Crystar

 PlayStation 4
User Score
9.5

Universal acclaim- based on 2255 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,138 out of 2255
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 2255
  3. Negative: 105 out of 2255
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  1. tad101
    Aug 20, 2023
    9
    Story: Gets real deep, with a few twist and turns but is actually thought provoking the entire time.
    Characters: Mostly classic teen girls but have backstories you would not expect, they get the job done and grow throughout which is good to see.
    LVL Design: Dungeon lvl based, you should expect to have 1 - 3 levels per dungeon. Mini map is on the bottom right corner but is useless in my    Story: Gets real deep, with a few twist and turns but is actually thought provoking the entire time.
    Characters: Mostly classic teen girls but have backstories you would not expect, they get the job done and grow throughout which is good to see.

    LVL Design: Dungeon lvl based, you should expect to have 1 - 3 levels per dungeon. Mini map is on the bottom right corner but is useless in my opinion, BUT there is a better option in a toggle map that will show up center screen see through with the press of the touch pad. I played most lvls with this toggled on with no issue while fighting. Mission select is a nice tough for you to grind certain gear and materials. At the beginning of each dungeon you have the opportunity to buy materials from a seller, if you want to save some money using the above mentioned mission select will be useful for grinding those materials.

    Gameplay: You will spend a short amount of time in Rei's bedroom between missions. There you will equip/make new gear, sort your ideals, make phone calls, and mission select. 95% of the time you will be in various dungeons advancing the story. Fast paced action gameplay similar to Y's if you have played that series. You have physical and magical attacks to vanquish foes and a guardian used for special all out attacks. You can switch between multiple characters that bring different fighting techniques for different monster types. Maybe you want want to use a dual sword character, or fist fight a foe, maybe a longer range magic caster, or just a simple single sword user all available with 1 press of the Dpad.

    Overall: Crystar with a classic slow learn how to play start has an extremely though provoking story, Younger characters that grow properly throughout the game with unexpectedly dark, and deep histories and connections. Its gameplay is that of a Y's clone but with small changes to the formula enough to make its own mark on the style.    … Expand
  2. RunFish12B8
    Jun 24, 2023
    0
    The game is poorly optimized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  3. nanansgxz2
    Jan 17, 2023
    7
    故事，讲故事，人物和世界构建都非常好。如果你喜欢严肃的JRPG，你也会喜欢这个。
  4. Nathanimations
    Sep 4, 2022
    5
    Userscore too high. They were at the top of Best user rated games of all time.
  5. zeroX52
    Aug 2, 2022
    4
    La iluminación es demasiado intensa, puede hasta causa daño físico, un diseño de nivel pobre, los personajes están bien, pero la dirección de actuación brilla por su ausencia.
  6. Skapple
    May 29, 2022
    0
    Horible Story and charachters, the fighting system is horible too, i don't recomend that
  7. Pegram
    Mar 7, 2022
    9
    Grief coated in sadness painted with tragedy dipped in suffering. I've never seen so much emotional torture stuffed into one package before. Be warned the game is hyperfocused on sadness and hardly subtle about it, using it to fuel the story and even for game mechanics. It's hard not to relate to the protagonist - or any of the cast really - and feel bad yourself about what she has toGrief coated in sadness painted with tragedy dipped in suffering. I've never seen so much emotional torture stuffed into one package before. Be warned the game is hyperfocused on sadness and hardly subtle about it, using it to fuel the story and even for game mechanics. It's hard not to relate to the protagonist - or any of the cast really - and feel bad yourself about what she has to suffer through, so one should prepare themselves for quite the ride.

    I bought the game literally only due to another review pointing out it had Sakuzyo's soundtrack. I ended up greatly enjoying it overall though. While my enjoyment was brought down by some frustrating fights and, frankly, very bad decisions on boss mechanics (spamming multiple homing attacks is not funny), combat was hardly the main point in the first place. The atmosphere, story and characters were carrying the game and it was clearly intended to be as such. That being said, the combat wasn't some afterthought either, or quickly slapped on top - it just didn't quite live up to the rest of the features. Besides, though I at times disliked how basic it was, the combat did actually begin to feel pretty satisfying towards the end when skills became more flashy and powerful.

    Since the combat is fairly repetitive and levels can be somewhat maze-like, I recommend running past most normal fights. The random treasure you can pick up while exploring isn't worthwhile either, as upgrade materials are easy and quick to farm later on as needed. Due to this, I finished the game severely underleveled in some 20 hours, but didn't really find that a problem. I do plan on 100%ing it, which basically means unlocking some additional mini stories by defeating certain enemies.    … Expand
  8. Premier991
    Jan 16, 2022
    0
    The game isn't a masterpiece, it just has a ton of fake positive reviews. It's not the best ps4 game ever released. Don't get scammed.
  9. Detonatorblyat
    Dec 18, 2021
    0
    какая то дрочильня сидит в 10ке лучших игр.... понимаю, понимаю что это пиздец
  10. Pu55yLicker
    Dec 18, 2021
    0
    Mediocre thrash metal that doesn't deserve such high ratings. I don't know how such a large number of players, in principle, can like such a talentless and negligent project.
  11. Nighy
    Dec 7, 2021
    10
    The story, storytelling, characters and the world building are very good. If you like serious toned JRPGs you'll like this one too.
  12. Ben_ben
    Nov 2, 2021
    0
    Strange. The user score has 2000 positive but no reviews. And I found the first 10 reviewers Only review this game with 10.
  13. beautifulforest
    Oct 14, 2021
    10
    As others say, the gameplay is not that interesting but the story and the characters are very good.
  14. TheGoodGoat
    Jun 27, 2021
    4
    THIS IS FOR ANYONE ENTICED BY THE USER SCORE! I bought the game and it is an uninspired mess! I have played several hours and literally every battle can be won by going close to the enemy and pressing square until the enemy dies. There is absolutely zero challenge in this game. You learn all sorts of moves that basically have zero utility and you get a persona like being that also is notTHIS IS FOR ANYONE ENTICED BY THE USER SCORE! I bought the game and it is an uninspired mess! I have played several hours and literally every battle can be won by going close to the enemy and pressing square until the enemy dies. There is absolutely zero challenge in this game. You learn all sorts of moves that basically have zero utility and you get a persona like being that also is not necessary to win any of this game's easy battles. Having played as long as I have, I have encountered about 3-4 unique enemies. In essence, I have spent like 6-7 hours fighting the same 3-4 enemies ad nauseum. You get new characters but they play almost exactly like the main character does in the context of the game itself. All you do is run and attack things with any of the characters. THAT'S IT! Do not be fooled by the fact that it has a great user score. I am not sure what these people were thinking but some are suggesting the combat is not too easy. It is the easiest combat I have come across since every single battle can be won by running from enemy to enemy and pressing square until you win. This is made especially easy since there are about 3-4 enemy types and you quickly learn their patterns. Not that you need to because they do basically no damage to you. I have yet to use an item, I have yet to die, I have yet to feel challenged in any way, I have yet to buy anything from the in game merchant, I have not grinded at all and I can go through every level with zero threat. Not good, if we are being honest.… Expand
  15. somatzu
    Jun 22, 2021
    0
    Anime fans literally have no sense of taste. Loli-bait like this is a perfect ten in their eyes.
  16. LadyEir
    May 25, 2021
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This type of game isn't going to be for everyone - as JRPGs go it also is a bit unique. I loved the characters each one felt unique and had their own personality and quirks. The art style can be a bit overbearing at times and you do end up with an overall feeling that the game play is repetitive.
    The story does deliver several gut punches at several points in the game and as the story progresses you get a good idea where the plot is going, but feel compelled to find out how it gets there and what the next thing to unfold will be.

    The game is split in to chapters each having a certain number of stages and you return to your room as the hub world where you can perform tasks to purify your heart and level up equipment.

    Spoilers ahead:
    Once you complete the game on the first pass you do get an epilogue which sends you back in to a sort of new game + mode but with a different story and twist it would seem at first glance. The more times you complete the game the more story unlocks and the more puzzle pieces fit together. After all it is purgatory.
    The nit pick I have here is that the maps don't change on the next part of the story. Also to complete the bestiary you have to kill 3 of each kind of spirit - and 3 of the more powerful types (I forget what they are called) and with the same monster type appearing over and over it can be frustrating to find the ones you are missing.

    Gameplay : 8
    Plot : 9
    Characters : 9 (love Nanana )
    Soundtrack : 9
    Overall : 9    … Expand
  17. Ourflag
    May 9, 2021
    10
    The gameplay is a bit boring, but the story and the characters in this game are so good! The soundtrack by Sakuzyo is also great.
  18. Seath
    Apr 3, 2021
    10
    Let me just say that yes, the game has some flaws (mostly when it comes to gameplay), but despite those flaws I enjoyed my playthrough so much that I'm giving it a 10/10 regardless. I'll instead rate each individual element of the game below to give an idea of what to expect going in.

    Music: 10/10 An absolute gem of a soundtrack. Severally limited by the game due to some weird sound    Let me just say that yes, the game has some flaws (mostly when it comes to gameplay), but despite those flaws I enjoyed my playthrough so much that I'm giving it a 10/10 regardless. I'll instead rate each individual element of the game below to give an idea of what to expect going in.

    Music: 10/10
    An absolute gem of a soundtrack. Severally limited by the game due to some weird sound mixing and prioritization. Some sound testing with the volume settings might be needed to find a good balance between music, voice and sound effects. The OST is full of leitmotifs, variety and outer-worldly tunes. There's some rock tracks that go HARD, some real tearjerkers, surprise jazz and plenty of violin/piano goodness.

    Graphics: 8/10.
    Looks pretty enough and there's nothing wrong about it. Some attack animations and effects are really flashy and enjoyable. But the visual thing that'll really catch your attention is...

    Art and Art Direction: 10/10
    It's gorgeous. The game's cutscenes feature a visual novel-esque formate with character art for each character with dialogue. It's incredibly pretty, detailed and it isn't afraid to change even the most minute facial details to reflect the characters current mood. There are also these really artistc drawing-esque cutscenes for memory segments that are quite striking. There's also this really nice Studio Trigger intro animation that plays whenever you start the game.

    Voice Acting: 10/10
    I'm blown away. I played the game with English voice-acting because someone recommended it and I'm very pleasantly surprised on how good it was. Even some of the minor background voices are really well acted. The main cast absolutely nailed their roles and even weaved in their personalities whenever exposition was dumped (props for the writer for not making exposition be dragged out and boring).

    Story: 9/10
    I thoroughly enjoyed the story and all it's twists. I found myself making theories about how things were going to play out and got dumbfounded when some revelations were revealed. The best thing is that the game foreshadows a lot, but it's practically impossible to understand any of it without context. It's a very cohesive and thought out narrative, with some very emotional moments to boot. The AAA-game market really need to step-up their stories. There has been so many AA and indie games that completely overshadow the AAA-games story-wise recently. All that budget and most big studios can't even write a compelling story...

    Gameplay: 6.5/10.
    Okay this is the least good aspect of the game. It isn't bad, the core gameplay is very fun and fluid once you get a hang for it. But the enemy variety and level design is lacking severely.

    Enemy Variety: There are like 10 or so enemies in the game (not counting bosses) which you'll fight over and over again. They sometimes gain a new move, but it gets stale. Some skill unlocks and enemy density helps the game feel fresh throughout a playthrough, but it still gets a bit monotonous at times.

    Level Design: The environments you go through are very pretty, but the areas you directly move your character around in usually only consist of rectangular flat rooms. Sometimes there are a bit more complex rooms with cover and some slopes/stairs to add a bit of verticality. The game could've used the addition of traps/boons, some more tailor-made set pieces and generally more intuitive level design depending on where the areas were set. For example: there was this stage where you story-wise ascended a tower, but that wasn't reflected in the level design, which was a huge missed opportunity. The placements for items and treasure chests are also very predictable and not so exciting. Only very late in the game did the game surprise me with the occasional bundle of treasure/item nodes.

    The gameplay will be more enjoyable for some than others, The fluidity and earn-able skills make the gameplay addictive, which can help some people stomach the lack of enemy and level variety. Although it seems like one of the gameplay designers really hated 1 of the 4 playable characters specifically, since her gameplay is absolute hot rubbish compared to the other 3 characters.

    Conclusion:
    If your looking for a incredibly rewarding visual and auditory experience then I highly recommend this game. The gameplay, despite it's flaws, is really fun in moderations. It really just lacks in enemy/level variety, which might be because of budget/time constraints.    … Expand
  19. Yanny
    Sep 19, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Who rated this game so high??????? The second game is TW3 with 92 score and this is 96? Outrageous!… Expand
  20. Wolf9715
    Aug 13, 2020
    0
    I don't like the story too much it's horrible, and too disappointing. And gameplay is bad.
  21. c57v76v7v7v6
    Aug 10, 2020
    10
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  22. dragosinsc
    Aug 9, 2020
    0
  23. Laithherzo
    Jul 26, 2020
    1
    Its a really bad game and dont deserve that high score anime fans are stupied
  24. Starzen517
    Jul 24, 2020
    10
    This game is amazing with like only one flaw. The visuals, the atmosphere, the gameplay mechanics they're all so wonderful! This game has some really dark themes from suicide to miscarriage, if you explore everything in the game you will come across all sorts of dark themes. When I mentioned gameplay mechanics I was talking about the memories you get from defeating each enemy and learningThis game is amazing with like only one flaw. The visuals, the atmosphere, the gameplay mechanics they're all so wonderful! This game has some really dark themes from suicide to miscarriage, if you explore everything in the game you will come across all sorts of dark themes. When I mentioned gameplay mechanics I was talking about the memories you get from defeating each enemy and learning their life before they died. Gameplay itself is nothing special. It's decent enough and while i found it fun, the gameplay not being anything deep might not be everyone's cup of tea. It can also get sort of repetitive but for story reasons. Now the story, wow this story is such a rich and well written story. The story is very original, it's not generic or anything. Just when you think you've figured out the story it just pulls you back in and sends you off into another direction. It's one of my favorite videogame stories I've ever had the privilege to play through. This is why I give this game a 10. Gameplay might not be anything special but the story is fantastic that it makes up for its few flaws. I highly recommend this wonderful game! Plus there's a dog in the game you can pet, easily a 10/10.… Expand
  25. Martma
    Jul 19, 2020
    1
    Game is very boring, everything is repetitive and very clunky, wouldn’t recommend, the character are unlikeable
  26. DenerMelo
    Jul 19, 2020
    0
    Infelizmente não é um gênero que agrada a muita gente e acredito que poderia ser melhor trabalhado
  27. shamballa_69
    Jul 19, 2020
    0
    Terrible game with cringe story and characters, the gameplay is so clunky and repetitive.
  28. Hugegapjungle
    Jul 4, 2020
    1
    Terrible game with cringe story and characters, the gameplay is so clunky and repetitive.
    Controls are like driving a tank, the frame rates keep dropping and i had 5 crashes so far.
    Very bad game.
  29. Hammer7
    May 30, 2020
    8
    Awesome story and characters. Very fun. Love the art design and the music too.
  30. Rod1
    Mar 28, 2020
    8
    This is a dark game with good story and gameplay, nice soundtrack, repetitive.
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Awards & Rankings

72
#72 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. Cubed3
    Dec 2, 2019
    50
    Endless grind, very slow progression, and an abysmal battle system, are the major knocks against what would otherwise be an average experience. The story itself is unique, but hardly goes into depth instead relying far more on shock-value of events occurring rather than actual meaning. Unfortunate, really, as the plot serves up a huge potential for some interesting questions, or dialogue - things that are completely missing.
    Read full review
  2. LaPS4
    Sep 3, 2019
    80
    Crystar is one of those titles that makes it out of Japan and it is going to be a reference for the RPG titles to come. Fluid combat system, characters with their own fighting styles and complex plot are its strengths. Gemdrops Studios offers a title which is far from perfect, but it is able to impact the player like few games can.
    Read full review
  3. GameGrin
    Aug 30, 2019
    40
    A trigger warning in game form - without any trigger warnings. Had a lot of potential, but unfortunately misses the mark.
    Read full review
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