Crystal Project

The dev does not provide modding tools for gog users, so do not buy this game as it is yet another worthless dev that excludes GoG users from modding, even though he charges us the same amount as steam users! I would not expect him to maintain parity between patch versions either. +5 stars for being an innovative little game... -3 stars for being an a****** towards people that payed to keep his lights on by withholding content while charging us the same as steam users!

Crystal Project reminds me why I loved JRPGs. Great balance of exploration and mechanics, keeping me interested and binging until I finished it. Most JRPGs just don't engage me long enough to do that. The job system allows for depth, but 100% completion isn't too difficult, and nothing stands out as gimmicky and weird. I love that there are "assist options" for things like skipping racing minigames, or other features that respect a variety of players and their time or ability. Leveling up in a class affects your stats "permanently", but late-game it's going to be cheap to reassign those levels/stats to make your ideal team. I had no bugs or other issues with the main game. Without permanently missable items, I didn't have to choose between going in blind or fearing I'd miss out on 100% completion. Deaths are forgiving and there are early-game fast-travel options. I recommend enabling the assist option allowing you to remember up to three save points to return to. It's nice in the first few hours, before other fast travel methods are acquired. Late-game, it allows "bookmarking" a handful of areas which are annoying to reach. The game world is huge. As you acquire more mounts and teleport options, it has that pleasant metroidvania feeling of making that huge world feel cozy and familiar, and fast to navigate. That said, most of my backtracking I did because I felt like taking a break from newer areas at the end of a day's play session. The exploration sometimes gives me the feeling like I'm "getting away with something." Like in other games where I might try to jump and climb out of bounds, looking for secrets or sequence breaks. In this game, that's part of the fun and sometimes even the best way to proceed.

Crystal Project is a game that, at first, seems to be simple and linear. As you advance, you realize its growing complexity, its good approach and the careful details that stimulate exploration. There are thousands of secret paths everywhere. Lots of chests in the most remote, hidden or concealed places between rocks, furniture or at the top of a tree. The world map is gigantic, in the classic style of the first Final Fantasy games, with the addition that it fuses here with the platform genre. While in other games the player reaches new places through ships, canoes or flying balloons, in Crystal Project you must reach new places based on ingenuity and with the help of powerful mounts that you can get and even "improve" by breeding. The fight and its mechanics are complex and of relatively high difficulty, but the game itself invites you to try adjustments that make you easier or more convenient for your game mode. The characters have various statistics and can change class at any time. Another very positive point is in Crystal Project facilitates the task of players who seek to achieve all objects, enemies or secrets. Any lost object can be recovered paying a price and any unknown detail of the bestiary can be completed by making the necessary effort. In short, Crystal Project is a little jewel of its kind. Without large graphics or a deep lore, it stands out for its gameplay and refined mechanics.

I wanted to enjoy this game, but the platformer part is hard and unforgivable. Jump-jump-jump-fail, return to the checkpoint, run to the cliff, jump, fail, repeat, jump-fail, fail-repeat-checkpoint, run, jump... At some point, it felt like a duty instead of fun. Too sad, because other parts of the game are cool.