Crime Crackers

Crime Crackers[lower-alpha 2] is an action role-playing video game developed by Media.Vision and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was among the first video games published by Sony Computer Entertainment. A sequel, Crime Crackers 2, was released in 1997.

Crime Crackers
Developer(s)Media.Vision[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Producer(s)Takashi Fukushima
Designer(s)Akira Satou
Toshiyuki Miyata
Yukio Nagasaki
Programmer(s)Michelle Ahiko
Yuji Takahashi
Artist(s)Akemi Isagawa
Keiko Matsushita
Yūichirō Suzuki
Composer(s)Noriyuki Asakura
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

Crime Crackers is set in the distant future and in a far away galaxy. The story begins 20 years after the end of large-scale, intergalactic war. Though it is mostly peaceful, the Galactic Federation police have difficulty controlling all crime on its own. A system is established in which the police partner with bounty hunter groups colloquially known as "crackers" to maintain order.[2] One such group are those aboard the starship Pink Dolphin. They are led by protagonist Emilia F. Alkanet[lower-alpha 3], a genius young woman from a prestigious family who is in search of her missing brother Cain. The second core member is Dolan[lower-alpha 4], a dragon-like military veteran who served Emelia's grandfather during the war and was assigned to watch over her afterwards. The final core member is Leeza[lower-alpha 5], a fox girl and knight who was exiled from her planet before joining Emelia's crew. Three other members of the Pink Dolphin act as support for the main trio. The ship's pilot is Parrot[lower-alpha 6], a birdman and former pilot of the ship Dolan during the war whose side hobby is hunting ancient treasures of his ancestors. Core Log[lower-alpha 7] is a robot in charge of the ship's navigation, engineering, and weapons. He also acts as a storage unit for the final member, Potpourri Vamp[lower-alpha 8], a computerized lifeform ("cyber elf") who aids the team in data purposes like electronic lockpicking.[2]

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.

Crime Crackers is a first-person shooter with role-playing elements.[3]

Development and release

Crime Crackers was the first game developed Media.Vision. Development support was provided by Japan Studio and the game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE).[4] Media.Vision's founder and president Takashi Fukushima previously worked at Telenet Japan and dreamed of going independent. He eventually met Akira Satou, former SCE chairman and game developer at Sony Music Entertainment. Satou told him that Sony was investing in the development of its first home console, the PlayStation. Fukushima took the opportunity to establish Media.Vision in 1993.[5] Media.Vision began producing Crime Crackers right after Golden Week of 1994 and aimed to release the game alongside the launch of the PlayStation on December 3 of that year.[5]

Development took a mere seven months, a fairly short time thanks to an already-established setting and characters, which were adapted from the Monthly Shōnen Captain manga Chō Hikari Seiki Star Crackers by Kokomahi. Fukushima admitted to still being under a great deal of pressure to meet the launch deadline. Crime Crackers took advantage of the PlayStation's 3D graphical capabilities in its first-person dungeon-crawler gameplay. The same technology was utilized to create the 3D battles for Media.Vision's seminal 1996 RPG Wild Arms.[6] Fukushima lamented that the team did not use the ending animated cutscene of Crime Crackers (produced by Studio Sign[7]) as its opening instead, but stated at the time he did want to give players a bad first impression in case the animation's quality was poor.[5]

The game's music was composed by Noriyuki Asakura, who would gain notoriety through his work on the Rurouni Kenshin anime adaptation and the Tenchu series.[8][9] Crime Crackers was Asakura's first work on a video game. He was approached about the score by a former colleague who was working at Sony at the time. Asakura claimed that although the company was new to hardware development, they were known for music production and did not want to release an inferior product in that regard. Crime Crackers utilized exactly half its sound from the console's SPU and half from redbook audio.[9] The game's ending vocal theme was performed by pop artist Yuko Anai.[10] It was released as a single ahead of the game on November 21, 1994.[11] The 17-song official soundtrack was released on July 1, 1995 by Antinos Records.[12]

Crime Crackers never saw an international release. The game was made available on PlayStation 3 via the Japanese PlayStation Network on October 24, 2007. [13] The game was also made available for download on the PlayStation Store on the Sony Xperia Android smartphone line in Japan on October 26, 2011.[14]

Reception

Crime Crackers garnered mixed response from critics since its release, most of which reviewed it as an import title.[19][20][21] Next Generation wrote that "Crime Crackers may, in the future, find an audience with younger gamers who're looking for their first taste of role-playing adventure, but the game is unlikely to make a significant mark elsewhere."[3]

Sequel

A direct sequel, Crime Crackers 2, was developed by Media.Vision and published by SCE exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation on November 27, 1997.[22] The story takes place two years after Crime Crackers and focuses on Team Guppy, a quintet of bounty hunters following in the footsteps of the first game's Team Pink Dolphin. It features much of same gameplay as its predecessor with some new features. The number of playable characters has increased from three to eight.[23] Height has been added to the dungeons, which now contain slopes, pitfalls, and open-air rooms.[24][25] Alongside their unique main weapons, characters have sub-weapons that can be used to perform actions like finding items.[22][25] Crime Crackers 2 was re-released through the Japanese PlayStation Network on December 26, 2007.[26]

Notes
  1. Japan Studio assisted on development.
  2. Japanese: クライムクラッカーズ, Hepburn: Kuraimu Kurakkāzu
  3. Japanese: エミリア・F・アルカネット, Hepburn: Emiria F Arukanetto
  4. Japanese: ドラン, Hepburn: Doran
  5. Japanese: リーザ, Hepburn: Rīza
  6. Japanese: パロット, Hepburn: Parotto
  7. Japanese: コア・ログ, Hepburn: Koa Rogu
  8. Japanese: ポプリ・ヴァンプ, Hepburn: Popuri Vu~anpu

References
  1. "PlayStation Soft > 1994-1995" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  2. Sony staff, ed. (December 3, 1994). Crime Crackers Instruction Manual. Sony Computer Entertainment. pp. 2–8. SCPS-10003.
  3. "Finals - PlayStation - Crime Crackers". Next Generation. No. 7. Imagine Media. July 1995. p. 64.
  4. Sony staff (2021). "JAPANスタジオ作品一覧 1998年～1994年" [List of Japan Studio works 1998–1994] (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  5. Famitsu staff (March 20, 2022). "メディア・ビジョン創業30年目の記念インタビュー。『ワイルドアームズ』や『メギド７２』など歴史の振り返り＆開発中の5本の新作から一部デザインを先行公開！" [An interview commemorating Media.Vision's 30th anniversary. A look back at history, including Wild Arms and Megido 72, and preview some designs from 5 new titles under development!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Kadokawa Game Linkage. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  6. PS Blog staff (November 30, 2018). "【PS Classic】今なお受け継がれるRPGのDNA──『ワイルドアームズ』インタビュー" [[PS Classic] RPG DNA that is still passed down to this day - Wild Arms interview] (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  7. "作品紹介" [Work Introduction] (in Japanese). Studio Sign. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  8. Jeriaska (February 24, 2009). "Interview: Inside The Music Of The Tenchu Series". Game Developer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  9. "Interviews: Noriyuki Asakura". RocketBaby. Archived from the original on January 9, 2002. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  10. Meiko Komoto (March 7, 2023). "「ストリートファイターII」が本日で32周年！ 「ストリートファイター6」リリース前にゲームの一大転換点を振り返る!!" [Street Fighter II celebrates its 32nd anniversary today! Looking back at the game's major turning point before the release of Street Fighter 6!!]. Impress Watch (in Japanese). Impress. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  11. "Crime Crackers" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  12. "ゲーム・ミュージック" [Crime Crackers] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. Dengeki staff (October 24, 2007). "「ゲームアーカイブス」10月の作品第2弾がPS Storeで発売" [The second installment of “Game Archives” in October will be released on PS Store]. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  14. Famitsu staff (March 20, 2022). "プレイステーションのゲームが携帯に！" [PlayStation games on your phone!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Kadokawa Game Linkage. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  15. Roure, Maxime (January 1995). "PlayStation Review (CD+): Crime Crackers". Consoles + (in French). No. 39. M.E.R.7. p. 134.
  16. "CVG Review (Tekno) - Crime Crackers (PlayStation)". Computer and Video Games. No. 159. EMAP. February 1995. p. 35.
  17. "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: クライムクラッカーズ (PS)". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 312. ASCII Corporation. December 9, 1994. (Transcription by Famitsu.com. Archived 2021-06-05 at the Wayback Machine).
  18. Olafson, Peter (August 1995). "CD Console Games: Saturn and PlayStation Head for the Home - Crime Crackers". Electronic Entertainment. No. 20. Infotainment World. p. 75.
  19. "Stop Info: Les Premiers Jeux PlayStation - Crime Crackers". Player One (in French). No. 49. Média Système Édition. January 1995. p. 15.
  20. Phoenix, E. (June 1995). "Import Impressions - Crime Crackers -- Media Vision". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  21. Salmon, Mike (July 1995). "World View - Imports: PlayStation - Crime Crackers". Game Players. No. 73. Imagine Media. p. 86.
  22. IGN staff (September 27, 1997). "Still Crackin'". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  23. Sony staff. "Character" (in Japanese). Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 12, 2001. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  24. Impress staff (1997). "かわいいキャラクターといっしょに冒険を楽しめる クライムクラッカーズ2" [Crime Crackers 2 lets you enjoy adventures with cute characters]. Impress Watch (in Japanese). Impress. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  25. Sony staff. "Miscellaneous" (in Japanese). Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 12, 2001. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  26. Dengeki staff (December 26, 2007). "「ゲームアーカイブス」に『バイオ2』など9つのタイトルが追加" [9 titles including “Bio 2” added to “Game Archives”]. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Archived from the original on December 27, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2023.


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