Hello there, it is time for another entry in Retro Revival, the feature series where I cover classic games that have been given a new lease of life. Here I discuss HD remasters, emulated ports and compilations, in part or as a whole. This time, I have another classic game from the NEOGEO, with Magician Lord, a side scrolling action game and one of the launch titles from Alpha Denshi (ADK) in 1990. This title is available through the ACA NEOGEO series by Hamster Corporation.
Disclaimer: the games discussed in this feature have been my own purchases, so all opinions contained within are my own. There has been no sponsorship of the content in this feature, with links to the different versions of the game where possible.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general gameplay experience, then provide my personal thoughts on the release.
About the game
Magician Lord is a side scrolling action game, set in the land of Gadasius which has been thrown into turmoil. Gul-Agieze, an evil sorcerer sealed within the eight volumes of the Sorcerer’s Books has broken free, attacking the land with his army of monsters. His goal is to revive the god of destruction and take over the world. However, the last descendant of the Magician Lord, Elta appears to face this evil to seal Gul-Agieze away once more.
To save Gadasius from this evil, Elta must locate and recover the Eight volumes of the Sorcerer’s Books, before Gul-Agieze is able to revive the god of destruction. These books are scattered across the land, guarded by the servants of Gul-Agieze. Using the power of the Magician Lord and the ability to transform, Elta will face great evil on his journey. This title can be played single player, or with another in alternating turn based play.
The gameplay loop consists of the player making their way through seven action stages, traversing hazardous environments and facing deadly monsters. The action stages are split into multiple segments, which will scroll both horizontally and vertically. The stages are mostly linear, with the player heading towards doors to move to the next section, using ladders and platforms to get to the goal. But there will be many dangers throughout the areas.
While making their way to the stage goal, players will encounter horrific monsters, with hulking beasts, shambling undead and demonic creatures that can appear. In order to fight the forces of evil, Elta can sling magical projectiles at monsters, but this is limited to two shots at a time. This prevents consistent rapid fire as the attack must disappear, or make contact with an enemy to be used again, making the action very challenging during play.
There will also be deadly traps like fire, spikes and even bottomless pits, which will harm or even outright kill Elta during play. To make it through the perilous landscapes, players have access to a jump that will vary in height based on the amount of time the button is pressed. This allows for the player to cross large gaps, but it can be inconsistent in use, as it is possible to hit enemies by tapping the button a little too hard, taking damage from enemies.
As this is a relatively early action side scroller, it suffers from the unfortunate issue that plagues action games with platforming, knock back when taking damage. Sadly, this issue with knockback is made worse by very short post-hit invincibility, which can lead to repeated damage from enemies. Due to this it is very easy to die during play, as players start each life with 2 health points at default settings, but this can be changed in the settings.
There are so many enemies and traps that appear, death is likely to be a common occurrence as they will swarm the player. In the early stages, it isn’t as noticeable with only a couple flying enemies or monsters that pop up. However, the further the adventure progresses, the more aggressive and numerous these threats become. Each time the player dies, Elta will respawn in or around the same point of death, with a slightly increased invincibility.
The player has a limited number of lives, with the default being three but can be adjusted to a maximum of nine. When all lives have been lost, the player will get a game over and have the option of continuing or letting the game end. As this is an arcade game, players have infinite credits to keep going for as long as they want. But if they choose to end the game, there is the ability to use a memory card to save progress, restarting from the stage the game ended on.
Throughout the stages, there will be treasure chests that can be broken by shooting. When they open up, they will contain precious materials, adding to the player’s score. But there will be special items hidden in these boxes that can enhance the powers of Elta. The first are the element orbs, with three colors that can be collected. The colors of the orbs are tied to the element they represent, with red for fire, green for wind and blue for water.
By combining two of these elements, players will be able to transform into a more powerful form. There are six different transformations that are available to the player, including the dragon, Shinobi and waterman. Each time the player transforms, they will gain additional health points, alongside more powerful attacks and altered jump heights. There will also be power orbs, which increase the power of attacks that can be unleashed by the player.
These powers can only be temporary, as the transformation power, shown as green markers on the HP bar will be lost when damage is taken. If the additional HP added through the transformation are lost, Elta will return to their normal form, reducing their power at the same time. Elta will always have one element orb with him, so only one will need to picked up to transform. The most recent pick up will be the one held for the next transformation.
At the end of each action stage, there will be a sub-boss that will challenge the player. Each of these servants of the evil one have their own unique attack patterns, including knights with swords and wizards that summon monsters. These battles take place in enclosed areas, which can increase the challenges of the battles. Once the sub-boss has been slain, Elta will be transported to a void where he is confronted by Gul-Agieze.
After the confrontation, Elta will be sent to the main boss room, where horrific creatures will face the Magician Lord. These areas are tied to the theme of the stage, including details in the background and the stage itself. The bosses are monsters that include the Hellhound in a bloody sacrifice room, the Leviathan in a fleshy hellscape and Cyclopean in a volcanic temple. These monsters are deadly, with attacks that can quickly kill the player.
Unlike many other action games, if the player is killed by a sub or main boss, the damage they have dealt will be carried over. This works well given the high difficulty of boss battles, as it can allow players to keep pushing to get through each of the stages. The weak point of the bosses will vary, but many of them can be damaged by simply hitting their main body. However, some bosses will have obscured points that need to be hit.
Once all of the main action stages have been cleared, the player will challenge a boss rush, where they will face off with all of the sub-boss monsters. After defeating all of these opponents, the player will encounter the final boss and upon defeating them, the ending will play out. Due to being an arcade game, there is a lack of extra game or unlockable content, but if the player gets a high enough score, they will be able to enter it into the rankings.
The last thing to discuss are the quality of life improvements, which have been implemented through the ACA NEOGEO service. The main ones are full dipswitch access, the ability to expand the screen past the original display and a manual for players to view. Players can also adjust the controls to suit their liking, while also adding display filters if desired. There is also the inclusion of extra challenge modes, language options and global leaderboards.
Personal Thoughts
As stated before during my Crossed Swords feature (HERE), I am a big fan of the NEOGEO, having grown up around it and the games. There is something special about the system, as it brought up games like Fatal Fury, Metal Slug and Magician Lord, which has stuck with me for many years. I have vivid memories of seeing the system in front of a big CRT TV, the cart in the machine and my dad playing it as I was a kid. So this game is rather important to me.
Magician Lord was a launch title for the NEOGEO MVS, while also being one of the launch titles for the AES home system. It has a lot of importance to it culturally, being a showcase for the system that boasted 24-BIT with a total memory capability of 330 MEG (MEGABIT) for the games. Magician Lord came in at 46 MEGBIT, which was the over 5 times bigger than any other cartridge game at the time, with the limit being between 4 -8 MEGABIT for other systems.
The graphics are gorgeous with spritework and backgrounds that really took advantage of the power that the NEOGEO possessed. The amount of detail they were able to add to the game, with the bosses, monsters and settings far surpassing anything that was capable in the home. There is also very clear and crisp voice work in the game, with the best worst voice acting and dialogue that doesn’t make sense during play.
But with all of the cool stuff that is present in the game, there are less than cool parts of the experience, with the first being the extremely high difficulty. Even at the lowest difficulty, it can be very hard to get through the game, during later sections of the game. This is at its worst during the stages where theres a lot of enemies, moving platforms and death pits. All of these elements can lead to repeated death and needing to continue.
Then there are the bosses, which can be really hard to battle, due to the hazards that appear, their attacks and even the stage itself. All of these difficulties are magnified with the extremely short invincibility, knock back and limited HP which can be drained in seconds. If you were to play this in an arcade, you would have to sell a kidney just to get to the end, it is that brutal in the level of difficulty and challenge that it offers players.
I have a lot of love for this game, even if it is a little rough around the edges, is hard as hell and is almost unbeatable unless you have infinite credits (or a memory card). My dad on the other hand hates the game, which has become a joke where I call it his favourite NEOGEO game whenever it comes up in conversation. But we both appreciate the importance of the game and what it means to the system, the history of NEOGEO and the impact it had.
Hamster knocked it out of the park with this release, their emulation tech and all of the extra stuff like the manual, settings and modes make this a great way to experience the game. It is also very inexpensive for people to pick up, being on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and XBOX platforms at a very modest price. The game being an arcade title also makes it easy to pick up and play, while also offering a tremendous amount of replay value.
There is also something very special that has been announced, with the NEOGEO AES+ system, which is a faithful recreation of the original home machine. It is available for preorder, with Magician Lord being one of the titles on the list for players to get their hands on. This is great given the prices currently on the resale market, with the system and game together being resold at around 1500 in different regions. Thankfully, the re-release will be around 250-300 regionally.
I said in my previous feature that the NEOGEO has been mostly forgotten, with it falling into obscurity. But it seems I was sorely mistaken, as there has been a resurgence in the community after the AES+ announcement, having a lot of buzz and attention brought back to the system. I just hope that there is a success for NEOGEO getting a second chance, as I would love to seem more that what has been announced.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then take a look at the other content available and see what catches your eye. There are reviews, sometimes news and features that cover a variety of games. There is the lost gems series, special Gaming Oddities and more coming in the future. So stick around for a while and check out the other content.
Link to Nintendo Switch Version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to NEOGEO AES+ (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 