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Ridiculously Awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've had this game almost my entire life, and every few years, I go back to play it, just because it's THAT GOOD. Think Zelda...but with a plot. Whenever I am in need of a great RPG, I always come back to this; when I'm in need of inspiration, Crystalis is my reminder that good things can come out of the video game industry without the name Final Fantasy attached to it. I don't know why you'd BUY it now, what with emulation available and such, but just know that this is one of the few games that has touched my soul, and I'll give it to my kids to play when the time comes.

Better Than Zelda

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am normally not a fan of action or adventure games, but I remember the hours I spent on Crystalis some twenty years ago. At first, the simple ability to jump is what put it above and beyond The Legend of Zelda, but the gamer to learn more about the classic nature of this title as the game went on.

The Classic Role-Playing Game (RPG) element has your character advancing in levels as you gain experience. This addictive element in video games is what usually kept you going all hours of the day as you only needed to kill a couple more bad guys to advance to the next level and watch your statistics raise. And even beyond that, there were items in the game that leveled up as well, which meant that you couldn't just spend the time finding the upgrades - you had to test them out, for sure!

Politics being what they are, The Legend of Zelda was the baby of Nintendo, Inc., just as the Mario World and Donkey Kong. Crystalis, from the classic (and still good) SNK game-makers, couldn't get resources pooled together like what Zelda could. In fact, after seeing those relatively lame-A Zelda games (I know many would disagree), I remembering WISHING that they would simply come out with "Crystalis II"! But, alas, it never happened. (Thank God for Squaresoft and Final Fantasy!)

So I suppose in many respects, Crystalis lives on in the classic RPG elements favored today in many adventure titles. But to bring back nostalgia and even spend some hours really doing nothing, try to get ahold of Crystalis. Even with 8-bit graphics and sound, this game rocks in 2007. I downloaded this title a number of years ago for a NES emulator, and I backed that little puppy up long ago (so I could always have it!). If you cannot find this ROM for your emulator (and I strongly suggest that you try!), see what bargains you can find. But I seriously doubt that anybody but die-hard collectors and the unknowing would have a copy of Crystalis.

To close, if you do get ahold of Crystalis in some form or fashion, really give it a go and compare it to Zelda for the NES. I bet my 5-star rating that you will agree with me that it is far better.

I concur

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I just have to enthusiastically echo the comments of the first reviewer. This is one of the best games ever produced for the original Nintendo, and one of the most underappreciated. The plot is great. The gameplay is challenging. If it's your first time playing, the puzzles are challenging and fun to solve. And considering the time period this was produced in, the graphics are EXCEPTIONAL. I encourage anyone with an internet connection and loose morals to download a ROM of this.

Awesome Game, a must play

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I would agree with the other reviews for this game. Almost 20 years ago, and I still want to play it. I really hope nintendo brings this game to it's virtual console

one of the best aventure / RPGs ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Crystalis is one of the best adventure / RPGs ever. It plays like something between Legend of Zelda and Secret of Mana. The graphics are far above average for the NES with large character sprites and high resolution detail. We did not see games this sprawling and complex again until the latter years of the Super NES. It was one of the first (if not the first) to combine experience level gaining with Zelda-esque sword swinging action. If I had to name the top 10 essential games for the NES this is one of them.

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