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Cardinal Syn

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Cardinal Syn
European cover box art
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
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Cardinal Syn is a 1998 weapons-based fighting video game for the PlayStation. It was published in-house as Sony Computer Entertainment's first game in the fighting genre; development was conducted by Kronos Digital Entertainment, creators of Criticom and the Nintendo 64 title Dark Rift.[4] Cardinal Syn received underwhelming reviews.

Gameplay

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Gameplay screenshot

Cardinal Syn is 3D fighting game with free roaming features that allow the player to move around a small interactive stage during the fight,[5] similar to Ehrgeiz and Bushido Blade. Moving away from the sci-fi theme in Criticom, Cardinal Syn takes place in a dark medieval and bloody world.[6] The combatants too fit within this dark fantasy design and are somewhat similar to Dungeons & Dragons, and 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.[7]

Plot

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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.

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.

Characters

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Cardinal Syn has eight playable fighting characters, each with their own goal for retrieving the Book of Knowledge:[6]

  • Mongoro, a cannibalistic cyclops
  • Plague, an undead corpse
  • Nephra, an Egyptian princess
  • Vanguard, a knight
  • Heckler, an insane jester
  • McKrieg, a dwarf
  • Princess Orion
  • Finkster, a thief

Reception

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The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[8] Next Generation's early review called it "a pretty, if confusing, waste of time and effort."[17] GamePro's early review said that the game "isn't the kind of action sedative you need—especially in the middle of a heated match. The Syn committed in this game is syn-ple: Mediocrity."[19][b]

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, with a score of 3 out of 5, praised "beautiful graphics" and a "KILLER end-boss!", but were critical of AI and that it would not be deep for fighting game enthusiasts.[20] GameSpot in its review wrote that "Cardinal Syn has some nice graphics and sound to set it apart from other games in the genre [..] with its typical weapon-based fighting system that plays like Soul Blade and Dynasty Warriors, Cardinal Syn just ends up coming off as another 3D fighting game knockoff."[21]

A common theme that many reviewers, including Electronic Gaming Monthly, had, was that the computer AI is too weak and that it is too much of a "button-masher".[22] On a more positive note, Game Informer, while acknowledging that the game has flaws in gameplay and controls, gave praise to Cardinal Syn's concept, presentation and gore.[23]

Notes

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  1. ^ Four critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 4/10, 5/10, 3.5/10, and 3/10 in an early review.
  2. ^ GamePro gave the game 4/5 for graphics, two 3.5/5 scores for sound and control, and 3/5 for fun factor in an early review.

References

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  1. ^ "Cardinal Syn Finally Arrives". Game Informer. August 25, 1998. Archived from the original on January 28, 1999. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Key Dates". Staines and Ashford Leader. June 11, 1998. p. 3. Retrieved May 11, 2024. June 26th//Cardinal Syn
  3. ^ "Perfect for a head-to-head". Bolton Evening News. June 27, 1998. p. 16. Retrieved May 11, 2024. Cardinal Syn//(SCEE / Kronos Digital Entertainment)//For PlayStation//Price: £34.99//Out Now
  4. ^ "Sneak Previews: Cardinal Syn". GamePro. No. 113. IDG. February 1998. p. 62. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. ^ "NG Alphas: Cardinal Syn". Next Generation. No. 32. Imagine Media. August 1997. p. 64.
  6. ^ a b c D'Aprile, Jason (September 29, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  7. ^ "Cardinal SYN: This Time, Fighting's Not a SYN" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 102. Ziff Davis. January 1998. p. 64. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Cardinal Syn for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Thorpe, Damien. "Cardinal Syn - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Smith, Shawn; Davison, John; Boyer, Crispin; Williams, Ken "Sushi-X" (July 1998). "Cardinal Syn" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 108. Ziff Davis. p. 138. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Lucas, Victor (October 7, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on July 5, 2003. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Zimring, Jason (September 1998). "Cardinal Syn - Playstation [sic] Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on April 19, 2004. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  14. ^ MacDonald, Ryan (July 8, 1998). "Cardinal Syn Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 1, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Toose, Dan (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Hyper. No. 56. Next Media Pty Ltd. pp. 48, 53. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  16. ^ Harris, Craig (October 23, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Cardinal Syn". Next Generation. No. 43. Imagine Media. July 1998. p. 112. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  18. ^ Mollohan, Gary (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 9. Ziff Davis. p. 90. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Scary Larry (July 1998). "Cardinal Syn". GamePro. No. 118. IDG. p. 66. Archived from the original on October 31, 2004. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference OPM2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference GSpot2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference EGM2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference GI2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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