"An interesting blend of Action and RPG"

Magician was an idea ahead of its time, with a blend of side-scrolling action (Battles and walking around), and elements of the RPG (Puzzles, gold, increasing your mana by doing certain tasks). You also had to combine runes to make your spells, which could be powered up to 4 different levels. The plot was that the evil wizard Abadon decided that he would stop helping people and try to take over the world. All the other wizards save you have been wiped out, and you (As a young apprentice named Paul) must venture through the world to try to destroy him. It was a cool concept, but let's see how it fares:

Graphics: 6/10- For early 1991 or so, the graphics are pretty good. No great mind-blowing effects, but they weren't god awful either. You can tell what everything's supposed to be: Mages have their little pointy hats, trees are brown, and so on.

Sound: 4/10- The sound just wasn't that great. There were a couple good songs--The title screen, boss battles, and Battle with Abadon come to mind--but for the most part, the sounds and effects are--well, forgetable. some spells do make a cool "THUD" when they hit your enemy though.

Control: 5/10- Basically, it takes some getting used to. This is about the only side-scrolling game I know of where jumping isn't a standard feature. Instead it's a spell you have to make. One button uses spells, the other items. I would've accepted a different interface in exchange for a jump button in a second. The way in which you make spells is also unusual. It's not inexcusably bad, but it takes some major getting used to.

Challenge: 10/10- Thankfully, it's tough, but (For once) it's not (Entirely) for all the wrong reasons. There are difficult puzzles, tough bosses, and other such things. One of the most annoying things about this game is that you only get 15 saves. While it adds another element of strategy to the game (Deciding exactly WHERE to save each game), it's rather annoying. Also, there are 3 quests. I couldn't beat the 1st two without the help of an early Nintendo Power, and it's well nigh impossible to beat the third.

Story: 4/10- Good wizard goes bad, and only you can stop his reign of terror. Again, it makes sense, but it's not very original.

Replay Value: 8/10- Trying to beat all the puzzles that you couldn't do the first time through (As stated earlier, there are 3 quests) and trying to find everything helps the replay-value some, but the games difficulty may turn you off. It all depends on how much help you can get.

Overall: 7/10- As I said earlier, it was an idea ahead of its time, blending action with RPG elements. The games difficult puzzles, tough bosses, and 3 quests make this a "Buy" if you're a fan of RPGs, less so if you like action games (It's more RPG than action game, the more I think about it). Not bad, but with some control revisions and toned down bosses on the third quest could've made this a classic.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99