Developer: Quest Publisher: Asmik Released: November: 1990 Genre: Action, Platformer Platform: NES
Conquest of the Crystal Palace was a random rental from Blockbuster Video. Not because I had heard of it before but because I thought the box art looked cool. While normally that had terrible results (Star Voyager, yikes) in this case I stumbled upon an excellent gem in the NES library. Despite its low profile I would place it in the same category as titles like Kick Master, Shatterhand, and Vice: Project Doom. Games that really pushed the system hard but did not the recognition they deserved until years later. The insane difficulty toward the end is a little off putting but does not ruin an otherwise great game.
Years ago the Kingdom of the Crystal Palace was conquered by the evil Zarras. The only ones to escape were Zap, the keeper of the Crystal Palace and the infant prince Farron. Now a teenager Farron has returned to retake his kingdom with Zap in tow.
Conquest of the Crystal Palace is interesting for a number of reasons. Not just because it is a good game but because of its pedigree. It was developed by Quest, who would go on to create the Ogre Battle series and more famously Final Fantasy Tactics. It was the first game worked on by Yasumi Matsuno who would go on to a lengthy and storied career with Square Enix. Looking back the game received a decent amount of press but has largely kept a low profile. Don’t pass this up as it is a great but difficult action title.
Before you begin you have a choice between three gems that grant a special ability. The life crystal increases your maximum health permanently. The flight crystal grants higher jumping prowess. The spirit crystal grants your sword the power to shoot fireballs. Although you can only choose one the other two are available as temporary items in the game’s shops. I don’t know about you but the spirit crystal seems like the overwhelming favorite.
In many ways this reminds me of the Konami’s Goemon. Both take place in Feudal era Japan but also mix in modern technology like televisions and such. While Mystical Ninja has some light rpg elements crystal palace is all action however. There are a large number of additional power-ups aside from the crystals. Some drop from enemies but most are for sale in Kim’s Astral Mart. These range from health and extra lives to new sub-weapons, some of which work especially well on certain bosses. Money is never really a problem as there are plenty of points where you can grind it out indefinitely. There are at least two shops per level to further balance things out as well.
Probably the most interesting mechanic in the game is Zap. Zap can fight by your side at any time and comes with his own life bar. Against regular enemies he is very effective and will aggressively attack anything on screen. If you have the whistle he can perform a stronger dash attack. Bosses are another story. Zap can score a few loose hits on most bosses but will go down pretty quickly as his AI isn’t smart. He mostly serves as a meat tank while you get cheap shots in. Managing his use is key so you won’t have to spend coins bringing him back to life. While you can completely ignore this mechanic it does make the game’s second half less rough.
Conquest of the Crystal Palace is a very uneven game. The first two levels are very easy with plenty of enemies to build up cash. You can heal fully and still have money left over for weapons. At about stage 3 the game goes nuts. The screen is routinely crowded with enemies to the point of extreme slowdown and flicker. Unfortunately the second half of the game isn’t as well designed or balanced as its initial stages which does bring it down somewhat. The number of sudden traps and obstacles such as rising fire and bad enemy spawns increases significantly as well. There are a number of blind leaps and gotcha moments that exist purely to sap your extra lives and it isn’t fair. It really is unbelievable how much it changes and not for the better.
I suspect the difficulty rises so sharply due to the game’s length. At five levels this is a pretty short game overall. Or it would be if it were not so ridiculously difficult toward the end. Keep in mind the US version was toned down from the original! If they had balanced the difficulty curve this could have been truly great.
In Closing
It is a bit sad that Conquest of the Crystal Palace has garnered so little attention. You can buy it dirt cheap and it is worth it for an afternoon of fun. The difficulty is higher than I would have liked but is not a deal breaker in my opinion. A nice little hidden gem.
