Post by gcrusher on Sept 22, 2011 13:50:46 GMT -5
Growing up, there wasn't much money for games. Asking for $50-$60 for a new cartridge was akin to asking my parents to pull out their fillings and assemble miniature monuments to my awesomeness. Wasn't going to happen.
However, they were big into renting movies, and soon enough, the corner store had NES titles that would rent for -slightly- higher than a VHS tape. As movies were a primary source of entertainment for the parental units, we went often, and sometimes I got the opportunity to get a game. Like it or lump it, I was stuck with a game for the whole weekend due to the hours of the shop, as well as difficulty of going back to the place to make an exchange.
Fast forward through some awful game selections (Mystery Quest, 8 Eyes, Ikari Warriors III) I happened upon Crystalis. Getting home and firing it up, I noticed my heroic man-guy was... Pink. I've come a long way since my childhood, but growing up in the southern states and having a little pink guy as my representation in this new and exciting world did not bode well.
Glad I stuck with it. Playing Friday evening until late Sunday night, I got through most of the game, but had yet to bring down the tower (I recall getting stuck on the ascension part due to turn-around and lack of sleep, go fig). Still, I had to bring it back, and asked if I could have it again at the end of the week. Parents agreed, and it was indeed available on Friday. Not sure if it was due to lack of knowledge of how awesome the game was, whether people saw that the guy was indeed Pink, or whether the store owner liked us from such continued business and decided to hold it back for me.
Either way, I was disheartened to find that the two save places were filled, my save was overwritten (ah, battery backup), and not just that, but they were filled with derogatory names. Children learning swear words and no parental supervision; it's a beautiful thing. I wiped both in the event that my parents checked in on me and started again.
This time, I beat it in the allotted time. I felt like the man, even though I was very, very Pink. This one fact kept me from dressing up as the guy for Halloween that year; I think I was the Ghost of the Unknown Soldier on that particular year instead (fatigues, boots, camouflage face paint that had traces of glow-in-the-dark in it). I had a penchant for dressing up as whatever I wanted for the holiday, and if no one knew what I was going for I just didn't care. Too many times I saw friends going for a specific popular character and most people had no idea who they were trying to be. Why fight it?
Years go by, I move across the US, and I was able to snag a copy of Crystalis from a video store that was going out of business. I enjoyed it thoroughly then, but had to dump it and quite a few other gaming treasures in later moves. A friend gifted me his Gameboy remake of the game (soundtrack completely changed and not for the better) but I owned that for all of two weeks before it was stolen.
I recommend this game. It is awesome. Sometimes the user interface can be challenging; selecting items to use or spells to cast can be wacky (Do I really need to unsheathe my sword and stab at thin air to use the healing item on myself?) but the game is well worth it. I love the story, and is what I would consider minimalist, leaving the player to fill in the gaps. Boss fights can be frustrating until you figure out patterns. RPG progression to get stronger. SNK's soundtrack was great.
However, they were big into renting movies, and soon enough, the corner store had NES titles that would rent for -slightly- higher than a VHS tape. As movies were a primary source of entertainment for the parental units, we went often, and sometimes I got the opportunity to get a game. Like it or lump it, I was stuck with a game for the whole weekend due to the hours of the shop, as well as difficulty of going back to the place to make an exchange.
Fast forward through some awful game selections (Mystery Quest, 8 Eyes, Ikari Warriors III) I happened upon Crystalis. Getting home and firing it up, I noticed my heroic man-guy was... Pink. I've come a long way since my childhood, but growing up in the southern states and having a little pink guy as my representation in this new and exciting world did not bode well.
Glad I stuck with it. Playing Friday evening until late Sunday night, I got through most of the game, but had yet to bring down the tower (I recall getting stuck on the ascension part due to turn-around and lack of sleep, go fig). Still, I had to bring it back, and asked if I could have it again at the end of the week. Parents agreed, and it was indeed available on Friday. Not sure if it was due to lack of knowledge of how awesome the game was, whether people saw that the guy was indeed Pink, or whether the store owner liked us from such continued business and decided to hold it back for me.
Either way, I was disheartened to find that the two save places were filled, my save was overwritten (ah, battery backup), and not just that, but they were filled with derogatory names. Children learning swear words and no parental supervision; it's a beautiful thing. I wiped both in the event that my parents checked in on me and started again.
This time, I beat it in the allotted time. I felt like the man, even though I was very, very Pink. This one fact kept me from dressing up as the guy for Halloween that year; I think I was the Ghost of the Unknown Soldier on that particular year instead (fatigues, boots, camouflage face paint that had traces of glow-in-the-dark in it). I had a penchant for dressing up as whatever I wanted for the holiday, and if no one knew what I was going for I just didn't care. Too many times I saw friends going for a specific popular character and most people had no idea who they were trying to be. Why fight it?
Years go by, I move across the US, and I was able to snag a copy of Crystalis from a video store that was going out of business. I enjoyed it thoroughly then, but had to dump it and quite a few other gaming treasures in later moves. A friend gifted me his Gameboy remake of the game (soundtrack completely changed and not for the better) but I owned that for all of two weeks before it was stolen.
I recommend this game. It is awesome. Sometimes the user interface can be challenging; selecting items to use or spells to cast can be wacky (Do I really need to unsheathe my sword and stab at thin air to use the healing item on myself?) but the game is well worth it. I love the story, and is what I would consider minimalist, leaving the player to fill in the gaps. Boss fights can be frustrating until you figure out patterns. RPG progression to get stronger. SNK's soundtrack was great.