How Not To Use The Moon Crystal

DON'T DO IT

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 8 of 8

Here it is: the stunning conclusion to Moon Crystal!

Count Crimson isn't that hard if you know what to do. You'll have to double-jump over the fireballs he shoots. From there, double jump over the crescent beam he tosses from his hand and slash him in the face once. From there, get back in position to jump over the fireballs and begin to repeat the process until he's dead.

If you haven't take any damage, the second half is a lot easier. From there, you can jump up to his face and slash at him until he dies, all the while avoiding the fire wave that travels back and forth along the ground as well as the blue things the Count spits out.

Stage 7

The game's not over yet, though. "Rosina" stays behind to erase any and all signs of what the Count was trying to do, and tells Ricky to get out of here.

From this point, you'll have to go backwards through Stage 6. Thankfully, getting back to the beginning is a lot easier than getting to the final battle. There are no enemies, though you will still have to deal with the retractable spikes. This can be doable, though.

When you make it out of the castle, you've done it! You've won!

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 7 of 8

It's safe to say that I do not like this half of the lab. It just reeks of the "Nintendo Hard" label given to 8-bit games.

Stage 6: Laboratory (continued)

The second half is very spike crazy. Not the retracting ones, though, just the regular ones. At one point, you have to leap over some spikes on a small platform, and there's a whole bunch of spikes around you. Apparently you have to walk off the platform at its right-most point, hang onto the breakaway platform, get onto it, then run to the right from there. This is crucial if you have only three hit points.

You'll eventually catch up to Crimson, who decides that using the Moon Crystal to change himself into a horrid Ninja Gaiden-like monster is a good idea. So he does it.

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 6 of 8

This is the last level...and it's gonna be long.

Stage 6: Laboratory

Oh, boy. This is one nasty level. I'm pretty sure Count Crimson doesn't want anyone in here as the whole lab is one big death trap. You have electrical barriers hounding your progress, spikes on the floor and ceiling that make for a very tight squeeze (enough room for you to stand, but that's about it), and breakaway platforms that make certain places hard to get to, some of which are locations to pretty good power-ups, such as extra lives.

The spikes are the worst. Duck under the ceiling spikes, and be ready to position yourself so you don't get stabbed. The spikes go in and out every second, so get the timing down before you proceed. I've seen spikes before, but these...these give me the willies after looking at them. Take about two steps on the walk cycle (read: have Ricky take two steps) before ducking as a general rule as you try to get the spikes' timing down to a science. You'll also see slopes that lead to spike-infested floors and ceilings, but these are the easiest to safely traverse.

It won't be long before you catch up to Dr. Slater...and the Lunasystem! Count Crimson shows up with Merle, however, and sics a robot on you.

The robot has two forms. For the first one, double jump over the robot and strike it as it hits the floor, shooting out a fire wave that travels across the ground. You'll want to save your hit points for this one. Hope you have five hearts!

The second one ditches the armor and jumps around, shooting a spear out of its chest that will hit you if you're too close. Your best bet is to leap towards it as it's in the air and slash at it. Thankfully, you don't take damage from jumping into it while attacking, which makes this a lot easier. The robot will eventually go down.

After the battle, Count Crimson tries to use the Lunasystem on Merle as an example of how he'll make a life force superior to that of mankind. It doesn't work, as Rosina shows up out of the blue to stop the machine. This amazingly sacrifices her life, as the real Rosina is dead and the Moon Crystal animates the simulacrum that we've known all along. That's right, folks! Rosina is actually an artificial human powered solely by the Moon Crystal!

Count Crimson then flees, but Ricky goes after him...

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 5 of 8

We go into the mines and try to save our father along with the whole village!

Stage 5: Maclonna Mine

The gargoyles swoop downwards as they go back and forth. Wait for them to hit the center of their movement arc before you jump up to them and swing.

The spiders shoot projectiles as they bob up and down. Avoid the projectiles, then slash away.

Watch out for the boulders that fall from the gaps in the ceiling. There's no way to destroy them, so all you can do is wait from them to drop from a safe distance and move on. More often than not, you'll see them drop onto conveyor belts that are placed throughout the mines, which can either speed you up or slow you down (more often, it's the latter).

When you reach the work platforms, steam will sometimes rise from the floor. The steam can damage you, so wait for it to disappear. Don't jump over it unless you have the double jump boots, which make jumping past them much easier.

To reach the full health icon that seemingly can't be grabbed, you'll have to get close to where the ledge is and double jump, grabbing onto the ledge after the second jump. Near this, you can grab onto the ledge and go to the right for another health extension.

The boss here is a muscular man that throws boulders at you. When he lifts up a rock, slash at him a few times and run away. If you have the maximum five hearts, just keep hacking away at him and don't stop. Doing this with four is kinda pushing it.

The villagers are saved, and so is Ricky's mother...but Merle has been taken by the Count. (Yes, the red-haired girl from the intro has a name.) Apparently, Count Crimson wants to experiment on her with the Lunasystem.

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 4 of 8

We board a pirate ship that will take us to the island, but the crew proves far less than hospitable.

Stage 4: Pirate Ship

After using the cannons to get onto the ship, you're going to have a bit of a rough time.

If the pirates that swing their swords at you aren't bad enough, the seagulls will. Yes, the seagulls are enemies are will hurt you if they run smack into you. Forget the cannon  on the top of the ship that you can destroy. Those seagulls are serious business.

The parts between the gaps of the top of the ship are parts you can stand on. Also, don't be afraid to fall and use your ledge grabbing ability to reach some of the cannons. It works quite well and could save you from one of the seagulls. Those seagulls, man. Even they want you dead.

When you reach the sails, get the dagger upgrade to the right, then climb up the sails. You'll see more sword swinging swashbucklers as well as muscle men who fight with their fists. (Greatest alliteration attempt ever!)

One of the chests on the first sail contains the double jump boots. Get them. Double jumping is always good.

There is an invincibility power-up at the top of the second crow's nest. Take it, because you're going to need it as you effortlessly fall to the right to enter the next section.

Aside from a health extension a little bit to the right (and what looks like a blue man in a skeleton mask with a gun), you'll see stairwells going down towards the hull of the ship. The first gap to the right that you see can be reached with the double jump - and grabbing onto the ledge above - to find a hidden 1-Up.

The boss is the pirate ship's captain. DeceasedCrab just runs up to him and hacks and slashes him as fast as he can. The pirate stands there for about a second before you attack him, and it's basically the only course of action you have. Just make sure you have five hearts for this, and don't die in this stage.

After the boss battle, Rosina shows up and tells Ricky his dad is in the Count's laboratory, while the rest of the village is in the mines. She also reveals that she is Count Crimson's daughter, and that he is going to use the Moon Crystal to commit horrible acts. She then explains that the Moon Crystal amplifies human life energy under a full moon, and that the Crystal's power can temporarily bring the dead back to life.

She then mentions the Lunasystem, which lets Count Crimson make his own undead army anytime he wants. The Lunasystem must be destroyed...

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 3 of 8

We're there...but how do we get in...?

Stage 3: Count' Castle

At the beginning of this stage, you'll have to use the trees to get up to the castle, as the Count has never heard of a door. That, or we can't see it. I dunno.

When you make your way downstairs, take the stairs to the left of the archer. Hit the switch, then make your way right as fast as you can so you can get past the gates before they clang shut. After spending some time downstairs after this, you'll have to get rid of the guy in the robe blocking your path so you can go to the right and jump onto the switch. From there, get up the stairs and make your way to the right past all three gates before they slam shut on you.

The purple platforms will tilt towards whichever end you're standing on if you're not standing dead center on them, so you'd better be careful with them!

New enemies here include robot sentries that look slightly like mines, zombies, and sea anemone-looking things.

The boss here is the Count. Do not move a muscle. As long as you have at least four hearts, you should be able to beat this guy, but having five is ideal. Just stand in the doorway and slash at him. Don't even move a muscle and mash the attack button as much as you possibly can. You'll take damage, but the Count will fall before you do.

After you win this battle, you'll find out the Count is someone else. I'm assuming that's his flunky from the last cutscene. He'll tell you Count Crimson is at Maclonna Island along with your dad, Dr. Slater.

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 2 of 8

Time to get out of town and head towards that castle! We don't have a second to lose!

Stage 2: Waylaid Street

Any power-ups you collected in one level will be taken away from you in the next, leaving you to collect them all over again.

The dagger extends the range of your attack.

New enemies include werewolves, fat troll-like creatures that look like they're holding knives over their heads as they run at you and rotating cannons that shoot at you.

You'll be jumping up a building. You'll find two daggers and the double-jump boots, so make sure you open any of the treasure chests that you see. When you make it to the top of the building, double jump all the way to the right. You'll drop one screen and land on a roof. You'll then be able to continue.

The boss here is some guy with a knife that jumps around. Just stand next to him and crouch when he leaps at you, then when you're facing him again, stab him. He's the easiest boss in the game.

We finally see Count Crimson for the first time, as he tries to force Dr. Slater into helping him build the Lunasystem, which allows him to draw from the Moon Crystal's power at anytime.

DeceasedCrab plays Moon Crystal - Part 1 of 8

The Moon Crystal has been taken...and Cirrus Village has been abducted.

Save for one boy, Ricky Slater...

Believe it or not, the game was meant for an American release but got canned at the last second.

Let's do this already.

Stage 1: Evil Forest

The controls are your typical side-scrolling platformer controls, but you can grab onto ledges much like in Prince of Persia. Turning around isn't instantaneous, but at least the animation for it is pretty good.

The animation in this game is amazing, now that I mention it. Both Ricky and enemies alike have some fluidity to their movements, which is amazing for a Famicom game.

Attack treasure chests with your knife. Small hearts replenish one heart, while a big one replenishes your entire life bar.

The diamond makes you invincible for a few seconds.

A circle with a clear heart in it increases your max health by one. You can only have up to five hearts. Even if you have the maximum five hearts, they're still worth picking up if you're low on life as it still fills one heart on your life bar if you're at less than full health.

The men in the robes just move back and forth. The spiders will jump at you if you're close enough. The archers' attacks will miss if you duck.

The shoes with the wings will give you a double jump. Just jump while in mid-air to perform it.

The circle containing Ricky's face is an extra life.

The boss at the end is a barbarian with an axe. Use the tree branches to get behind him, and whack him from behind as he swings his axe and/or turns around.

When you beat the barbarian, a girl named Rosina shows up and tells you that Count Crimson abducted your father in order to use his research on the Moon Crystal for evil gain. The Count, Ricky's father and the abducted villagers will be at the Count's castle beyond Cirrus Village.