Its story is set in the country of Irance, a land ruled by a wise and brave Queen where two factions, the Nobile House of Beshie and the Knight House of Shelta, have vied for power for generations. On one fateful night, Lucrezia Viscounti, the top student of the Noble's Beshie academy and the protagonist of this story, will undergo through the ritual of "the Adjuvant Trial". It is a ritual held since the founding of the country that will decide which faction will hold military and political authority, as well as protecting the Queen. Of course, she will not undergo this trial alone; representing House Shelta is one of the top students of the Vernal Magic Knight Academy and her former friend, Francesca Stralo.
Gameplay-wise, it is an arcade-styled hack and slash where your strength and reflexes will be tested as you fight against waves upon waves of enemies while under a time limit. The gameplay is very reminiscent to the Bloody Palace mode found in the later entries of the Devil May Cry series as you must defeat your enemies quickly as possible within a circular arena and take various routes to fight the next set of enemies. Lucrezia (and in later re-releases, the other playable girls) can take with her up to four different magical swords before each game, each with their own strengths and unique special attacks to help her chain effective combos with a special spin attack move that can be used when in a pinch. There's also a Score Attack mode to test how many points you can rack up in three minutes, and an Endless Mode where you fight an endless wave of enemies 'til you drop.
The game was later localized overseas by Nyu Media on January 24, 2013 through DESURA and GamersGate. The English release also features new HD filters and widescreen support, in-game Achievements, and local scoreboards. After being greenlit
on Steam, an Updated Re-release titled Cröixleur Sigma was released on April 30, 2014. Cröixleur Sigma includes new features not seen in the original release such as Steam-integrated features (Steam Achievements, online leaderboards, trading cards, etc.), new weapons, new games modes with some supporting 2-player co-op multiplayer, fully-voiced dialogue, and a new story campaign where you can play as Francesca; this version was later brought to DESURA but without the Steam-integrated features.
An enhanced port of Cröixleur Sigma was later released for PlayStation 4 on January 18, 2016 followed by a PlayStation Vita version on March 1 the same year, this time published by Active Gaming Media. This version introduces even more new content, such as two more characters (Katerina, the sister of the Queen, and Sara-Annika, a foreign exchange student) in an alternate story that sees them investigating a recent surge in monster attacks, character customization features, alternate costumes, more game modes, and gameplay adjustments. Exclusive to the Japanese PlayStation 4 version is the ability to play the game in VR during gameplay and in the Communication Mode where the players can directly interact with the girls. A Nintendo Switch port of the game was later released on March 21, 2019, after an update, includes a facsimile of the Japanese PSVR capabilities through using the Joy-Con's or Switch Pro Controller's gyroscopic accelerometer. A PC version of the updated re-release was ported back via Steam and the PLAYISM Store on November 20, 2019 as Cröixleur Sigma - Deluxe Edition, effectively replacing the previous version of Sigma and the original, however, it is missing the PlayStation 4- and Switch-exclusive features and co-op from the previous version. The DRM-free version, however, has been delisted following the closure of the PLAYIM store in 2021.
This game features trope examples of:
- Achievement System: The game featured an in-game achievement system since its original release under the Gallery. Achievements includes "Clear the Story Mode on X Difficulty" and "Defeat 1,000 enemies mid-air" among others. The later re-releases would also incorporate these as Steam Achievements and Trophies for the PlayStation 4 and Vita versions. The Switch version also has a built-in Achievements system of its own.
- Airborne Mook: The flying eye-bat enemies, who flies above the ground and can dive down and ram into the player.
- After-Combat Recovery: During the Story Mode for Katerina and Sara-Annika, players recover a small portion of lost HP in between floors.
- All There in the Manual: There is an expanded lore behind the queendom of Irance, the Nobles, the Knights, the Nito Tower, and the characters in the Deluxe Edition, but is rarely mentioned in the character's respective Story Modes.
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: In the Deluxe Edition, you can spend the gold and silver coins you collected from defeated enemies between playthroughs to unlock various costume items and accessories for the girls to wear.
- Animated Armor: The living armor enemies, towering suits of armor armed with a sword and shield that very slow but make up for it with sheer durability and strength.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: "Cröixleur" looks like a French word, but is meaningless.
- Arrange Mode: Some of the newer version's alternate modes provide some changes to the game's original rules.
- Score Attack: A short 3-minute run where the player must score as many points as possible.
- Challenge: Introduced in the Sigma version, this mode provides a series of challenges where the player must defeat various configuration of enemies with a strict timelimit.
- Dungeon: Introduced in the Deluxe Edition version, players must fight through 50 floors within a 30-minute time limit, with weapons that deteriorates with use but randomly replaced with a new one between floors, and certain rooms causes Geo Effects. Players are given a taste of this mode through Katerina's and Sara-Annika's storyline.
- Auto-Revive: The unlockable Tabi the Cat accessory may revive the player from defeat once.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: The Deluxe Edition on PC unfortunately suffers from this with the mid-game subtitles feature with sentences lacking spaces. The console versions also have instances of "No Text Found", especially during the Item Get! screen.
- Blown Across the Room: Some heavy-hitting attacks from an enemy or boss will cause the player flying from from the impact. If the player isn't stunned while being launched in the air, they can perform an air-recovery to regain control of the situation. Some of the player's special attacks or a Mana Burst in the Deluxe Edition version can also do this on light-weight enemies.
- Boss Warning Siren: It happens you enter a boss room, accompanied with a big "WARNING!!" sign appearing on screen.
- Boyish Short Hair: Francesca, who has short blonde hair. Lucrezia mentions that Fran used to have long hair like her in Francesca's ending of Story Mode.
- Checkpoint Starvation: If the player were to lose fighting against the game's True Final Boss in the Deluxe Edition, it's automatic Game Over, regardless if they had continues leftover.
- Circling Birdies: If the player or enemy take enough hits, they'll be in a stunned state complete with twinkling stars above their head.
- Combo Breaker:
- Your Chain counter for collecting coins in the later versions of the game will go to zero if you get hit.
- The Deluxe Edition version features a Mana Burst technique that can be performed to get out of tight situations by pressing the Special Attack Trigger and Camera Target buttons simultaneously (L1 + R1 or similar by default), however it runs on a cooldown and it empties a portion of MP upon use.
- Combos: Players can chain together their basic attacks and link them with the special attacks from the weapons they chosen.
- Continuing is Painful: In the original game, although the player has unlimited continues in Story Mode, if they are defeated and retry again, they're sent back to the beginning of the game. In Sigma, players can continue right where they left off in applicable game modes, but the trade off is losing all of your score and getting bared off from seeing the true ending. The Deluxe Edition version makes it worse by restricting players to only two continues.
- Cool Sword: How about ten of 'em at your disposal? Sigma and Deluxe Edition later added even more of them between characters.
- Co-Op Multiplayer: Cröixleur Sigma introduces the ability to play some of its modes with a second player. This also carries onto the PlayStation 4/Vita and Switch re-releases but was taken out for unknown reasons in the PC version of Deluxe Edition.
- Curtains Match the Window: Lucrezia has red eyes that matches with her hair.
- Degraded Boss: Some of the mini-bosses that you fought in an earlier floor sometimes return as reoccurring enemies or become a Boss in Mook Clothing.
- Difficulty Levels: These games feature a Normal and Easy difficulty level under its Options menu.
- Downloadable Content: The PlayStation 4 and Vita versions of the game has cross-promotional costumes and accessories from other doujin games also published by PLAYISM, such as Astebreed, Ace of Seafood, REVOLVER 360 RE:ACTOR, and The House in Fata Morgana. These DLCs are included for free with the Switch and PC versions.
- Elite Mooks: The later variants of certain enemy types or higher level enemies, which are more aggressive and can deal higher damage to the player.
- Endless Game: The Endless/Survival Mode, where the goal is trying to survive as many waves as possible.
- Every 10,000 Points: Once you collect a certain amount of coins, you gain another Spin Attack/Secret Tech stock, and the threshold for the next stock increases.
- Essence Drop: Defeating enemies causes them to drop coins which can level-up your character. These serve as not only to raise the player's score, but in the Deluxe Edition version of the game, coins also serve as currency to spend on accessories.
- Expressive Health Bar: Above the player's HP meter is a portrait of their chosen character, which emotes when they're attacking, taking damage, or collecting items. The character portrait will also begin to pulse red if they player is low on HP.
- Game-Breaking Bug: The original Japanese release of Cröixleur has issues with using its built-in FSAA functions that causes the game to display as a black screen, which was removed from the overseas release. Sigma also has a similar problem when attempting to use its Graphical Filter option on certain windowed/fullscreen and resolution settings.
- Geo Effects: Some modes of the Deluxe Edition feature stages that will have a specific effect based Fire, Ice, Lightning.
- Fire: Increases damage output of enemies and player(s).
- Ice: Frozen terrain that becomes difficult to walk on.
- Lightning: Lightning storm that strikes down the player(s).
- Girlish Pigtails: Lucrezia, who has long twin-tails.
- The Goomba: The goblin enemies, who are very weak and not to keen on attacking the player until their higher-level variants.
- Fighting Your Friend: If you were quick enough to beat the second-to-last final boss, you fight the rivaling character at the top of the tower.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Downplayed. You can obtain ten different weapons for each character, but you only carry four with you.
- Item Get!: Whenever you acquire a new weapon, and you also get a description of it and it's abilities.
- Instant Runes: In the Deluxe Edition version of the game whenever one of the girls performs her Secret Tech attack.
- "Just Frame" Bonus: If you time a strike or dash just before an enemy hits, you can deflect/graze through the attack unharmed.
- Lag Cancel: Your attacks can be canceled by dashing or using special attacks, though they will consume MP.
- Life Meter: The HP meter, represented by yellow and orange meter.
- Limit Break: The Deluxe Edition changes the spin attack from the previous versions to Secret Techs, a traditional limit break attack that various by character. You can build up a maximum stock of five at a given time. The Secret Tech of each character is as follows:
- Lucrezia: A spinning attack reminiscent of the original game's spin attack followed by erupting pillars of light.
- Francesca: Summoning a magic rune in front of her, which she pierces to unleash a frontal Kamehame Hadoken.
- Katerina: Summons a magic rune on the ground via a leaping Sword Plant, resulting in magical explosions.
- Sara-Annika: A magically-charged blade smashed followed by powerful magic explosion.
- Lucky Charms Title: The updated re-release, Cröixleur Σ, using an upper-cased Sigma letter.
- Mana Meter: The MP meter, represented by the blue meter below the HP meter.
- Meta Multiplayer: The Deluxe Edition re-release of the features online leaderboards and grabs player data as Wanderer encounters for the Dungeon Mode. The latter can be disabled by playing in Offline Mode on the Steam version or turning off Network settings in the console/handheld versions.
- Multiple Endings: In the Story Mode, depending on your performance in the game.
- No Fourth Wall: The Communication Mode introduced in the Deluxe Edition versions of the game, where the player can converse with the girls from a first-person perspective while they talk to the player directly with a pre-defined set of dialogue, and the player can also respond to them using the face buttons/keys. Lucrezia and Katerina also calls the player "Mr. Sparkles".
- One-Handed Zweihänder: Parodied with the Berserga, which its description mentions its a replica of the famous dragon-slaying sword made for single-hand use.
- One-Word Title: The original game. It's later re-releases added more to its title.
- Palette Swap:
- The enemies in the game often come in three different color palettes of increasing strength.
- In Deluxe Edition, the two new characters, Katerina and Sara-Annika, carry weapons that are palette swaps of Lucrezia's and Francesca's. And there's a reason for this.
- Photo Mode: The Communication Mode in the Deluxe Edition is functionally this, which allows players to take photos of the chosen pair of girls in various outfits and accessories while giving them the ability to have them talk to the player. The Japanese PlayStation 4 version goes even further by allowing players to use the PlayStation VR headset to interact with them while the Nintendo Switch version offers an optional Gyro Camera mode to simulate a VR perspective.
- Rainbow Pimp Gear: The accessories you can purchase for the girls ranges from crowns, swirly glasses, a mask designed after Astebreed, cat paws, a jet pack, and more, and these accessories grants them various boosts and effects, from increased I-frames for dashing, improved Mana Burst duration, MP recovery from slain enemies, among other effects. Some effects however only work on certain modes. The visibility of these items, however, can be toggled so they become hidden from view.
- Real-Time Weapon Change: To switch weapons, you perform a weapon's special attack to switch to the desired weapon.
- Regional Bonus: The original game received widescreen support and some visual improvements for its overseas release.
- RPG Elements: As you beat up enemies, you get experience points to level up your character's and raise her stats although your stats do not carry over between playthrough. Your weapons also level up as you use them, becoming more powerful and consume less MP to use their special attack as you slay enemies with them.
- Roguelike: The Dungeon Mode and the Story Mode for Katerina and Sara-Annika features elements of roguelikes minus perma-death of your AI partner as that you ascend various floors with random effects, your weapons can break after being worn from use, and you only gain back weapons after clearing a floor. It is more forgiving than traditional roguelikes at first, but should you reach the true final boss of the Story Mode, regardless of any spare credits on-hand, its automatic Game Over if you lost the game's true final boss.
- Shout-Out: Some of the weapons you can collect other famous weapons from other series.
- The Babelista bares a resemblance to the Master Sword.
- The Berserga is a not-so-subtle parody of the Dragon Slayer. Its special attack is also named "Dragon Killer".
- Lucrezia carries the title of "The Moonlight Sword Princess". In Sigma, Francesca has this title instead.
- Shockwave Stomp: Berserga's and Fortes Fortuna's special attack, Dragon Killer and Holy Spark, respectively, causes the user to slam their sword while airborne, creating a powerful shockwave upon impact. Sara-Annika's equivalent to Fortes Fortuna also creates a trail of lightning with its special attack.
- Score Screen: Upon clearing some of the game's modes, the players are greeted with a results screen showing their base score and time of their run, a Coin Bonus that rewards extra points for every coin collected (in the later versions, silver coins are worth 300 points while gold coins are worth 3,000), a Chain Bonus for every coin collected without taking a hit, an Enemy Break bonus for every enemy slain, and their overall score at the end.
- Scoring Points: A scoring system was added in Sigma where players can score points as they deal damage and defeat enemies as well as collecting coins. In addition to gaining points from fighting and collecting coins, each enemy they defeat build a Rate multiplier that increases the value of points gained, however it quickly diminishes if the player is not fighting.
- Smash Mook: The club-wielding giant enemies, whose primary attacks consist of swinging their club and charging into the player.
- Spin Attack: In the form a Smart Bomb attack where Lucrezia attacks surrounding enemies in the original game and Sigma. This was however replaced with a Limit Break in Deluxe Edition.
- Super Move Portrait Attack: In Cröixleur Sigma and its Deluxe Edition version, performing your expandable spin attack or Secret Tech will show a portrait of your character.
- Timed Mission: The Story Mode is on a time limit of 15 minutes for Lucrezia's and Francesca's campaign or 30 minutes for Katerina's and Sara-Annika's campaign as well as the Dungeon mode. Time Attack mode gives you 3 minutes to score as much points as possible. The Challenge mode gives players a very strict time limit with each stage.
- Title Scream: At the title screen, a voice can be heard saying "Cröixleur" / "Cröixleur Sigma" depending on which version of the game is played.
- True Final Boss: If you perform well enough in the later re-release versions' Story Mode, there's an extra boss awaiting after your character's initial trial has been cleared.
- Unintentionally Unwinnable: The Steam version of Deluxe Edition suffers from a bug in the Dungeon Mode where the Wanderer enemy based other players (or yourself) on the leaderboards can one-hit kill you for seemingly no reason whereas the console versions they deal a fair amount of damage to the player. This issue was never addressed, but can be avoided by running the game while in Steam's Offline Mode.
- Unlockable Content: The original game is lacking on unlockable content as the only character was Lucrezia and unlocking off of her sword can be done in an afternoon's playtime. The later versions however added more content to unlock such as new modes and playable characters as the player meets certain criteria.
- Updated Re-release: The game has been seen three updated versions since it's initial release.
- The original game received widescreen support for up to 720p and additional shader effects when it was initially localized overseas by Nyu Media.
- Cröixleur Sigma is this to the original, which bumped up to 1080p in the visuals department, added more weapons, an unlockable Challenge Mode, promoted Francesca to playable once unlocked, and a fully-voiced Story Mode. It also features a new soundtrack and a new voice cast.
- The 2016 console and handheld ports of Cröixleur Sigma by PLAYISM adds in more stuff along with another visual revamp, such as two extra characters, more weapons, customization options, extra costumes, gameplay adjustments, and the ability to interact with the girls in its Communication Mode. This version was ported back to PC as the Deluxe Edition, replacing the previous version.
- Video Game Dashing: You can dash around the arenas as if you were Dante using his Trickster style from Devil May Cry 3 as long as you have the MP for it. It's also possible to dash around in mid-air.
- Video Game Perversity Potential: In the Switch version of Croixleur Sigma with Gyro Mode enabled and the Japanese PlayStation 4 version while in VR, players can pan their POV down below the girls' waistline (but not lew enough to where pantyshots would be seen) and zoom in on them, which will elicit a shocked, annoyed, or angry response from them.
- Virtual Paper Doll: One of the main draws of the Deluxe Edition version of the game is the ability to dress up the girls in various outfits and accessories. It is possible, however, to toggle the visibility of the accessories.
- Lucrezia: "Oh? Is it late already? We're going back to our rooms now. Bye! See you again tomorrow."
