Magical Drop III

"This one is definately a good enough puzzle game to keep up with Puyo Puyo!"

I thought that Puyo Puyo was the only puzzler game out there that would get a 10 in my book, but when I gave Magical Drop a try, I soon realised that Puyo Puyo isn't the only excellent puzzle game out there!

Gameplay- 10

As in all puzzle games, it is easy to learn, hard to master. You need to get three or more of a colored balloon together, and they will dissapear. Depending on how many balloons you've gotten rid of, and how good the chain reaction was, the opponent will get a few extra rows of balloons added to his/her side. There are also some special items in the game that are a big help, and sometimes they can be a real problem too.

There are three modes in this game, an endless mode, a Vs. COM mode, and Magical Journey. Endless mode has Easy, Normal, and Hard modes, Vs. COM has Easy and Normal modes, and Magical Journey doesn't have any difficulty level you choose from, it will just get harder as you go on through it. With great controll and difficulty, you'll never get tired of this game! Even the Magical Journey is tough for the most advanced players.

Story- N/A

I really doubt this game has a story to it. Vs. COM Normal mode goes through a small story, but it really isn't too much.

Audio/Video- 8

The game has really... err... cute graphics. Every character in the game is based on a Tarot card, and each character was made super cute. As well as cute graphics, we have cute music to go along with it. Yup. Some of the tunes are pretty catchy, and very few get annoying. The only problem I actually have with the Audio is that the majority of the characters use the same voice track. The Fool's voice is one of the only ones that suits only him.

Replayability- 9

I don't see that there is any way to get tired of a puzzle game. You can just keep on playing and playing, improving your score, improving your balloon poping strategies, using all of the fun characters, play against your friend, see if you can survive Hard Endless mode for 10 levels, and so on.

To Play or Not to Play?

It is definately worth a play. Whenever I see Magical Drop machines anywhere, they are only about a quarter, no 50 cents, just a quarter. You will definately enjoy it! Especially if you are a puzzle game fan.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/00, Updated 06/30/02