Starting off our Crystar review, this was a game that was interesting from the outside looking in. Released back in 2019 originally for PlayStation 4 and PC, Crystar flew under the radar from what I could tell. Luckily, I’m happy to report that this interesting and oddly mature story is crammed into a nice package – which makes me use the term “kino” to describe it.

In a weird world, ripped from her own, Rei Hatada is forced to sign a contract with managers of Purgatory and become an Executor. Only with her newfound power can she help cleanse Purgatory and revive her little sister. Along the way, you uncover truths and seek out the one who brought took your life from you.

Crystar
Developer: FuRyu
Publishers: NIS America
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows
Release Date: March 29, 2022
Players: 1
Price: $49.99 USD (Nintendo Switch) $59.99 USD PlayStation 4, Steam

Waking up in a strange world, you, a butterfly, are surrounded by other butterflies. Your memory is gone as you struggle to piece together your identity and memories. A voice calls out to you with instructions of remembering who you are. As you do, you remember yourself and your sister, Mirai.

After gaining a new power, you are confronted by Anamnesis, a Revenant that seeks Revival for herself. Under mysterious circumstances after meeting Anamnesis, you slay your sister by accident causing her Soul to descend. Signing a contract with the Managers of Purgatory, Mephis and Pheles, you help them by cleaning up Purgatory whilst they help you revive your sister before she’s lost forever.

Most of the main themes in the game is about Souls of people that have either died, whether that be from suicide, natural causes, or disasters. A character you meet, Kokoro Fudoji, seeks revenge on Anamnesis for sending her to Purgatory and stealing the Souls of her boyfriend and unborn baby.

A lot of mature themes present themselves and are one of the strongest points of the game. Engaging and memorable, this is one of the better stories for an action RPG that I’ve played that are my personal favorites. This is the foundation of the game that is rock solid and can’t be knocked for.

One of the biggest issues lies here in the gameplay, which isn’t necessarily bad, but needs improvement. It’s an ARPG but doesn’t have any animation breaks like most other games of the same kind. When you commit to the attack, you have to make sure to not button mash otherwise you will end up facetanking a lot of hits. That’s not to say that combat is all that tough, but that it’s annoying for the worst case scenario.

Certain characters like Rei are capable of attacking multiple enemies at once, whereas someone like Kokoro, who uses fists, can take on single foes but isn’t built for engaging with multiple enemies. Light attacks, heavy attacks, and specials are the main ways of attacking even with the inclusion of your Guardian (almost like a Jojo stand). They can assist in battle if certain criteria are met and can also unleash powerful special attacks.

Each character’s items can be changed and upgraded giving them more attack, defense, and special buffs. Forging and upgrading Sentiments will help strengthen equipment, sometimes with special perks. Elements outside of the actual combat are well explained and easy to learn with some tinkering here and there. The combat isn’t sloppy but don’t expect something lightning fast like you may be used to.

One absolute positive is the art for characters, mainly made by RIUICHI and it’s consistent across the board. Most scenes are played out in the hybrid of visual novel style and 3D models but even those are in the same art direction. The opening animation is unique and shows some great skills at work.

In game, the graphics (on the Nintendo Switch) are oddly not bad. This is a very NIS America-type of game that keeps itself very close to the low end but also within reason. It’s colorful in the Ordeal, the maps you traverse in Purgatory, and muted and cold feeling in Rei’s room which serves as your save point to sort out Torments, which can build up with negative effects unless Purified.

Unique designs between Ordeals have different spaces from the real world these characters were ripped from. Pop in does occur where it essentially is just loading other areas even if they’re close by, due to a small draw distance. These are somewhat of a mixed bag of things but are almost negligible and can have their own charm to fit the gameplay attached to it.

Two major things about this games audio design are the only things I want to address. While this may sound like a mixed rating, I felt that even with the inclusion of the story, this is a positive. The reason for this is due to varied differences in what audio was from the development side and which one was from the recording side.

Firstly, the one issue that plagued the entire playthrough was the sound effects, or lack thereof. The first encounter of a boss before you fight has them seemingly roar, but instead of a roar it’s the voice of a Revenant. It had the visuals to signal a roar but sounded more like an upped gain microphone with distortion, it jarred my senses in that regard.

However, the voice acting in Crystar was expertly performed by the English and Japanese cast. I played in English, as it was the default setting going in. Maybe this attributed to my love for this game, but the emotion felt from the acting itself almost felt genuine and never really read from the script. I will take the generic sounds of footsteps and stabbing sounds as long as I can always have the scenes of the story played with the amazing voice work.

Rounding up our Crystar review, as the game crept into the world, almost as an unknown title, is the best thing this game has done. It’s relatively unknown to the masses since it wasn’t marketed in a big way and I feel that works against this amazing game. A treat to the senses, Crystar needs more attention than it gets.

I’m late to playing Crystar myself and hate that I couldn’t play it sooner. The small group of people that have found Crystar, a diamond hidden in the rough, have all praised it from years ago and now I pray that more can see it too. The amazing art, voice work, and fixable gameplay are something that makes Crystar a standout classic in the making.

Crystar was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a copy provided by NIS America. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here.