Crusader of Centy

n/a

NTSC-U NTSC-J PAL
Crusader of Centy/Soleil/Ragnacenty
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher: Sega (Japan, Europe), Atlus (US)
Developer: Nextech
Supporting companies: Eden Entertainment Software (PAL) (translation)
Licensor: Sega (US)
Sound driver: Cube/Noriyuki Iwadare
Genre: RPG
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: 日本語 English Français Deutsch Español 한국어
Release Date RRP Code JP 1994-06-17 ¥8,8008,800 G-5536 US 1995-03 T-144026 EU 1995-01 1182-05 DE 1995 DM 129129 1182-18 ES 1995 1182-06 FR 1995 1182-09 PT 1994 MDJ1182 UK 1995-01 £44.9944.99 1182-05 SE 1995 1182-24 AU 1995-04 $69.9569.95 FSOL03SMC KR 1995 GM94024JG JP ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub US ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub EU ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub UK ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub AU ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub

Crusader of Centy in the US, Soleil in Europe, Shin Souseiki Ragnacenty (新創世紀ラグナセンティ) in Japan, and Ragnacenty in Korea, is an action-adventure game developed by Nextech under contract from Sega in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive. The game was translated to Korean, English, French, German, and Spanish. Atlus produced a separate English translation and published the game for North America.

Story

Soleil is a village in a large continent overrun by monsters. The village law requires that all 14-year-old boys go to train and prepare for battle. The game's hero, Corona, has just turned fourteen at the beginning of the game. Corona receives the sword and shield of his father, who died in battle and had a great reputation for his bravery in defending the city. The crusaders of Soleil are sent out by the King to save the humans from the monsters.

Early in the game, Corona visits a fortuneteller and loses his ability to speak to humans in exchange for the ability to talk to animals and plants. After defeating a dragon, Corona recovers the ability to talk to humans and travels through time. He must rely on his sword and the aid of a group of animals to build a better world and understand why the monsters are at war with humanity.

Gameplay

Overworld map

Talking to animals

Animal selection

The game is an action-adventure game resembling Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. The story centers on Corona (who is named by the player upon starting the game), a boy who has just turned 14 years of age and inherited his late father's sword to fight the monsters that threaten the human race's existence. Gameplay uses an overhead perspective and focuses on exploring, battling enemies with a sword, and solving puzzles. As the story progresses, numerous animals join the hero and aid him. The various areas of the world are selected from a map screen, with some areas having multiple entrances.

Corona walks in any direction using the D-Pad. Some objects can be pushed by moving into them. He swings his sword with . He can talk to NPCs with when standing next to them. Corona learns a few additional abilities as the game progresses. He can pay a soldier to learn the ability to throw his sword by holding and then releasing it when the sword begins to glow. The sword can be aimed at any angle, including diagonally, with the D-Pad, and it returns back like a boomerang. Corona learns the ability to jump with from a rabbit. Some objects can be jumped over but some cannot. He learns the ability to pick up certain objects with when next to them from an elephant. He drops the item with again (or throws it if he jumps first).

Early in the game, Corona finds himself losing his ability to speak to fellow humans, and instead gaining the ability to speak to animals and some flowers. Some of them join him, lending Corona their abilities. Each animal has its own special technique. The first animal the player gets is Corona's pet dog, Mac (US version) or Johnny (UK version). He can hold enemies down for Corona to attack. Later, the player gets a penguin, named Chilly (US version) or Penguy (UK version), which powers up Corona's sword with an ice attack when it is thrown. Some animal abilities are activated with the button. A total of 16 animals can be obtained. The player can select up to two animals at a time by pausing the game with  START , which causes them to follow Corona and contribute their abilities. Certain combinations of animals can sometimes combine their abilities into even more useful abilities.

Corona's health is depicted by red apples in the corner of the screen. He loses an apple when he is hurt by an enemy or a hazard. Bottomless pits, lava, and deep water also cost a health apple and cause Corona to respawn on land. When Corona has the maximum number of health apples, the word "MAX" appears. He can increase the maximum number of health apples he can have by defeating bosses or by finding Apples of Life. The game ends if Corona loses all of his health apples, but it can be restarted from the last save point. The player can save the game at any time (except during boss fights) but restarts at the beginning of the room or field when loading a saved game.

Malin is the currency of the land, and it can be collected from defeating enemies, cutting down grass, or finding it in treasure chests or coin bags. Malin can be exchanged with NPCs for a number of services, such as learning abilities or gaining animal companions.

The game uses a battery backup to store the player's progress, with four save slots available.

Items

Items are dropped by enemies or found in chests, boxes, or chopped grass.

	Coin
	Collect Malin coins to exchange with NPCs for various services.
	Coin Bag
	Contains 30 Malin coins.
	Red Apple
	Restores one of Corona's health apples.
	Apple of Life
	Increases the maximum number of Corona's health apples and fully restores his health. There are 12 total (one purchased from a mermaid in Soleil Town for 800 Malins; the others are hidden).

Objects

	Crate
	Attack to destroy. Sometimes contains an item.
	Chest
	Attack to open and reveal an item.
	Switch
	Changes part of the scenery when hit by Corona's sword. Some switches are inaccessible and can only be hit by a thrown sword.
	Block
	Bars the way and cannot be jumped over.
	Heavy Block
	Can be pushed and moved by Corona. Some areas contain puzzles that are solved by moving the blocks in a particular way.
	Switch Block
	Changes part of the scenery when hit by Corona's sword and can be pushed and moved by Corona.
	Jump Pad
	Changes part of the scenery when jumped onto by Corona.
	Spring
	Springs Corona into the air when he jumps onto it.
	Board
	Can be used as a platform by Corona and picked up by him and moved.
	Treasure Chest
	Contains a special item.

Animals

The player can select up to two animal companions to aid Corona at a time. Corona finds new animal friends over the course of the game. Some animals have special effects when paired together.

	Mac (US version) / Johnny (UK version) / ぽち
	Corona's pet dog. He can be ordered to freeze in place with , which holds any enemy that happens to run into him still. Joins the group in Soleil Town when Corona talks to him after gaining the ability to talk to animals.
	Chilly (US version) / Penguy (UK version) / ぺんぎー
	A penguin who freezes Corona's sword when it is thrown for extra damage. It has the same effect with Dodo but sticks to the target. Combined with Inferno, the freeze is slightly more powerful. Joins the group in Anemone Beach after defeating the Octopus.
	Kitty / みけ
	A cat who gives Corona a second chance if he dies (but only once). The effect is passive (the cat does not need to be selected). Can be hired at the animal village in Anemone Beach for 50 Malins.
	Cecil (US version) / Ciel (UK version) / ももんがあ
	A flying squirrel who allows Corona's sword to be thrown farther and to ricochet off walls. The sword can be called back to Corona with . Combined with Moa, the sword rebounds indefinitely until called back. Combined with Monarchy, the sword can be controlled with the D-Pad. Joins the group in Burn Daisy after defeating the Shuffler.
	Flash (US version) / Charlie (UK version) / ちった
	A cheetah who doubles Corona's walking speed and increases his jump distance. Combined with Moa, he triples Corona's walking speed. Joins the group at the animal village in Iris if Corona beats him in a race. The player can talk to him before the race and pay 50 Malins to make him go slower to make the race easier to win.
	Edgar (US version) / Egg (UK version) / たまごん
	An egg that attacks everything on screen for 5 seconds (but can only be used one time). Can be hired at the animal village in Iris for 50 Malins.
	Pieces (US version) / Caterpillar (UK version) / むっしー
	A caterpillar who does nothing. He later turns into a butterfly when Corona reaches the Tower of Babel for a second time. Joins the group at the slime area in Iris.
	Batty (US version) / Bat (UK version) / もりもり
	A bat who renders Corona invincible for 20 seconds (but can only be used one time). Can be hired at the animal village in Camellia Desert for 100 Malins.
	Dippy (US version) / Dinosaur (UK version) / かっしー
	A lazy dinosaur whom Corona can ride across cross bodies of water on the world map (automatically) and across deep water and other terrain in the areas (when selected). He moves faster if combined with Flash. Joins the group in Camellia Desert after visiting the Tower of Babel.
	Inferno (US version) / Lion (UK version) / りおん
	A lion who sets Corona's sword on fire for extra damage when it is thrown. It has the same effect with Dodo but sticks to the target. Joins the group in Castle Freesia if rescued from his prison.
	Leviathan / りば
	A monster who speeds up Corona's sword swinging, charging, and throwing by double. Combined with Moa, Corona's sword abilities are tripled in speed. Joins the group at the Root Temple after defeating him.
	Monarchy (US version) / Butterfly (UK version) / ぱたぱた
	A butterfly who allows the player guide Corona's sword with the D-Pad while it is being thrown. The sword can be called back to Corona with . Combined with Cecil, the sword travels in circles. Combined with Moa, the sword can be controlled indefinitely until called back. Transforms from Pieces when Corona visits the Tower of Babel the second time.
	Wong (US version) / RaccoonDog (UK version) / ぽんぽこ
	A raccoon who can disguise himself to look like Corona with , distracting enemies. Joins the group in Soleil Town after Corona regains the ability to talk to humans if the player talks to Corona's mom and her double (who turns out to be Wong in disguise).
	Rio (US version) / Armadillo (UK version) / あるま
	An armadillo who can turn into a platform with that Corona can pick up and throw with . This can be used for crossing deep water or bottomless pits or for hitting buttons that are otherwise inaccessible. Joins the group in Iris when visiting it in the past.
	Moa / もあ
	A bird who strengthens its partner's abilities. For example, Monarchy and Cecil's powers can be used indefinitely (press to stop), Flash and Leviathan have their effects increased from double to triple, and Inferno and Chilly do additional damage. Joins the group after defeating the Chameleon in the Camellia Palace.
	Dodo / どーどー
	A dodo bird who causes Corona's sword to attach itself to an enemy when it is thrown (usually resulting in the enemy coming back to him in return). Joins the party in Burn Daisy when visited in the past before fighting the Puppet Master.

Areas

The different areas of the game are accessed from the map screen. The player can freely enter and leave areas. New areas become available after Corona has found the exit in an existing area.

	Soleil Town
	Rafflesia School
	Contains three training grounds that can be completed to earn medals. Only the Beginner course can be completed at the beginning of the game; the Intermediate and Expert courses require that Corona learn new abilities and acquire animal companions. An NPC can teach Corona the sword throwing ability for 20 Malins. After collecting all three medals, Corona can talk with the King to receive the Holy Sword, which does twice as much damage.
	Dahlia Valley
	Boss: Wolf
	Anemone Beach
	Boss: Octopus
	Hot Daisy
	Burn Daisy
	Iris
	Camellia Desert
	Tower of Babel
	Boss: Roxie
	Castle Freesia
	Boss: Georama
	Root Temple
	Boss: Leviathan
	Tower of Babel
	Place of Peace (US version) / Saint Heaven (UK version)
	Boss: Maldra (US version) / Dragon (UK version)
	Iris (Past)
	Camellia Palace (Past)
	Boss: Chameleon
	Burn Daisy (Past)
	Boss: Puppet Master
	Anemone Beach (Past)
	Boss: Baron
	Dahlia Valley (Past)
	Boss: MotherMonster's Heart
	Soleil Town (Past)
	Black Night
	Boss: The Spirit Energy and the 5 Senses
	The Spirit Energy is guarded by five bosses representing the five senses, which must be defeated before Corona can fight the final boss. Talking to the MotherMonster (taking the form of a lizard) in between boss fights heals Corona.

Music and sound

The game's music was composed by Motokazu Shinoda, a professional Japanese concert pianist and composer. Sound programmer Noriyuki Iwadare is often miscredited as co-composer.

History

Development

This is one of two games to have originated as Shining Rogue (シャイニング・ローグ) (the other being Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole), and thus intended to be part of Sega's Shining series of games. Development was largely handled by Gau Entertainment, which was bought by Nextech midway through development.

Legacy

The game was included in all versions of the Mega Drive Mini 2 in 2022.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Soleil	Soleil
English (US)	Crusader of Centy	Crusader of Centy
Japanese	新創世紀ラグナセンティ	Shin Souseiki Ragnacenty

Production credits

• Produce, Scenario, Game Design: Y.Onda
• Main Program: Y.Tani
• Sub Program and Game Design: T.Toyota
• Sub Program: S.Ohtake
• Character and Graphic Design: T.Yamamoto
• Graphic Design: K.Nagata, M.Matsushima
• Object Design: Y.Shimizu, K.Tajima
• Boss Character Design: Y.Maki
• Game Design: All Staff
• Music Composer: M.Shinoda
• Sound Operator: N.Iwadare
• Special Thanks: Mucky, I.Mizoguchi
• Executive Producer: K.Aoyama

Source:

In-game credits (US/JP)

---

• Cover artist (JP): Osamu Muto

Source:

Uncredited

Digital manuals

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Crusader of Centy/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1994-06: "June 1994" (1994-05-07)

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1994-07: "July 1994" (1994-06-08)

Print advert in Mega Force (FR) #34: "Décembre 1994" (1994-12-02)

Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1995-02: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Game Champ (KR) #1995-05: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Hobby Consolas (ES) #46: "Julio 1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1995-09: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1996-01: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #60: "xxxx xxxx" (2002-09-05)
also published in:

• Velikiy Drakon (RU) #61: "xxxx xxxx" (2003-02-07)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source 80 Game Informer (US) 83 №25

	82
Based on 2 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 80 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 75 CD Consoles (FR) 52 Consoles + (FR) 91 Cool Gamer (RU) 50 Digitiser (UK) 90 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 58 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 80 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 65 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 95 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 80 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 75 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 77 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 81 Hobby Consolas (ES) 92 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 93 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 86 Mega (UK) PAL 92 Mega Force (FR) NTSC-J 84 Mega Force (FR) PAL 90 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 87 Micro Kid's Multimédia (FR) 100 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 92 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 50 Player One (FR) 97 Play Time (DE) PAL 90 Power Up! (UK) 88 Sega News (CZ) PAL 85 Sega Power (UK) PAL 85 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 88 Sega Force (SE) 76 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 81 Super Juegos (ES) 96 Todo Sega (ES) 93 Tricks 16 bit (RU) NTSC-U 78 Tricks 16 bit (RU) PAL 88 VideoGames (US) 80

	82
Based on 38 reviews

Crusader of Centy

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual Mega RPG Badge

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (cardboard)
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, UK
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, FR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, DE
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, DE (alt)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, ES
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, SE/DK/NO/FI
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Crusader of Centy/Technical information.