Magic Knight Rayearth

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