The prologue depicts the burning of a small village in the Fairfield Lowlands by the Legion of the Fallen, an undead army under the command of Necros, a paragon among Necromancers who sold his soul to the dark gods in exchange for unparalleled sorcerous aptitude.

A young boy named Drake, the only survivor of the massacre, escapes into the forests of Duskwood and roams Ardon for years, seeking revenge against the undead.

Travelling to Duskwood, Drake retrieves the Coranthan Scepter of Regency from a band of Ogres with the aid of the insectoid Dashers and their leader, Tamris.

Returning to Corantha, Drake discovers that Earth Elementals have awakened while both Dain and Tor have gone missing, with the Ironpicks continuing to battle the Stonefists.

Drake navigates the deep mines and defeats the revenant of King Aiden, Dain's recently slain father raised through necromancy, thereby saving the Prince and gaining Corantha's favour against the undead.

Returning to Citadel, Drake is then tasked with retrieving a talisman named the Star of Erathia from the northern Glaciers to aid in the war effort.

Drake finally comes face-to-face with Necros in Stronghold's depths, but the wily Necromancer departs through a portal, leaving the crusader to combat his lieutenants.

Ursan plays a larger role, Celestia does not flee Citadel and the final battle takes place on Necros' Battleship, with no mention of the Kreegan Gate.

One such common location is the Citadel, a floating city depicted as a standard medieval castle in the Windows version, with conches and shell-like structures prominent in the PlayStation's variation.

The PlayStation version features the ability to "empower" weapons and armor by purchasing elemental-, essence- and aether- based talismans and runes, attuning each to different properties - respectively Fire, Earth, Water, Air; Spirit, Mind, Body; and Light and Dark.

Every individual character in the game is based upon one of these nine properties, and use of separate runes and talismans allows the player to defeat certain foes more easily.

"[17] In one review, Jake the Snake of GamePro said of the PlayStation version, "If you like RPGs, third-person action, and puzzle solving, you'll probably enjoy Crusaders.