Crusader of Centy
An action/adventure game for the Sega Genesis, also known as Soleil in PAL regions.
Published by Atlus.
Gameplay and visuals are similar to those in The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past or the Soul Blazer series, with a few exceptions. Instead of collecting items, you have animals join your party. Two animals may be equipped at a time. Certain animals may be equipped with certain other animals to produce a unique or upgraded effect.
This game explores the morality of killing other beings just because they're different. The game starts with your character on the birthday where he receives his first sword and becomes a man. He inherits his father's, a great swordfighter and hero, old sword. After learning to throw it, you venture out into the world to fight monsters and have a good ol' time. Except that not all is as it seems.
Essentially a large and fairly well done parable for environmentalist and expansionist issues as well as the morality of killing those who are different and strange.
Crusader of Centy provides examples of the following tropes:
- Amplifier Artifact - The Moa Bird
- Ancestral Weapon: Your father's rusty sword.
- Androcles' Lion - Many of your recruited animals must be saved first.
- Animal Talk - To the point that when you first receive the ability, you can no longer speak to humans. You get better though.
- Born In The Wrong Timeline- The imprisoned adventurer in the epilogue.
- Broken Aesop
- The Cameo - Sonic the Hedgehog
- Circling Birdies - The Big Bad Wolf's attack consists of hitting himself on the head then using the stars to damage you.
- Convection, Schmonvection: A stage is set around and inside of an active, near erupting volcano. Falling into the lava only removes 1 apple (life point).
- Crowning Music of Awesome: Battle 3/Leviathan
- Disappeared Dad: Your father ain't around much. Don't despair. You have your best friend Johnny the dog and you get his sword.
- You get to see him again in Heaven. He doesn't have a name, but he's stereotypically dad-like and refills your health. It's couldn't be anyone else.
- Faceless Eye
- Floating Platforms: Many many many floating platforms. Half the floor in some stages is such. Standing on the floor too long will make it collapse into a never ending pit/lava/ice etc.
- Fox Chicken Grain Puzzle - Featuring a chicken, a caterpillar and a flower.
- Genius Loci: One stage takes place around and inside a giant monster.
- Heroes Prefer Swords even though they act more like boomerangs and you spend most of your time throwing them at stuff.
- Kill It With Fire - The most powerful attack in the game happens to involve fire.
- Moon Logic Puzzle - One of the animals you get is an armadillo that can be used as a platform to jump on (previously only used to cross water). One puzzle requires you to throw it into a bottomless pit where it will float unsuspended in the air allowing you to use it as a stepping stone.
- Puzzle Boss: Many many many.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Even if you change the effects of time, you remain the same.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong with TIME TRAVEL.
- Shifting Sand Land: A desert setting with quicksand pits that don't suck you in but do spin you around and throw you. Necessary to reach some areas by slingshot jumping. Some pits have spikes in the middle.
- Shout-Out - Snoop Dogg, Little Red Riding Hood, The Wizard of Oz, The Bible
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Complete wiwth killer snow men. Melts into a water level.
- Spikes of Doom - Averted, spikes only do minor damage.
- That's No Moon - The first mountain range where you battle monsters? It's a single giant monster. At the end, you talk to it at a time before it became so large.
- Stock Video Game Puzzle: All over the damn show.
- Throwing Your Sword Always Works: The first technique you learn with it. Handy for cutting down grass (Familiar, no?) and necessary to beat some enemies/every damn boss. Even works as a boomerang.
- Turns Red - The Octopus
- Under the Sea: Complete with lack of oxygen. Can be That One Level.
- Upgrade Artifact: All the animals. Varies from fast running to an extra life to a rideable dinosaur. Many for your sword too. You can make it bounce of walls, guide it manually in flight, light it on fire or make it a freeze thrower.
- Wanton Cruelty to The Common Comma - The American version has some translation issues.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: This game is all about the morality of killing monsters. Whether they deserve it, who starts the violence and how if effects their families.
- Xanatos Gambit - The seer gives you the ability to talk to animals and creates a path to the past in an attempt to have you bring about world peace.
- You Bastard