Magic Knight Rayearth

"Rough around the edges but still pretty good"

I loved the anime based off the of Magic Knight Rayearth manga. Clamp is also one of my favorite manga teams. Not only that but Working Design brought this game over so one would think this was perfection on a shiny disc.

Three girls randomly meet in a tower in japan when they get teleported to another world, asked to resurrect some ancient machines and save the world before it's destroyed. What worked in manga and anime form was the funny rpg like quirks which was great and funny. What doesn't work is when a rpg does them as they aren't as amusing as they should be. However, the plot is still pretty good but the script ruins a twist very early when it should be a total surprise.

The game has some cute little sprites and the animations are rather amusing at times. The locations are small and uninspired but it's kind of neat to see some of the anime places in the game.

The main theme isn't the same as the dub anime but it's close. The voice actors are also different but it's really cool to have anime cut scenes in this, even if they are super grainy and could induce nightmares. But the music is pleasant if nothing else and the voice actors do a good job as well.

This is an action rpg. Fans of Alundra just might die from how close this plays to it or for those other people it plays a lot like Zelda. This means you run around, slash enemies and wander around dungeons.

It's fairly simple in thought and to be honest this was one of the easiest games I've played in a long time, only dying on the final two bosses due to their different game play styles.

What is cool is that you can switch between three characters (Secret of Mana style if I must say so). So you can switch on the fly to any girl. They each have their own three different spells (you gain them through the game) and their weapons are different. One has a sword, one a lance and one a bow. You can charge all of the normal attacks but Fuu and her bow charged will take care of everything, including bosses.

It's a fun little game but it also has some flaws. Through out the game I ran into some mild slowdown but in the final dungeon the game could barely handle itself. it chugged along and when fireballs showed it it almost came to a halt. It was actually painful and it's sad that the Saturn couldn't handle this game.

The game is also really short, saying it's five hours would be pushing it. For the gamers who haven't played a rpg or an action rpg should check this out as it's a fair romp through the genre and should let you know if it's your type of game or not.

Story - 9/10
graphics - 7/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay value - 3/10

Final Score - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/08

Game Release: Magic Knight Rayearth (US, 11/30/98)