Dragon Crystal

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • Master System
  • Sega Game Gear
    US/EU
  • Sega Game Gear
    JP

DragonCrystal title.png

Dragon Crystal GG US title.png

Dragon Crystal GG JP title.png

Dragon Crystal
System(s): Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Pocket PC, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: RPG[3][4], Action[5], Adventure Role-Playing[6]

















Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages:
Sega Master System
  • English
  • Sega Game Gear
  • English
  • 日本語
  • Release Date RRP Code
    Sega Game Gear
    JP
    ¥3,5003,500 G-3206
    Sega Game Gear
    US
    2305
    Sega Game Gear
    EU
    2305
    Sega Game Gear
    UK
    £24.9924.99[10][9] 2305
    Sega Master System
    EU
    5123
    Sega Master System
    PT
    Sega Master System
    UK
    £29.9929.99[12] 5123
    Sega Master System
    AU
    Sega Master System
    MX
    Sega Master System
    BR
    023440
    Pocket PC
    JP
    ¥500[13] ?



    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    JP
    ¥286 (300)286 (300)[14]
    CERO: A
    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    US
    $2.992.99[15]
    ESRB: Everyone 10+
    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    EU
    €3.003.00[16]
    PEGI: 12+
    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    DE
    €3.003.00[16]
    USK: 6
    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    UK
    £2.702.70[16]
    PEGI: 12+
    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    AU
    OFLC: General (G)

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    Dragon Crystal, known as Dragon Crystal: Tsurani no Meikyu (ドラゴンクリスタル ―ツラニの迷宮―) in Japan is a Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear roguelike. The gameplay and much of the graphics are shared with Fatal Labyrinth.

    Story

    As you ride a bicycle one late afternoon, you turn down an alley that you never before noticed and enter an antique shop. There, a mysterious glowing crystal is sitting on a shelf. Upon approaching the crystal and gazing into it, a powerful force pulls you in, causing a blackout.

    You awaken in a forest with a large egg following behind. This forest is a huge maze, crawling with dangerous creatures. You find weapons and other items scattered around with which to fight the monsters. The only way out is to continue onward, defeating monsters and growing in power along the way.

    Gameplay

    The game is a roguelike, which is a subgenre of role-playing games characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels. The hero awakens in the middle of a maze and must battle monsters through 30 randomly generated levels of increasing difficulty. At the end of each level but the last is an exit that leads to the next floor. The last level ends with the hero obtaining a holy goblet that frees him from the crystal.

    The hero moves in any direction using the D-Pad; an egg follows him everywhere. The environment is obscured by a fog until the hero moves into it. In the Game Gear version, holding  START  increases the hero's movement speed; in the Master System version, pressing  PAUSE  switches between slow and fast movement. Though the hero can move freely, the game is essentially turn-based, with each movement or action equivalent to one turn. Monsters appear randomly and take turns with the hero exchanging attacks. This means that getting surrounded can be particularly dangerous as every enemy gets one attack for every one attack that the player gets. It also means that the player can pause a battle simply by waiting to make a move. Killing monsters increases the hero's experience. The hero gains a new level when he acquires enough experience, which increases his hit points. Hit points are traded in battle with the enemy but are recovered by moving around. The egg accompanying the hero hatches into a dragon that grows with him as he gains levels. Gold is used to revive from death, with the cost increasing with the number and severity of previous deaths.

    Weapons, armor, potions, rings, food, and gold are randomly placed throughout the levels and can be picked up by pressing 2 when standing over them. The hero must regularly pick up food to avoid starving. Each food point allows the character to move six spaces on the screen. Bread gives 10 to 30 food points and meat gives 31 to 50 food points; the maximum number of food points is 99.

    The hero increases his attack power by acquiring better weapons and his defense by acquiring better armor. Other items picked up in the game are color-coded, with colors representing an effect that cannot be discovered until the player uses an item of that color or throws it at an enemy. Pots are potions that can heal or poison the player, Books provide either maps or spells that may strengthen the player in some way or negate a harmful effect (such as removing cursed items), Rods cast spells that affect enemies, and Rings provide bonuses to stats (or sometimes are cursed, such as the Hunger Ring, which makes the player consume food much more quickly and requires a Bless Book to remove). The hero has a limited inventory. Unwanted items, such as armor or weapons weaker than the ones already worn by the player or cursed or poisonous items, can either be dropped or thrown at enemies for minor damage. The player can bring up a status screen for viewing and managing items by pressing 1.

    History

    Legacy

    The Game Gear version of the game was released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2012.

    A Dragon Crystal II was released for mobile phones in Japan in 2003.

    Versions

    Localised names

    Also known as
    Language Localised Name English Translation
    English Dragon Crystal Dragon Crystal
    English (US) Dragon Crystal Dragon Crystal
    Japanese ドラゴンクリスタル ―ツラニの迷宮― Dragon Crystal: Tsurani no Meikyu

    Production credits

    Game Gear version

    Source:
    In-game credits
    Dragon Crystal GG credits.pdf
    [20]


    Master System version

    • Graphic: Gaga
    • Program: XYZ
    • Sound: E.Fugu
    • Coordinate: Gaga
    • Special Thanks: Waka
    Source:
    In-game credits
    Dragon Crystal SMS credits.pdf
    [21]


    Magazine articles

    Main article: Dragon Crystal/Magazine articles.

    Promotional material

    MDMSGG MX advert.jpg
    MX advert (1992)
    MDMSGG MX advert.jpg
    Logo-pdf.svg
    Print advert in (JP) #1991-01: "January 1991" (1990-12-08)
    also published in:
    • (JP) #12: "January 1991" (1990-12-08)[22]
    Logo-pdf.svg

    Artwork

    Physical scans

    Master System version

    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Score Source
    {{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
    Based on
    0 review
    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Version Score
    (DE)
    67
    [23]
    (FR) PAL
    88
    [24]
    (UK) PAL
    82
    [25]
    (DE) PAL
    53
    [26]
    (FR)
    68
    [27]
    (FR) PAL
    73
    [28]
    (FR) PAL
    65
    [29]
    (FR) PAL
    55
    [30]
    (FR) PAL
    25
    [31]
    (DE) PAL
    74
    [32]
    (UK) PAL
    82
    [33]
    (DE)
    65
    [34]
    Sega Master System
    66
    Based on
    12 reviews

    Dragon Crystal

    Master System, EU
    DragonCrystal SMS EU Box.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal SMS EU Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Dragon Crystal SMS EU Manual.pdf
    Manual
    Master System, FR (Blister pack)
    DragonCrystal SMS FR blister back.jpgDragonCrystal SMS FR blister front.jpg
    Cover
    Master System, PT
    DragonCrystal SMS PT cover.jpg
    Cover
    Master System, AU (Hotline sticker)
    DragonCrystal SMS AU hotline cover.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal SMS AU Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Master System, AU (NIAL sticker)
    DragonCrystal SMS AU nial cover.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal SMS AU Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Master System, BR
    Dragoncrystal sms br cover.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal SMS BR Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Dragoncrystal sms br manual.pdf
    Manual
    Master System, MX
    DragonCrystal SMS MX Box.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal SMS EU Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Dragon Crystal SMS EU Manual.pdf
    Manual

    Game Gear version

    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Score Source
    {{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
    Based on
    0 review
    Sega Retro Average 
    Publication Version Score
    (UK)
    75
    [35]
    (JP) NTSC-J
    70
    [36]
    (UK) PAL
    86
    [37]
    (US)
    100
    [38]
    (US) NTSC-U
    88
    [39]
    (UK)
    74
    [40]
    (FR)
    73
    [41]
    (JP) NTSC-J
    50
    [42]
    (ES)
    78
    [43]
    (FR)
    65
    [44]
    (ES)
    70
    [45]
    (UK) PAL
    70
    [46]
    (UK) NTSC
    84
    [47]
    (UK) PAL
    25
    [48]
    (UK) PAL
    80
    [49]
    (UK)
    82
    [50]
    (JP) NTSC-J
    42
    [51]
    (DE)
    53
    [52]
    Sega Game Gear
    70
    Based on
    18 reviews

    Dragon Crystal

    Game Gear, JP
    DragonCrystal GG JP Box Back.jpgDragonCrystal GG JP Box Spine.jpgDragonCrystal GG JP Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal GG JP Cart.jpg
    Cart
    DragonCrystal GG JP Manual.pdf
    Manual
    Game Gear, US
    DragonCrystal GG US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngDragonCrystal GG US Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal GG US Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Dragoncrystal gg us manual.pdf
    Manual
    Game Gear, EU
    DragonCrystal GG EU Box Back.jpgDragon Crystal GG EU BoxSpine.jpgDragonCrystal GG EU Box Front.jpg
    Cover
    DragonCrystal GG US Cart.jpg
    Cart
    Dragon Crystal GG EU Manual.jpg
    Manual

    Technical information

    ROM dump status

    System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
    Sega Master System
     ?
    CRC32 9549fce4
    MD5 e05484f93011055c5b76ffabfea84367
    SHA-1 021c6983fdab4b0215ca324734deef0d32c29562
    128kB Cartridge (EU)
    Sega Game Gear
     ?
    CRC32 0ef2ed93
    MD5 8431baccd169025f79c9cbc44e31622d
    SHA-1 6d53f32001d419a5b5e9c16cb62e07e548d2f44a
    128kB Cartridge (US/EU)
    Sega Game Gear
     ?
    CRC32 89f12e1e
    MD5 da0b9e94ffb9c3930501c7a7a90fbf18
    SHA-1 ea323c4ac28d7762277039450c341d0f025093d8
    128kB Cartridge (JP)
    Sega Game Gear
    CRC32 baf4369d
    MD5 19bb76e91f6bdb94a9332135698227c2
    SHA-1 c7d1551b7bbc01f35fa849e5b05073012f76c3a8
    128kB 3DS Virtual Console (US/EU) VirtualConsole DragonCrystal 3DS USEU Icon.png
    Sega Game Gear
    CRC32 9c8534ec
    MD5 e6d6fdb864d7878b7b444c7200b84b7c
    SHA-1 df135dd54638e2ce1f18d670c98b0313484d70bc
    128kB 3DS Virtual Console (JP)

    External links

    • Sega of Japan 3DS VC catalogue pages: Game Gear
    • Nintendo catalogue pages: JP, US, UK, AU

    References

    1. http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Sanritsu
    2. https://www.mtwo.co.jp/development/retrogame-2/#tab-4
    3. File:DragonCrystal GG JP Box Front.jpg
    4. 4.0 4.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/gamegear/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2018-12-07 04:57)
    5. File:DragonCrystal GG EU Box Back.jpg
    6. File:DragonCrystal SMS EU Box.jpg
    7. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "April 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 29
    8. 8.0 8.1 File:DailyMirror_UK_1991-06-29_08.png
    9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sega Power, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-06), page 20
    10. Computer & Video Games, "July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-15), page 97
    11. Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1991-11-18), page 27
    12. Computer & Video Games, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-10-15), page 83
    13. http://www.segapda.com/gg/ggdetail?contentsID=SPDA9100000000209999 (Wayback Machine: 2003-08-11 08:01)
    14. 14.0 14.1 http://vc.sega.jp/3ds/crystal/ (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-23 23:11)
    15. 15.0 15.1 http://www.nintendo.com:80/games/detail/9RXBY2pwF8yA3KFlAzot_wUEEA_yOQ4F (Wayback Machine: 2012-03-09 00:01)
    16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 http://www.nintendolife.com/games/gamegear/dragon_crystal (Wayback Machine: 2017-06-24 20:56)
    17. https://www.nintendo.fr/Jeux/Console-virtuelle-Nintendo-3DS-/Dragon-Crystal--275572.html (archive.today)
    18. https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Virtual-Console-Nintendo-3DS-/Dragon-Crystal--275572.html (archive.today)
    19. https://www.nintendo.de/Spiele/Virtual-Console-Nintendo-3DS-/Dragon-Crystal--275572.html (archive.today)
    20. File:Dragon Crystal GG credits.pdf
    21. File:Dragon Crystal SMS credits.pdf
    22. Mega Drive Fan, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 124
    23. Aktueller Software Markt, "Februar 1992" (DE; 1992-01-10), page 122
    24. Consoles +, "Février 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 92
    25. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 140
    26. Gamers, "Februar/März 1992" (DE; 1992-xx-xx), page 34
    27. Joypad, "Janvier 1992" (FR; 1991-12-1x), page 52
    28. Joystick, "Décembre 1991" (FR; 1991-1x-xx), page 125
    29. Mega Force, "Novembre 1991" (FR; 1991-11-19), page 86
    30. Mega Force, "Janvier 1992" (FR; 1992-01-15), page 83
    31. Player One, "Décembre 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 94
    32. Play Time, "3/92" (DE; 1992-02-05), page 92
    33. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 70
    34. Video Games, "1/92" (DE; 1992-02-03), page 36
    35. ACE, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-07-08), page 73
    36. Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1991" (JP; 1991-01-08), page 85
    37. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 147
    38. Dragon, "Vol. XVI, No. 6: November 1991" (US; 1991-1x-xx), page 61
    39. GamePro, "June 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 58
    40. Games-X, "31st May 1991" (UK; 1991-05-24), page 36
    41. Génération 4, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 110
    42. Hippon Super, "February 1991" (JP; 1991-01-07), page 43
    43. Hobby Consolas, "Noviembre 1991" (ES; 1991-1x-xx), page 38
    44. Joystick, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 101
    45. Micromanía (segunda época), "Octubre 1991" (ES; 1991-xx-xx), page 36
    46. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 143
    47. Raze, "September 1991" (UK; 1991-07-25), page 48
    48. Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 61
    49. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 74
    50. Sega Pro, "December 1991" (UK; 1991-11-21), page 47
    51. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 88
    52. Video Games, "3/91" (DE; 1991-09-06), page 81


    Dragon Crystal

    DragonCrystal title.png

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    Dragon Crystal series of games
    Sega Game Gear
    Dragon Crystal (1990)
    Sega Master System
    Dragon Crystal (1991)
    Pocket PC
    Dragon Crystal (2002)
    i-mode 503i
    Dragon Crystal (2003) | Dragon Crystal II (2003)
    J-Sky (50KB)
    Dragon Crystal (2004) | Dragon Crystal II (2005)
    Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
    Dragon Crystal (2012)