Magician Lord

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Magician Lord

North American box art
Developer(s) Alpha Denshi
Publisher(s) SNK
Platform(s) Arcade, Neo Geo, PlayStation Network, Virtual Console
Release date(s) April 26, 1990[1]
Genre(s) Platformer
Mode(s) Single player
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system Neo-Geo (46 Mbit cartridge)
CPU Motorola 68000, Zilog Z80
Sound Yamaha 2610
Display Raster, 304 x 224 pixels (horizontal), 4096 colors

Magician Lord (マジシャンロード Majishan Roodo), is a side-scrolling platform game developed by ADK that was released on April 26, 1990. It was a launch title for both the Neo-Geo MVS (arcade) and AES (home) systems, and was one of the pack-in games for the Neo-Geo AES. Like many earlier SNK games, it is well known for its challenging difficulty.[2]

It was re-released through the Virtual Console download service in Europe and Australia on October 26, 2007, and in North America on October 29, 2007. It was later released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable through the PlayStation Store.[3] It was previously included in SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1, released for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable in North America on May 1, 2008.

Plot

The wizard Elta, the last magician lord is on a quest to save his homeland from the evil wizard Gal Agiese. The evil wizard is seeking the god of destruction Az Atorse whom he plans to resurrect this using eight tomes of mystical power. Elta, must battle through eight levels to find each of the tomes before he can reach Gal's fortress, and seal away the evil deity.

Gameplay

Elta has to jump, shoot and climb his way to the end of each level where he must beat a servant of Gal, along with one of Gal's sinister boss creations, in order to progress through the game. To complete the game Elta must reach the final stage and defeat Az Atorse himself. The gameplay is typical to a standard action-platformer fitted for arcade machines and thus very challenging. If the player takes too long to complete a stage, Elta will be harassed by an invincible monster. Aside from the fantasy themes there's an added twist of transformations that make the wizard more powerful and grants him new attacks. When he has not been transformed, Elta's primary form of attack is a weak but fast-moving energy projectile that he can shoot in four directions; left, right, up and (while in midair) down.

Elta in battle with one of Gal's creations.

These are the forms that Elta can assume by picking up combinations of colored orbs found throughout the stages:

  • Dragon Warrior: In this form Elta attacks by breathing fire; a continuous short-range attack that can also be aimed diagonally unlike his standard attack.
  • Waterman: The Waterman-form attacks with water grenades – blue bubbles of water that burst into water pillars upon touching the ground. The attack can hit several times for additional damage but only covers a small area.
  • Poseidon: A more powerful version of the Waterman, Poseidon shoots wide waves of water that travels along the ground for several hits. It does severe damage and causes enemies to freeze and shatter on impact. While very powerful, this form moves very slowly.
  • Shinobi: The Shinobi-form gains increased agility and attacks with powerful magical arcs of fire which are wide but slow-moving.
  • Samurai: While limited in range, the Samurai-form is the only form that can attack through walls, shields or even multiple enemies, using a boomerang-like energy attack that does heavy damage.
  • Raijin: The Raijin-form gives Elta's jumping ability a big boost as well as a unique attack that creates a continuous electrical field around his body.

Reception

Magician Lord has received mixed reactions amongst critics, and gamers alike. On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Neo Geo version of the game an 18 out of 40.[4] In 2009, GamesRadar included Magician Lord among the games "with untapped franchise potential," commenting that the game "failed in many ways, with half-formed ideas and shoddy level design that had the player incessantly backtracking through levels."[5]

Sequel

In 1995, Magician Lord was supposed to have a sequel; however it was cancelled during the development along with Crystalis II. It was first going to be released for the Neo Geo AES system.

The premise of the game continues two years after the events of the first game. Gal Agiese and Az Atorse have been defeated, and sealed away by the powers of Elta (the newly proclaimed Magician Lord). During this period of time, darkness and despair loomed over Cadacis (Elta's homeland as described in the introduction of the first game) and its citizens. If the darkness outweighed the light of the land, Gal Agiese and Az Atorse would be resurrected for the third time, and wreak havoc upon Cadacis once more. The Queen saw the seal breaking once more, but using the last of her magic, one of the eight tomes of power arrives in the clutches of Elta. Elta, noticing the cataclysm starting once more, finally reaches the castle. Elta must now find the Queen, and prevent the third resurrection of Gal Agiese, and Az Atorse. The game was eventually moved to the Neo Geo CD as a non-linear, free exploration platform game. The Neo Geo CD version's release was going to serve the same purpose as Crossed Swords II did when it came to the Neo Geo CD. Production then carried over toward the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1998, simply known as Magician Lord. Only an alpha test version of the game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color was ever produced. It was going to be developed upon even more, but in the end, the sequel was cancelled due to Alpha Denshi filing for bankruptcy. After 14 years of seclusion, the alpha test cartridge was finally unearthed at GameKult.com.[6] The game offered more transformations than the first game, and played very similarly to the likes of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (the only difference was Magician Lord's ability to transform).

References

  1. ↑ Magician Lord Info – Magician Lord Information – Magician Lord Release Date
  2. ↑ A portion of the game's problems lies in its arcade quarter-muncher roots. The design is simple, Elta's health bar is tiny, and every level is packed with the same repetitive enemies. Worse, though, are the unresponsive controls and sluggish pace. Jumps and attacks just don't happen fast enough, and Elta moves as if the oxygen in the air has been replaced with molasses. The game is already challenging enough; pile on stiffness and sluggishness, and the challenge rises into unfair territory.
  3. ↑ PlayStation®Store to offer “NEOGEO Station” game titles in “PS3™ Games” and “PSP® Games” category from 22nd December, 2010 :: Press Release :: PlayStation Asia - Singapore
  4. ↑ NEO GEO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: マジシャンロード. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.332. Pg.22. 28 April 1995.
  5. ↑ 123 games with untapped franchise potential, GamesRadar US, April 30, 2009
  6. ↑ Magician Lord : la suite que personne n'a vue

External links

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