Mystic Heroes

"Wonderful Hack n' Slash Goodness!"

I've been interested in Mystic Heroes ever since I saw a couple screen shots is a magazine. I loved Dynasty Warriors 3 and I thought the game looked awesome. Well, it's finally here and I certainly am not disappointed!

GRAPHICS (8/10)
The graphics here are clean, bright, and colorful. While the game certainly isn't Star Fox Adventures or Resident Evil, the graphics are very good. The character's outfits are nicely detailed and magic spells look cool. The FMV, however, isn't all that impressive and the environments can be a bit bland.

CONTROL (10/10)
Press the A button to do a basic attack. Press B to jump. X and Y are used for magic spells. L and the C-Stick control the camera. Hold R to defend. Move your character with the control stick. These controls are simple, intuitive, and easy to learn. They work very well for the game.

GAMEPLAY (10/10)
This is one of the most genuinely FUN games I've played in a while. Start the game by choosing one of four characters. Each character has unique physical attributes. Some are quick, others are strong, some are good with magic, etc. Each character also specializes in a particular element of magic. Once you choose your character, you fight your way through various battles (in which you rack up hundreds of K.O.s) and boss fights. Your character has basic and jumping attacks for his/her weapon as well as a wide variety of magic spells. You can earn new spells by collecting Runes. The magic system adds great depth to the normal hack n' slash formula. Your character can collect items during battles that permanently increase his/her stats. The boss fights are enjoyable as well. (For those of you who have played Dynasty Warriors 3, I think you will agree that boss fights really add something to the game!) Overall, the gameplay is great and (like several of Koei's other games) can be a great stress reliever!!!

Just as a warning, I must say that some people may get bored with the gameplay after a while. It can be repetitive.

SOUND (7/10)
The music is nice but the voice acting isn't so good. Also, the battle cries get old and repetitive very quickly.

STORYLINE (9/10)
It ties the game together pretty well but this game is primarily focused on action. I actually like the story and the characters. It's nothing special, but not bad.

REPLAY VALUE (6/10)
Once you've done everything there isn't any real reason to play again, except for fun. There all that much in the way of extras or stuff to unlock. Multiplayer mode adds to the replay value though. You can team up with friends to fight battles in a cooperative mode or fight against your friends in Vs. Mode.

FINAL SCORE (9/10)
This is a very fun and enjoyable game! I would have given it a perfect 10 but it's lacking in a couple of areas, especially replay value. I heartily recommend it to anyone!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/02, Updated 10/17/02