GOTD 6/13/2016: Magic Sword (SNES)
Capcom sure did love the bejeesus out of the Super Nintendo, seeing fit to port a good chunk of their early '90s arcade library to the thing. Magic Sword fits that mold, and is a side-scrolling hack & slash platformer. As a barbarian named the Brave One (and his twin axe-loving brother in blue in the arcade original), you must enter the Dragon's Tower at Drokmar Keep in order to destroy a powerful relic, the Blackorb. Armed with a sword, shield, and so, so many keys, you must free trapped warriors to fight alongside you, find the most powerful swords, and cut the Blackorb down once and for all. Sounds bitchin'.
I've heard Magic Sword called the spiritual successor to Black Tiger, but I don't see it aside from some similar boss attacks and trap chests. The Dragon's Tower has 51 floors to ascend, each of which is represented by a brief stage. These levels are purely horizontal with absolutely no vertical scrolling at all. The emphasis is around basic platforming and combat over any kind of exploration or mazes. There are secrets to discover like hidden doors to skip levels and chests that can be made to appear by striking the air where they are. These contain such riches as shield upgrades, magic attack items like books and wands, food, and what have you, but more often than not, you'll find keys.
The biggest gameplay hook revolves around those keys, as they are used not only to open the door at the end of each stage, but also to open the myriad cells you'll pass throughout the keep. These can contain traps, monsters, and fairies, but most of the time you'll free one of the king's allies. Dark Sorcerers, White Wizards, Big Men, Ninjas, Thieves, Knights, and if you have a diamond ring with which to bribe them, Lizard Men. These allies automatically follow behind you, attacking when you attack and jumping when you jump like Miles "Tails" Prower. They have their own power-ups to grab as well and their own life bars, and can level up behind you up to level 7, gaining more potent attacks along the way. Each has unique attacks and abilities, like the thief stopping trap chests and the white wizard slaughtering the undead. Bringing the right compatriot with you and leveling them up is a huge part of victory.
The last combat wrinkles are a desperation attack that costs essentially a life (weak) and your magic attack bar, which constantly charges on its own. This works like the classic the Legendary Axe, where your attacks become more powerful with a more full bar. This also effects magic user companions, whose attacks are also more potent with a full bar. It's pretty straight-forward combat that feels good, and the boss fights every few floors look good and offer up a fair challenge.
Graphically, Magic Sword looks outstanding with its bright colors, detailed backgrounds and even some cool heat wave effects. There is noticeable slowdown at times, but not so bad as something like Gradius III. The music is pretty good as well, but Capcom has certainly made some more memorable tracks. It's a fairly lengthly game, taking around an hour for a complete play. The SNES version only supports one player, but allows you to start at different intervals, all the way up to level 33.
I love Magic Sword, and it's in my experience one of the best SNES arcade-style games that can still be had for under $20. If you dig Capcom's style, it's a great title, and the arcade version is on Capcom Classics vol. 2 on Xbox and PS2 as well as one of the PSP compilations.
Played it?
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