May '23 Monthly Game Club - Crystalis

Brett

May 2023’s Monthly Game Club game is Crystalis for the Nintendo Entertainment System!

Crystalis is an action RPG by SNK. I’d never heard of it before today, so here’s some art and a screenshot while I scurry off and try to learn more:

Nominated by @mindleftbody, here’s what they have to say about Crystalis:

It’s an SNK RPG! I have always wanted to play it. Seems like it would lend itself well to playing as a group.

Box art!

God Slayer is a 100x cooler name… Just sayin’!

Crystalis also saw release on the Game Boy Color, although it seems quite different (worse) than the NES version. The NES version is available on the Nintendo Switch NES collection (requires online subscription) and part of the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, so it’s pretty accessible on modern consoles.

Are you joining in this month? If so, which version are you playing? Please share any interesting info you have about the game! I’ll be playing along. I think I may get the SNK collection on Switch and see how that goes.

◉◉maru

I have a bit more free time in May so, this time, I will try to participate !

Brett The NES version was included in the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, so it’s accessible on modern consoles too.

You may want to add in the OP that game is also freely available on the NES app (and Famicom app for Japanese accounts) if you have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription. That’s how I’ll play the game.

deepspacefine

As an SNK idiot, I’m curious if anything else in the SNK 40th collection is in the “Must play” category or if there are version differences.

I haven’t heard of 99% of those (I did the math – definitely haven’t heard of 24/25, only kinda heard of this one).

Funbil

I’ve also been meaning to play this one some time soon – maybe I’ll finally hop on for one of these game clubs!

Brett

◉◉maru legit, thanks for the tip! Added.

◉◉maru

For those that would appreciate a guide of the game to help along, one of U Can Beat Video Games’s first guides (I think it was video #26) was about this game and some of its secrets & glitches. It is a bit rougher on the edges than his recent stuff but still pretty well made and exhaustive.

phylaxis

oh mannnnn i played the crap out of this as a kid, then later as a young adult when i got back into old NES games. excellent game, excellent music, i’d imagine it holds up pretty well in 2023! also i loved as a young adult realizing that the whole poison swamp area is a very clear reference/homage to a specific movie, which i for sure didn’t catch as a kid.
always kinda wanted to play the japanese version just to see if any wild differences are there — maybe this is my excuse now

phylaxis

also from what i understand, the game boy version really massacered my boy, and is apparently one you should for sure skip over and play the nes original

antillese

Stickied the thread. I wasn’t able to play Mega Man Legends, but I am going to put Crystalis on my handheld and poke at it!

Tradegood

Great game! I played it a few years ago when it first came to NES online (holy guacamole that was 2019) but I got stuck at one point. I would certainly recommend a guide for this one!

mindleftbody

Nice! Really looking forward to playing this. I didn’t know that the JP version is called God Slayer, talk about a cool name for a video game. I am very close to finishing MML, I’m going to try to finish it up this week before starting this one.

tomjonjon

God Slayer is a pretty cool name but I’d rather have a GOD HAND than slay one.

Toph

This is one of my favorite NES games. I hope everyone has a lot of fun with this one!

tomjonjon

Played about 45 minutes this morning - leveled up a few times, got some gear and poked around. Seems like a good time. Looking forward to getting back to it tonight. I think I’m going to use my Switch NES controllers instead of the joycons/pro controller as this game makes heavy use of the select button.

SCPTmatt

Whoa! Wild timing, we just played this last month on a podcast I do. I was wildly impressed with it, as a person who has never been especially hooked by most NES games. I ended up ranking it 44th out of a random assortment of 77 other games (where I’d say the bar of “games I really like” starts at around 67)

tokucowboy

I have also wanted to play this for about 20 years or more, played the intro about 10 times and adore the Famicom art (and title). I bought and missed Xanadu Next, and my first thought here was “I’m playing all them Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters chronologically right now, there’s no way I have space for another vintage JRPG”

BUT

Those shits are pretty short with modern accessibility features (this’ll be a dream on NSO), and my second, worse brain is saying “actually, you’re just about to wrap up the 1990 Final Fantasy, so this might be a perfect companion piece, you ambitious media archaeologist, you…”

So. We’ll see!

(enjoy everyone)

phylaxis

i grabbed the God Slayer rom and i’m all psyched
never played a game all the way thru in japanese, i know enough to squeak by i’m sure but the all-hiragana nature of old fc games will make it uhhh interesting. i also haven’t played a game where i’m gonna be making paper dungeon maps in ages which could be fun? to be fair none of this is on the level of a wizardry or anything, and i could probably get thru without mapping but it seems like a chill thing to do. as well as taking notes on what dude in what town is requesting what item on the other side of what river, etc

mindleftbody

phylaxis
Post photos of your maps and notes!

Toph

phylaxis I recently started mapping out dungeons in Phantasy Star just for funsies and I find it to be a very rewarding addition to the experience. The dungeons in Crystalis/God Slayer can get a little topsy turvy so mapping could come in handy for you!