Play Crystalis Online

Versions

Game Info

Cover art of Crystalis
Platform
Game Boy Color
Genres
Action · Role-Playing
Player Perspective
Top-down
Developers
Nintendo Software Technology · SNK
Publishers
Nintendo
Release date
June 26, 2000

Summary

Crystalis on the Game Boy Color keeps the classic top‑down view, letting you wander in eight directions while two buttons handle combat – one swings your sword, the other triggers a magical power or an inventory item. Pressing Start or Select drops down the status and inventory screens, and you can outfit your hero with a variety of armor sets and shields that boost defense.

The core loop revolves around hunting down four elemental swords – wind, fire, water and thunder – each found in hidden locations and capable of both a standard slash and a charged elemental projectile. These blades not only clear obstacles but also exploit monster weaknesses, and the experience you earn raises your level, health, defense and attack. The ultimate weapon, the Crystalis sword, awaits in the final dungeon.

The GBC port, crafted by Nintendo Software Technology and released in 2000, swaps in an almost entirely new soundtrack and even adds a digital voice that announces each sword when you claim it. Re‑translations rename foes like Draygon to Dragonia, and enemies no longer enjoy elemental immunities. A smaller screen shrinks the field of view, letting foes strike from off‑screen and upping the challenge, while the opening, tower backstory and final boss order have all been reshaped for this handheld version.

Storyline

Crystalis is set in the year 2097, a century after the cataclysm known as “1997, October 1, The END DAY.” A global thermonuclear war has reduced civilization to a primitive, medieval state where magic has replaced science, and survivors have erected a floating Tower to guard against future disasters. The Tower’s weapons systems grant its occupants the power to rule the world. Draygon, a rogue scientist‑magician, has revived forbidden technology and now commands the last military force, seeking to seize the Tower and dominate the planet.

The anonymous male hero awakens from cryogenic sleep with no memory, guided by four sages—Zebu, Tornel, Asina, and Kensu—who teach him spells and provide crucial information. He receives the Sword of Wind, teams up with the survivor Mesia, and must gather the four elemental swords—Wind, Fire, Water, and Thunder—to forge the legendary blade Crystalis. Along the way he battles Dragonia’s Finest Four (General Kelbesque, Sabera the Witch, the Swordsman Mado, and Karmine the Wizard) before confronting Emperor Draygon, who reveals a dragon‑like true form, and finally the machine DYNA.

In the Game Boy Color version the protagonist is named Simea and is portrayed as a prophesied hero. The Tower is presented explicitly as a weapon created by Draygon, and the story sequence is altered: after defeating Draygon’s two forms the player heads straight to the flying Tower to battle DYNA, omitting Azteca’s death. Dialogue and item descriptions are rewritten, and the final battle order is changed.

Edited by Maya Carter

Game Screenshots

  • Screenshot 1 of Crystalis
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Multiplayer

Game modes
Single