Game:

Moon Crystal (1992)

Duration: 14:23

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In Moon Crystal (ムーンクリスタル), a side scrolling action game released by Hect for the Family Computer in 1992, the player controls a green-haired boy on a quest to rescue his kidnapped family from the evil necromancer Count Crimson. Its gameplay is similar to that of Zelda II and Prince of Persia. Levels include a pirate ship and a clock tower. The game uses Kanji in dialogue, which was rare for games of that era, which typically use katakana.
The game sold few copies in its limited release, due its timing late in the Famicom's lifespan. Upon release, the Japanese gaming publication Weekly Famitsu gave it a score of 24 out of 40 and praised the smoothness of the character animations. 1up.com and Retro Gamer retrospectively considered the game's graphics and animation of a higher quality than the many Zelda II clones for the Famicom. A North American version was planned and previewed publicly, but was ultimately cancelled, possibly due to the NES's waning popularity in the region and the rising popularity of the Super Nintendo console. The game has never been released outside of Japan, nor has it been re-released in emulation for other systems. Its rarity has made it a collector's item in Japan's used games market.