Crusader of Centy: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering the Jump

Crusader of Centy, known as Soleil in PAL regions and Shin Souseiki Ragnacënty in Japan, is a 1994 Action-Adventure game developed primarily by Gau Entertainment and published by Sega and Atlus. While labeled as an RPG, its gameplay mechanics and visuals draw strong parallels to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and the SoulBlazer series. One of the defining features of Crusader of Centy is the early acquisition of the ability to jump freely, which introduces platforming elements to the gameplay. This guide will delve into the significance of the jump mechanic within the game, exploring its applications, acquisition, and impact on the overall gaming experience.

The World of Crusader of Centy

The game begins with Corona, a young boy celebrating his fourteenth birthday in Soleil Town. According to local law, boys of this age must carry a sword due to the presence of monsters. Corona inherits his father's sword and shield, embarking on a journey to become a hero. A fortune teller bestows upon him the ability to communicate with animals and plants in exchange for the ability to talk to humans, guiding him to seek their wisdom and powers to save the world. Along his journey, Corona befriends various animals, combining their abilities to overcome obstacles and battle monsters.

The narrative explores themes of conflict between humans and monsters, revealing that the monsters are trapped by an energy being and seeking a way back to their own world. Corona's quest involves understanding the history of the continent and resolving the conflict between the two groups.

The Importance of the Jump Ability

The ability to jump in Crusader of Centy is not merely a supplementary feature; it is integral to game progression and exploration. Unlike many games of its era, Crusader of Centy grants the player the ability to jump early in the game. This seemingly simple mechanic unlocks new dimensions of gameplay, allowing players to:

Reach new areas: Access previously inaccessible platforms, ledges, and hidden pathways.
Solve puzzles: Navigate intricate environmental puzzles that require precise jumping and timing.
Avoid enemies and obstacles: Jump over enemies, projectiles, and hazardous terrain.
Engage in platforming challenges: Test their skills in dedicated platforming sections that demand accuracy and coordination.

Acquiring the Jump Ability

In order to head north from Dahlia Valley, Corona needs to learn how to jump. However, in order to do so, he must learn how to speak to animals in order to be able to learn the jump ability from the rabbit.

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Mastering the Jump: Techniques and Strategies

While the jump mechanic is relatively straightforward, mastering it requires practice and awareness. Here are some tips to enhance your jumping skills:

Precise Timing: Pay close attention to Corona's jump arc and landing spot. Adjust your timing to ensure accurate landings.
Momentum: Utilize momentum to cover longer distances. Run before jumping to gain extra distance.
Directional Control: Use the directional pad to influence Corona's trajectory mid-air. This is particularly useful for navigating narrow platforms and avoiding obstacles.
Combination with Animal Abilities: Experiment with combining the jump ability with animal abilities to reach even greater heights or distances.

The Impact of Jumping on Level Design

The inclusion of the jump mechanic significantly influences the level design in Crusader of Centy. Levels are crafted with verticality in mind, featuring:

Multi-tiered environments: Explore levels with multiple layers and platforms, encouraging exploration and discovery.
Hidden areas: Uncover secret areas and valuable items by utilizing the jump ability to access concealed locations.
Platforming challenges: Test your skills in dedicated platforming sections that demand precise jumping and timing.

Examples of Jump Usage in Specific Areas

Dahlia Valley: The initial area where the player learns the importance of the jump mechanic to progress northward.
Floating Platforms: Many of the stages have floating platforms. Standing on the floor too long will make it collapse into a never ending pit/lava/ice etc.

Animals and their Abilities

Throughout his journey, Corona befriends various animals who join his party and grant him unique abilities. Two animals can be equipped at a time, and certain combinations produce unique or upgraded effects, including faster movement.

One such animal is the rabbit, who teaches Corona how to jump. This ability is crucial for navigating the world and overcoming obstacles.

The Importance of Animal Combinations

The Moa Bird is an Amplifier Artifact, which makes the other animal's ability more powerful, increasing damage, duration, or effect, as appropriate. The elemental attacks become explosions, the bouncing and controllable swords durations become indefinite (you can cancel them manually), and the speed-related abilities become even faster.

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Story and Characters

The game starts with a boy named Corona on his fourteenth birthday, surrounded by his mother, his female childhood friend Alice, his frenemy Billy (Bull outside of America), and their young friend Pico. On this day, he receives his first sword and essentially becomes a man by the standards of Soleil Town. In this small town, it is a law that once a boy reaches the age of fourteen, he must carry a sword due to various types of monsters roaming around Soleil's home continent. But it's not just any sword that Corona inherits, but the old sword (and shield for that matter) of his father, a renowned heroic swordfighter who was killed in battle. After learning to throw it, he ventures into the world having a good ol' time training to be a hero in his own right, except that not all in this world is as it seems. A mysterious fortune teller claims that Corona has the ability to change the fate of the world, but takes away his ability to speak to his fellow humans in exchange for the ability to talk to plants and animals, explaining to him that he must seek their wisdom and powers and learn more about the world around him and its history to save the world. Corona is then able to become closer to his loyal pet dog Mac (Johnny in the UK and German releases, and Pochi in Japan) and later meets and befriends several other animals along the way as they all fight hostile monsters to discover the truth about the continent's history and the ongoing war between the humans and the monsters.

Plot Overview

The narrative of Crusader of Centy is rich with themes of conflict, prejudice, and the search for understanding. Corona's journey is not only a physical one but also a moral one, as he confronts the complexities of the war between humans and monsters.

The Opening Monologue: "Battle Evil From The Dawn Of TimeNo light, age of darkness… The very beings that squirmed upon this earth… since then, called monsters mutants… No one knew where they came from, or when or how they appeared, for even the animal and plant life that proceeded humankind had yet to be born… Some time passed… Then one day, an unforeseen occurrence befell the ground army… "That Light!" Then, as though the voice were a signal, light began to overflow… The mutants had little power to resist the light, and most of them perished… Again, time passed… it seemed like an eternity… Before long, flowered plants began to sprout and small animals were born… However… The mutants hadn't died out… Living in the dark bowels of the earth, they had multiplied, as though awaiting a complete rebirth… The story is about the mutans' revival, and how the subsequently stretched their influence…"
The Revelation of the Monsters' Origins: As Corona delves deeper into the history of the world, he discovers that the monsters are not inherently evil but are trapped in the world of Soleil by an energy being. This revelation challenges the player's preconceived notions and encourages empathy towards the monsters.
The Final Battle: The ultimate goal is to defeat the energy being blocking the gate back to the underworld, freeing the monsters and restoring balance to the world.

Tropes

Crusader of Centy is replete with tropes common to the action-adventure and RPG genres. These tropes contribute to the game's charm and appeal, while also providing familiar touchstones for players.

Ability Required to Proceed: The player needs to acquire abilities to advance the plot.
A Dog Named "Dog": Depending on the regional version of the game you're playing, many of the animals who join your party will only be referred to by their species name or a variation of it. Ironically, Corona's dog is the only animal that averts this trope in all regions.
All Deserts Have Cacti: Present day Camellia Desert has large green cacti with flowers on them. The cacti release small green spheres to hurt the player.
Amplifier Artifact: The Moa Bird, which makes the other animal's ability more powerful, increasing damage, duration, or effect, as appropriate. The elemental attacks become explosions, the bouncing and controllable swords durations become indefinite (you can cancel them manually), and the speed-related abilities become even faster.
Ancestral Weapon: The rusty sword and shield of Corona's father. They vanish in the epilogue as Corona's father is now alive.
Androcles' Lion: Many of your recruited animals must be saved first, which appropriately includes the lion (Inferno in the US release) who was captured in Castle Freesia.
Animal Talk: To the point that when you first receive the ability, you can no longer speak to humans. You get better though.
Anti-Villain: Monsters turn out to be this. When Corona goes back to the beginning of time, he discovers that they're trapped by an energy being and must defeat it to get them back to their own world.
The Beastmaster: Corona finds allies all over the world… which are all animals. The animals lend their powers to Corona in his battle against creatures and bosses.
Bit Character: The roles of Corona's friends Alice, Billy, and Pico are relegated to this trope. Despite showing up in the first cutscene during Corona's birthday party, all three characters aren't that important to the story, even when compared to Corona's mother, who, unlike Alice, isn't even listed in the character section in the manual. These three are only found throughout Soleil Town and the Plaza during the game.
Blob Monster: In a section of the game, a slime monster trades places with Corona and they change species. Soon enough, Corona meets that slime monster's family.
Body Motifs: The Final Boss is preceded by the Five Senses, that is, touch, taste, vision, smell and hearing, which Corona must defeat before entering the chambers of the final boss.
Born in the Wrong Century: Amon, the imprisoned adventurer has become this in the epilogue. See Hero of Another Story below.
Boss Rush: In order to access the Final Boss, the player must defeat the five sensations, five bosses based on the senses. Luckily, despite a few of them being Puzzle Bosses, they're not terribly difficult and you can talk to the Mother Monster between fights to replenish your health.
Bribing Your Way to Victory: The cheetah can be bribed to run slower in the cart race with him.
The Cameo: Sonic the Hedgehog could be seen sunbathing around Anemone Beach.Sonic: Tsk… Tsk…! I'm a gallant hedgehog. Don't mess or you'll get burned.
Canine Companion: The first companion you obtain is Corona's family dog.
Cardiac Boss: One sequence set within the innards of a monster the size of a mountain range culminates in a boss battle against the MotherMonster, the creature's beating and talking but otherwise stationary heart.
Childhood Friend Romance: Corona's childhood friend Alice originally admires the brave, heroic types and may have a crush on Corona, but her pacifistic nature shows her the harsh reality of being a warrior, which involves killing others. She since devotes herself to praying at the church, and is excited to see Corona when he returns. In the new timeline shown in the epilogue, the last scene before the credits sequence has Alice revealing that she has something to tell Corona, but decides to wait until he comes back from his walk with the dog. Chances are it was a Love Confession. In the past section of the game, one of the stops is an older version of Soleil Town, where Corona finds a pair of redhead children, a boy and a girl, promising to marry each other and to name their future kid… Corona.
Childhood Marriage Promise: Corona and his menagerie travel back to the past of Soleil Town, where we see Corona's parents as young children promising to marry each other when they are older.
Circling Birdies: The Big Bad Wolf's attack consists of hitting himself on the head then using the stars to damage you.
Combination Attack: Corona can use the powers of the more offensive-oriented animals in order to power up his sword: Inferno the lion and Chilly the penguin grant fire and ice attacks, while Cecil the squirrel and Monarchy the butterfly allow Corona to throw his sword and control its swinging movement.
Convection, Schmonvection: A stage is set around and inside of an active, near erupting volcano. Falling into the lava only removes 1 apple (life point).
Cool Sword: The Holy Sword you get as a Hero. It swings faster and is more powerful in addition to being golden. It's also required to pass by a certain character.
Defeat Means Friendship: The Leviathan initially believes that Corona has come to corrupt the ocean with the humans' lust for war, but quickly realizes that Corona is not a bad person. The Leviathan then gains respect for him when he fiercely protects what is revealed to be an illusory copy of his mother when fighting him and notes the number of friends he's gained during his journey.
Disappeared Dad: Corona's father was killed long ago in battle. Don't despair. You have his sword and Corona's best friend Mac/Johnny/Pochi the dog by your side. You get to see him again in Heaven. He doesn't have a name, but he's stereotypically dad-like and refills your health. It couldn't be anyone else. His father eventually reappears in the epilogue, alive and well in the family's house. Because the monsters never appeared in this world, Corona's father was never killed by them in the first place.
Dub Name Change: Not just from the Japanese to English version, but character names between the US English and UK English versions as well as all other European versions (German, French, and Spanish) are significantly different (as they were translated by different companies). For example, the dog is Pochi in the Japanese version, but is Mac in the US version and Johnny in the UK version. The only animals with the same name in all versions are the Moa, the Leviathan, and the Dodo, though Kitty has the same name in both English versions, and the Leviathan is abbreviated in the Japanese version's menu (to just "RIBA"). Corona's haughty friend Bull becomes Billy for the American release.
Faceless Eye: The Sight sensation boss is a disembodied eye that hides under destructible floorboards. The Spirit Energy has a large eye that must be opened to hurt it.
Fiery Lion: A leonine helper called Inferno has fiery mane and allows Corona to cast his sword with a flame attack.
Floating Platforms: Many many many floating platforms. Half the floor in some stages is such. Standing on the floor too long will make it collapse into a never ending pit/lava/ice etc.
Fox-Chicken-Grain Puzzle: Featuring a chicken, a caterpillar and a flower.
"Freaky Friday" Flip: As soon as the player enters Iris, a green slime monster called Slimy hijacks Corona's human body in order to meet a human love interest.
Genius Loci: One stage takes place around and inside a giant monster.
Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: The Final Boss is an energy being that is blocking the gate back to the underworld, trapping the monsters in the world of Soleil.
Guide Dang It!: There are 15 golden apples (or "Apples of Life") that extend the player's health meter. Some are very well hidden.
Hello, [Insert Name Here]: The player is asked to enter their name at the beginning of the game, though the default name (and the canon name as shown by each regional manual) is Corona.
Heroes Prefer Swords: Especially since they act more like boomerangs and you spend most of your time throwing them at stuff.
Heroic Mime: Just like Link, Corona never speaks throughout the whole game (unless you count the squeaks he makes every time he takes damage), instead relying more on actions and choices.
Hero of Another Story: Amon, the resident narcissist and the newly crowned hero Corona meets upon first visiting the King of Soleil. Corona then comes across Amon at various points in his adventures, including rescuing him from a block of ice in Fresia and even being chased down and attacked by him while transformed into a blob. In the altered, "peaceful" timeline at the end of the game, Amon is portrayed as a Blood Knight who ends up in prison.
Humans Are the Real Monsters: One of the monsters says this exact phrase in the past Soleil's church after the town's soldiers massacre them. The game itself though does zigzag this a bit. The humans have been total jerks to, not just the monsters, but to themselves as well, especially those who believe that some humans are monsters in disguise, which in turn has caused many animals to become prejudiced towards humans. Though as much the game wants you to sympathize with them, the monsters' retaliation has been overall just as violent. In the end, both sides have serious issues to sort out.
Interspecies Romance: According to Ma Slime in present-day Iris, her son, Slimy, fell in love with a human and wanted to become one, thus he stole Corona's human form.
Killed Off for Real: In the past, during the venture to Camelia Desert's palace grounds, a woman begs Corona to save her daughter, who is up on the sixth floor. Once she's rescued, the young girl mentions that her father told her to stay put, but she gets impatient, believes that he forgot about her, and heads off to the lower floors. Once Corona is imprisoned after the boss fight with the chameleon, it's shown that the girl was also imprisoned, now on her last breath because everyone else believed she was a monster and is wrongfully left to rot in the underground prison. The next time you try to talk to her, the Japanese version says that she's limp and not breathing anymore, but the English versions don't even sugarcoat it and outright say that she's already dead. This came after the palace denizens heard rumors about hearing "moaning sounds" in the underground. If that weren't bad enough, a few skeletons are lying around the prison, suggesting that she's not the first to suffer this fate. On a similar note, four formerly imprisoned monsters escape from the castle to the church, r…

Legacy

Crusader of Centy remained exclusively on its original console for many years. However, its inclusion in the Sega Genesis Mini 2 in 2022 and its subsequent addition to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service have introduced the game to a new generation of players.

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