Magic Knight Rayearth is
a RPG by Tomy for the Super Famicom based off the anime of the same
name that was released in 1995. The game stars Hikaru Shidou, Umi
Ryuuzaki, and Fuu Hououji; ninth graders from Japan who get
transported to the magical world of Cephiro. There they meet Clef, a
master mage who sends them on the path to become the Magic Knights.
First off, the visuals
in this game are beautiful. Both the graphics and artwork are
pleasing to the eye and I don't feel like I'm playing an old game at
all.
Unlike a lot of RPGs I
have played, this game doesn't begin in a starter town that you get
to explore until the game expands into bigger territory. You start
off in the middle of nowhere before being introduced to the world
map.
I don't
always go out into the world, but when I do I become twice my natural
born size!
In addition
to the usual cities you see in RPGs, you have things like the lump
behind your character there representing the starting area, and two
trees next to each signifying the woods. You're thrown right into
the wild with no weapons whatsoever and you don't get any magic
spells until you complete your first objective. It's just your fists
out there until then.
Toadstool?
Here we have
all our basic options for fighting: Attack, Item, Magic, Move
(running away), Defense, and Run. A pretty straightforward setup,
there. Hikaru (left) and Umi (middle) inflict the highest amount
of damage overall with Fuu (right) being the weakest of the trio.
This doesn't change when they get their weapons. Hikaru and Umi
being equipped with swords while Fuu gets a bow and arrow. The
weapons on Hikaru and Umi can inflict damage up to the 100s whereas
the bow and arrow only really goes up to about 50 or higher. The
magic spells also does about the same amount of damage as the
weapons. The first boss in the game was a one- hit KO for me thanks
to Hikaru's spell when she first gets her powers. Keep in mind that
it also depends on the type of enemy you're fighting since Fuu's bow
has caused damage into the 100s during one playthrough.
The menu shows us an
overview of the characters' status, items, magic spells, let's us
change our characters formation, perform some customization, and
when we run into Mokona (that cute cuddly rabbit-like creature in
the bottom right corner) we'll be able to save our game anywhere on
the world map. More on that a little later.
Don't sound
so surprise, Clef.
The game
takes after the first series of the anime and starts off when
Princess Emeraude summons our heroes to her world to become
the legendary Magic Knights. Clef is bemuse at why the princess
chose kids for the task. I would be to, to be frank. Are adults just
not as pleasing to look at or what? All three girls were at Tokyo
Tower when they were transported to Cephiro and introduced
themselves to one another prior to Clef's appearance.
Why do they need to
become the Magic Knights? To save the world. Why else? Princess
Emeraude acts as the pillar of Cephiro, her prayers bringing peace
and happiness to the land. No prayers, no peace. She was recently
taken prisoner by her own high priest, Zagato, preventing her from
praying for Cephiro and causing chaos to swallow everything whole as
the land begins to wither and die. This is usually the part where
I'd make a joke about having poor security, but who could have
expected an attack...
BY
THEIR OWN FORCES?!
Only people from other
worlds can become Magic Knights so that leaves the princess and the
natives with few options to consider since nobody there can become
Magic Knights themselves. The girls are told that if they want to go
home then they have to save Cephiro. We embark on our journey from
there and get to see our girls grow as time goes on. Hikaru
is a little bit of a tomboy and the strongest of the three. She's
caring, and super protective of the people she cares about. Her
element is fire.
Umi is a
bit more elegant, but impulsive. She also comes from a rich
background. Don't let that make you think she's snobby or anything.
Umi loves her parents and also cares very deeply about her friends.
She tends to be the most reluctant of the three Magic Knights and it
doesn't take a lot to set her off at times, thus making her the
perfect candidate for comic relief whenever needed. Her element is
water.
Fuu is more
quiet and reserved than the other two and is very intelligent. She
also tends to point out the obvious a lot and be pretty blunt to
Umi's dismay. Despite being introvert, Fuu cares about her friends
just as much as they do her and serves as the voice of reason in the
group. Her element is wind.
The
characters have a fun and interesting dynamite and it's enjoyable to
watch them react to their environments as they explore and learn
more about the world they have been pulled into.
What does
Sailor Pluto have to do with anything?
Not long
into the game you'll meet Mokona. Mokona is a mischievous,
nonsensical little guy with a red gem on his forehead. Through this
gem he's able to summon a tent for the girls to sleep in so they're
protected by the monsters that would want to hurt them. The tent is
also bigger on the inside in classic Doctor Who fashion so there's
no worry about lack of room. Inside the tent there's a book you can
go up to that allows you to save your game. It pretty much combines
the ability to save anywhere on the world map with the tent feature
to recover all health and I love it.
Cons: I
hate to say it, but the game is too easy for its own good. And I
speak as a person who always play the game on easy. You start out
with very high HP and level up every other battle which
automatically resets your health and magic points. I haven't had to
use a single potion or anything since starting this game. You also
learn a lot of spells that can take out multiple targets, and spells
that cut one half damage from enemies. There's very little grinding
that needs to be done with how fast you'll level up.
Conclusion:
I haven't read the manga or
watched the anime so I can't tell you how close to source material
the game is, but I can tell you that it is very cute and a lot of
fun! It makes me want to check out the anime it's based off of after
playing it. I would recommend it if you enjoy anime, magical girl
series, and/or RPGs.
Final
Score: 7/10
Screenshots
from Fantasy Anime.com
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