Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color

"A Crowned Jewel of Monster Sims"

Once in a long while, a game comes along that is truly innovative, and gets everything done right. Magic Pengel is one of those games. In the ''Monster Sim'' genre of games, MP:TQFC rubs elbows with established franchises like Jade Cocoon, Monster Rancher, and the big-daddy of all monster games, Pokemon. I think, however, the key thing that sets this game apart from the others is heart. The creators and designers put a lot of work into this one, and it shows. They even got people from Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, many others) and Gainax (Evangelion, .hack//Sign) to do some animation for the game.

Overview : Magic Pengel is one of those games that could have been a gimmick, and nothing more. What sets this one apart from other games is that you don't capture critters, or find them buried in your collection of CD's. You create them. You are only limited by your in and out of game abilities, and your imagination.

You wanna' make-a' youself a' Pikachu? You can 'a-make-a youself a Pikachu!

You want Sipheroth? You can (with a great deal of patience and some skill) make yourself a Sipheroth. When I say limitless, I mean it. I've done battle with an eggbeater, a giant disembodied hand that walked on it's fingers, a busty caterpillar-woman, and the number 1567...no really.

Magic Pengel is based on your ability to create a ''doodle''. Then, the game animates the critter and brings it to life. The animation AI is positively brilliant, as well. Make a critter with no legs, and it will inch or snake along the ground. Make it with a whole mess of legs, and, depending on the placement, will move them like a millipede, or scuttle them like a crab. The drawing engine handles every body part, flowing parts, spinning parts, etc. It's all done in 3d as well.

You can control how your creature moves, what abilities it has, and so on depending on how you draw it. I'll get to this in the gameplay section.

Story 7/10: The story is pretty basic at the beginning. Overall there's not much to it, but it sort of creeps up on you. You are on an island, apparently having grown up there, and you've just become a ''Doodler'' by befriending a Pengel. You aren't terribly skilled, and you meet a girl named Zoe and her little brother Taro. They sort of guide you through your first steps, but become a more integral part of the plot later.

The greater pot is that there is an evil kingdom trying to monopolize all the best Doodlers and colors on the island. This is because they are attempting to make ''the Doodle King'', a doodle of tremendous power, and to control it. The Doodle King is a legendary beast, whose origins are described in the beginning cinematic of the game.

I won't spoil it, but the plot is moved along as you progress through the tourney held by the Kingdom. The ending is beautifully animated and very touching, AND you can continue playing after the ''plot'' is over.

Graphics 7/10 : The 3d renders are basic, cartoony, and enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking unless you count the 2d-to-3d rendering engine they use for your drawing area for doodles, which is truly amazing and easy to use.

Sound 7/10 : Again, nothing amazing or jaw-dropping. The music is pleasant and sets moods appropriately. Voice acting is entertaining and, although a few characters could have been done better, the main characters are enjoyable as well.

Gameplay/Control 10/10 : The unbelievable user-friendly-ness of the doodle-creation is pretty impressive. With practice, you can create some truly impressive creatures and get them moving exactly as you want.

You use different colors to determine which powers and abilities a creature has (Blues for magic, reds for attack, neutrals/black/white for block). Also, the bigger the ''part'' the more effect it will have. Make a flying creature with huge wings, get wind-type attacks. Make a critter with lots of blues and a large head, and it'll have lots of symptom-immunity (IE : poison, sleep) and have big magic attacks. Give it a big, red arm and it'll have a nasty punch. You get the idea. Minute to learn, lifetime to master.

Fights are usually 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 doodles. You pick which you want to fight, and if it's defeated, you can choose one of the remaining. Fights are based on a simple rock/paper/scissor method. Attack beats Block/Defend, Magic beats Attack, and Block/Defend wins against Magic. There is also a ''Charge'' selection which causes your doodle to gain some HP back instead of using one of the 3 methods of attack, and boosts the power of it's next attack. The other trick is you can't use the same selection twice in a row. So if you used Magic last turn, you can't do it again successively in the next turn. You see how there is a bit of strategy there? If you're slick, you can win fights with underpowered doodles.

The game is simple and intuitive, as well as enjoyable as a whole.

Replay Value 10/10 : Pengel is one of those games you can always go back to. There are literally unlimited possibilities with the doodles and the drawing interface. I made Soundwave with a little lazerbeak at his side (you know, the transformers?) just to prove to a friend you could, indeed, make anything. Even after you beat the game, you are allowed to continue to ''play'' even though the plot is over. You can have numerous doodles, as long as you have room on your card.

Overall 10/10 : They don't come much better than this folks. If you're a hardcore 1337 h4x0r, you'll probably turn up your nose at the cuteness and innocence of this game. But it has a very simple, extremely enjoyable value to it that's quite endearing. Creative types like myself will salivate over this game, and spend entire days just making doodles (just to see 'em move!). This is one of those rare gems people. A must have!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/03