Game of the Day 3/26/2016: Magician Lord

[celerystalker]

Magician Lord is pretty well-known, so hopefully some folks have some memories about it from the arcade days. I had a whole entry typed up for this, but it locked up and I lost it, so this'll be brief, as I really need to get to bed, and I've been short on time this week from taking care of my wife after a difficult miscarriage, so that's where my priorities have been, but we're starting to come out of the woods.

Anyway, Magician Lord is a lot like Rastan, with its levels being comprised of a journey through an outer area followed by a tougher fortress culminating in a boss battle (or two). Its big wrinkle is the main character, Elta's, ability to transform basef on elemental affinity by picking up orbs. He has about half a dozen, such as Ninja, Dragon Man, Poseidon, Water Man, Samurai, and Raijin, a lightning creature, each with their own attacks and attributes. Transforming refills your health, but forms have situational uses, so there's a built in risk-reward in holding out for a specific form.

The game is tough, and the manner of difficulty depends on whether you're playing on MVS or AES. On MVS, you get less health, but you continue from where you stand upon death or a new quarter, so dying is a bit easier, but you can quarter munch on through. On AES, though, dying sends you to the beginning of the area you're in, and continuing to the beginning of the level (unless you're on the stage boss). On AES, you have to be able to at least clear each stage on a single credit, so it can be tougher even with more health.

I love Magician Lord, and have beaten it many times on my AES. It finally got a physical disc release on SNK Arcade Classics vol. 1 on PS2, Wii, and PSP, so it's become pretty accessible. It's a big, pretty, nasty adventure that at least Rastan fans should play.

Any fun memories on this one? For me, I always laugh at the bad guys that pop up out of the floor and appear to flip you off before going after you:

[Edmond Dantes]

What? No responses to this one, guys? Seriously?

This was one of the first games I got with my Neo-Geo last year.... and its the main game I keep coming back to. For some reason it feels like a game that should've been on the Sega Genesis (due to the dark and slightly horror aesthetic that fits in perfectly with games like Chakan the Forever Man and Shadow of the Beast). And yet its also somehow got a feel of a game that never would've been done justice on a home console (well okay, except for the AES).

I love it.

Unfortunately I need to mod my AES sticks.... they both feel too imprecise. I find myself walking when I meant to duck.

[Tanooki]

At one point in my arcade gaming days I'd look for this, not the easiest but it was a fun game even if it ate a few quarters on some fairly cheap bosses but it was fun as I said. When I had some interest in that Neo Geo X device I was happy to see it was a title included, but of course I ended up being more bark than bite as I never bit on it because they got railed on, ripped apart, and then it just freaking died after having so few games for it versus the cost and bugs of the original firmware at launch.

[SpaceHarrier]

I remember reading about this game in Electronic Gaming Monthly back in 1991, it was the game that got me interested in the Neo Geo. I never had an opportunity to play it until the PS2 collection released. It exceeded any hype I had for it, though the difficulty was honestly jaw dropping. Those damn frogs! Music is fantastic, spoken dialogue.. hilarious, and pixel art is beautiful. It's the Neo Geo game I've spent the most time playing, that's for sure.

[Dire 51]

I have never owned a Neo Geo, and I probably never will. But if for some reason I ever get one, this will be the first game I get for it.

Like many of us, I remember staring at the screenshots in EGM way back when, and being disappointed when it never made it out of arcades. The few times I ran into it, I played it until I ran out of quarters. When the SNK Arcade Classics comp came out for the PS2, I bought it solely because Magician Lord was on it. To quote from a review I wrote of SNKAC a couple years back, regardiing whether or not it was worth the purchase if you didn't own a Neo Geo, "But if you're like me and just had to have your own copy of Magician Lord to play on your TV, it's a no-brainer: buy it."

[celerystalker]

I remember reading about this game in Electronic Gaming Monthly back in 1991, it was the game that got me interested in the Neo Geo. I never had an opportunity to play it until the PS2 collection released. It exceeded any hype I had for it, though the difficulty was honestly jaw dropping. Those damn frogs! Music is fantastic, spoken dialogue.. hilarious, and pixel art is beautiful. It's the Neo Geo game I've spent the most time playing, that's for sure.

Ha, yeah, those frogs are probably the most annoying enemies in the game, especially when a bunch pop out of a trap chest. Hate those guys. It was a great game to put on the compilation, and is just a great introduction to the Neo Geo in general, and what it can be outside of fighters.

[Graham Mitchell]

Love this one. I was playing it the other day. What a great launch game. Challenging and gorgeous to look at.

[Gentlegamer]

Magician Lord is definitely pretty, but a pretty mediocre game overall.

If it doesn't have a page at Audio Atrocities, it should.

[Emperor Megas]

This game is SO AWESOME. The dialog is KING! It's pretty brutal though. I've only played it in arcades, though I'm pretty sure that I own it on a few home systems. I've always thought it was one of the best games on the Neo Geo.

[Black_Tiger]

This was the Neo Geo's killer app for me. It's exactly the kind of game with the kind of theme and aesthetics that I wanted from something like the Neo Geo. I was so thankful that the MVS version made it to my hometown.

Getting to play it whenever I want on a cmvs, it's not as enjoyable of a game as it was to try with a quarter or two in the arcades. It's a Ghosts 'n Goblins style clear-a-section game and like Legendary Axe and Monsterland, I don't like having tricky mazes to figure out, late in a game that can already be brutal.

Still a very cool experience overall and a must-own and play for me.

[Videogamerdaryll]

This is one game of two on MVS that I had the desire-enjoyment years ago to play fully through to the end..
It's been a long time but I believe I was able to do that with memory card saves. ..
I had this on AES too but found it easier to play on the MVS...I dunno I'm just more of an Arcade Machine player when it comes to Neo Geo..

[Tron 2.0]

Magician Lord is still one of my favorite early release.First neo-geo game id ever got to play in the arcades to.It was in a way a altered beast for the system though some alter-forms were kind of useless.Also i find it's engrish amusing as well though that was the case for most games on the neo-geo.Looking at it now i'm glad i bought it early on for my cmvs.Id say this,because it has become really pricey for the mvs while aes it's far more common and cheaper as well