Cardinal Syn

Cardinal SYN is a fighting video game developed by Kronos Digital Entertainment, the creators of Criticom and Dark Rift, and published by Sony in 1998.

Cardinal Syn
Developer(s)Kronos Digital Entertainment
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Andy Koo
Sany Abe-Tsukii
Designer(s)John Paik
Programmer(s)Mohammad Asaduzzaman
Artist(s)Albert Co
Writer(s)Stanley Liu
Patricia Winters
Composer(s)Brian Min
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • EU: June 1998
  • NA: August 28, 1998[1]
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Cardinal Syn is 3D fighting game with free roaming features that allow the player to move around a small interactive stage during the fight,[2] similar to Ehrgeiz. The combatants are designed out of a dark fantasy world similar to Dungeons & Dragons, a great number of them non-human, each armed with melee weapons fitting for the style. The title character gives access to combos, juggles, stage hazards, finishing moves, projectiles and battlefield power-ups.

Small crates found in each stage can be broken open to acquire items.[3]

Plot

Warfare had engulfed the Clans of the Bloodlands for many generations, each having a great hatred for the other. But one day a mysterious being put a stop to the carnage, summoning all the clans together and read from his Book of Knowledge which spoke of the harmony they could achieve by uniting in peace. For many years, the Clans put aside their weapons and enjoyed peace under the guidance of the stranger they had named the "Wanderer". Then when the land seemed to be paling and dying, the stranger divided the Book into scrolls and gave one to each clan before he vanished before their very eyes. It took no time at all before the Clans were at each other's throats, vying for control of all the scrolls in the Book's entirety and war again fiercely reclaimed the Bloodlands.

And then, in the middle of a particularly brutal battle, a mysterious and powerful sorceress known as Syn appeared brandishing the icon of the Wanderer that he had used as a symbol of clan unity. She coerced the clan leaders to hand their scrolls over to her where she turned them into three inscribed swords which held the knowledge of the Book. She then declared a tournament. Each clan would send its greatest warrior to engage in battles to the death. The survivor and winner of the tournament would be declared ruler of their Clan and given the entire Bloodlands to command, as well as gain access to the secrets of the swords. Yet that first tournament saw no winner, as Syn herself secretly killed the final warrior. Centuries passed and the wars raged on, but now a new tournament is about to be held and the Clan leaders are sending their very best to battle for the rite to power.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[4] Next Generation's early review called it "a pretty, if confusing, waste of time and effort."[13] Other reviewers, including Game Informer, GamePro, and GameSpot, gave the game early reviews as well, months before the game was released Stateside.[7][8][10]

References
  1. GameSpot staff (August 28, 1998). "videogames.com Calendar". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 21, 1999. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  2. "NG Alphas: Cardinal Syn". Next Generation. No. 32. Imagine Media. August 1997. p. 64.
  3. EGM staff (January 1998). "Cardinal SYN: This Time, Fighting's Not a SYN". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 102. Ziff Davis. p. 64.
  4. "Cardinal Syn for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  5. Thorpe, Damien. "Cardinal Syn - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  6. EGM staff (1998). "Cardinal Syn". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis.
  7. McNamara, Andy; Storm, Jon; Reiner, Andrew (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Game Informer. No. 62. FuncoLand. Archived from the original on September 14, 1999. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  8. Scary Larry (July 1998). "Cardinal Syn". GamePro. No. 118. IDG Entertainment. p. 66. Archived from the original on October 31, 2004. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  9. Zimring, Jason (September 1998). "Cardinal Syn - Playstation [sic] Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on April 19, 2004. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  10. MacDonald, Ryan (July 8, 1998). "Cardinal Syn Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  11. Toose, Dan (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Hyper. No. 56. Next Media Pty Ltd. pp. 48, 53. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  12. Harris, Craig (October 23, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  13. "Cardinal Syn". Next Generation. No. 43. Imagine Media. July 1998. p. 112. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  14. "Cardinal Syn". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 1 no. 12. Ziff Davis. September 1998.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.