Unique but Slightly Flawed

Since I first picked up a DS, I’ve been itching to have some fun with the touch screen and play games in a new way. Most of the time, I’ve ended up with games that just use it for novelty. With the exception of a certain import cheerleading game, I’ve found few games that incorporate it into innovative gameplay. But, it is with great pleasure that I add Lost Magic to the list of games that provide a new gaming experience via the multitalented touchpad. It’s a lucky thing this game can boast that too, since its story and art are a little weak, but this does little to hamper the fun that can be had with this game.
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In Lost Magic, you are an apprentice wizard named Isaac. As the adopted son of an old witch, Isaac studies magic daily, oblivious to the decaying state of the world around him as the Mistress of Twilight eliminates The Eight Sages and steals their wands. However, he does not remain sheltered for long before the Mistress turns her attention toward Isaac’s master. With only his wand of light left, Isaac must discover a way to revive the eight fallen masters including the Mistress herself.
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Yes, the plot is simplistic and predictable. But trust me; the main draw of this game was not intended to be its plot, or even the sound and graphics for that matter. This game’s draw lies completely in its unique gameplay.
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Battle is set up like a real time strategy game with maps full of monsters, energy crystals, and environmental obstacles. Usually you’re mission will be “destroy all monsters” but occasionally you’ll have to protect villagers or simply defeat a boss. You control Isaac and his minions by touching or drawing circles around them. Then you simply touch where you want them to go or who you want them to attack. This system is simple and easy to use, but has some flaws. Your units only know how to travel in straight lines. So, if there is an object in the way, they can’t get around it without your help. This problem is compounded by how slow the screen moves, making it impossible to control units on different ends of the map.
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Energy crystals on each stage start out “corrupted” but can be purified by placing Isaac or certain units next to them. For every purified crystal, your energy will recharge more rapidly, allowing for more spell casting. Capturing these locations before taking on tough enemies is a vital strategy and the order in which you attempt it needs to be carefully considered.
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In his travels, Isaac will encounter rivers, glaciers and even lava streams. Each of these obstacles can be dealt with by using magic or your unit’s abilities in creative ways.
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Isaac himself has no fighting ability, so he must rely entirely on his magic in order to survive. By holding down the L button you bring up a glyph to draw on. Each spell has a corresponding rune you must draw to use it. The spell’s power is dependant on how accurately you draw the rune. Taking your time might produce a more potent spell, but not even magic can freeze time, and sometimes you’ll have to draw with more speed than precision.
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Impressively, each spell is not simply a different kind of attack; most of them act as tools you can use in creative ways. With a wave of your wand you can melt a path through solid ice, block the enemy’s path with a wall of stone or charm foes with a pleasing mist. Each of the 18 runes can also be combined with other runes to create even more powerful hybrid spells, giving the player over 250 spells to wield. The level of involvement the player has in implementing magic makes you feel like a mage yourself. I honestly won’t be satisfied simply selecting “Fire 2” from a menu screen again.
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But, no matter how fast or powerfully you can cast spells, once you run out of energy you’re just a defenseless kid in a cloak. That’s why there are special trap spells for capturing and recruiting monsters to use as soldiers and bodyguards. Any monster you encounter can be captured, but the there is a limit to the total power of monsters you can bring to a map. Each monster has characteristics that make them useful in certain maps. Flying monsters can cross any chasm and are unaffected by terrain, while earth monsters can absorb damage caused by sandstorms. This adds another level of strategy as you try to find the right combination of monsters to quickly overtake a map.
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Oh, that reminds me; quickly beating a map is crucial in this game. In fact, beating a stage before time runs out is the most oppressive challenge you will encounter. Granted, if the stages didn’t have time limits you could just crawl through them, taking down opponents one-by-one. However, I feel that time is just too scarce, not even leaving you enough to look the map over and devise a strategy. This game would benefit from any option to make it easier as it’s simply too hard for younger kids to play, even though it’s geared slightly towards them.
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Multiplayer is more than just a contest in speed drawing, it’s a hectic duel of spells and counterspells as each player tries to negate the other’s strategy as fast as he can think of the proper spell. Though all available runes are listed on the upper screen when you play any mode, knowing what they (any their myriad of combinations) can do is something you’ll have to figure out on the fly.
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Lost Magic is another brilliant and original game concept for the DS. I would even say it could become a classic if it were not for the few issues that taint the experience. But don’t get me wrong, I had fun playing this game even when repeating a stage for the 15th time, but it left a bad taste in my mouth that keeps me from giving it a higher score. Still, if you have a DS and you’re looking to see one more great way to use the touch screen, find yourself a copy of Lost Magic.