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Box art
The Blue Crystal Rod (ザ・ブルークリスタルロッド) is an adventure game released in 1994 for Super Famicom only in Japan. The game's story is also titled The Destiny of Gilgamesh (ギルガメスの道).
Story[]
The game takes place right after The Return of Ishtar, with Gilgamesh and Ki leaving the remains of the Tower of Druaga with the Blue Crystal Rod. At the behest of Ishtar, the pair must find a way to deliver the rod back to Anu in Heaven. There are multiple areas they may travel to in order to find the means to ascend; the player's choices in which ones they visit and in what order shapes how the story ends. In total, there are 48 unique endings to the game.
Gameplay[]
Title screen
The player controls Gil, with the camera primarily showing his point of view, only cutting away during cutscenes, similar to a visual novel. Gil always faces north and is able to move in any of the four cardinal directions, assuming there is a path to take. There are NPCs and monsters that can be interacted with throughout the game; all these interactions unfold through text, often with choices for the player to choose from.
The general flow of gameplay involves traveling to the four areas on the outskirts of Babylim: the city of Sumer (accessed via the harbor), Narak Village and the nearby Labyrinth, Rajaf Village and the Desert of Death, and the Stormy Mountain. Each area has a short storyline to complete. Typically, in order to progress far enough to earn an ending, Gil and Ki must visit three of the four areas and complete their corresponding "quests."
Though they are invisible within the game, Gil has eight stats that can be raised or lowered through fixed means and random events: power, wisdom, luck, justice, heart, will, love, and experience. These stats affect various progression points in the game, such as:
- if certain NPCs will tell Gil what he needs to know to proceed,
- if certain NPCs will appear at all, and
- which exit(s) will allow Gil to pass through the Wandering Woods instead of looping him back to the beginning.
If Gil has a stat that is too high, it can be lowered at the Ziggurat in Babylim. Answering a series of questions inside will lower a stat that corresponds with the player's answers, though many of the stats that can be lowered do not actually exist in the game at all. If, instead, a stat is too low, it can be raised in the Cave of Elburz. After finding the key within, the player can choose from a series of doors, each of which correspond to a stat. There are also events scattered around the world that can change these stats.
Video[]
The opening for The Blue Crystal Rod. It shows a brief summary of the events of the Babylonian Castle Saga.
External Links[]
- English translation patch on Romhack.ing