Crystal Caves: 2 Open Source Clones Compared
OpenCrystalCaves is billed as a reimplementation of the full Crystal Caves trilogy and remains under active development, but right now only its first episode is playable — the same coverage as nes-caves, which ports only that first episode to NES and hasn't been updated since. OpenCrystalCaves also still lacks save/load, high scores, and configurable input, whereas nes-caves runs on NES hardware rather than Windows/Linux.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows, Linux
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 8d ago
- Stars
- 91
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- MIT
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoIncludes the shareware version of Crystal Caves; retail version data can be optionally copied from Steam or GoG.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- NES
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 6y ago
- Stars
- 6
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoThis is a NES port/clone of Crystal Caves, built from scratch using DASM and gfxtools.
| Title | OpenCrystalCaves | nes-caves |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux | NES |
| Play in browser | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No |
| Project health | ||
| Development status | Active | Halted |
| Last updated | 8d ago | 6y ago |
| Stars | 91 | 6 |
| Contributors | 2 | 1 |
| License | MIT | — |
| Compatibility | ||
| Requires original assets | NoIncludes the shareware version of Crystal Caves; retail version data can be optionally copied from Steam or GoG. | NoThis is a NES port/clone of Crystal Caves, built from scratch using DASM and gfxtools. |
| Preview | | |
Known limitations
- feature: Loading and saving games is not implemented.
- feature: Episodes 2 and 3 are not playable; only episode 1 is available.
- feature: High scores, key remapping, joystick/gamepad/mouse input are not implemented.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Crystal Caves clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Crystal Caves clones use?
OpenCrystalCaves (MIT).
Do I need to own the original Crystal Caves to play these clones?
OpenCrystalCaves and nes-caves run standalone, no original files needed.
Which Crystal Caves clone is the most actively maintained?
OpenCrystalCaves is currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Crystal Caves.