Magic Sword Arcade
Regulo Akers
Magic Sword: Heroic Fantasy[1] is a 1990 hack-and-slash arcade game by Capcom. The game casts the player as a hero who must fight his way through a mystical tower in order to save the world. The player can use a sword, axe or magic, and can also rescue and recruit potential allies of various character classes, each of which has its own special abilities.
Magic Sword takes place in an unnamed world, which is being threatened by the dark lord Drokmar (Dracmar in the original Japanese[2]), who has control over an evil crystal known as the "Black Orb", which would allow him to rule over the world. In order to prevent this from happening, the hero, known as the Brave One (Alan in the original Japanese[3]), must scale to the top of the 50-floor tower in which Drokmar resides, known as Dragon Keep.[4] At the game's end, when Drokmar is defeated, the player has the option of two endings: destroy the Black Orb, or to take control of it, becoming the new dark lord.
Magic Sword shares many gameplay elements with Black Tiger. The game has side-scrolling fighting, with some platforming elements. The player controls only the main character. The accompanying ally, controlled by the computer, follows the player diligently and only attacks and jumps when the player does. Assistant characters consist of Amazon (archer), Big Man (wields an axe), Knight, Lizardman, Ninja, Priest, Thief and Wizard. The player is allowed to carry one item, which can assist the player or the current ally.
The player has a magic meter. It fills up while the player is not attacking, but it empties completely each time the player attacks. If the player attacks when the meter is empty or is blue, the player can only perform a melee attack when the standard attack button is used. Magical allies like the priest and the wizard will not attack in this situation. If it is red but not full, the player and any magical ally teamed up with him will perform a weak ranged magical attack alongside the melee attack. If it is full, the player and any magical ally teamed up with him will perform a strong ranged magical attack alongside the melee attack. Non-magical allies will attack when the player attacks regardless of the status of the magic meter.
The player's health is displayed as a set of five HP bars and a number next to the HP bars that counts the number of sets of five full HP bars beyond the ones that are shown on screen in case the player has more than five full HP bars. The ally has a separate HP meter that maxes out at four HP bars.
The game has about 50 levels,[5][6] and multiple endings with two alternate outcomes.[6][7] There are 51 floors to fight through in the game. Eight of these floors have boss characters at the end, including Drokmar himself at the end of the 50th floor. Additionally, there are seven "Secret Doors" which allows the player to bypass levels when specific maneuvers are performed.
During development, Capcom was going to program the gameplay so the player could have up to two allies (four in total in a two-player game). The hardest part of the game was the placement of enemies in each stage. One of the last features implemented in the game was the secret doors.[8] The game was being location-tested in Japan by April 1990.[5]
A single player-only port was released for the Super NES in 1992 and for mobile phones in 2008.[10] A version for the Capcom Power System Changer was planned and previewed but never released.[11] The full arcade version is included in Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PlayStation Portable, Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
In Japan, the game had successful location tests by April 1990.[5] Game Machine listed Magic Sword on their September 1, 1990 issue as being Japan's second most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as Raiden and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[20] In North America, it had a successful launch, with early orders of several thousand arcade units upon release,[6] while performing well at test locations.[21] It was a hit at American arcades upon release.[22] In November and December 1990, weekly coin drop earnings averaged $263.75 per arcade unit.[23] It was the top-grossing software conversion kit on the RePlay arcade charts in November 1990.[24]
The arcade game received positive reviews from critics. Julian Rignall of Computer and Video Games called it a "slick, colourful and well executed" game and said that it will appeal to any fan of slash 'em up games.[14] Your Sinclair called it "an unoriginal", but "hugely" playable coin-op game.[16]
The SNES version received mixed reviews from critics. Nintendo Power called it the great action game, but with extra game options and a stage select for the lower levels compared to the original arcade version.[15] Super Play criticized the animation for being awful, the sound effects as negligible, and the game slowing down at the slightest provocation.[17]
There are fifty floors in the Dragon Tower, which sounds like a lot, and it is. However Magic Sword is of medium length. Most floors are a straight path and last a scant minute or two. Some only provide a few chests before the exit and are completed in under thirty seconds. Like the arcade version you have the option to start at a number of set points, up to floor thirty-three. This cuts down the amount of time needed to complete the game and is incredibly generous. This is especially important as there is no battery backup or passwords to save progress.
Even with its high difficulty and repetition I still had a lot of fun. Magic Sword suffers from reduced production values and heavy slowdown but I would still recommend it to those looking to fill out their SNES library.
In Magic Sword, you are a man with a giant sword who must make his way to the top of a 50-floor tower. There's also a second player with a magic axe, but he's not in the title, so who cares?
When a "screen crash" spell is cast, an image flashes on-screen for a few frames. In the Japanese and World 900623 revisions, it's a hexagram: the symbols inside the hexagram are the astrological symbols for Saturn, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, and possibly Jupiter; the symbols on the outer circle are unknown and possibly made up.
The other two revisions (USA and World 900725) use a lightning bolt, which is arguably more effective at representing what the spell does. This change may have also been made so the hexagram wouldn't be mistaken for a Star of David.
The player controls an unnamed character - referred to as the "brave one" - through 51 levels to the top of the Dragon's Tower. At the top of the tower, the dark lord Drokmar possesses the Black Orb. The goal is to traverse the tower and stop Drokmar's plan to rule the world with the power of the magic crystal. There are two endings to the game - the ending depends on whether the player embraces or destroys the Black Orb.
The game is primarily a hack and slash sidescroller but also includes platforming in the form of parallel paths of travel and avoiding ground hazards. As the player progresses, they'll encounter new swords that cause increased damage and have different magic attacks. Most swords are acquired immediately after a boss battle at the end of certain levels. Chests and doors can be opened to reveal items and allies respectively. However, some chests and doors are traps that release enemies or other hazards. Doors also require keys to open, which are collected and stored by the player. Only one ally can travel with the player character at a time, and has its own health and level associated with it. Allies level up with items or by passing over the same type of ally again. The game also features a level select option, allowing the player to skip to level 5, 9, 13, 22, 26, 30, or 33.
Most levels have at least one hidden chest. A secret chest is invisible unless the player character has the Thief ally, crystal ball item, or they strike it with their sword to open it. Some levels have secret doors that warp the player one or more floors ahead when used. These doors can never be seen until activated.
This is a Print and Play board game with rolling dice, your objective is to eliminate enemies to earn coins and with them buy the key that opens the castle tower door to try to wield the magic sword and defeat the sorcerer Calamar.
Magic Sword: Heroic Fantasy known in Japan as Magic Sword (majikkusuworudo, Majikku Suworudo) is a side-scrollling fantasy hack and slash video game developed and published by Capcom. Originally released on Arcade in June 23, 1990, later ports in SNES between 1991 to 1993. The game casts the hero who must fights his way trough a mystical tower, to save the world from madness. The player can use magic, sword, or axe, and player can also rescued/recruit potential allies of various character classes, each of wich has its own special abilities. Three years earlier, Capcom had released the similiar game titled Black Tiger.
Magic Sword, fully titled as Magic Sword - Heroic Fantasy, is a side-scrolling fantasy arcade game released by Capcom in 1990. The game casts the player as a hero who must fight his way through a mystical tower in order to save the world. The player can use a sword, axe, or magic, and can also rescue and recruit potential allies of various character classes, each of which has his or her own special abilities. Capcom had released the similar Black Tiger in 1987.
The main core of the gameplay is side-scrolling fighting, with some platforming elements. The player controls only the main character; all of the allies are controlled by the computer, who follow the player diligently and only attack when the player does. AI assisting characters can be switched to fit the situation or player preference. The player is allowed to carry one item that can assist him or the ally he is teamed up with.
c80f0f1006