the game at on the GBC version? Basically, submit proof of your victory (a savestate before the final boss and one after the last blow is struck, or photos if you're keeping it real and playing on a Gameboy Color). If we have a tie, we'll settle it the democratic way and roll dice. The due date is whenever we record the podcast at the end of the month. The winner will be announced on the podcast, and win a boxed copy of an SNK classic on NES from my collection (note, classic status is debatable).

Disclaimer: If you are playing on an emulator, keep to the spirit of this feature, and NO SAVE SCUMMING! Use the in-game save, or if you're feeling paranoid, at least put your savestates in the "field" areas or villages where you can actually save in-game.

[Feynman]

Sept 9, 2012 6:08:09 GMT -5 spirasen said:

I have to agree the weapon switching is the most annoying part of the game. It is the only thing I agree the GBC port changed, it made every foe weak to your swords.

They should have only made you change swords for those other things like puzzles (ice bridges, melting blocks, breaking rocks, etc) than force you to be checking for hits.

I actually never had an issue with the bosses requiring a certain level to be hit. Maybe I power leveled too much, but grinding in this game is easier than other ARPG's.

The thing is, I actually like needing to attack different enemies with different weapons. I think the GBC port completely removing that mechanic goes too far. Changing swords just needs to be made less obnoxious.

The first thing I would do is remove the need to equip orbs and bracelets. There's never a case where not equipping the appropriate orb for your current sword is a good idea, which makes equipping orbs pointless busywork. It's like the "use stairs" command in Dragon Warrior. Just give orbs to the player as permanent, passive upgrades.

[Deleted]

Speaking of bracelets, I've been running in circles trying to find the Tornado Bracelet.

[Feynman]

From the entrance to the ice mountain, keep going left, past the first pair of icy slopes. You'll reach another slope that leads towards the top of the screen. Use jumps to climb the slope and reach the path to the Tornado Bracelet.

[Deleted]

Thanks! I had the rabbit boots but didn't know how to use them (i.e., de-equip your magic and use the "A" button).

I managed to do a lot of grinding though, so not a total loss...

[Deleted]

Tip time: If you're lost wandering around the icy area below Brynmawr, don't forget about the place north of the poison forest entrance. You can't go there until you get the Tornado Bracelet and learn Teleport from Tornel in the west ice area. I plumb forgot about the northern ice area while mucking about in the western ice area, and I got majorly lost for many minutes before remembering that place to the north.

And now, I'm completely bloody lost in Portoa. How do I get past those two petrified people?

[Deleted]

Basically equip paralysis, then go back and forth between the queen and the fortune teller. After the guard starts trying to block the door to the throne room, freeze him, go in the throne room (and room behind), leave, then go back to talk to the queen.

[Deleted]

It's SNK cameo time...


Asina's name is magic...(and misspelled, as you can see...)


Ikuze, Crark!


Oh!

CROSS CHANGER!

[Scylla]

The GBC version of the game is garbage, if you ask me. The biggest downgrade being how they changed the music. Ugh.

[Deleted]

Sept 9, 2012 21:19:48 GMT -5 spirasen said:

Not sure if misspelled is the right word here, it does spell out "Athena" when you pronounce it in katakana. Even though I more often see this shown as Ateenaa (アテーナー). Blame Nintendo being left in the dark on the little joke SNK made between her name and Kensu's (aka Kensou) from King of Fighters.

True, it's more a phonetic thing. I just said it to get a sort of rhyme with "..mystery is what you see..." .

And Succubus, it's been ages since I played the GBC version - I'm gonna have to give it a try to see how the two compare. As I remember it was a pain how the screen was restricted in size.

[Deleted]

*grumble* I'm a bit ticked as the game seems to necessitate a bit more forced grinding than I remember. Protip: Plan accordingly, because Sabera (the boss you fight in the green palace after the zombie town) requires you to be at a whopping level 11 when you reach her, kind of a steep level for mid-game. :/

Grind on those dark green paralysis dragons in the cave before it. As for now, I'm currently figuring out how to restore the Broken Statue. I know where to place it, but I forget how to make it un-broken.

[apachacha]

Liked the game but was stock for the longest time on the section with Stom early on simply because I could not pin the bastard up against the wall with any amount of button presses or turbo configurations.