Cris Tales - Part 1 - Time for Adventure

Welcome to the next playthrough on this channel! CrisTales is a labor of love from the South American country of Colombia, and it seems to be a rising name in the indie world, having made it far enough for physical copies--and not jsut that, but sold at retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Not sure about regions outside the US, as I found this out by actually being at those stores, but very few indie games can claim that distinction, especially right on release. (This is a digital copy I have though, and my Switch's memory is running low.)

The material in Part 1 is the material covered in the demo. If you've played or seen the demo, you could pretty much skip this and go straight to Part 2, though there are a few changes made here and there based on feedback from that demo (as well as a second one that I never got to try out). This video, as well as the demo, goes from the beginning of the game up to Crisbell leaving her home town of Narim.

CrisTales follows the story of Crisbell, an adorable young lady from the orphanage in the town of Narim. One day, a strange frog with a top hat steals the rose she needs to do her daily chores, who leads her around the town and then into the cathedral, where the mural reacts to her presence (and presumably also the frog) and gives Crisbell the ability to see into the past and future. Though she initially doesn't want this power, as she discovers Narim will go through a period of heavy industrialization, as well as a few buildings destroyed through the fictional infestation of Ash Blight, she gets guidance from fellow Time Mage Willhelm and soon comes to accept those powers if it means she can help make that future better. When Volcano and Galley, a pair of twins with fiery powers and an impenetrable shield, attacks Narim and sets the farms on fire and the authorities in Narim do nothing to stop it, Crisbell is forced to take matters into her own hands, gets the Sword of Time from Willhelm's house, and meets Cristopher, a wandering warrior. Using Cristopher's water magic and Crisbell's time manipulation powers, they quickly rust the Volcano Twins' shield, weakening them enough to force a retreat, save the farmland on Narim, and...take the blame and get banished from the town. During then, the Mother Superior of the Narim Orphanage allows Crisbell to head out with protection from Willhelm, having long sensed something special in her.

If you're wondering why the Volcano Twins attacked, why the people in Narim who could've stopped her didn't, how Crisbell took to the Sword of Time so easily, and what Mother Superior knows about Crisbell that Crisbell herself doesn't, that will be answered later. (Much later.) There are some clues if you look at the sides of the screen depicting the different time periods, however. Notice, for instance, that Mayor Anton is not present in the future--only Secretary Lana is there, and she appears to be wearing some sort of ominous, regal-looking armor suggesting she's in charge of Narim in the future. Such clues exist all throughout the game, found both in the future and the past.

That ability to see into the past and future of people and locations is the central part of the gameplay here. Crisbell identifies problems based on how things used to be and how things will be if no action is done. Matias can also leap into the past or future and listen in on conversations, read signs and labels, and even take things to bring back to the present. These time powers take on a different application in battle, in which enemies to the left can be sent back in time while enemies to the forward can be sent to the future, as well as back again. All enemies have a present, past, and future version with different combat capabilities, and various effects can be applied by moving them through time--that rusting with Cristopher's water magic is just one such application.

A few differences from the demo that I can tell:
1. Crisbell now moves faster on the Z-axis (front and back).
2. You can no longer save both June's apothecary and the Miller household.
3. There is rumble feedback; you can use these to time action commands.
4. Enemies now show signs of being low in HP. (There is a way to show their HP later.)
5. There is a title card near the end of this video showing Willhelm joining the team.
6. The voice acting appears to have been redone, though some of the clips are the same.
7. The male guard standing on the far southeast corner of Narim is still there, but he now has a future version of himself. In the demo, he was replaced in the future by a lady guard who hovers in the air. Or he turns into the lady guard for some reason. That design for the lady guards was reused in the full game for a later area.

Part 2 will pick up where we left off, with Willhelm guiding Crisbell to another place where she might find help. As for the video lengths, they'll vary based on the lengths of the matters at hand.