Cardinal Syn
1998 video game
title: "Cardinal Syn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1998-video-games", "3d-fighting-games", "989-studios-games", "fantasy-video-games", "fighting-games", "kronos-digital-entertainment-games", "mortal-kombat-clones", "multiplayer-and-single-player-video-games", "playstation-(console)-games", "playstation-(console)-only-games", "sony-interactive-entertainment-games", "video-games-about-death-games", "video-games-developed-in-the-united-states"] description: "1998 video game" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Syn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1998 video game ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox video game"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | Cardinal Syn |
| image | Cardinal Syn Coverart.png |
| caption | European box art |
| developer | Kronos Digital Entertainment |
| publisher | |
| producer | Andy Koo |
| Sany Abe-Tsukii | |
| designer | John Paik |
| programmer | Mohammad Asaduzzaman |
| artist | Albert Co |
| composer | Brian Min |
| writer | Stanley Liu |
| Patricia Winters | |
| platforms | PlayStation |
| released | |
| genre | Fighting |
| modes | Single-player, multiplayer |
| :: |
| title = Cardinal Syn | image = Cardinal Syn Coverart.png | caption = European box art | developer = Kronos Digital Entertainment | publisher = | producer = Andy Koo Sany Abe-Tsukii | designer = John Paik | programmer = Mohammad Asaduzzaman | artist = Albert Co | composer = Brian Min | writer = Stanley Liu Patricia Winters | platforms = PlayStation | released = | genre = Fighting | modes = Single-player, multiplayer
Cardinal Syn is a 1998 fighting video game developed by Kronos Digital Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. 989 Studios released it in North America. It received mixed reviews.
Gameplay
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Cardinal_Syn_gameplay.jpg" caption="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, 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. 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.
Plot
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
Cardinal Syn has eight playable fighting characters, each with their own goal for retrieving the Book of Knowledge:
- 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
Development
The game was showcased at E3 1997.
Reception
| GR = 57% | Allgame = | CNG = 4/10 | EGM = 3.125/10 | EPD = 5/10 | GI = 7/10 | GameRev = B− | GSpot = 4.8/10 | Hyper = 70% | IGN = 5.5/10 | NGen = | OPM =
The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.
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. 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".
A common theme that many reviewers, including Electronic Gaming Monthly, had, was that the computer AI is too weak. On a more positive note, Game Informer, while acknowledging that the game has flaws in gameplay and controls, praised Cardinal Syn's concept, presentation and gore.
Notes
References
References
- (June 11, 1998). "Key Dates". Staines and Ashford Leader.
- (June 27, 1998). "Perfect for a head-to-head". [[The Bolton News.
- (August 25, 1998). "''Cardinal Syn'' Finally Arrives".
- (February 1998). "Sneak Previews: Cardinal Syn". [[International Data Group.
- (August 1997). "NG Alphas: Cardinal Syn". [[Future US.
- (January 1998). "Cardinal SYN: This Time, Fighting's Not a SYN". Ziff Davis.
- (June 19, 1997). "Commit the Cardinal Syn".
- "Cardinal Syn for PlayStation". CBS Interactive.
- Thorpe, Damien. "Cardinal Syn - Review". [[All Media Network]].
- D'Aprile, Jason. (September 29, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". [[CNET]].
- (July 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Ziff Davis.
- Lucas, Victor. (October 7, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Greedy Productions Ltd..
- (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". [[FuncoLand]].
- Zimring, Jason. (September 1998). "Cardinal Syn - Playstation [sic] Review". [[CraveOnline]].
- MacDonald, Ryan. (July 8, 1998). "Cardinal Syn Review". GameSpot.
- Toose, Dan. (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". [[nextmedia.
- Harris, Craig. (October 23, 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Ziff Davis.
- (July 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Imagine Media.
- Mollohan, Gary. (June 1998). "Cardinal Syn". Ziff Davis.
- Scary Larry. (July 1998). "Cardinal Syn". IDG.
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