Crystal Breaker (TERARIN GAMES) (PC/Steam)

[FunktionJCB]

TERARIN GAMES (Raging Blasters, Moon Dancer, Terra Flame, ...) just launched a Steam page for another upcoming shmup title, Crystal Breaker:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2772 ... l_Breaker/

If it follows the release pattern of their other titles, it should be getting console releases a bit after its PC/Steam launch.

Here's a couple of screenshots:

[vanessamorse]

Thanks for sharing it. Its gameplay is really interesting.

[FunktionJCB]

A demo was released on Steam, since the developer is looking for feedback on the gameplay:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2778 ... aker_Demo/

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The stylized font used for the Crystal Breaker game title reminds me of the usual freestyled graffiti lettering that you'd see on travelling train cars rolling on by, especially on the box cars indeed. Plays flawlessly on a Steam Deck setup with the on-board controls provided. Is a nod/tribute towards those classic Hudson Soft/Compile stg caravan 2 minute & 5 minute excursions released back in the mid-1980s and into the early-1990s era with the dedicated FC/NES/PCE gaming platforms. Very well done two-stage demo sampler.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[PC Engine Fan X!]

As of today, 11/21/2024, on the USA region Switch eShop site, Terarin Games has released a 126mb two stage demo d/l (at Demo Version 1.0.0 with an arcade-spec silky-smooth 60fps framerate at it's best + HD Vibration support from the "get-go" + two different music versions in "Original" or "Chiptune" format during gaming session runs + button functionality is completely remappable) of it's upcoming Crystal Breaker stg title slated for a scheduled 11/28/2024 release (as a tentative 174mb d/l for the "full release" game itself). Plays awesome on an oled endowed Switch setup indeed. Just head on down to the Switch game demoes section and d/l it today.

As a pre-order Switch Crystal Breaker stg bonus, automatically save 20% off the initial MSRP of $14.99 usd and only pay $13.49 usd (a cool instant $1.50 savings "right on the spot"). Discount offer is good until the end of 12/05/2024.

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The only omission is the lack of an obligatory "scanline" filter but by using an external HD SLG (Scanline Generator) device installed between the Switch and your preferred gaming monitor/HDTV/UHDTV setup, that particular pressing issue/problem is remedied/solved quite easily.
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Upon starting CB for the first time, only the first stage "Aqua Lancer" is selectable/playable -- beat the end-stage boss and you'll unlock the second stage aptly titled "Purple Fly" to test your mettle/prowess at. The name of each stage is an important subtle clue/hint that refers to that particular named end-stage boss that you'll eventually encounter/face-off with. If you can score a minimum of 2,000,000 points on stage 2, you'll earn an extend/1up. CB is a nod/tribute towards the classic Compile released Caravan games (the Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade Caravan games on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 consoles are the primary sources of inspiration in this instance/case here) from the late 1980s and into the early 1990s era. CB has that unmistakable addictive quality of just "one more try" factor -- it's a solid doujin caravan stg title worthy of your time on the venerable Switch gaming platform.

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ProTip: On stage 2, the bonus block with the picture of a cat is randomized for each run -- uncover it and score an extra cool 50,000 points added to your overall score. Your best personal scores for each stage is saved for posterity (including the elapsed time to achieve it). It'd be nice if "replay functionality" was implemented for each stage to "watch/learn from" at your leisure (on the Switch though, up to 30 seconds of the most recent session can be saved for safekeeping if it needed be).
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The Steam port of CB is slated for a 11/27/2024 release date.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[FunktionJCB]

The game is out now on Steam and the Switch.
Here's the link to the Steam page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2772 ... l_Breaker/

[PC Engine Fan X!]

On the USA region Switch eShop, Terarin Games' caravan based stg Crystal Breaker (at version 1.0.1) is finally available to purchase at the discounted price of $13.49 as of today, 11-28-2024. It's a 163mb d/l in it's entirety (compared to it's Switch demo counterpart which is a 126mb d/l by itself). Eight caravan stages awaits the hard-core stg player to unlock. CB truly looks at it's best if played on an Oled-based Switch setup or if played on a 1st-gen LCD-based Switch, it's still impressive nonetheless.

If you have the Switch's wi-fi functionality implemented, it'll say "Connecting" on the initial boot up screen -- meaning that CB has online leaderboard support for all eight stages from the "get-go" (the Top 10 rankings worldwide which includes Japan, USA, etc.) but no ability to save replays of your best scoring sessions (which in hindsight, is a necessity with new stg releases nowadays -- perhaps a future firmware update could add that type of game enhancement/functionality). Pressing the "+" button pauses the current CB gaming session at hand.

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ProTip: If you select "Online Ranking" and highlight "Top 10" and press either left or right with the left analog stick or left D-pad, a new "Around Yours" online ranking category is listed with your ranked listing that is updated instantly (upon completing chosen stage at hand) -- discovered this non-disclosed hidden feature by "accident/trial 'n' error" as it's not mentioned within the "in-game" CB stg manual itself nor has Terarin Games mentioned this little nugget of "your own online personal score ranking" functionality/feature whatsoever prior to CB's release. How cool is that?
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As it stands, the Switch port of CB is quite an awesome tribute to the classic PCE/TG-16 caravan stgs found within Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade at their best. Terarin Games is definitely improving/getting better with each new stg release that they develop -- with CB, has the upper hand in terms of overall solid and well-honed gameplay & game mechanics in spades.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Creamy Goodness]

How does this compare to Raging Blasters and Missile Dancer? I've played RB more than MD which I really just dabbled in. And although I like the concept of these games, there was just something missing to really hook me. I think for RB at least, it just felt like the lack of variation in graphics and enemy patterns just made the game feel very repetitive. This one looks good so I am hoping that is not the case here.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

For Creamy Goodness,

With the Switch port of Crystal Breaker, it has that unmistakable addictive factor of "just one more try" factor if you fail to clear your chosen caravan stage at hand in one attempt -- yes, it's really that good! A Switch arcade stick (the Hori Switch Real Arcade Pro V Hayabusa released back in 2018) is recommended for that classic "arcade caravan stg experience" that can't be replicated any other way.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[beer gas canister]

How does this compare to Raging Blasters and Missile Dancer? I've played RB more than MD which I really just dabbled in. And although I like the concept of these games, there was just something missing to really hook me. I think for RB at least, it just felt like the lack of variation in graphics and enemy patterns just made the game feel very repetitive. This one looks good so I am hoping that is not the case here.

I feel the same way about RB and Moon Dancer. Based on the demo, Crystal Breaker seems to play to Terarin's strengths more than those did. Enemy tempo is satisfying, guns feel better, stages are densely packed. An absence of enemy collision damage contributes to a distinctive play feel. Give it a shot.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

On Stage 3 of the Switch port of Crystal Breaker, there is a cool background sprite scaling effect that plays out in "real time" that also occurs with Stage 4 as well (more of a nod/tribute towards the classic Taito F3 arcade hardware platform with it's slick ability to do 2-D sprite scaling effects in "real time"). You'll see them upon reaching stages 3 and 4 indeed. Sadly, no 2-D sprite scaling effects occur with the initial first two-stage demo of the Switch CB port though -- that is a given.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[PC Engine Fan X!]

On the Steam Deck, Crystal Breaker is a miniscule 84.04mb d/l and does not require an assistant Proton boot loader app to boot up/run. It does have various screen sizing options including "full screen" (that the Switch port of CB doesn't have from the "get-go" anyways). Quite a vivid and colorful caravan stg (even if played on a 1st-gen LCD-based Steam Deck setup with it's native 1280 x 800 resolution screen presentation).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Darkseed_5150]

I wish they'd include a way to center the screen and hide the info scrolling on the side. For some reason it's very distracting in this game.

[Creamy Goodness]

How does this compare to Raging Blasters and Missile Dancer? I've played RB more than MD which I really just dabbled in. And although I like the concept of these games, there was just something missing to really hook me. I think for RB at least, it just felt like the lack of variation in graphics and enemy patterns just made the game feel very repetitive. This one looks good so I am hoping that is not the case here.

I feel the same way about RB and Moon Dancer. Based on the demo, Crystal Breaker seems to play to Terarin's strengths more than those did. Enemy tempo is satisfying, guns feel better, stages are densely packed. An absence of enemy collision damage contributes to a distinctive play feel. Give it a shot.

Thank you. Ended up picking it up. Overall gameplay is good, but one thing that I guess I did not pay enough attention for is the lack of a cohesive arcade mode. Not feeling the setup where each stage is a caravan mode. I understand it is a game focused on scoring, but a true arcade mode for a 1cc would've been nice.

[CStarFlare]

Been playing this the last couple of days and really dig it. I've always been skeptical of Terarin's games - they always seemed a little uninspired. Crystal Breakers is basically a collection of Caravan stages with a bit of a scoring system layered on top which keeps things more enticing than other Caravan-inspired titles. The chaining is an interesting concept for a caravan game and mostly works. Crystal collecting also gives you another thing to juggle in addition to "kill everything as fast as possible", and since you get 100k for every 100 you collect that's also a pretty significant bonus. There's a few guys on the leaderboards who are clearly trying, but one guy who seems to be doing much better than the rest of us (+a couple hundred k over #2 on each of the leaderboards, which seems reasonable with tight attention to crystal collections/chaining).

For critiques... as far as I can tell, all of the bosses are fought in pretty much the same way since as far as I can tell they each have two wing parts, and require you to dodge one volley of destructible bullets (or tank the hit, probably not worth it?). At some point I'd like to figure out if there's any point in destroying those bullets or just focus on getting your pointblanking back ASAP.

I'm also not sure what determines crystal generation. It seems like sometimes enemies give fewer/no crystals but I'm not sure why.

[Nugs]

Been playing this the last couple of days and really dig it. I've always been skeptical of Terarin's games - they always seemed a little uninspired. Crystal Breakers is basically a collection of Caravan stages with a bit of a scoring system layered on top which keeps things more enticing than other Caravan-inspired titles. The chaining is an interesting concept for a caravan game and mostly works. Crystal collecting also gives you another thing to juggle in addition to "kill everything as fast as possible", and since you get 100k for every 100 you collect that's also a pretty significant bonus. There's a few guys on the leaderboards who are clearly trying, but one guy who seems to be doing much better than the rest of us (+a couple hundred k over #2 on each of the leaderboards, which seems reasonable with tight attention to crystal collections/chaining).

For critiques... as far as I can tell, all of the bosses are fought in pretty much the same way since as far as I can tell they each have two wing parts, and require you to dodge one volley of destructible bullets (or tank the hit, probably not worth it?). At some point I'd like to figure out if there's any point in destroying those bullets or just focus on getting your pointblanking back ASAP.

I'm also not sure what determines crystal generation. It seems like sometimes enemies give fewer/no crystals but I'm not sure why.

Crystal generation is based on how close you are to the enemy.
It's always best to try and be right on top of them seeing as there is no contact damage.

[CStarFlare]

I'm trying to understand something less obvious. For example, this zigzag formation that appears in several stages:

https://youtu.be/F1hvo2-u57c?si=CNjARz0-y6g2jnBO&t=250

The first two you see give nothing. If you sit in the center and try to hit both lines of them with your diagonal shots, they usually give nothing. If I strafe left and right they start dropping crystals. Occasionally I seem to hit a sweet spot and they get crystals again.

There's some other spots where crystal generation seems to not work. Being at the absolute bottom of the screen seems to not work (I seem to get little/none when killing those tanks at the start of stage 6 immediately when they come on screen, and the large ring midbosses in stage 4 seem to give many fewer crystals if you're pointblanking them at the bottom of the screen vs their left/right side. I'd normally assume there's just a deadzone at the extreme top/bottom of the screen, but the zigzagging enemies from the video above don't fit into that issue. Maybe they just don't drop crystals on destruction generally and you only get crystals for proximity, and the diagonal shot is just out of range? If that's the case, it might be something that is more obvious if I test with the long range character...

You seem to also not get them for kills with the screen flash that happens when you collect a powerup at max power.

[Nugs]

I'm trying to understand something less obvious. For example, this zigzag formation that appears in several stages:

https://youtu.be/F1hvo2-u57c?si=CNjARz0-y6g2jnBO&t=250

The first two you see give nothing. If you sit in the center and try to hit both lines of them with your diagonal shots, they usually give nothing. If I strafe left and right they start dropping crystals. Occasionally I seem to hit a sweet spot and they get crystals again.

There's some other spots where crystal generation seems to not work. Being at the absolute bottom of the screen seems to not work (I seem to get little/none when killing those tanks at the start of stage 6 immediately when they come on screen, and the large ring midbosses in stage 4 seem to give many fewer crystals if you're pointblanking them at the bottom of the screen vs their left/right side. I'd normally assume there's just a deadzone at the extreme top/bottom of the screen, but the zigzagging enemies from the video above don't fit into that issue. Maybe they just don't drop crystals on destruction generally and you only get crystals for proximity, and the diagonal shot is just out of range? If that's the case, it might be something that is more obvious if I test with the long range character...

You seem to also not get them for kills with the screen flash that happens when you collect a powerup at max power.

I think you answered your own question.
In that example you are too far away when shooting the first two, then zigging back and forth you are closer when killing others.

With the tanks coming from the bottom of the screen, you have to let them come onto screen so you can sit on top and kill them.
And the "P" screen clear doesn't give gems.