Crystalis

     One of SNK's rare fantasy jaunts was the hallowed action RPG, Crystalis. I loved it well as a lad. It almost rivalled The Guardian Legend, which was most probably my favorite game of the whole NES library.

     I wasn't wild about RPG's back then, since my experience had mainly been with the original Dragon Warrior. I realize I must seem horribly uncultured to you 'hardcore' roleplayers, but keep in mind that 1) being 'hardcore' at roleplaying is like being an EXTREME speed reader, and 2) I WAS TEN. Text-based battle scenes with goofy looking Drakees couldn't hold my attention back then. Crystalis was different, though. It, like Zelda, gave me direct control over my character, but had that 'leveling up' thing I'd heard my friends with longer attention spans talk about.

     I'm going to assume at least someone out there is unfamiliar with this game. The rest of you, smile warmly and nod like you're greeting an old friend coming off a plane. In the year 1997 (our old future,) the axis of the earth shifted unexpectedly, causing floods and mutations and well, armageddon. Then some of the smarter survivors built a floating tower (the prerequisite 'hi-tech' city) to 'oppress evil forever.'

     Flash forward a few decades or so. People are being oppressed. Mutants roam the countryside. Good job, ancient smart guys. A capsule sealed in the depths of the mountainside near the town opens, releasing our... well, very purple hero. He busts out of the mountain and scares the crap out of some hippie, which is always a good thing to throw in. After getting a wind sword and some traveling money, he embarks on his quest to, I dunno, save the world or something.

     The simple nature of the gameplay is what makes it pretty fun, even now. The hero (whose name defaults as "S N K") is a lot more agile than Link was in those days, and could move diagonally. You had the usual sword stab, and could power up to various levels of power shots by collecting orbs. You could even use magic. Special abilities ran from the typical healing spells, to learning how to polymorph and communicate with rabbits. Which is more useful than it sounds.

     So, you wander around, doing the usual RPG things. There were just a couple drawbacks- the levelling aspect slowed the game down a bit. Some bosses just CAN'T be touched unless you're at a certain level, and I never bothered setting foot in the caves until I had hit at least level 2 (which, since every enemy in the starting area is worth exactly 1 experience, takes a little while.) The hit detection seems a little off at times as well, especially in close combat. Since your character is about two tiles high, it can take a couple of test pokes to actually hit a smaller foe. Still, an overall solid effort. There was a re-release on Game Boy, which I understand has some new items and missions.

ACTION. ADVENTURE.

And more rabbit-related plot elements than any game since Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle.