Sega to develop products for the latter's Genesis console. This four game deal also included Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier, and Yu Yu Hakusho Makyō Tōitsusen. Light Crusader was programmed by Kazuhiko Ishida with support from Keiji Fujitake and Treasure president Masato Maekawa. The game's graphics and art were provided by Hiroshi Iuchi, Makoto Ogino, Kaname Shindo, and Koichi Kimura. Katsuhiko Suzuki was the sound director while Aki Hata and Satoshi Murata composed the music and sound effects respectively. The project was announced in the spring of 1994 under the working title Relayer. Iuchi revealed that in its earliest stages, Light Crusader was planned as an action version of the classic RPG series Wizardry. The staff sought to improve the operability and enjoyment of pseudo-3D graphics afforded by the isometric viewpoint, but this presented challenges. Ishida said that it was difficult to program multiple joints in 3D, while Iuchi claimed that the three-quarters perspective interfered with the performance of the Genesis. Development was delayed when the team started over from scratch at one point. Iuichi estimated that the final build of the game was only 30% complete by the end of 1994. Light Crusader was Treasure's last title to appear on the Genesis console. Throughout 1995, Sega published the game in Japan, North America, Europe, and Australia while Samsung published it in South Korea. In the following decades, Light Crusader has been made available as both a stand-alone downloadable title and as part of several Genesis compilations. The game was released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007; as part of the Sega Genesis Classics collection for Steam and home platforms beginning in 2011; on the North America Sega Genesis Mini and PAL region Sega Mega Drive Mini consoles in 2019; and finally on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in 2022. Reception Mean Machines Sega praised the graphics and unique mixture of gameplay elements. They criticized that the game is often too easy and dull, and compared it unfavorably to Beyond Oasis (referred to by its European title, The Story of Thor) for longevity, but nonetheless gave it a very positive assessment, calling it "A superlative arcade adventure with great playability." The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the graphics, but all but one of them gave the game an overall negative assessment, saying that the perspective severely hinders visibility, the combat is clunky, the lack of story