Crystalis
Introduction
Crystalis was developed and published by SNK, known in Japan as God Slayer: Haruka Tenkū no Sonata, directed and produced by Kazuto Kohno with programming from Yukio Gu, F. Sasami, and Satoru Okada and a soundtrack by Yoko Osaka, releasing there in April 1990 before reaching North America that July. It marked a notable departure for SNK, a company mostly associated with arcade fighters and shooters at the time, showing the studio could build a deep, console-tailored action RPG in the spirit of The Legend of Zelda when it wanted to. Players guide a nameless hero who awakens in a post-apocalyptic future world, wielding one of four elemental swords that can be swapped on the fly and gaining new spell-like Psycho abilities as the story unfolds, exploring towns, dungeons, and an overworld map while battling mutated creatures and collecting the shards needed to forge the legendary Crystalis sword. Despite strong contemporary reviews, it never became a major commercial hit at the time, but its polished combat, striking visuals for the console, and satisfying RPG progression have earned it a lasting cult following and later re-releases through SNK’s modern anniversary collections.
