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Conquest of the Crystal Palace

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 8 min

Short description: 1990 video game
Conquest of the Crystal Palace
North American cover art
Developer(s)Quest
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Quest
  • NA: Asmik Corporation of America
Designer(s)Takaharu Mita
Yasumi Matsuno
Programmer(s)N. Nagase
Artist(s)Ginga Teiou
Masanori Hara
Naoto Nakazawa
Composer(s)Mitsuyasu Tomohisa[1]
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • JP: August 24, 1990
  • NA: November 1990
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Conquest of the Crystal Palace, known in Japan as Matendōji (魔天童子 (まてんどうじ); "Demon Heaven Boy") is a 1990 Nintendo Entertainment System platform game developed by Quest and published by Asmik Corporation of America (subsidiary of J:COM).

Story

Years prior to the events of the game, the Kingdom of the Crystal Palace was conquered by an evil being named Zaras, who crowned himself king. Only Zap, a dog who served as a Keeper of the Crystal Palace, and Farron, the kingdom's infant prince, managed to escape. As the game begins, Zap explains to a now-teenage Farron that the time has come to retake the Crystal Palace, giving the prince one of three magical crystals that grant special powers to their user.[2]

Farron's quest takes him through five perilous realms filled with bizarre enemies, with aid for the prince coming only through Zap, a shopkeeper named Kim who doubles as a hint-dropping news reporter, and the kidnapped Crystal Princess who bestows the Moon Mirror upon Farron if he manages to free her.

Gameplay

Conquest of the Crystal Palace is an 2D action platform game. At the beginning of the game the player is given a choice between three crystals: a "Flight" crystal that increases Farron's jump height, a "Life" crystal that increases Farron's health, and a "Spirit" crystal that gives Farron unlimited use of a fireball attack. All of the crystal's effects can be temporarily replicated by power-ups that are dropped by defeated enemies or purchased through Kim's store. Farron's primary method of attack is his sword, though scrolls can be found or purchased to give Farron long-range abilities, and Zap can be summoned to damage enemies.[2]

Development

Conquest of the Crystal Palace was developed and published by Quest in Japan, and published by Asmik in the United States. It marked the first collaboration between the game's planner Yasumi Matsuno and composer Masaharu Iwata, who went on to work together on titles such as Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, Software:Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Final Fantasy XII.[2]

As was the case with many NES games, Conquest of the Crystal Palace was subject to significant alteration for its US release. Enemies and stage components that resembled ghostly children were altered to insects and generic rocky terrain.[2] The game's difficulty was generally reduced, and a cheat code was added that allowed the player to restore their health to full, make themselves invincible, or give themselves extra lives at any time.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ Iwata, Masaharu. "Masaharu Iwata on Twitter". Twitter. https://twitter.com/iwata1966/status/232089084347162624. Retrieved 8 December 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Hardcore Gaming 101: Conquest of the Crystal Palace". Hardcore Gaming 101. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/crystalpalace/crystalpalace.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2015. 
  3. ↑ "Conquest of the Crystal Palace Cheats, Codes, and Secrets for NES - GameFAQs". CBS Interactive Inc.. http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/587198-conquest-of-the-crystal-palace/cheats. Retrieved 22 November 2015. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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