"Experience the magic!"

Well after reading a lot about how the story of the game was similar to Harry Potter, I got pretty excited for the game. I happen to really like the Harry Potter series, and seeing something similar in RPG form (The Harry Potter games aren't THAT great...) So I decided I would pick it up when it released. I wasn't at all disappointed! Here is the break down of my review:

Graphics: The game has very basic 2-D graphics, when it comes to the game play. Don't get me wrong, they still look really good, but they are basic. However, the cut-scenes in the game are awesome! When the rockets take off, it switches from a 2-D game, to a 3-D animation. Very neat!

8/10

Game play: A lot of people don't like the stylus game play, for me though, it is why I bought a DS. I really like tapping the screen in the direction I want to move, or to pick up items, or use for battle. It is a lot like Lost Magic in a sense, and I really like the use of the touch screen! The battles are pretty straight forward in the traditional RPG fashion. Turn based and all that. They do add the element of rows in there, so you can't always attack enemies in the back row.

9/10

Sound: With most hand held games, I play somewhere in public, so I keep the sound turn off or really low, so not to annoy people. When I am at home, however, I turn it up. Magical Starsign has enjoyable music in my opinion, but the sounds the characters sometimes make can be a little bit annoying.

7/10

Story: The story is really traditional in an RPG sense, but I don't think that hurts the game at all. It is similar in terms of Harry Potter, in the fact that there is a school of magic, a wizard gone bad, and kids have to save the day. The story is linear, but like I said, I don't think that hurts it at all.

8/10

Overall: This game is a very good RPG for a system that is finally starting to get them to trickle in. If you are in need of an RPG fix, then you should definitely look into picking it up! If you cannot get past the fact that you control a bunch of kids, then you might want to pass it up. Overall, a game for $29.99 USD for around 20-25 hours of game play is a pretty good deal to me.

Overall rating is an 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/06/06