Crystalis/God Slayer: Haruka Tenkuu no Sonata (NES, 1990/2012)(Rebalanced Hack)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-7 Story-6.5
Level Design-7/7.5* Frustration-7.5/7* Fun-7/7.5* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5*
*w/ GG codes
+
Golvellius/Ys/Zelda-style gameplay (mostly linear)
Very good interface overall (fast menus/dialogues/inns, shows what each button is currently mapped to in the start menu, shows mp/hp, current lvl and needed exp in the gui (like in Ys for PCE))
Zelda-like gameplay
Lots of equipment
Save anywhere outside of dungeons (continuing is tied to checkpoints but they're pretty frequent overall)
Very good enemy variation
Fast movement
Diagonal movement
Upgradeable charge attacks
Platform jumping (also diagonal, no mid-air control though and you can't jump over small bg obstacles (you can jump over enemies))
Terrain effects (high grass=slow, swamp=poisonous)
Warp boots (teleports you to a visited town)
Communicate with elders for quest tips via the telepathy spell
Good bosses overall
Some large and detailed sprites
Nice intro cutscenes
Create ice bridges over shallow waters
Some decent puzzles (lighthouse passage)
Transform to trick NPCs (guard, woman) - some townsfolk will also react differently to you - Ys 2
Flight spell
Gear that regenerates MP/HP (very slow though plus you need to stand still and the MP one is easy to miss)
Fight while riding a dolphin
+/-
Poison doesn't wear off until cured
Dialogue auto-triggers when moving into NPCs (can be distracting and it can also be slightly glitchy, also can't move through stationary NPCs after talking to them unlike with moving ones)
Can block attacks while charging (only works vs. much weaker enemies thus making it kind of useless) or with the barrier spell (but you get it pretty late and it only blocks projectiles)
There's a hit detection glitch that lets you hit some enemies twice in one shot with the lvl 2 charge attack if they're near the edge of the screen and you attack from above (tried it on boars and forest larvae)
Pretty short invincibility time
Paralyze guards to sneak past them (weird how they don't arrest you afterwards though)
Only one use for the gas mask (the forest)
Ice beam also freezes lava
Enemies' paralysis works differently (making you unable to use charge attacks until cured) - enemies' petrification works like the player's paralysis spell
Slightly loose scrolling combined with fast movement makes it a bit harder to react to some enemies (mainly fliers)
Lvl 3 charge attacks cost some MP
Not much point in later inns being more expensive when you can always teleport back to Leaf
Off screen enemy respawning (usually a good thing)
No reasons given for why the amazons hate men
Somewhat random lvl 3 charge attack damage at times
No flash or animation when damaging regular enemies (need to listen for a sfx)
-
Grinding required to make progress at times (hurting bosses and enemies; boss requirement removed in a rebalancing patch but not others like enemies and Tornel's fight test (you can beat him at lvl 5 if you mash the button very quickly) - levelling can be sped up with GG codes and there's a couple of spots where you get a lot of exp (Kirisia cave, turtle cave, draygonia castle mini-boss)
Also need to grind to upgrade your equipment when reaching a new town (there's currently only codes for max money or free items)
No map
Some large and empty areas (zebu's cave, etc.)
Confusing side tasks (fight test)
Have to stand still while charging your weapon (it is paused from moving) - there are codes that either remove this limitation or speed up the charge though it makes the game easier overall
Enemies give very little experience and money early on
Can’t buy magic refills (have to sleep at inns)
Some slowdown (forest boss)
Poor translation at times (ivory statue location hint, Zebu's advice to "use your power to go through" when you need a sword that you get much later on, one woman calls herself a wise man, some exposition)
Some interface/control issues (somewhat sloppy hit detection (a bit less forgiving than LoZ, particularly near cyclops spiders), need to go into the menu, equip and use an item on an NPC to give it to him/her; menus don't wrap around horizontally, need to manually switch both the weapon and its ball/bracelet in the menu when changing weapons (ball switching was removed with the rebalance hack but not bracelet switching which allows for lvl 3 attacks) - gets tedious since regular enemies can be completely immune to certain swords and the game tends ot mix enemies with different immunities in the same area, firing the lvl 3 ice attack before the animation from a previous lvl 3 ice attack disappears will cancel the attack but make it still waste MP)
No sword swing sfx
Somewhat repetitive (dungeons lack interesting puzzles overall, pretty simplistic combat overall lacking manual blocking/quick dodging (though the jump can be used to dodge some attacks)/alternate weapons like bombs/boomerangs/bows etc. (though some lvl 3 charge attacks have unique patterns and there's one offensive/debuff spell in the paralysis beam))
Several enemies look different but act exactly the same
Odd flute fetch quest (need to go behind the poroa palace while the queen is out (by paralysing the guard outside), do nothing in it, then go out and back to talk to the queen again)
Odd that the shell flute doesn't call the dolphin until you've returned the fog lamp (since it doesn't mention it)
Some tedious parts (parts where you can fall down to the floor below and have to backtrack for a bit, the morning star enemies, the final area, backtracking for the psycho shield and a bow of sun)
Some trial & error (finding Kensu's pendant - you only get a clue about the map it's in, the amazons don't ask for the kirisia plant)
Easy Sabera and Shyron (Mado) battle (lvl 3 charge ftw)
Glasses look just like the gas mask in the inventory
No music change in Leaf after it's been attacked
Patch: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/922/
Bugs: http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587209-crystalis/cheats, can push through the petrified people blocking your path at one point
Codes: http://gamehacking.org/game/29303
Level Design-7/7.5* Frustration-7.5/7* Fun-7/7.5* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5*
*w/ GG codes
+
Golvellius/Ys/Zelda-style gameplay (mostly linear)
Very good interface overall (fast menus/dialogues/inns, shows what each button is currently mapped to in the start menu, shows mp/hp, current lvl and needed exp in the gui (like in Ys for PCE))
Zelda-like gameplay
Lots of equipment
Save anywhere outside of dungeons (continuing is tied to checkpoints but they're pretty frequent overall)
Very good enemy variation
Fast movement
Diagonal movement
Upgradeable charge attacks
Platform jumping (also diagonal, no mid-air control though and you can't jump over small bg obstacles (you can jump over enemies))
Terrain effects (high grass=slow, swamp=poisonous)
Warp boots (teleports you to a visited town)
Communicate with elders for quest tips via the telepathy spell
Good bosses overall
Some large and detailed sprites
Nice intro cutscenes
Create ice bridges over shallow waters
Some decent puzzles (lighthouse passage)
Transform to trick NPCs (guard, woman) - some townsfolk will also react differently to you - Ys 2
Flight spell
Gear that regenerates MP/HP (very slow though plus you need to stand still and the MP one is easy to miss)
Fight while riding a dolphin
+/-
Poison doesn't wear off until cured
Dialogue auto-triggers when moving into NPCs (can be distracting and it can also be slightly glitchy, also can't move through stationary NPCs after talking to them unlike with moving ones)
Can block attacks while charging (only works vs. much weaker enemies thus making it kind of useless) or with the barrier spell (but you get it pretty late and it only blocks projectiles)
There's a hit detection glitch that lets you hit some enemies twice in one shot with the lvl 2 charge attack if they're near the edge of the screen and you attack from above (tried it on boars and forest larvae)
Pretty short invincibility time
Paralyze guards to sneak past them (weird how they don't arrest you afterwards though)
Only one use for the gas mask (the forest)
Ice beam also freezes lava
Enemies' paralysis works differently (making you unable to use charge attacks until cured) - enemies' petrification works like the player's paralysis spell
Slightly loose scrolling combined with fast movement makes it a bit harder to react to some enemies (mainly fliers)
Lvl 3 charge attacks cost some MP
Not much point in later inns being more expensive when you can always teleport back to Leaf
Off screen enemy respawning (usually a good thing)
No reasons given for why the amazons hate men
Somewhat random lvl 3 charge attack damage at times
No flash or animation when damaging regular enemies (need to listen for a sfx)
-
Grinding required to make progress at times (hurting bosses and enemies; boss requirement removed in a rebalancing patch but not others like enemies and Tornel's fight test (you can beat him at lvl 5 if you mash the button very quickly) - levelling can be sped up with GG codes and there's a couple of spots where you get a lot of exp (Kirisia cave, turtle cave, draygonia castle mini-boss)
Also need to grind to upgrade your equipment when reaching a new town (there's currently only codes for max money or free items)
No map
Some large and empty areas (zebu's cave, etc.)
Confusing side tasks (fight test)
Have to stand still while charging your weapon (it is paused from moving) - there are codes that either remove this limitation or speed up the charge though it makes the game easier overall
Enemies give very little experience and money early on
Can’t buy magic refills (have to sleep at inns)
Some slowdown (forest boss)
Poor translation at times (ivory statue location hint, Zebu's advice to "use your power to go through" when you need a sword that you get much later on, one woman calls herself a wise man, some exposition)
Some interface/control issues (somewhat sloppy hit detection (a bit less forgiving than LoZ, particularly near cyclops spiders), need to go into the menu, equip and use an item on an NPC to give it to him/her; menus don't wrap around horizontally, need to manually switch both the weapon and its ball/bracelet in the menu when changing weapons (ball switching was removed with the rebalance hack but not bracelet switching which allows for lvl 3 attacks) - gets tedious since regular enemies can be completely immune to certain swords and the game tends ot mix enemies with different immunities in the same area, firing the lvl 3 ice attack before the animation from a previous lvl 3 ice attack disappears will cancel the attack but make it still waste MP)
No sword swing sfx
Somewhat repetitive (dungeons lack interesting puzzles overall, pretty simplistic combat overall lacking manual blocking/quick dodging (though the jump can be used to dodge some attacks)/alternate weapons like bombs/boomerangs/bows etc. (though some lvl 3 charge attacks have unique patterns and there's one offensive/debuff spell in the paralysis beam))
Several enemies look different but act exactly the same
Odd flute fetch quest (need to go behind the poroa palace while the queen is out (by paralysing the guard outside), do nothing in it, then go out and back to talk to the queen again)
Odd that the shell flute doesn't call the dolphin until you've returned the fog lamp (since it doesn't mention it)
Some tedious parts (parts where you can fall down to the floor below and have to backtrack for a bit, the morning star enemies, the final area, backtracking for the psycho shield and a bow of sun)
Some trial & error (finding Kensu's pendant - you only get a clue about the map it's in, the amazons don't ask for the kirisia plant)
Easy Sabera and Shyron (Mado) battle (lvl 3 charge ftw)
Glasses look just like the gas mask in the inventory
No music change in Leaf after it's been attacked
Patch: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/922/
Bugs: http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587209-crystalis/cheats, can push through the petrified people blocking your path at one point
Codes: http://gamehacking.org/game/29303