Crystar

Not to be confused with The Saga of Crystar.
Crystar
Developer(s)Gemdrops
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Fuyuki Hayashi
Producer(s)Fuyuki Hayashi
Artist(s)Riuichi[2]
Writer(s)Naoki Hisaya
Composer(s)Sakuzyo
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 4
  • JP: October 18, 2018
  • NA: August 27, 2019
  • EU: August 30, 2019
Windows
  • WW: August 27, 2019
Nintendo Switch
  • JP: February 24, 2022
  • NA: March 29, 2022
  • EU: April 1, 2022
PlayStation 5
  • WW: December 4, 2024
  • JP: February 27, 2025
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Crystar[b] is an action role-playing game developed by Gemdrops and published by FuRyu. The game was released for PlayStation 4 in October 2018 in Japan, and internationally by Spike Chunsoft in August 2019 with an additional Windows version. A port for the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan in February 2022, and worldwide by NIS America later that year. A version for PlayStation 5 is scheduled to release in December 2024 internationally and in February 2025 in Japan.

Gameplay

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The player controls a girl named Rei Hatada, who makes a deal with twin demons of Purgatory, and the story progresses as the player fights the souls that drift about Purgatory. The concept of the game revolves around crying, which purifies new equipment to use. By defeating specific enemies, "Memoirs of the Dead", final thoughts of the dead, will appear, and crying will purify those thoughts and develop the protagonist mentally.[3]

Outside of battle and dungeon exploration, the player can also return to Rei's room in the real-world part of the game and prepare for battle, view collectibles, pet her dog, and to enjoy everyday life through various angles.[4]

Plot

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Development

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The title of the game, Crystar, is a portmanteau of "cry" and "star". The idea came the producer Fuyuki Hayashi, who wants to replicate the feelings where one can draw shining things (akin to a 'star') in a sad event that also makes one 'cry'.[5]

The base story is written by Naoki Hisaya, formerly of Key, known as one of Kanon's scenario writers.[6]

The opening and ending theme songs, "can cry" and "re-live" (respectively), are both composed and sung by Nagi Yanagi, and the opening cinematic was directed by Tatsuya Oishi at animation studio Shaft.[7]

Release

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The game was announced in the Japanese magazine V Jump, revealing the key staff and release date of October 18, 2018.[8] A teaser trailer featuring the opening animation and gameplay was uploaded to YouTube in June.[9] Pre-order bonuses for the game included an extra in-game costume, special soundtrack CD and a replica film sheet of the opening animation.[3]

Spike Chunsoft released the game in English for Microsoft Windows and for PlayStation 4 in North America on August 27, 2019,[10] and for PlayStation 4 in Europe on August 30.[11] Arc System Works released the game in traditional Chinese in early 2019.[12] A Nintendo Switch version of the game was released in Japan on February 24, 2022,[13] and worldwide of the same year.[14] A port for PlayStation 5 is scheduled to release on February 27, 2025.[15]

Reception

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Crystar received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[16][17] Japanese magazine Famitsu rated the game 30/40 (8/8/7/7).[18]

Crystar debuted at No.5 on the Media Create chart during the opening week in Japan, selling 10,473 retail copies.[24] The Nintendo Switch version debuted at No.24 on the opening week, selling 2,842 copies.[25]

Lucas White of PlayStation LifeStyle gave the game a 8/10, praising the story elements which tackles mental health in a realistic way, as well as the visual style which complements the story, but noted the low depth of the combat system, as well as the poor equipment system, which detracts from his experience.[26] Lucas Rivarola of RPG Site rated the game 5/10, praising the setting and art style, but was let down by the limited animation, poor execution of the themes, and long dungeons which drags out towards the end of the game.[27]

Notes

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  1. ^ PlayStation 4 physical versions published by Numskull Games in Europe.[1]
  2. ^ Crystar (クライスタ, Kuraisuta)

References

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  1. ^ Lada, Jenni (June 25, 2019). "Numskull Games Is Handling The Australian And European AI: The Somnium Files And Crystar Physical Copies". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "「CRYSTAR -クライスタ-」のキャラクターデザインを担当させて頂きました。". Pixiv (in Japanese). June 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Crystar first details, gameplay, and screenshots". Gematsu. June 21, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  4. ^ "Crystar Is About A Useless Girl Who Must Revive Her Beloved Sister… That She Killed". Siliconera. June 20, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  5. ^ 電撃オンライン. "『CRYSTAR -クライスタ-』読者からの質問に林P＆Dが回答！アクションRPGとした理由は？". 電撃オンライン (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "FuRyu Announces Cry Star For PS4, An Action RPG By Kanon Scenario Writer". Siliconera. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  7. ^ "PS4®ソフト『CRYSTAR -クライスタ-』 豪華制作陣が贈る……｢涙｣がテーマの泣いて戦うアクションRPG" [PS4® software "CRYSTAR" Presented by a Gorgeous Production Team... An Action RPG with the Theme of "Tears"]. PlayStation Blog (in Japanese). June 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "Cry Star Release Date and More Details Revealed by FuRyu". PlayStation LifeStyle. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  9. ^ Game Channel by フリュー (19 June 2018), 【CRYSTAR -クライスタ-】ティザームービー, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved December 6, 2018
  10. ^ "Crystar coming west for PS4, PC on August 27; interview with producer Fuyuki Hayashi". March 22, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "Crystar launches August 30 in Europe". May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "哭泣戰鬥美少女動作 RPG《CRYSTAR》繁體中文版 2019 年登場". 巴哈姆特電玩資訊站. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  13. ^ "CRYSTAR coming to Switch on February 24, 2022 in Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "CRYSTAR for Switch coming west in spring 2022". Gematsu. October 18, 2021. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  15. ^ "CRYSTAR coming to PS5 on February 27, 2025 in Japan". Gematsu. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Crystar for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Crystar for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Romano, Sal (October 10, 2018). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1558". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  19. ^ Shive, Chris (August 27, 2019). "Review: Crystar". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  20. ^ Hazell, Ted (March 26, 2022). "Crystar (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  21. ^ Fuller, Alex (August 26, 2019). "Crystar Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  22. ^ Wilkerson, Zach (August 25, 2019). "Crystar". RPGFan. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  23. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (April 5, 2022). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Crystar', Plus 'LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' and the Latest Sales". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Media Create Sales: 10/15/18 – 10/21/18". Gematsu. October 24, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  25. ^ "Famitsu Sales: 2/21/22 – 2/27/22". Gematsu. March 3, 2022. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  26. ^ White, Lucas (August 22, 2019). "CRYSTAR Review - Fighting Demons, Outside and In". PlayStation LifeStyle. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  27. ^ Rivarola, Lucas (August 20, 2019). "Crystar Review". RPG Site. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
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