Software:Crystal Warriors

From HandWiki
For the "Crystal Warriors" toy line and comics series, see The Saga of Crystar.
Short description: 1991 video game
Crystal Warriors
Developer(s)Sega
Publisher(s)Sega
Artist(s)Kugatsuhime[1]
Composer(s)Yukifumi Makino
Platform(s)Game Gear
Release
  • JP: December 13, 1991[2]
  • NA: April 1992
  • EU: 1992
Genre(s)Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Crystal Warriors (アーリエル クリスタル伝説, Ariel: Crystal Densetsu; "Ariel: Crystal Legend") is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Sega for the Game Gear in Japan in 1991 and in Europe and North America in 1992. It was re-released for Virtual Console in 2013.[1] A Japan-only sequel Royal Stone was published in 1995.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Crystal Warriors is similar to both the Fire Emblem and Shining Force series. The player forms a party of up to nine units to fight in each level.[3] The player starts on one side of the map and an enemy force of up to nine units occupies a castle on the opposite side. The player must defeat the enemy force or move a unit on to the enemy castle entrance to complete each level.

Each level has terrain features which form bottlenecks or change the speed of units. The player controls specialized units belonging to a particular elemental group and most of the strategy revolves around the element of a given unit, its speciality and positioning. Each element is weak to one and strong versus another in a rock-paper-scissors system. Fire elemental units are strong against wind elemental units, while wind units are strong against water, and in turn water units are strong against fire. Earth-based units have no particular strengths or weaknesses to other elements. However, with the exception of the Princess(s) and Emperor Jyn the Earth-based units are all mages or healers and have a low base defence, making them vulnerable to combat units, unless they reach level 9 in which case they become the strongest unit in the game.

Whenever a player unit attacks an enemy unit or vice versa, a battle occurs. A battle consists of two rounds where the units can fight with melee weapons, spells or monsters. The attacking unit strikes first in each round. Each unit acquires four experience points for defeating an enemy. Each time the unit gains 10 experience points it increases in level, acquiring higher stats, with a maximum level of 9. Units can also defeat and "tame" monsters (which are also assigned an element) on each level, and use them in battle. Monsters, though very weak, are useful to avoid elemental weakness (a Fire Lord, for example, can tame a Wind monster, and use it in combat against a Water Fighter, thus flipping the elemental advantage). New units, weapons, armour, and spells can be bought in towns along with information on the nature of the next level, which may affect the player's choice of units.

The game includes a two player mode available by connecting to another Game Gear via a Gear-to-Gear cable. One player starts with Princess Iris and selects eight other team members from the recruitable characters found during the single player game. The other player starts with Princess Cham, an evil counterpart to Iris, and can select eight other team members from the standard Jyn forces (not the warlords, Grym or Emperor Jyn). Any map can be selected as an arena; teams start on a fortress and the opponent's team members are revealed in the same way as the single player version (by combat or spell). To win, the player has to defeat the entire opposing force or take the enemy fortress.

Plot

The game follows the adventures of the sorceress Princess Iris of Arliel. The evil Jyn have overrun her father's lands and stolen three of the four elemental crystals used to keep the peace. Her quest takes her through the lands of Arliel to fight the Jyn's elemental governors and reclaim the crystals before defeating Emperor Grym and his mysterious overlord. Aside from the introduction (and closing), there is no plot development in the game.

Reception

The game received good reviews upon its original release, including 4/5 from GamePro, 80% from Mega Fun (Germany), 80% from Player One (France),[4] and 91% from Sega Force (Sweden).

In a retrospective review, Nintendo Life's Damien McFerran gave it an average rating of five out of ten stars, opining: "While a great many RPGs from the early '90s remain astonishingly playable even today, Crystal Warriors is an example of a relic from the past which really deserves to stay there."[5] Jacob Whritenour from Hardcore Gamer was much more positive and wrote the game "deserves a remake."[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "One Of Sega's Oldest Strategy RPGs Is Coming To 3DS Virtual Console". Siliconera. 2013-01-30. http://www.siliconera.com/2013/01/30/one-of-segas-oldest-strategy-rpgs-is-coming-to-3ds-virtual-console/. 
  2. ↑ "ゲームギア『アーリエル クリスタル伝説』、2013年2月6日にニンテンドー3DSのバーチャルコンソールで配信決定！ - ファミ通.com". Famitsu.com. 2013-01-30. http://www.famitsu.com/news/201301/30027974.html. 
  3. ↑ "Sega Visions Issue 08". May 1992. https://archive.org/stream/Sega-Visions-Issue-08#page/n36/mode/1up/. 
  4. ↑ Fredo_L. "Le site des anciennes revues informatiques". www.abandonware-magazines.org. http://www.abandonware-magazines.org/affiche_mag.php?mag=32&num=1193&album=oui. 
  5. ↑ "Crystal Warriors (3DS eShop / GG) Review". Nintendo Life. 5 July 2013. http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds-eshop/crystal_warriors_gamegear. 
  6. ↑ "Pocket Power: Crystal Warriors". Hardcore Gamer. 2014-11-07. http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/11/07/pocket-power-crystal-warriors/115200/. 
  • Official website (VC)
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Crystal_Warriors&oldid=3966621"