| Magician Lord | |
|---|---|
 North American boxart |
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| Developer(s) | Alpha Denshi |
| Publisher(s) | SNK |
| Platform(s) | Neo Geo arcade and home systems, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | April 26, 1990 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Input methods | 8-way Joystick, 4 Buttons layout, 2 of which are used. |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Neo-Geo (46 Mbit cartridge) |
| CPU | Motorola 68000, Zilog Z80 |
| 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. Most recently it was included in SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1, released for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable in North America on May 1, 2008.
Contents |
Storyline
The player controls the wizard Elta, the last magician lord, on his 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. As Elta, the player must battle through eight levels to find each of the tomes before he can reach Gal's fortress, and seal away the evil deity once again.
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 creations (boss), in order to progress to the final stage where he will fight Gal Agiese, and 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, then they will be ambused by a very powerful creation of Gal. 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 jumping) down.
Forms
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 but short-range attack that can also be aimed diagonally unlike his standard attack.
- Waterman: The Waterman-form attacks with water grenades, blue bubbles that water explodes into water pillars upon touching the ground. The attack can hit several times for additional damage but 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 and big damage. This form, however, moves very slowly.
- Shinobi: The Shinobi-form gains increased agility and attacks with wide but slow moving magical archs of fire.
- Samurai: While limited in range the Samurai-form is the only form that can attack through barriers, such as walls, shields or even multiple enemies, using a boomerang-like energy attack that does heavy damage. It can pass through shields.
- 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.
References
- ^ Magician Lord Info - Magician Lord Information - Magician Lord Release Date
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/magicianlord/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;1 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.
External links
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