Magic Knight Rayearth

"It does have a solid storyline, but the gameplay is pretty weak"

If you're looking for an innovative, unique, exceptional RPG that will turn into an addiction, this short, story-driven diversion is not for you. While there are a few positive aspects, for the most part, this game is very mundane, easy and repetitive. While it would likely be suitable for novices to the genre, anyone who is experienced with RPGs probably wouldn't get a ton of enjoyment from it.

So, what are the good parts of the game?

First off, MKR has a well-written story for its time period. There is one very unexpected twist toward the end that caught me off-guard. Until then, while the plot wasn't anything ground-breaking, the game still progressed at a good pace. The transition from dialogue scenes to gameplay scenes was done well and the game does have a good flow. You don't get stuck watching 30 minute conversations and you don't get stuck playing for dozens of hours with no actual plot events going on.

Also, there is some very good music during the course of the game. I really liked a number of the tunes, especially the final boss music.

However, this game also has a number of negative aspects that really bring it down:

First, while the game has a good story, at times it gets a wee bit on the intrusive side as far as the gameplay is concerned. Let's just say that there are a few too many boss encounters where the point is that your character or characters must be defeated in order to continue with the plot, especially considering the shortness of the game.

Second, the game really drags in the middle. The dungeons are very repetitive with your party searching for the correct path while constantly fighting monsters.

Third, speaking of the fighting, it is very repetitive. While a lot of old-school RPGs rely on constant random battles, they seem to drag on a lot longer in this game. As you advance to some of the last dungeons in the game, it's not common to need at least one turn by every character to kill just one monster. Because of this, nearly all of the frequent battles will last for some time.

Fourth, there are no optional quests. You just go from dungeon to dungeon until you beat the game. There are no secret dungeons, side-quests or anything of that nature. This is a very linear game.

Fifth, to make the game even more linear, you can't even customize your characters one bit. Every character comes with one sword. At various plot points, that sword becomes more powerful. By beating enough monsters, both your sword and armor go up in power. However, there are no optional weapons. There is no alternate armor. Every treasure chest in the game contains nothing but items that either attack enemies (somewhat like your characters' spells) or restore your HP or MP. To me, this really takes away from the reward of playing an RPG. There is very little more stimulating than going through a tough dungeon and finding some Super Duper Kill-em-all Sword in a secluded corner. In this game, you just go through a dungeon to see the plot advance and then do it over and over again until you've finally beaten the game.

As far as some other points about the game:

The graphics were decent, but not spectacular. Battle scenes are similar to that applied in the Breath of Fire series. My main complaint here is the lack of variety in enemy design. There are some cool monsters in the last couple of dungeons, but for the most part, they are fairly bland.

This game really has next to no replay value because of the complete and total lack of optional things to do. If you like playing a game with the intent of doing the exact same things you did the first time through with only the most minor of deviations (such as leveling up more or less), then you might pick it up again -- otherwise once it's beaten, there is no reason to pick it up again.

So, in summary, what this game provides is simply a diversion for those who can't get enough role-playing action and insist on playing any game in the genre, regardless of how good or bad it may be --- while I might fall into that category, I can't really recommend it to those who do not.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/03