Crimson Gem Saga
Developer : IRONNOS
Publisher : Atlus
Platform : PlayStation Portable
Release Year : 2009
A By-The-Numbers Classic
Turn-based roleplaying games, specifically JRPGs, is a genera I have loved for decades. My love of the genera started back in the early ‘90s with the more action-oriented RPGs like Soul Blazer and A Link to the Past (for how much of an RPG a Zelda game can be). Then when I got to experience Final Fantasy IV for the first time, I knew I had discovered something special, but little did I know that thirty some years later, I would still be in love with this genera. The happy-go-lucky or brooding heroes, along with sassy heroines who can more than hold their own, as well as the other familiar tropes of the JRPG are permanently etched in my mind after decades of loving and playing so many wonderful titles. While it is always nice to experience new ideas and mechanics in JRPGs, it is also wicked to play a title that revels in its love of the genera and stick with what works, and Crimson Gem Saga is such a title. I really love how by-the-numbers everything about this title is: from the no fluff turn-based combat, to the optimistic hero and sassy heroine, the globe trotting story, and the eventual super bosses, Crimson Gem Saga knows what kind of game it is and doesn’t try to be anything else. I wish I had heard of this game back in the day and played in on my PSP proper, but I am glad that I was able to play it now, because this game is a real hidden gem and well worth playing.
Sure, Crimson Gem Saga plays it safe, but don’t think for a second that means it’s a bad game or that the people who made it were resting on their laurels. The amount of charm and quality here is impressive. While this title is not going to win any awards for originality in either the game play, story, or design realms, that does not take away or detract from how much fun I had. It is a title that feels like a love letter to the very idea of the JRPG, and I am here for it. It should also come as no surprise that this game is far from perfect, and that by the time I was watching the credits, I was more than ready for it to be over, and not because it was bad or anything, but because it close to overstaying its welcome by being so ‘classic.’
Tried and True
If you have played a lot of JRPGs then nothing in Crimson Gem Saga is going to shock or surprise you, which is either awesome or lazy depending on how you look at it. I am firmly in the awesome camp, because not every game needs to break the mold and sometimes sticking to a tried and true formula is a great idea. It is a wonderfully by-the-numbers JRPG, and I thought it was a joy to play from start to finish. Sure, there were no surprises along the way in either the gameplay or the story departments, aside from the very end which I am not about to spoil here, because I think this game is well worth playing to get to that part. Even if the game wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, I thoroughly enjoyed my adventure across the world of Latein.
But why? Why did I enjoy Crimson Gem Saga so much if it was nothing “special?” Well, I am going to be super creative here and simply list the things that I liked and found slightly more interesting than “cool.” I am not reinventing the wheel, because sometimes a good list is really all you need.
It Is What It Is
1.
How the Game Looks
Let’s start with the graphics and visual design, because I was charmed from the moment I started the game up. The sprite work here is really good, and I was impressed time and time again by both the quality of their animations and how much emotion the developers were able to get out of the still admittedly ‘basic looking’ characters. This goes for both on the overworld and in the battles, with the monsters and the party looking great as they do battle; the animations for the attacks have weight to them, and the little scenes that play out while casting spells or using skills were always a treat. The character portraits are also pretty good, even if they are never changing static images that show no emotion. I do think it’s a real shame that the portraits are so static, because they could have added so much more personality to the cast with just a bit of animation.
The backgrounds/field screens are also good looking in their own way. Sure, they are bit basic and a little lifeless when compared to the characters and monsters, but they do their job of moving the game along and giving you a world to explore. Well, you’re not really explore a wide-open world, because this game is as linear as they come. You will visit all of the usual JRPG haunts: the dark and dangerous forest; a monster infested mine; a swelter desert; the frozen north; and a couple of dark and dank dungeons. As you can see, the game is very much playing it safe, but that does not mean that these areas are not genuinely charming, because they are. More often than not, there is wisdom in simplicity.
2.
How the Game Sounds
The voice acting is surprisingly good. I don’t know why it shocked me so much that the voice work wasn’t bottom of the barrel, but it was a pleasant surprise. One thing I also really appreciated is that the whole script isn’t voiced, because most of the time I would rather read some text then listen to someone read to me. (As an aside, I honestly miss the good ol’ days when it was all text, and I credit that to helping me develop a love of reading as a kid). It’s nice that the voice acting is here, but it is also just as awesome that it’s not there all the time. It does get irritating listen to them say the same things over and over and over in battle (will an attack really happen if you don’t yell out what it’s called?), but from everything I have said about this game so far, this should really come as no surprise to anyone, because yelling out the name of an attack is a staple of the genera. By-the-numbers, right?
The sound effects are perfectly serviceable, if nothing special. Hitting the monsters in combat with your weapons sounds appropriately weighty, and spells go off with fitting pizazz, but not much more than that. I think the best thing I can say about the sound effects is that they didn’t get too annoying or irritating over the whole 40 hour run time, which says a lot.
3.
How the Game Plays
The game play of Crimson Gem Saga is not about to blow anyone away who has played their share of JRPGs. It’s not bad or anything, far from it, and I had a lot of fun fighting my way through countless monsters, but Clair Obscure this game is not. Sometimes your melee attacks can be chained together, very Mario RPG like, which does add a bit of active reactivity, and is a mechanic that is near and dear to me, but I felt like it could have happened more often/all the time. Skills and spells play a huge role in the combat encounters and are the best ways to deal with multiple mobs and the bosses fast. They are so important and strong, that by the end of the game, you’ll be spamming the same skills and spells over and over and over, because you would be stupid not to. There are also combination abilities, very much like Chrono Trigger, that you can pull off only if the party members are in the correct spot in the turn order. It was these combination skills that I used a lot by the end of the game, because none of the other attacks ever came close to matching them in damage.
It’s a good thing that the battle system tickled my fancy, because the grind in this game is real. Like, holy hell, is the grind real. You’re going to spend a few hours grinding every time you come to a new area, because the new monsters are going to hit you like a truck. Not only that, but all this grinding is also needed to buy the weapons and armour you will need to stand against these monsters, and also countless healing and mana restoring potions and food, because they are all so, so expensive. Your biggest enemy here aren’t the monsters out to kill you or the people trying to stop you, the price of your equipment is the party’s mightiest foe, just like Final Fantasy Legend.
4.
The Story
I am not going to be sharing any of the important story beats or spoil anything here, because while the narrative is pretty basic, and it’s not about to surprise you along the way, I did find myself wanting to see how things turned out for our party in the end. It’s inclusion on this list is because of what happens at the very end of the game, because it is both awesome and heartbreaking, but not in any of the ways you may be thinking.
How the story is told is super predictable, and how everything plays out changes very little by the time the game is over: get to the new area; grind for an hour or two for some levels and cash; visit the region’s town; get quest to help said town, which always lead you to the area’s dungeon; delve into the dungeon, finding treasure and fight beasts along the way; beat the dungeon boss; then move onto the new area to do it all over again. There is also a multifloored tower you will have to climb during the game, and I found going through this ziggurat was a great way to grind out levels and money. I think this set-up works well for a portable game, even if it does nothing new and plays things super safe, but when you’re on the go, I think having things be bite-sized is a good thing.
Just like you would expect, this game has a couple of super bosses to fight, and it’s kind of crazy to me that I ended up beating them, because I never do that. Both of them gave me a good challenge, and if not for beating them, and getting our heroes’ super weapon and armour in the process, I doubt I would have been able to finish the game. I don’t want to say anything else, because the final hours of this game are meant to be played and experienced, but make sure you beat these two bosses before making for that home stretch.
A Case Study on the JRPG
Throughout this post I have named dropped more than a few JRPGs, which says more about this game than I think I ever could. Crimson Gem Saga is what you get when you mix all of the iconic themes and mechanics from a whole generation of role-playing games, taking out the bad, and leaving the ideas that have shown they can stand the test of time. It’s not from laziness, or a lack of creativity on the developer’s part, I think it’s from a deep love and respect for the genera, especially for the time when the JRPG was really finding its footing, the ‘90s and early 2000s. Having lived through those years, and having quite fond memories of those days, I can appreciate what Crimson Gem Saga is: a love letter to a time and place in gaming that is long gone. I can also see why more than a few people will, and have, bounced off this title, because it is so stringent in sticking to the formula it sets; you’re either going to like it or hate it, and I haven’t seen much in-between the two.
At the end of the day, Crimson Gem Saga is a game that is not breaking any rules or pushing any boundaries, and that’s okay. It’s a game that wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeves, and revels in honouring the golden ages of the JRPG. I think if you’re a fan of the classic JRPG formula, Crimson Gem Saga is worth checking out and is a title you’ll have a good time with. If you’re not a fan of the genera, or are a passing fan, then this title is definitely not the one that is going to change those opinions. Hell, if anything, this game might just solidify that hate and indifference. Either way, I had a great time with Crimson Gem Saga, and I can see myself maybe coming back to it one day, and I will be recommending it to anyone who loves the JRPG.
