Dragon Crystal 1991 By: SEGA

Overview:

A great little D&D-ish RPG for the Game Gear that's reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda. It's very simple, but I find it very pleasant to play. The action of touching the walls to change their color and find hidden passages is very satisfying. The screens, items, and enemies are randomly generated so your game will be different every time.
The music is fun, but extremely repetitive. You're likely either to hate it after a bit, or just cease noticing it. It will change eventually, but it will be a while. The graphics aren't the best Game Gear graphics ever, but, like I said, it has a Zelda like feel that is appealing in its own way. Animation is extremely super fast. It can be very difficult or impossible to try to follow what is going on if you walk around constantly. Slow down and take one step at a time to get the pop up screens to come at a rate that you can actually read them.

Directions:

Basically wander around. If you don't find that enjoyable then this game is not for you. Me, I quite like just wandering around and finding things. The fights in this game are very simple. When you run into an enemy (I mean that literally, when you run into, I.E. walk up until you touch them) you will attack them automatically. Pressing forward towards the enemy will attack them. You can pick up different kinds of weapons and equipment that will increase your AC (armor class- how tough you are) or your PW (power- how hard you hit). You can also throw things at enemies by going into your menu.
Menu Screen
Access the menu screen by pressing A. Now you can move left and right through the different categories of items you've found. The first is your weapons. Weapons increase your power. Here you can change weapons by pressing B and then highlighting the weapon you wish to equip. Then you just press B again and choose which of the options you would like to perform. Press A to cancel and to exit this screen. If you throw an item it will be gone for good (or at least until you pick up another). If you drop an item it will appear on the ground. You can pick it back up as long as you don't leave this section by way of the pentacle. Next is the armor section. Armor increases your AC. This section works in the same fashion. Yes, you can thrown your armor. Next are the books, then rods, then pots. These are usable items which means that you cannot equip them. When you use them, they are gone. These items come in different colors. Each color does a different thing. Which color does what changes every time you play the game, so I can't give you a list of that. What I can tell you is how to safely identify these items. You throw them. The next item you pick up or have in that color will be identified from then on. Of course, you could also use the item to identify it, but this can be risky as not all effects are helpful. Rings are last and also come in colors, but these can be equipped for lasting effects. Rings must also be identified.
As you wander through the different maze-like places in the game, the walls will change as you touch them, sometimes revealing hidden passages, or sometimes revealing a pentacle (a star within a circle). Pentacles will transport you to a new, and sometimes different, place. Be sure that you have fully explored the area you are in before you use the pentacle. You don't want to miss any items or any fights with any monsters (that would mean lost experience!).
Note that as you stand still time does not pass. Time is only passing when you are actively doing something (not counting changing equipment). This means that you can stand in front of an enemy, and as long as you don't move or press B, nothing will happen. Pressing B allows time to pass without you having done anything. The main use for this will be to stand in a narrow pathway and let the monsters come to you one by one. You also get your health back (assuming you aren't poisoned and that you have food) as time passes. Other status changes like poisoning will go away with time as well. Food is important. You need it just to survive. Food allows you to regain your life as time passes. If you run out of food (the little guy will say he has run out of food on a yellow bordered pop up) you will begin to lose HP instead. You are now starving. Pick up more food to end this. Note that some potions will restore HP and some rings will effect food usage. A red bordered pop up means that you are dangerously low on health.
You will gain levels by fighting monsters. As you gain levels your HP (hit points- the number of times you can be hit before dying) will go up. Your power will also increase with your level. You can also lose levels through fights with certain monsters or using certain items. You will not lose power this way, only max HP. There are other ways in which your power can be effected in a negative fashion.
If you die and have enough money, you will be able to continue. Continuing allows identified items to stay identified, as well as the character to remain at the current level and keep the equipment he is currently wearing (other equipment and usable items will vanish). You will then be able to continue playing minus those things and the gold it cost. You can do this three times.
Other things you will notice in your menu screen status box at the bottom of the screen are: FL- This is the floor level. This tells you how far you've come in the game. In other words, it tells you how many different screens you've come to by use of the pentacle. Rank- Designated by a title like "Apprentice". G- The amount of gold you have. F- The amount of food you have. You can carry a max of 99 food.
Status Changes
Poisoned- blue border, means that you will not regain health, but will not cause you to lose health, wears off in time or cured by cure potion; Dizzy- you will move in random directions, wears off in time or cured by cure potion; Sluggish- you will be slow, cured by Slowfix potion; Fog- you have a limited field of vision and areas you have explored are no longer marked as such; Paralyzed- you can't do anything until time passes and it wears off, time will pass automatically while you are paralyzed.
Levels/Ranks
1 Apprentice
2 Ranger
3 Soldier
4 Warrior
5 Fighter
6 Swordsman
7 Veteran
8 Knight
9 Champion
10 Hero
11 Master
12 Paladin
13 Warlord
14 Dragonlord
15 Avatar
16 Masterlord
You may have noticed a little peach colored lump following you around. This is a dragon egg. As you gain levels the dragon will hatch and grow into an adult dragon. The dragon doesn't really do anything, but hey, at least nothing can attack you from behind!