Magic Sword

"Magic Sword is neither the best nor the worst of its kind, but it can still be good fun to play now and again :)"

FOREWORD

Magic Sword is a title that I played at my local arcade quite randomly one day as a young lad ... the game I was looking to get onto was occupied, and so I strolled around until I found something that wasn't being played and lo and behold, there it was !!

I really enjoyed the arcade version, so I was very keen on picking up a copy of the Super NES port when I heard it had been released ...

What was it like ? Read on ...

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME

Magic Sword is arcade simplicity at its best. You don't pick a character - you have one given to you. You don't pick weaponry or armour - you have it given to you. All YOU have to do is move, hit, and jump.

The game is a simple platform title where you play the part of a warrior who is on a quest to ascend a magical tower jam-packed with villains, monsters and treasure to plunder.

Your objective is simply to ascend to the top and clear out the monsters en route, but it's no mean feat, believe you me, so to assist you, you can liberate from captivity one of a large number of assistants to aid you in your travels.

GRAPHICS - 6/10

Whilst the arcade graphics have been faithfully emulated throughout this port, some of the detailing on the sprites has been lost in order to ensure that all the twists and turns involved in the characters' development is maintained.

Whenever your followers hit what I would call a SIGNIFICANT level (1, 3, 5 and 7), their graphic changes colour, and their attacks become larger and more impressive. When you consider that there are quite a lot of these followers in the game (I can think of at least eight off the top of my head), that's quite a few sets of graphics to chop and change between, but the game does so, and does so seamlessly, which is nice.

The sprites are reasonably well-sized when compared with the backgrounds (i.e. they are small to show that the areas in which you are fighting are huuuuuuuuuuuge), and the backgrounds themselves are reasonably varied (inasmuch as you will go from level to level working your way up, but you will also have to travel from tower to tower across open stretches of causeway, being assailed by bats and other winged demons which zoom in from behind so there is a scaling aspect to consider there).

There also a number of graphical foreground effects that take place from time to time as well, such as a rather nice heat haze that overpowers the screen when you enter areas with natural lava or other very hot substances kicking around.

All told the graphics are NICE, but they aren't going to set your world alight - however there IS a lot going on on-screen at any given time, and so the overall effect is quite impressive and varied.

SOUND - 6/10

The sound in the game is, in a word, varied. On the one hand you have the music, which is nice, varies from level to level (although when you consider how many levels there are in the game (50, give or take), it is only natural for there to be repetition in the music which is played on some of the levels you travel through.

The sound-effects, however, are very much a mixed bag. Some of them are decent, such as the sound of explosions and rock falls. Some of them are downright annoying, such as the irritating bleeping sound that kicks off when you are almost dead (which will happen to you quite a bit, believe me).

Whilst I never found myself wanting to turn the sound OFF, there were times when I would have been VERY happy to just listen to the music, and that's not such a good thing for any game is it =./

In fact, now that I come to think about it, the music is the ONLY reason that I didn't give 5/10 for the sound, so BE WARNED ;)

CONTROLS - 7/10

You can't really go wrong with the control method, as this is one of the most simplistic platform titles I have ever played. You can jump, you can hit, and you can cast magic (which drains a significant portion of your health). It's really that simple.

When jumping you can either jump up to a ledge, or drop down from a ledge if you hold the down button when you jump.

The only other command to take note of is how to free prisoners and open doors - you just press up (provided you have an appropriate key) when you're by the door, and the game will sort the rest out for you. Simplicity itself. It'll take you about 3 seconds to master.

PLOT - 5/10

Whilst you COULD be forgiven for thinking that there WAS no plot, I can tell you that there IS. The tower you are to ascend is called Drokmar Keep, and you and your groups of aides and followers have been assembled to ascend the Tower, as the Wizard that has summoned you all has seen the Dragon's Tower glowing red, which is never a good sign (apparently).

You are to find and destroy the Blackorb within the Tower, which will ensure peace and prosperity return to your world.

Simple, eh !!

It would appear that shortly after your departure for Drokmar Keep, all your friends and followers are taken prisoner, and you must therefore liberate them by securing and using keys you will find in the tower, so that they can assist you in your ongoing campaign.

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

I have to say that, whilst this game lacks a number of things, fun whilst playing is not one of them. This game is fun in the same way that Gauntlet (bows and pays homage to the great one) was fun - it's graphically simple, quick to pick up, with very limited options and extras, but gratifying on a level that plonks a big smile on your face whilst you're playing it.

There are a number of areas which are good and bad, such as the general lack of sensation when you make contact with your enemies (that's a BAD thing by the way). I hate it when you strike somebody in a game and you feel as though you're hitting the air and, unfortunately, that's ever-present in this port.

What's good, however, is the sheer variety of followers you have available to you. Fine, you pick them up randomly but once you have one you don't have to part with them (unless they die of course), and there are quite a few to cycle through - the "Big Man", Amazon, Ninja, Cleric, Wizard, Thief, Knight, Lizard Man, all the ones that made the arcade title great - they're all in there, and they're all waiting for you.

Having the assistance of one of these followers is great, but they also level-up which makes them even COOLER. Once they reach levels 3, 5 and 7 they become stronger and sometimes undertake graphic changes as well (predominantly in the colour of their garb). Their attacks become larger, and often change colour, and you get the feeling that they are almost levelling-up with you, which is great.

There is a great deal of variety in the monsters you face, and a large number of mythical beasts have been included in the game as bosses which is great, including the Chimera and quite a few different species of Dragons. Defeating each of these monsters earns you a reward, usually in the form of a new type of weapon to carry (Falchion, Katana, etc.), and whilst you will drop these if you are hit higher up the tower, you can always pick them up again if you're quick, so it's all gravy.

Then there are the little items you can pickup which benefit you in sometimes subtle and sometimes gross ways - the Diamond Ring, for example, must be used to bribe the Lizard Man to come fight at your side, whereas the Gauntlet will increase your offensive power, and so on ... so there is an element of strategy to the game that makes it enjoyable in a different way to just straight-forward button-mashing.

There are also helpful hints which are presented to you as you ascend from one level to another, often about the level you are about to enter - e.g. "Poisoned Mushrooms will make you sleep", that kinda thing), so pay attention to those.

It's the variety of scenes, enemies, allies and power-ups that makes this game fun to play. In fairness, were it NOT for those things, the game would be REALLY boring - ALMOST like playing the same level 50 times over (which would only be fun for the masochists of you out there) ...

REPLAY VALUE - 7/10

The game's developers have brought across something in this title which was available to you in the arcade version and which I could never quite get my head around, but which I DO like, and that is the option of which floor you want to start off adventuring on. The lowest is "beginning", which starts you off in your village, outside the Tower; the highest is level 33.

It is this function which maintains the game's longevity and replay value in my opinion, as even now, a good 17 years after the arcade game was released, I still go back to my Super NES copy and play a few levels, BECAUSE I can choose which level I want to start on ... therefore if, say, I remember that there was something on Level 33 that rocks - a boss I liked, or a type of enemy I had to fight ? Then I can just pick to start on that level and whammo !! Away we go with INSTANT gratification :)

VALUE FOR MONEY - 5/10

Unfortunately, given the age of the cart and the complexity in finding it, coupled with the fact that, whilst it is enjoyable to play, it is BY NO MEANS the best of its kind out there, I have to say that it only represents MODEST value for money to have and hold at this point ...

In fact, I'm not even sure I'd say it's worth all the hassle of tracking it down - however it IS the type of game that you will be able to pop on and enjoy the occasional session of, if you've kept your copy in good nick.

OVERALL - 6/10 (This is NOT an average)

Magic Sword is a game which will never be listed amongst your most prized possessions, but which is nevertheless enjoyable to play, jam-packed with little bits and gameplay niceties, and CAN give you a good few hours of enjoyment if you REALLY want to get stuck into it, even nowadays.

The game is NOT addictive - it's just mindless fun to play, and whilst there are many considerably better platform titles out there to choose from, in its fantasy setting, it is still one I remember fondly, and not one which I shall intentionally part with any time soon.

It's neither the stuff of legend, nor going to become a family heirloom - it's just a reminder of a pleasant memory ;)

MAIN GOOD POINTS

* LOADS of variety in terms of the followers that assist you in-game
* LOADS of different power-up items to pick up
* LOADS of weapons to outfit your character with
* LOADS of levels to battle through
* LOADS of monsters of legend to do battle with

MAIN BAD POINTS

* Graphics and sound are acceptable, but not amazing
* There is virtually no sensation of contact when you strike your enemies

SO SHOULD YOU GET IT ?

If you enjoyed Gauntlet (the original - NOT Gauntlet Dark Legacy) for its simplicity and ease of play, then you might like to give this one a look, yep - however I would suggest you RENT it rather than buy it, and then keep it if you really like it - that's safest ... I definitely wouldn't pay top dollar for it, as it's nice, but not the best game by any means.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/04/07

Game Release: Magic Sword (EU, 03/18/93)