Crystareino

Genre: Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Crystareino is a Turn-Based JRPG released on mobile devices in 2014 and ported to Nintendo 3DS in 2017. This game follows the story of a young mute hero-in-training in a medieval fantasy setting summoned, along with his animal companion and mentor, into a different world to defend them against an evil Demon King, a quest the pair immediately rejects to search for a way home, with their journey possibly also leading to questions about the connection between the two worlds.

The plot and characters here are decent, and the hook of the mystery regarding just what exactly is going on is compelling enough to keep players interested. However, all of this is despite a somewhat poor localization that makes the dialogue feel somewhat unnatural.

The rest of the presentation here is decent but not great, with 2D pixel art visuals reminiscent of the 16-bit era, and they have a little of that charm, but seem largely generic and repetitive. This is backed by a chiptune soundtrack that’s also somewhat repetitive, but it at least has a few decent tunes.

As for the gameplay, this is pretty typical Turn-Based JRPG fare, although the game does have a few nice ideas, like numerous optional escort quests that add temporary characters to your party. There’s nothing truly exceptional here, but it’s overall okay.

In the end, Crystareino is a decent but unspectacular throwback to classic Turn-Based JRPGs. It does little to distinguish itself within its genre, but it does at least manage to have a little of the charm of the classic games it resembles. You have numerous better options on the Nintendo 3DS, but at the very least players looking for an inexpensive and nostalgic JRPG should find this game to be a satisfying diversion.

tl;dr – Crystareino is a Turn-Based JRPG about a young hero-in-training and his animal companion mentor summoned to another world to fight an evil demon king. This is pretty standard old-school JRPG fare, though it does have at least a little of the charm of the classic games it’s designed to resemble. Do not expect anything noteworthy here, but fans of the genre looking for something inexpensive and old-school may find it worthwhile.

Grade: C

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