Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong
Title: Crystar
Developer: FURYU CORPORATION
Publisher: NIS America
Genre: ARPG
Price: $49.99
Most people think of Japanese role-playing games as lighthearted, ridiculous adventures often filled with silly main characters. Their goals have them setting out to battle deities and overthrow kingdoms, and ultimately restoring peace to a troubled land. These motifs are often followed by themes of friendship, of unbreakable bonds and positive outlooks, and, when coupled with their cute art-style and cool designs, often have people thinking JRPG stories dwell on the happy side.
In Crystar, you play as Rei Hatada, set to travel to Purgatory in search of a way to bring her sister back to life. Meeting with Purgatory's managers has her willingly make a pact with them, promising to delve into its various levels, battle its many denizens, and cleanse each area in return for having her wish granted. With each level Rei traverses, she encounters new burdens to face, battling their physical forms and putting them to rest, and even taking some of their burdens as her own. It's a heavy plot to get through, and the backdrop of the story creates a somber atmosphere that gives it a melancholic tone. The enemies you face are often tormented souls reliving their past mistakes. When purifying them, you're not only putting them to rest; you're also treated small snippets of their memories, giving each encounter their own individual personality.
This carries on into Crystar’s actual gameplay mechanics, as the enemies you face drop them as debuffs. Called "torments," they must be purified before they can be used. However, once they are, they give Rei access to much-needed stat boosts, allowing her to press on into harder stages and face off against stronger enemies. Each stage you go in for these torments feels unique because of this, as you're not so much "farming" as internalizing each stage's personality. While the environments are not too detailed, they do feel unique because of this, as the lighting, art style, and narrative context carry each stage you go through. It's a good showing that while a game's graphical fidelity might not be high, its art style and writing can carry the day.
This atmosphere is probably the best part of Crystar. Its gloomy setting combines with its different motifs to give itself its own style. There's just enough mystery and misdirection to make you think about what's going on. With each level you finish, you learn more about the creatures you face, about the characters you've met, and about the companions you'll talk to. You'll reflect on what you're doing, question the motives you've set out on, and press on with no guarantee in sight save for more suffering to encounter. This bleak outlook on what's happening, topped off by the game's good music and attention to story detail, creates a strong atmosphere that's hard to forget, and doesn't feel cheesy or forced at all.
The actual gameplay in Crystar also does fine, and translates the story's motifs well enough that it feels connected to what you're doing. The various items you get and the companions you'll meet are all unique and give some variety to the combat because of this. Rei and her friends can use a bevy of light attacks and heavy attacks, and these serve as your bread and butter in the dungeon segments. There's a dash to reposition yourself, and a special Tear Gauge that eventually allows you to summon your guardian, powering yourself up and giving your attacks a strong steroid. It's not a particularly hard system to get used to, and even those unfamiliar to button mashers will find it easy to master.
However, this action gameplay doesn't remain enjoyable nearly as long as Crystar’s story does. While the context of Rei's journey continually evolves, the pacing of its button mashing gameplay doesn't. Compared to its contemporaries, Crystar lacks a lot of punch that makes these action games remain fun for long periods of time. It doesn't have the quick, satisfying pacing that something like Samurai Warriors can give. Nor does it have the intricate combo strings of Devil May Cry, or even flashy, charming animations found in the likes of Kingdom Hearts. It feels like a pretty low-budget button masher, with the combat feeling very restrained, especially when compared to its story which took lots of risks to get its messages across. As a result, the parts that aren't story segments can feel lacking after a while. To its credit, though, Crystar (even in portable mode) at least runs these segments well, and while other games on the Nintendo Switch suffer from framerate dips and slowdown issues, Crystar has none of those. It's smooth from start to finish, and while some of it may feel like filler, especially if you want to grind, none of it is the hardware's fault.
All told, Crystar’s certainly worth looking at. Games like Crystar highlight developers’ ambition. Moreover, its original release on the PS4 has translated to the Switch very well. Its story still holds up and its combat is sufficient even if it's not groundbreaking. The overall content it has to give still feels satisfying enough to really dig into, especially if you like more adult-oriented themes in your JRPGs.
Where Crystar lacks is polish, but even so, it's a sufficiently enjoyable action JRPG. If nothing else, it boasts a strong story that is well worth reading, even if you're not fully into its combat. It's far from a perfect game, but when it does its narrative parts so well, it’s hard not to stay engaged. It won't disappoint in that regard, and the story honestly makes up for whatever else it lacks.
THE GOOD
THE BAD
This atmosphere is probably the best part of Crystar. Its gloomy setting combines with its different motifs to give itself its own style. There's just enough mystery and misdirection to make you think about what's going on. With each level you finish, you learn more about the creatures you face, about the characters you've met, and about the companions you'll talk to. You'll reflect on what you're doing, question the motives you've set out on, and press on with no guarantee in sight save for more suffering to encounter. This bleak outlook on what's happening, topped off by the game's good music and attention to story detail, creates a strong atmosphere that's hard to forget, and doesn't feel cheesy or forced at all.
The actual gameplay in Crystar also does fine, and translates the story's motifs well enough that it feels connected to what you're doing. The various items you get and the companions you'll meet are all unique and give some variety to the combat because of this. Rei and her friends can use a bevy of light attacks and heavy attacks, and these serve as your bread and butter in the dungeon segments. There's a dash to reposition yourself, and a special Tear Gauge that eventually allows you to summon your guardian, powering yourself up and giving your attacks a strong steroid. It's not a particularly hard system to get used to, and even those unfamiliar to button mashers will find it easy to master.
However, this action gameplay doesn't remain enjoyable nearly as long as Crystar’s story does. While the context of Rei's journey continually evolves, the pacing of its button mashing gameplay doesn't. Compared to its contemporaries, Crystar lacks a lot of punch that makes these action games remain fun for long periods of time. It doesn't have the quick, satisfying pacing that something like Samurai Warriors can give. Nor does it have the intricate combo strings of Devil May Cry, or even flashy, charming animations found in the likes of Kingdom Hearts. It feels like a pretty low-budget button masher, with the combat feeling very restrained, especially when compared to its story which took lots of risks to get its messages across. As a result, the parts that aren't story segments can feel lacking after a while. To its credit, though, Crystar (even in portable mode) at least runs these segments well, and while other games on the Nintendo Switch suffer from framerate dips and slowdown issues, Crystar has none of those. It's smooth from start to finish, and while some of it may feel like filler, especially if you want to grind, none of it is the hardware's fault.
All told, Crystar’s certainly worth looking at. Games like Crystar highlight developers’ ambition. Moreover, its original release on the PS4 has translated to the Switch very well. Its story still holds up and its combat is sufficient even if it's not groundbreaking. The overall content it has to give still feels satisfying enough to really dig into, especially if you like more adult-oriented themes in your JRPGs.
Where Crystar lacks is polish, but even so, it's a sufficiently enjoyable action JRPG. If nothing else, it boasts a strong story that is well worth reading, even if you're not fully into its combat. It's far from a perfect game, but when it does its narrative parts so well, it’s hard not to stay engaged. It won't disappoint in that regard, and the story honestly makes up for whatever else it lacks.
THE GOOD
- Very good atmosphere to enjoy
- Very strong writing, with adult themes and plenty of depth to be had
- Enjoyable characters to learn and love
THE BAD
- Mediocre action that requires very little thought
- Somewhat repetitive in some parts of the game
- Can drag a little in its story segments, especially if you're not used to reading visual novels
RATING: 7.5/10
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