Lost Magic (DS)

[sirhansirhan]

I've seen surprisingly little about this game since it was released a few days ago, and want to know if anyone else got it and what they think of it. Reading previews of it in various video game magazines and websites had me all excited and I pre-ordered a copy, but my enthusiasm was not matched by the rest of the public, it seems, as the GameStop I had my copy pre-ordered at only got two total copies (including mine), there doesn't seem to be a thread about the game here, GameSpot hasn't seen fit to review it yet, etc.

In between my pre-ordering it and actually getting it I played Konami's Tao's Adventure, which seemingly had similar gameplay mechanics but totally sucked, which kind of quashed my interest in this game. In fact, I probably wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't had it pre-ordered. Now I own it and have put a little over half an hour into it (which is no time, I know), and I really, really like it. The gameplay isn't really comparable to any other game I've played; it's sort of like the first time you played an SRPG after years of playing normal, Final Fantasy-style RPGs--it's like a breath of fresh air. You control a kid who casts magic with a wand (you use your stylus to draw symbols on the touch screen, kind of like the runes in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow), and depending on how nice the symbol you draw is is how strong the spell comes out. Plus, if you hit an enemy with a spell or two to weaken them, you can cast a spell to capture them and then you get to dispatch them to kill other enemies in the next battle; you pretty much recruit them to permanently join your party. The battles are fought in real time, and can get pretty frantic. From what I've seen so far, the game is a lot more difficult than other RPGs that have come out recently, but maybe that's just because I'm not entirely used to the control scheme yet.

Anyway, I need to put some more time into the game before I give any kind of definitive statement, but so far I really like it a lot. It seems to have high potential to either be a big sleeper hit or to be an overlooked gem that's worth a pile of money in a few years.

[THATinkjar]

I'm excited about this game. I have heard some pretty good things on other forums, although IGN's review (posted today) seems a little odd. Once again, the main text hints at a pretty good score (I'd guess about an 8), yet they scored it pretty low (just 6.5).

Anyway... it is just nice to see a DS game come out in both Europe and America in the same week, inside three days. My copy should arrive tomorrow, though Amazon did promise to ship on Wednesday (bah).

Will post impressions in due course.

[Xexyz]

Technically the game is an RTS. I plan on picking a copy up this weekend after I hit the flea market. I agree, IGN's review is very misleading. They really are one of the last places I go to for an opinion.

[poe]

Very fun. I bought it on reccommendation of other people who owned it, IGN's review be damned (I've been thinking their "professional journalists" only need to clock an hour on these games before their editor lets them mash the keyboard for some of those quality articles, and I'm still holding the McGriddle thing against them).

RTS all they way, though the magic system is what sets the game apart from anything else out there. Beside the rune-drawing, you get an ability to combine runes about an hour in, so the 6 elemental runes you start with immediately give you access to 36 combos, plus you unlock more runes as you progress. The status screen has space for 18 runes, 3 runes for each element I'm assuming, so that means lots of trial and error to figure out how to put together your Fire Wall or area-of-effect heal (First light rune+first earth rune=Wish; you're welcome).

Controlling your monsters in combat is a pain, since the pathfinding is pretty bad, but it's nothing you can't learn to play around, and the single player battles are slow-paced enough to not be too much of a problem. Really, the pathfinding is the only problem I've found with the game. A slightly more engaging component to the monster handling (breeding or something more than just levelling) would be nice, but as is, the title is certainly deserving of an 80%.

[JWKobayashi]

Has anyone tried online play yet? If so, how is it?

[THATinkjar]

Has anyone tried online play yet? If so, how is it?

GameSpot says it is laggy, which has an impact upon gameplay.

My copy arrived this morning. I've only played about 25 minutes, but I thought the graphics and the control system were pretty sweet. Not quite the mess I was told to expect on both accounts.

GameSpot's review seemed pretty favourable. Can't wait to have a good play, though I picked up Viewtiful Joe: DT as well, and it looks pretty sweet on the Lite.

[Mayhem]

Waiting for my copy to arrive... will give thoughts when it does.

[Xexyz]

Alright, I picked up a copy of Lost Magic today and am pretty impressed with what I've played so far. I've only played single player so far (my wireless modem doesn't pick up a signal, I had the same problem with Mario Kart) but it sure is challenging. I can tell right off the bat, that this RTS will not be a walk in the park. After the first three training missions, things start to get difficult quick. The storyline doesn't really appeal to me (the usual cliche hero story so far) but the gameplay more then makes up for it. There are, however, three things that irk me (two trivial, one rather big):

1. Like many reviews have already pointed out, there is no computer AI for your units to navigate around terrain obstacles. It's only mildly annoying, mainly because I like to micro manage.

2. When selecting a group of units, a circle is created. I'm used to a square/rectangular shape, which makes more sense after all since it covers more area. I've had a few instances where Ive exluded a unit from a command because of the circular shape.

3. This is the big problem for me. Once you select a unit/units, and give them a command, you no longer have control of them. In order to issue a new command, you have to re-select them. I've been spoiled by the likes of PC RTS's such as WarCraft II and StarCraft, so this little inconvenience feels like a big flaw that somebody forgot to program...

All in all, I'm enjoying the game.

[sirhansirhan]

You know, I still like the game and all, but right now I'm stuck on a battle and it's making me want to break my DS. I have to sit through five minutes of story, and then almost always lose the battle about 30 seconds (literally) in, and then, even if I choose "continue," I have to sit through the same five damn minutes of stupid story again. It's driving me crazy. If I don't finish that battle soon, I can pretty much see myself never playing this game again out of frustration.

[Xexyz]

Yeah, that seems to be another nuicense I've noticed now that I seem to be replaying certain missions over and over now. Non-skippable cut scenes are a big NO NO Taito!

[Avatard]

Its skippable to a degree.

But yea, this game is worth $19.99 and not its release price. The pathfinding is bad, the controlling and selecting is bad (no hotkeys) and the online is unplayable because of lag.

But I've been plugging away and having a little bit of fun with capturing monsters and making them fight. A no fail winning combo I guess. The timed fight thing is sucking though.

It frustrates me to not be able to target individual targets to heal when there is a mobbed up combat. But it seems to know what you wanna heal most of the time.