Just finished Crystalis (GBC) for the first time

So I finally got around to playing this game after seeing a review for it in EGM way back in the day and wanting to try it. I did my best to go in blind and not use a guide, and I actually almost made it all of the way through (this game has nothing on the Phantasy Star series' obtuseness), but I literally gave in at the very end of the game and looked up how to get to the top of the floating tower (after the DYNA fight) to fight the final boss. I had no patience and wanted to be done at that point, plus how am I supposed to know that I have to keep going through the doors that have broken wires on the walls on both sides without a ton of trial and error, all while enemies that can quickly fly around the screen and smack me for a good chunk of my health respawn every time I go through any door? All with no indication that I'm going through the right doors! What also added to the fun was that the endgame was evidently changed in the GBC version, so I was a little worried that I'd somehow done something to break my game when the first few guides I looked at had the boss I had just beaten listed as the final boss.

That all being said, I thought it was decent. The hitboxes were janky, the music was a little iffy (kinda catchy, don't get me wrong, just not a lot of variety and the various beeps and boops could be a little grating), and the final boss was a bit of an annoying joke (mostly because it boiled down to me standing around while he slowly danced around the screen, waiting for his weak point to show), but it definitely would have been a fun time waster for me back in the day, when there wasn't nearly as much to play and compare it to. 7/10 from present day me, at least.

That said, what now? I'm kinda on a retro game kick because they're easy to play at work, and I have far too many games that I've seen/heard/read about over the years and yet never pushed myself to actually play them. Now's a good time to fix that, I think. Since I've started, I've finished Wario Land 2 (as well as 1 and 3, though those were replays), Friday the 13th (NES), and now this. Figured I'd make a topic for once and see what you all have to say - and feel free to offer other suggestions or ideas.

Mega Man V (GB)

SF2 and PSIV are top tier on the Genesis RPGs list.

Probably going to be the unpopular one out if the list, bit my vote is for VB:WL. I say that although I havent even finished it myself yet, but its a great game and definitely on my list to get to at some point soon.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Mega Man V (GB)

I think Dr. Wily's Revenge (i.e. the first GB Mega Man/Rockman World) is the only one in the series I've ever legitimately beaten (and as a 7 year old, at that). It's also the only one I owned, so that may play a part in it.

SilvosForever posted...

SF2 and PSIV are top tier on the Genesis RPGs list.

I kinda figured PSIV would get the most votes here; it seems to be a fan favorite, though I've never managed to play more than maybe 5-10 minutes into it before putting it down and moving to something else. I own the collection on GBA and played the first three that way, so this is the only one left.

misterbum posted...

Probably going to be the unpopular one out if the list, bit my vote is for VB:WL. I say that although I havent even finished it myself yet, but its a great game and definitely on my list to get to at some point soon.

I keep hearing that it's arguably the best in the series (I'm going to note that I'm weird and think the original is the most fun), though I hesitated to put it on this list, because I don't think there's an easy way to actually play it on the go. Haven't dug too deep on that yet, though, so maybe it's not as tough as it seems.

Lazy_Haar posted...

I think Dr. Wily's Revenge (i.e. the first GB Mega Man/Rockman World) is the only one in the series I've ever legitimately beaten (and as a 7 year old, at that). It's also the only one I owned, so that may play a part in it.

That was the hardest one, in my humble opinion. It's also seriously underrated. It's lacking in content, sure, but it's got some of the best stage design in the series.

V is is still my favorite of the GB series though.

Have you ever played SMT 1?
you should definitely play that game, its has several fan translations across the SNES, PS1 and GBA.

BTW, I just bought a copy of Crystalis NES two days ago. It should arrive on the 11th.

Small world?

NES version beats the shit out GBC.

Worst. Remake. EVER

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

That was the hardest one, in my humble opinion. It's also seriously underrated. It's lacking in content, sure, but it's got some of the best stage design in the series.

V is is still my favorite of the GB series though.

Hardest of the GB games, or the entire series? I assume the former, because I've at least tried to play 2 (NES) and it kicked my butt pretty badly, but I also wasn't a child with a Game Boy and some games my mom bought from a friend and nothing but time to waste. I should play it again at some point, just to see how bad I am at it now (and I still remember the password to go to Wily Castle to this day).

Homeless_Waifu posted...

Have you ever played SMT 1?
you should definitely play that game, its has several fan translations across the SNES, PS1 and GBA.

That was on my radar, too, but I forgot about it when making this. Is there a PSP version? I know I have a game or two that I bought on my Vita like a decade ago, but I never got around to playing them; I think they're remakes of the first two games in the series, though.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

BTW, I just bought a copy of Crystalis NES two days ago. It should arrive on the 11th.

Small world?

HylianFox posted...

NES version beats the shit out GBC.

Worst. Remake. EVER

I'd actually learned about halfway through playing the GBC game that the NES version was considered to be superior, hence why I put it on this poll. I wouldn't mind playing through it again, since it really wasn't all that long.

Lazy_Haar posted...

Hardest of the GB games, or the entire series? I assume the former, because I've at least tried to play 2 (NES) and it kicked my butt pretty badly, but I also wasn't a child with a Game Boy and some games my mom bought from a friend and nothing but time to waste. I should play it again at some point, just to see how bad I am at it now (and I still remember the password to go to Wily Castle to this day).

I meant of the GB games, but now that you ask, it does rank up there in the series as a whole. 10 on hard was harder. All the Zero games on hard. &B on GBA. All the BN/SF post games (except BCC). Maybe Battle & Chase.

But for the most part, without specifically going above and beyond, not many titles come to mind that were harder than DWR. Or maybe I just practiced the others so much that they weren't hard anymore, lol. I only finished the game boy ones two or three times each.

I'd also like to note that I was inspired to dig out what's left of my GB collection at this point and sadly, I don't seem to have Dr. Wily's Revenge any more. I was pretty sure I'd lost it before looking, though, so I'm not surprised.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8782c843.jpg

Not pictured are Pokemon Blue, Yellow, and Gold (they're in the systems). You can tell I loved Kirby 2 back in the day by just how worn out that label is (if you can even see it back there).

Lazy_Haar posted...

I'd also like to note that I was inspired to dig out what's left of my GB collection at this point and sadly, I don't seem to have Dr. Wily's Revenge any more. I was pretty sure I'd lost it before looking, though, so I'm not surprised.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8782c843.jpg

Not pictured are Pokemon Blue, Yellow, and Gold (they're in the systems). You can tell I loved Kirby 2 back in the day by just how worn out that label is (if you can even see it back there).

Nice collection. What is that on the far left that looks like a Mario game? From here it looks kinda like a second copy of Super Mario Land 2.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Nice collection. What is that on the far left that looks like a Mario game?

The very far left? Just another copy of Mario Land 2. I want to say I bought my own copy when I first got a Game Boy, then my mother bought a bunch of games from a friend and there was another copy in that collection (plus Mega Man and most of the weird games here).

You know what, I'm going to have to dig deeper into my storage at some point, because I noticed I'm missing some games like Tetris, too, and that was another game I had two copies of. I also just realized that Donkey Kong Land and Donkey Kong (the '94 game that, in my humble opinion, is one of the best games ever) are absent, though I'm pretty sure that Donkey Kong is with a Game Boy Player that I bought and cleaned/re-shelled earlier this year. My current living situation doesn't afford me much space, so most all of my video game collection is in a ton of totes stacked in a small room and I can't really get to most of it easily. Oh well.

Well, it's looking like PSIV is taking it, which is pretty much what I expected. I was looking around and saw that there was a fan retranslation that made it sound like the original localization was flawed. Have any of you tried it out and would recommend it, or should I stick with the original?

Lazy_Haar posted...

I'd actually learned about halfway through playing the GBC game that the NES version was considered to be superior, hence why I put it on this poll. I wouldn't mind playing through it again, since it really wasn't all that long.

Most of the game would be the same, but the larger screen size makes a huge difference for Crystalis. And so does the music.Maybe the story making more sense helps, too.

But what you should also know is that Crystalis was made in the same vein as Ys and your level really matters when fighting the bosses. That and the sword weaknesses were QoL 'improvements' in the GBC game. It really changes how the combat cadence goes; some people find it more interesting and some people hate it (since I played Ys and the NES Crystalis first I am more used to those things being in place)

Either way, I know a lot of people who got the SNK 40th Anniversary collection just for Crystalis.

Lazy_Haar posted...

Well, it's looking like PSIV is taking it, which is pretty much what I expected. I was looking around and saw that there was a fan retranslation that made it sound like the original localization was flawed. Have any of you tried it out and would recommend it, or should I stick with the original?

The original is just fine. Maybe the first two or three hours there's not too much going on but it picks up not long after that. It's a solid RPG overall - the Macro system is kinda nice. Makes pulling off combination attacks or just grinding a lot faster.

Lazy_Haar posted...

That was on my radar, too, but I forgot about it when making this. Is there a PSP version? I know I have a game or two that I bought on my Vita like a decade ago, but I never got around to playing them; I think they're remakes of the first two games in the series, though.

kinda.
the first two games were never localized outside of Japan. You can technically play them on the psp, via as a PlayStation Classic which are digital PlayStation 1 games there were officially available on the ps3,psp and ps vita. Biggest issue with that route is that those SMT games are only available in Japanese (at least until Atlus makes a official translation and port for modern consoles).

other than SMT 1/2/IF , there was psp version of Devil Summoner that was also never brought outside of Japan, though the sequel known as Devil Summoner Soul Hackers was localized for the US on the Nintendo 3DS.

if that sounded confusing sorry about that, Atlus for the longest time kept some of their games exclusive to either Japan or a few consoles. It wasnt until the PS2 era where Atlus started to bring over their games to west (around the same time the Persona series started gaining popularity outside of Japan).

Homeless_Waifu posted...

kinda.
the first two games were never localized outside of Japan. You can technically play them on the psp, via as a PlayStation Classic which are digital PlayStation 1 games there were officially available on the ps3,psp and ps vita. Biggest issue with that route is that those SMT games are only available in Japanese (at least until Atlus makes a official translation and port for modern consoles).

It took me a minute, but I just realized that I was thinking about the Persona series and not SMT when you first brought it up; I believe I have the PSP versions of Persona 1 and Innocent Sin. Now what you're telling me makes a lot more sense. Do you have a recommendation on which console to play it on?

SilvosForever posted...

The original is just fine. Maybe the first two or three hours there's not too much going on but it picks up not long after that. It's a solid RPG overall - the Macro system is kinda nice. Makes pulling off combination attacks or just grinding a lot faster.

Yeah, I'll go with the original. I found a 'bugfixed' version that I think I'll go with, since it seems to fix a few small issues in the game (such as certain armors not working properly, I think). I legitimately own the game via a few collections for various consoles, such as Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, but I don't think I'd last long if I had to play it on a home console.

Amakusa posted...

Most of the game would be the same, but the larger screen size makes a huge difference for Crystalis. And so does the music.Maybe the story making more sense helps, too.

But what you should also know is that Crystalis was made in the same vein as Ys and your level really matters when fighting the bosses. That and the sword weaknesses were QoL 'improvements' in the GBC game. It really changes how the combat cadence goes; some people find it more interesting and some people hate it (since I played Ys and the NES Crystalis first I am more used to those things being in place)

Either way, I know a lot of people who got the SNK 40th Anniversary collection just for Crystalis.

I read up on most of the differences as soon as I found out that the two versions were different and saw that the story was different (not that it has a ton of dialogue to begin with) and that some enemies were immune to certain swords in the NES version. I just hope that switching weapons is a little less cumbersome there, though I get the feeling that it's not, given the same amount of buttons for both consoles. I think I might try to play it soonish, though, since I'm kinda interested to compare the two firsthand.

Amakusa posted...

But what you should also know is that Crystalis was made in the same vein as Ys and your level really matters when fighting the bosses. That and the sword weaknesses were QoL 'improvements' in the GBC game. It really changes how the combat cadence goes; some people find it more interesting and some people hate it (since I played Ys and the NES Crystalis first I am more used to those things being in place)

The NES game is the same way. Some enemies can't be hurt at all if you're not at a high enough level or are using the wrong sword.

HylianFox posted...

The NES game is the same way. Some enemies can't be hurt at all if you're not at a high enough level or are using the wrong sword.

I read that the GBC version did away with enemies being invulnerable to the wrong sword and instead makes them take less damage from it, though I can't say I extensively tested it out. I never ran into an enemy that was invulnerable to whatever sword I happened to be using at that moment, at least. Can't say much about the level thing, either, as I'm already conditioned to grind in old RPGs (thanks again, Phantasy Star) and hit the cap soon after reaching the pyramid (found out those mummies gave 1,000 EXP and got my last level ASAP).

It's unfair to say the GBC version is the worst remake ever.... even though it's vastly inferior, it still has some plusses that make it an ok portable version

I mean, it's still somehow one of the best action RPGs on the GBC

Lazy_Haar posted...

I read that the GBC version did away with enemies being invulnerable to the wrong sword and instead makes them take less damage from it,

oh yeah I think you're right. I thought you meant the GBC version added the invulnerability thing as an "improvement" and I was just saying the NES version was the same, but it's not.