Enjoy solving puzzles in dungeons, and strike up conversations with the people around the world. Battles with bosses feature conversations, which might even give you some hints about tactics! Fill the skill slots with the skills you like to be prepared for strategic turn-based battles. Find the ores to craft weapons and search around pots and objects to get items for your adventure. Watch over the fate of the crystal seekers until the end of their journey!
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My Review on Reddit with Images
KEY NOTES
-Turned-based combat
-Random encounters
-No voiced dialogue
-Very short game ~11 Hours
INTRODUCTION
Crystal Ortha was developed by Hit-Point, a developer that has contributed a lot of games to Kemco. I've played a few of their games at this point including Armed Emeth, Monochrome Order, and Legend of the Tetrarchs. Legend of the Tetrarchs was a solid game, but Armed Emeth and Monochrome Order were on the special side which has made Hit-Point my favorite of the Kemco developers. Crystal Ortha had only solidify my opinion on it.
STORY
Crystal Ortha follows a ragtag group of treasure hunters who are interested in seeking out the Mother Lode and the legendary Crystal Ortha. In a world where steam energy have been on the decline due to rise of the more powerful and efficient energy obtained from crystals, anyone able to find the legendary crystal and the Mother Lode of treasures will become rich beyond their wildest dreams.
The story starts off with Ross, a mercenary trying to make ends meet with his skilled fighting prowess, has a chance meeting with Margaret. The young woman from a wealthy household is seeking the Crystal Ortha for personal reasons and needs a bodyguard in her quest. Ross is quickly hired and together, they start their journey to find the legendary treasure.
Crystal Ortha's story is rather straightforward with a few plot twists here and there. None of the story development is particularly surprising and unexpected, but the execution was pleasantly fantastic. It had great adventure vibes as the group travels from places to places looking for clues on the treasure. It also has an interesting lore with ancient dragons from the past and their eventual transformation to crystals upon their deaths. Wars and conflicts between kingdoms are mentioned throughout the game which I also found interesting.
Despite the lore and world backstory, the game doesn't develop them much to my disappointment. The government and kingdoms never played much of a role in the story itself so they mostly exist just in the backstory. Even with my disappointment with those parts, I was hooked on the story since the beginning. By the end of the game, I enjoyed the various comedic moments as well as the surprisingly emotional ones. If I had a large complaint with the story, then it was simply just too short. I completed the game in about 11 hours and I wanted more from it since I was enjoying it a lot.
Among Hit-Point's catalogue, Crystal Ortha's story doesn't have the most interesting ideas or as unique, but it was a solid enjoyable one. It had good pacing and spends enough time with each major story event as needed and move one. There wasn't any plot point that felt bogged down unnecessarily.
CHARACTERS
Crystal Ortha doesn't have many characters especially since there's just four main characters in the party. Even with the small cast, the characters fortunately still shined well enough. Ross is likable warrior with a sad past. Margaret is the compassionate and headstrong young woman. Tee is the friendly mood maker with bountiful knowledge on treasures. Finally, Marsha is the lovable energetic young girl with a large thirst for knowledge on ancient dragons. Despite the group's very different backgrounds, they have great chemistry and their interactions are fun to see. The main characters are mostly one dimensional, but the leading couple do have extended backstories and a bit of nuance to their characters which made them stand out more. It wasn't a lot, but I was satisfied on that end.
The supporting characters are sadly on the weak side. There aren't any notable recurring characters and there isn't much in the way of antagonists. Some of the people they meet in the sidequests are more memorable in comparison, but they don't get much screentime overall.
GRAPHICS
Crystal Ortha uses the same graphics engine found in Hit-Point's other games so anybody familiar with those games wouldn't expect much difference here. The graphics aren't a strong point and I don't really care much for the heavily pixelated graphics here. I do like the character sprites though and Hit-Point did a good job in making them expressive with the various simple animations.
MUSIC
The soundtrack was probably the part that surprised me the most. There's only about 10 songs in the whole game with 5 of them being played most of the time. What it lacks in quantity, it makes up in quality. Most of the songs are very good and seemingly out of place for such a low budget game. I was blown away by the epic overworld song when I first heard it. The battle theme was catchy. The melancholic one that plays during emotional events resonated with me. Several of the dungeon songs were pretty great as well.
Overall, Crystal Ortha has my favorite soundtrack out of all the Kemco games I've played.
GAMEPLAY
Many of Crystal Ortha's game mechanics are taken from other Hit Point games. It is very similar to Legend of the Tetrarchs in particular. Combat is done in first person view and there's a visible turn order that can help plan the next few moves. Every character has an SP gauge that recovers a certain amount every turn. Combat moves at a very fast pace and it's very snappy. Enemies hit surprisingly hard, but your characters do the same which ends most battles quickly. Auto-battle can handle most of them too.
While the regular enemies are on the easy side, bosses provide decent challenges in part due to their unique skills, conditions and overall higher damage output. They require more careful strategizing in comparison. It's worth pointing out that like Legend of the Tetrarchs, there's no consumable items in the game either. It can be an annoyance for many people, but it wasn't too bad here or in Legend of the Tetrarchs. Battles generally don't last very long and since SP recovers every turn, most of the healing needed can just be gotten from the character skills. It also helps that Health is fully recovered after each battle.
Each character learns quite a lot of different skills which are obtained from both leveling up and finding certain items. Most of them can learn 20, but can only equip 5 for battle. They have many different effects attached to the standard damage you get from them making them pretty interesting. Marsha's skill system is a bit different since she doesn't learn any skills like the other characters. She's like a Blue Mage in Final Fantasy and can learn skills from monsters. Her normal attack command is replaced with the Learning command and deals damage the same way, but has the added effect of learning a monster skill when used.
Another unique mechanic that's carried over from Legend of the Tetrarchs are the Carmina equips. Carminas are passive abilities that the characters can equip. Carminas has a myriad of different effects which allow a certain degree of character customization. Unlike in Legend of the Tetrarchs however, each character here can only equip one Carmina at a time so that limits on the interesting potential builds. Carminas can be obtained in dungeons and towns which are clearly visible on the map.
Treasure chests are also visible on the map too, but special "Treasure" items aren't visible on the map. These items are invisible and requires interacting with an object on the field to obtain. They aren't that difficult to find, but are well worth exploring the nooks and cranny of a town or dungeon for them since they permanently increase the party stats.
SIDEQUESTS
Crystal Ortha only has 8 sidequests in the game. It's a rather small amount, but they are pretty decent compared to some stuff out there. They all have story and cutscenes and are pretty interesting themselves. Many optional side dungeons and bosses are available from these sidequests too which makes them well worth completing.
Other than the sidequests, there are a few secret areas and locations on the overworld which gives you more incentive to explore. The game was convenient enough to give a transportation vehicle right away to make traveling faster. It really helps deal with the very high rate of random encounters.
FINAL REMARKS
Crystal Ortha embodies what I like about some of the Kemco games. They aren't normally top quality games, but they are entertaining enough to try. Especially when you're waiting for the next big release and want something simple and light, but also has enjoyable JRPG mechanics. The game isn't very long and the combat mechanics are solid albeit on the easy side. The story is entertaining and the characters are likable. It's a good game to play over the weekend.
I'd still put Armed Emeth and Monochrome Order above Crystal Ortha, but this game was pretty good in of itself.
KEY NOTES
-Turned-based combat
-Random encounters
-No voiced dialogue
-Very short game ~11 Hours
INTRODUCTION
Crystal Ortha was developed by Hit-Point, a developer that has contributed a lot of games to Kemco. I've played a few of their games at this point including Armed Emeth, Monochrome Order, and Legend of the Tetrarchs. Legend of the Tetrarchs was a solid game, but Armed Emeth and Monochrome Order were on the special side which has made Hit-Point my favorite of the Kemco developers. Crystal Ortha had only solidify my opinion on it.
STORY
Crystal Ortha follows a ragtag group of treasure hunters who are interested in seeking out the Mother Lode and the legendary Crystal Ortha. In a world where steam energy have been on the decline due to rise of the more powerful and efficient energy obtained from crystals, anyone able to find the legendary crystal and the Mother Lode of treasures will become rich beyond their wildest dreams.
The story starts off with Ross, a mercenary trying to make ends meet with his skilled fighting prowess, has a chance meeting with Margaret. The young woman from a wealthy household is seeking the Crystal Ortha for personal reasons and needs a bodyguard in her quest. Ross is quickly hired and together, they start their journey to find the legendary treasure.
Crystal Ortha's story is rather straightforward with a few plot twists here and there. None of the story development is particularly surprising and unexpected, but the execution was pleasantly fantastic. It had great adventure vibes as the group travels from places to places looking for clues on the treasure. It also has an interesting lore with ancient dragons from the past and their eventual transformation to crystals upon their deaths. Wars and conflicts between kingdoms are mentioned throughout the game which I also found interesting.
Despite the lore and world backstory, the game doesn't develop them much to my disappointment. The government and kingdoms never played much of a role in the story itself so they mostly exist just in the backstory. Even with my disappointment with those parts, I was hooked on the story since the beginning. By the end of the game, I enjoyed the various comedic moments as well as the surprisingly emotional ones. If I had a large complaint with the story, then it was simply just too short. I completed the game in about 11 hours and I wanted more from it since I was enjoying it a lot.
Among Hit-Point's catalogue, Crystal Ortha's story doesn't have the most interesting ideas or as unique, but it was a solid enjoyable one. It had good pacing and spends enough time with each major story event as needed and move one. There wasn't any plot point that felt bogged down unnecessarily.
CHARACTERS
Crystal Ortha doesn't have many characters especially since there's just four main characters in the party. Even with the small cast, the characters fortunately still shined well enough. Ross is likable warrior with a sad past. Margaret is the compassionate and headstrong young woman. Tee is the friendly mood maker with bountiful knowledge on treasures. Finally, Marsha is the lovable energetic young girl with a large thirst for knowledge on ancient dragons. Despite the group's very different backgrounds, they have great chemistry and their interactions are fun to see. The main characters are mostly one dimensional, but the leading couple do have extended backstories and a bit of nuance to their characters which made them stand out more. It wasn't a lot, but I was satisfied on that end.
The supporting characters are sadly on the weak side. There aren't any notable recurring characters and there isn't much in the way of antagonists. Some of the people they meet in the sidequests are more memorable in comparison, but they don't get much screentime overall.
GRAPHICS
Crystal Ortha uses the same graphics engine found in Hit-Point's other games so anybody familiar with those games wouldn't expect much difference here. The graphics aren't a strong point and I don't really care much for the heavily pixelated graphics here. I do like the character sprites though and Hit-Point did a good job in making them expressive with the various simple animations.
MUSIC
The soundtrack was probably the part that surprised me the most. There's only about 10 songs in the whole game with 5 of them being played most of the time. What it lacks in quantity, it makes up in quality. Most of the songs are very good and seemingly out of place for such a low budget game. I was blown away by the epic overworld song when I first heard it. The battle theme was catchy. The melancholic one that plays during emotional events resonated with me. Several of the dungeon songs were pretty great as well.
Overall, Crystal Ortha has my favorite soundtrack out of all the Kemco games I've played.
GAMEPLAY
Many of Crystal Ortha's game mechanics are taken from other Hit Point games. It is very similar to Legend of the Tetrarchs in particular. Combat is done in first person view and there's a visible turn order that can help plan the next few moves. Every character has an SP gauge that recovers a certain amount every turn. Combat moves at a very fast pace and it's very snappy. Enemies hit surprisingly hard, but your characters do the same which ends most battles quickly. Auto-battle can handle most of them too.
While the regular enemies are on the easy side, bosses provide decent challenges in part due to their unique skills, conditions and overall higher damage output. They require more careful strategizing in comparison. It's worth pointing out that like Legend of the Tetrarchs, there's no consumable items in the game either. It can be an annoyance for many people, but it wasn't too bad here or in Legend of the Tetrarchs. Battles generally don't last very long and since SP recovers every turn, most of the healing needed can just be gotten from the character skills. It also helps that Health is fully recovered after each battle.
Each character learns quite a lot of different skills which are obtained from both leveling up and finding certain items. Most of them can learn 20, but can only equip 5 for battle. They have many different effects attached to the standard damage you get from them making them pretty interesting. Marsha's skill system is a bit different since she doesn't learn any skills like the other characters. She's like a Blue Mage in Final Fantasy and can learn skills from monsters. Her normal attack command is replaced with the Learning command and deals damage the same way, but has the added effect of learning a monster skill when used.
Another unique mechanic that's carried over from Legend of the Tetrarchs are the Carmina equips. Carminas are passive abilities that the characters can equip. Carminas has a myriad of different effects which allow a certain degree of character customization. Unlike in Legend of the Tetrarchs however, each character here can only equip one Carmina at a time so that limits on the interesting potential builds. Carminas can be obtained in dungeons and towns which are clearly visible on the map.
Treasure chests are also visible on the map too, but special "Treasure" items aren't visible on the map. These items are invisible and requires interacting with an object on the field to obtain. They aren't that difficult to find, but are well worth exploring the nooks and cranny of a town or dungeon for them since they permanently increase the party stats.
SIDEQUESTS
Crystal Ortha only has 8 sidequests in the game. It's a rather small amount, but they are pretty decent compared to some stuff out there. They all have story and cutscenes and are pretty interesting themselves. Many optional side dungeons and bosses are available from these sidequests too which makes them well worth completing.
Other than the sidequests, there are a few secret areas and locations on the overworld which gives you more incentive to explore. The game was convenient enough to give a transportation vehicle right away to make traveling faster. It really helps deal with the very high rate of random encounters.
FINAL REMARKS
Crystal Ortha embodies what I like about some of the Kemco games. They aren't normally top quality games, but they are entertaining enough to try. Especially when you're waiting for the next big release and want something simple and light, but also has enjoyable JRPG mechanics. The game isn't very long and the combat mechanics are solid albeit on the easy side. The story is entertaining and the characters are likable. It's a good game to play over the weekend.
I'd still put Armed Emeth and Monochrome Order above Crystal Ortha, but this game was pretty good in of itself.