Background

What is Crystal Quest?

Crystal Quest was the very first colour game released for the Macintosh. Launched in 1987 by the now defunct Casady & Greene Inc (a specialist in Mac games), the game was still for sale up until they closed in 2003.

Crystal Quest was a combination of therapeutic enjoyment and intense arcade action.

Now, the Mac classic returns with updated graphics, enhanced special effects and Dolby Digital sound! Pilot your ship through 60 waves of frantic action, collecting crystals and evading the Nasties. These unique baddies spawn from portals on each side of the screen. Fire your main gun or deploy a smart bomb to vaporize every Nasty on the screen. Grab all the crystals to open the gateway and complete the level. And don’t forget to gather up the goodies in each wave… you can grab bonus points, extra smart bombs and even an occasional mega-crystal for massive points!

How Popular Was It?

Although never reaching number one in the Mac games charts due to a certain permanent fixture called Microsoft Flight Simulator, after its launch in 1987 the game peaked at number two and stayed in the top five for four years.

Crystal Quest won a rare 5/5 rating from MacUser (US) magazine after an unprecedented eight page review, and amongst the many awards it won was the hugely coveted CES Showcase Winner (Recreation Software) for 1988.

To late eighties Mac gamers, Crystal Quest was as ubiquitous as Doom on PCs in the mid nineties. Ask anybody who was into Macs during that era, and they will have heard of it. Chances are they had a copy on their hard drive.

Although the Mac games world is often dismissed by the games industry, the fact remains that millions of people were exposed to this game.

What Did They All Say About It?

In a recent poll for the “Top Ten Games of All Time” on the respected Mac Rumours website, Crystal Quest featured in many people’s list.

MacWorld’s website Games Room recently featured it in their “Top 10 Gaming Thingies of the Last 1000 Years”, along with the likes of Doom, Wolfenstein, Myst and the classic Infocom adventure games.

Another website, techtite.com, included Crystal Quest in their 50 best games of all time on all platforms, and described it as “A classic to any 1980's Mac owner”.

There follows some quotes regarding the game from reviews and websites:

“One of the best Mac games of all time. Revolutionary. Perhaps even evolutionary. The highest possible rating. Potential for awards in that field (Emmy, Oscar, etc.). Must buy!”.

“You will never tire of this game. It is extremely addictive, all you're doing is getting the diamonds and leaving, what could be simpler? But, no... it doesn't work that way. The game is as addictive as Tetris or Mario. I mean that sincerely, you won't be able to put Crystal Quest down once you start!”

“One of the most addictive Mac Plus games of all time was Crystal Quest. The object of the game was for you to pick up the most crystals, accumulate tons of points, shoot the bad guys and avoid getting shot. Easier said than done, but loads of fun!”

“…it was the perfect arcade game,… it was totally brilliantly balanced”