SNK Flashback Author: DJ Tigresa and MC Pantera Email: djtigresa@classicgaming.com and MC Pantera Our websites: http://www.classicgaming.com/donkeykong, http://www.forumplanet.com/classicgaming/donkeykong, http://www.forumplanet.com/planetnintendo/goldensun http://www.vgmuseum.com Contact info: VXplosive(AIM - Tigresa), Kab00m2k4 (AIM - Pantera), djtigerbabe@hotmail.com (MSN –Tigresa), and blackpantherbabe@hotmail.com (MSN-Pantera). Disclaimer: This FAQ/Movelist is the copyright of Tigresa and Pantera Steel. If you want to use this FAQ on any of your sites, give us a ring-a-ding-ding on our email addresses or at our forums. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crystalis SNK (c)1990 No. of Players: 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Man has yet to learn the lesson of war, and in the year 1997, the world suffers a catastrophic conflict—shifting on its axis. Many of its creatures mutate into unrecognizable monsters. Some do survive, however, and they vow to prevent another war. They erect a great flying tower whose power repels evil. But now you arrive as if from nowhere. There is again evil. And its your task to find out why. Although it isn’t clear at the beginning of the game who you are, it is clear that you are a hero, perhaps a long-awaited savior. People everywhere provide you with information and items necessary to your success. As you progress through the game, you obtain swords of increasing power, special items, and magic spells. In the end, you’ll become a mighty warrior, capable of bringing an end to evil once more. Your character’s status is measured in several ways: Experience Points indicate how far he has to go to get to the next level. For each new level, he needs more points. Life Force measures his health. If the Life Force falls to zero, he dies. His maximum Life Force increases as his level increases. Magic Points measure his ability to cast magic spells. The maximum Magic Points increases as his level increases. There are also ratings for attack and defense which increase with his level and vary with the weapons and armor he’s using. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D-pad: move Selcet: Pause to item selection Start: Status Screen/Save or Load Game screen from Item Selection screen A button: Use Magic/Rabbit Boots B button: Use Sword or Special Items ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weapons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In some ways, this game is all about weapons, but you’ll learn more about that later. Anyway, swords are your main weapon, and there are four main swords in the game. Although each sword can stab normally, they are at their best when charged up to fire magical energy. The four swords harness four natural elements—Wind, Fire, Water, and Thunder. In addition, each sword can be charged up to one of three levels, depending on which items you are using with them. Swords also have additional powers. For instance, the Sword of Wind can break down stone barriers at the second power level. The Sword of Fire can melt ice barriers, the Sword of Water can make bridges across narrow waterways, and the Sword of Thunder can break through uncooperative doors. To further complicate things, some swords will not work against some enemies. In fact, part of the intrigue of this game is to figure out which sword to use. If you hear a ping sound, it’s the wrong one. At the third power level, each sword is truly remarkable, but at a price. Each time you use the sword at full power, you also use valuable magic points. For that reason, it’s best to save the full power of the sword for special occasions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Armor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the game you’ll purchase or find different items of armor. Get what you can afford, but realize that today’s armor is tomorrow’s bargain sale. You’ll start with simple items like Leather Armor and a Carapace Shield, but you’ll get some much useful items later on. These include a Battle Armor and Battle Shield and the ever so popular Psycho Armor and Psycho Shield. You’ll also get an assortment of rings that have very definite uses. Most items of armor simply help protect you, but the Warrior Ring, the Power Ring, and the Psycho Armor have additional abilities that you will discover when you get them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are eight spells to learn in this game, though you start with no spells. As you complete certain quests and gain experience, certain powerful wizards will teach you new spells. Each spell has its uses, some more than others. Each spell uses a certain amount of magic energy and consumes some Magic Points. Refresh restores your Life Force. Paralysis will cause people to fall asleep. Telepathy lets you communicate with distant wise men. It also lets you speak with alien creatures. Teleport allows you to return to any town you’ve visited before. Restore cures you of poison or paralysis. Barrier lets you put a force field around your body. Change lets you change your form. Flight lets you fly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like most role playing games, Crystalis doesn’t keep score, but you will watch your experience points carefully. As you progress from one experience to another, you become more and more powerful. The highest level is 16. You have only one life to give, but you can give it again and again. The most common way to lose your life is to lose all the energy in your life line. There aren’t any other ways to die instantly, like falling off a cliff or walking on deadly spikes. In this game, you mostly die from the damage you receive at the hands (paws, talons, stingers, or teeth) of your enemies. There are some areas that will damage you, but you’ll learn soon enough how to avoid contact with them. Fortunately, your powers of revival are very good. You can continue this game into the next century with the battery backup. Moreover, if you don’t turn off the power, you can often continue from a location very close to your last major encounter. However, there are places, mostly in the underground mazes and in certain buildings, where you can’t save. There are two positions in which to save. Therefore, you can’t have a whole lot of different saved games, but if you aren’t sure you made the right move, you can use the alternate save to test things out before saving to the main save position. This game is loaded with special items. Some items are used only to fulfill quests while others are necessary to win the game. Many items disappear after you use them once. You’ll use other items many times. Learn more in the Basic Strategy area. In addition to the many items, there’s money. You’ll need money throughout the game. You have many friends in the world. In fact, most of the people you meet are friends though people aren’t always what they seem. You do have several powerful allies, though. These wise men help guide you throughout the game. Also, there’s a mysterious girl named Mesia, but you have to learn who she is as you play the game. The wise men are Zebu, Asina, Azteca, and Tome!. They will teach you the spells and give you items and clues as you prove worthy. Other friends are Stom, Akahana, and Kensu. Sometimes people who don’t start out as friends can change. It’s up to you to find ways to make more friends. Sometimes you’ll want to do someone a favor. Other times, you may want to wear a disguise. There are 11 towns in this game, each in its own area of the world. In time, you’ll visit them all, but I won’t reveal all the secrets of this game as to not spoil everything. You’ll find shops and inns as well as residences and palaces. Other towns have special places to visit, and you’ll discover them as you explore the game. Be sure to talk to people. They will tell you many strange tales. There are lots of monsters in every area, but they are only the basic challenge of the game. You’ll use these enemies to charge up your character (to earn Experience Points and Gold). However, you’ll soon learn that your real enemies are powerful sorcerers who will kill you at the first opportunity. Learn their weaknesses to succeed at the game. On the surface world, the most dangerous enemies are the ones who fly around you and shoot things. You won’t encounter them at first. The second most dangerous opponents are the ones that throw axes. They can ruin your party if you let them. Under the ground are the really nasty monsters. These ones will poison or paralyze you if you touch them. Many of them also shoot out special beams that can paralyze you or even turn you to stone. You must learn which sword to use on each enemy. The ultimate villain is Emperor Draygon. He and his allies are causing great suffering throughout the world, and you will have to defeat him. More than that, we won’t say at this point. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extra notes before We begin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crystalis combines action and strategy, so you’ll need fast reflexes as well as fast thinking. The most important strategies to learn are how to find the clues and how to charge up your character. Finding clues is easy. You simply talk to everyone. Pay attention to what they say. Most of the puzzles in this game are fairly easy to figure out. Sometimes you need to explore a while before you understand what’s being said, but you can always go back and talk to the same people again. Actually, that’s not always true. Sometimes people you spoke with before will be gone, but it’s almost always true. To charge up, simply find some enemies to fight and go to it. Preferably, find enemies who won’t damage you and who are easy to beat. Stay close to town so you can go back and rest at the Inn if you get low on energy. You’ll need to charge up frequently, starting right from the beginning of the game, so get used to it. There are a few good places to charge up at different stages of the game. If you use a little patience and keep going up levels, you’ll find the game much easier. In fact, until you reach certain levels, you can’t even beat some of the enemies you meet. If you try every option against an enemy and all you hear is “ping,” you know you need to charge up. The most important (and obvious) technique is to keep the sword charged up. What’s great about this game is that you can walk around with the sword fully charged and ready to fire. Even if you can’t always kill an enemy with a shot, you can almost always drive it back so it can’t attack you. Sometimes you’ll use the sword simply to make a path and use your superior speed to maneuver around your enemies. With enemies in caves that throw things or shoot paralysis beams, keep them off the screen if you can. Charge up the sword, then creep forward, blast them, and retreat if necessary to recharge. Sometimes that works. Most enemies that throw or shoot something will stop just before they do so. Watch their movement and dodge to the side to avoid being hit. Sometimes you can overwhelm an enemy with a furious stabbing attack. Just rush up with the sword swinging as fast as you can. Another technique to use with the Fire Sword is to follow the beam it shoots at second power. Maximize its effect by moving forward with it. Often it will get extra hits on your target, or hit other enemies behind the first one. Once you get the bracelets for your sword, it will always have second power available. However, if you have the wrong item selected (for instance, the Thunder Bracelet with the Fire Sword), the sword only allows first level charging. Be sure to de select any special items you don’t want. =============================================================================== Around Leaf =============================================================================== At the start of the game, talk to the people in the town of Leaf, get some money and your first sword, then go out to the North and shoot slimes and tigers to gain Experience Points and more money. Work your way up to Level 2. Save the game whenever you make a new level. Keep your sword charged up and don’t run around too fast or you’ll bump into an enemy by mistake. Once you reach Level 2, explore the cave to the West where you’ll meet Zebu. Then explore the cave to the North. You need to wake up the guy in the cave, and there’s an item for sale that will do it. If you can figure that puzzle out, the rest is academic. Once you get the Windmill operating, a new cave opens. Explore it. You’ll find the Ball of Wind in there as well as a few other goodies (including the Rabbit Boots). Be sure to go back to town to recharge at the Inn and save the game if you get in trouble. Use the Ball of Wind to break down the barriers. Finally, you’ll find your way to the first mini-boss character. Beat him with the sword, using the Refresh spell if you need it. Continue back into the cave to find the exit. =============================================================================== Around Brynmaer, Oak, and Mt. Sabre =============================================================================== Now you’ll find yourself in a new area. Just outside the cave and to the South you’ll find the city of Brynmaer. Talk to people there and buy some armor if you want. The Carapace Shield is good, though costly. Outside town, look near the river for the lost statue. When you have it, return it to its owner and get the Gas Mask. Now head Northeast, over a bridge, and East again. There’s a way to avoid those black damage areas. Try not walking through them, but using a different method of travel. Anyway, if you enter the poisonous forest, you’ll eventually find the town of Oak where nobody talks to you. Leave that town and go back where you came from. Look North, and eventually you’ll find a place where your skills are tested by Tornel and Stom. Don’t give up if you fail at first. Keep pressing the attack button to pass the test. You should be at least Level 4 by now. Once you pass the test, you gain the Telepathy spell. Now go back to Oak and listen to what people say. You should be able to figure out what to do to help them. When you succeed, you’ll get the Fire Sword and the Insect Flute. Find the right place to play the flute and then beat the giant beetle that comes to attack. You get the Ball of Flame here. Return to Oak and talk to people. Rest if you need to. Having succeeded in the forest, you can head back to Brynmaer to rest and to get some more clues. Charge up your character’s experience and money with the Fire Sword on the blue mushrooms Southeast of town. Keep walking around where the mushrooms are and they’ll keep appearing. Finally, save the game and head West into the snow. You’re going to have to explore this area on your own. There are several caves, new and more dangerous enemies, and some new plot twists. Eventually you’ll need to find the Tornado Bracelet, give it to Tornel to receive the Teleport spell, free the prisoners (your former friends from Leaf), and fight the next boss, General Kelbesque One hint There's more than one path leading to Mt. Sabre. You’ll need to explore both of them. Once you succeed, you’ll get the Flame Bracelet, the Paralysis spell, and you’ll go on to the next phase of the game. =============================================================================== Around Portoa =============================================================================== In Portoa, it can get pretty tricky. Basically, talk to everyone. You’ll need to talk to the Queen several times, but you’ll need to get help from one of the other characters in town to see her. Eventually, you’ll want to find out what’s behind the door in her throne room. Use a spell to gain access to the chamber when the Queen isn’t there. Then you’ll get a clue that leads you to the next quest. There are several quests you’ll need to complete and several caves to explore. First, explore the cave behind the waterfall and you’ll get the next sword, the Sword of Water. You can also charge up in this cave to get up to Level 8 or more. If you explore thoroughly, you can get the Shield Ring as well. Next, you’ll return to Portoa where you’ll get the next clue which leads you to the Ball of Water. With this item, you can now make bridges across the narrow sections of the rivers. With the Ball of Water, go to the area behind the throne room and explore. Be sure to carry a Medicinal Herb with you. Finally, if you found the boatman’s daughter, you know that her father is gone searching for a lost lamp. Explore the caves East of Portoa to find it. By this point you should be at Level 9. Before you leave on the boat, be sure you’ve explored both Eastern caves in the area outside of Portoa. There’s one to the North and one to the South. In the Southern cave, you’ll find an overworld area without any enemies or towns. If you explore thoroughly, you’ll find something that will be valuable later. The next step may not seem too obvious, but you want to teleport back to Brynmaer, use the Sword of Water to make a bridge across the river, and head South to find the town of Amazones. There’s a building that you can’t enter because the woman in front won’t allow it. Find a way to get in, then find the Blizzard Bracelet. Now teleport back to Portoa. Finally, when you’re ready, give the Fog Lamp to the boatman and then use the boat to go West. The boat only takes you so far, so you’ll have to find some other transportation from there. If you completed the explorations in and around Portoa, you should know what to do. =============================================================================== Around Joel =============================================================================== Head West and search for a sandy path. It leads to the town of Joel. Once you get to Joel, talk to people and get any clues you need, then go back to the water and head West again. You’ll find a cave where some stationary sea creatures live. If you’re at least Level 9, you can use the Sword of Fire to charge up your character very quickly here. This is one of the best places in the game to charge up, so use it to get to Level 11 or 12. If you’re cautious, go back to Joel and save the game before venturing into the second cave at the end of this one. This second cave leads to a whole new set of adventures. First, you must find the Iron Necklace. It’s well hidden in the maze. Then, you’ll find your way to a small outpost where there’s a temple. The town has been taken over by zombies, but you can find a friend named Clark if you try. Then head into the temple. You’ll meet the sorcerer from the first cave again, but then you’ll meet Sabera. One hint, though. In this temple, you have to figure out who your friends are. If you defeat Sabera, you’ll get a broken statue. Doesn’t sound like much, but you may as well take it. Return to the little outpost and talk to everyone, including Clark. You’ll learn some important information. Now teleport back to Joel and rest if you need to. There’s something very tricky in this town. If you saw Clark after defeating Sabera, you have a special item. Try looking around and you’ll discover the secret. A secret s near. If you figure out what’s going on in Joel, you’ll be able to calm the angry seas by using certain items. Find the island in the Northern seas and place a certain object on the altar there. There’s one last piece of business here. To the South of Joel, you’ll find a water cave. Along the North wall of that cave is a hidden item. You just have to go to the right part of the wall to get it. It’s called the Love Pendant. Find it, then go Northeast through the ocean, get the Barrier spell, and find the city called Swan. =============================================================================== Around Swan, Shyron, and Mt. Hydra =============================================================================== This next section can get tricky, but once again, people aren’t always what they seem. Use the Paralysis spell on the right people, give the Love Pendant to the right person, and you will be rewarded with a new kind of magic, the Change spell. You’ll need to use this new spell to get in and out of some of the cities now. They are heavily guarded against attack. Head West to find the city of Shyron. Get clues and items from the people there. Especially get the key from Zebu. Then go back and take the North fork of the road just East of Shyron. That takes you onto Mt. Hydra. Explore the caves there to find the Sword of Thunder. You’ll need to explore carefully and defeat some new and powerful enemies. When you pass through the gate into the temple, use the Barrier spell to get past the statues, and wear the Iron Necklace against the guardian you meet. Eventually you’ll find the Sword of Thunder. You’ll learn a lot more about your quest at this point. Now you want to buy some good armor. Get the Ceramic Armor and the Sacred Shield. Also get the Battle Shield. These are costly items, but you should have saved up some money. If not, go back to the caves and charge up. You should be able to reach Level 14 and collect a lot of money at the same time. When you’re ready, head East toward Swan and then go North when you leave Mt. Hydra. Enter the fortress of Goa. =============================================================================== The rest =============================================================================== In Goa, talk to people and get some clues, then head up to the temple in the North part of town. As soon as you reach the living door, you’ll receive word from Shyron. Teleport back to Shyron where you’ll find the situation is not good. Go back to the temple where you met Zebu and fight Mado. Once you drive him off, you’ll get the Ball of Thunder. Return to Goa and blast through the doorway in the temple. Use the Sword of Thunder. Find your way through a tricky maze and you’ll encounter General Kelbesque again. Beat him once and for all to get the Opel Statue, then continue North. This is the first of several battles you’ll encounter. If you die, you go back to a place earlier in the maze, so you can keep trying until you succeed. When you meet Zebu, he heals you. Save the game here, then continue North. Once you find your way through the maze, you’ll come to a new pathway. Fight Sabera again (the same way you did before) and meet Tornel. Keep on exploring past this room. You’ll have to cross a damage area and several moving platforms, but eventually you’ll find Mado again. This time, take care of him for good and get a Sacred Shield. Now you’ll have to do some more exploration. Just past the room where you meet Asina is a place where you can charge up to Level 15. Then you’ll eventually find your way to Kensu, who has some problems. You can solve those problems, but you’ll have to go down to the next level and fight Karmine. Beat Karmine, and you get the Ivory Statue. You’ll know what to do with it. You should also pick up the Storm Bracelet now. Once you finish in this temple, you’ll have the Flight spell. Go out the back of Kensu’s room and head down and through the cave. Fly or jump over the glowing damage area (you can use the Rabbit Boots) and explore another maze. The Flight spell is useful here. Be sure to find the Battle Armor and the Power Ring (which is a very important item). At this point in the game, you need to wrap up several more details. Find your way out of the current maze and into a new area. You’ll need to find Dea’s Pendant, but to get it, you’ll need to communicate with some strange creatures. Maybe take another form to do it? Then you’ll find the town of Sahara. Now you need several more items. The Warrior Ring is another important item. You’ll need to use the Change spell in Goa to impersonate someone. The Bow of Moon is in Amazones, but you’ll have to figure out how to get it. The Bow of Sun is in the caves near Shyron, but you need the Flight spell to get to it. Finally, explore the caves still more to find the Psycho Shield. You’ll need this, so explore very thoroughly. You might use the Flight spell to get across a small river. Go back to Sahara and use the cave East of town to charge up to Level 16. When you’re ready, save the game and head for the temple just outside the cave. Use the Flight spell to get inside, then find your way to the Emperor’s room. Defeat him (at least for now) and get the all-important Psycho Armor. Get the Bow of Truth from Azteca and then leave the temple. Notice how the Psycho Armor helps you when you stand still. Now you’re nearing the end of your mission. You can feel it, right? The energy is charging through you. Go North to a new entrance and fly into it. You might want to return to Sahara to recharge and save the game first, though. You’ll need to use certain items in this temple, but they should be pretty obvious. If you don’t succeed the first time, you can always come back. If you’re stuck, check the next post. Explore the maze in this temple and find the Emperor. Defeat him and continue onward. You’ll have to climb the Tower to get to the end of the game. From here on, it’s up to you. The ending is worth the effort, so go to it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Strategies + more ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To fight the first mini-boss, use the Wind Sword and keep moving around to avoid the bats (or kill them, but they keep reappearing). Stop long enough to charge up the sword to second power and blast the sorcerer when he appears. Be patient. If you’re very near him, stab him as quickly as you can with the sword, but it’s more effective to keep your distance and shoot the sword. To fight the giant insect, simply position yourself near its attacking beam and wait with the sword charged. When the insect moves to line up on you, fire and move out of the way. Avoid the dragonflies by moving in a circular motion to throw them off. Hit the insect about nine times. To beat General Kelbesque, use the Wind Sword on full power and give him as many shots as you can. Keep moving to avoid his attacks and you should defeat him. You may want to be at Level 6 for this battle. To beat Sabera in the first temple, use the Fire Sword on full strength. A couple of good shots will make Sabera retreat. Here’s a secret. After you get the Sword of Thunder, you’ll be almost ready to head for Goa. Before you leave, though, drop all your one-time items and buy as many Magic Rings as you can for 800 gold each. This is the best deal around, and it won’t be available later in the game. You’ll really want these rings during the finals stages of the game, so try not to waste them. To beat Mado, use the Sword of Water at full strength. He seems to be most vulnerable when he’s not bouncing around the room in a ball. Hit him a few times with full strength water blasts and he’ll retreat. To defeat General Kelbesque the second time, use the Sword of Wind on full power again. This time, the General has a new attack. The Barrier spell will block his attacks, but you’ll need spell points for the third level attacks, so just dodge around the room and attack when you can. To beat Mado the second time, wear the Iron Necldace and use the Sword of Water again. To beat Karmine, use the Sword of Thunder, the Iron Necklace, and the Battle Shield. Don’t get hit by his magic spells, or it’s all over. Keep dodging his attacks and hit him as often as possible with the sword’s second power level. When you meet the Emperor the first time, use the Sword of Thunder on full power. A couple of hits makes him retreat. When you get into the final temple, use the Bow of Moon and the Bow of Sun very quickly at the doorway. When you fight the Emperor the second time, first use the Bow of Truth to reveal his real form. Then fight him with the Sword of Thunder on full strength. However, you must wear the Power Ring and you must hit him when he’s shooting beams and his heart is exposed. Any other time will have no effect. Hit him with a few good shots of the thunder and he’s dust. To clear each floor of the Tower, first use the Warrior Ring. You can shoot lightning very quickly with this ring on. Get rid of the first wave of sentries. When the silver sentries appear, switch to the Power Ring and blast them with the full power of the Sword of Thunder. Go up the escalators when they appear. Recharge your Life Force between floors and use a Magic Ring to recharge your magic. Then repeat for each floor until you reach the top. To defeat Dyna, the final boss. There is a safe spot at the top of the screen and to the left of the eye where you can safely mount an offense when the eye opens.