There are thousands, if not millions, of games out there, begging to be played but last summer there was only one that mattered to me: Magical Drop 3.
Whether I was practicing at home or showing off at my local arcade, Magical Drop became my obsession. Like Bust-a-Move, Magical Drop is a timeless puzzle series that perfectly displays that throwing balls at other colored balls is all it takes to make a good game, sometimes. It all comes down to how the game feels: The swift character movement, the sounds of clearing a row of icons, and the sight of crushing an enemy with a combo.
Sadly, Magical Drop V feels different. It feels like a crusty, dry turd.
Magical Drop V (PC, Xbox Live Arcade) Developer: Golgoth Studio Publisher: Ignition Entertainment Release: November 15, 2012 (PC), 2013 (Xbox 360) MSRP: $9.99
Along with Money Idol Exchanger, Magical Drop was the peak of Neo Geo’s puzzle game output in the ‘90s. Unlike so many other puzzle games, the rules and controls of Magical Drop are so simple that any novice can easily learn and play. The player controls a jester that sucks up colored balls and throws them back, lining up and clearing balls of the same color. New lines of balls continue to scroll downward, so there is always pressure to clear up space. In competitive play, making combos -- clearing one area immediately after another -- forces a new line of balls to appear in the enemy’s window.
Once you have the basics down, Magical Drop becomes an intense game of pattern recognition and speed. Some may play more strategically than others, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a win. This belated, fan-made sequel does little to change the format. Magical Drop V includes a 12-stage Story mode, three online/offline multiplayer modes, and a new character that literally changes how the game is played.
Bruce comes from Ghostlop, an unreleased-yet-finished Data East game that shares a similar mechanic of clearing out balls. Instead of sucking and throwing balls, Bruce throws a baseball that he can change from red-to-blue, correlating with the round ghost balls above. It’s a completely different game, but you can play Ghostlop anywhere in Magical Drop V. This feels like an odd compromise. While it’s cool that Golgoth added Bruce to the roster, it would have been a lot cooler if they included Ghostlop’s Story Mode. Admittedly, I’m not very good at Ghostlop, but I can’t see many people winning matches as Bruce. It just feels odd to have him in there at all. It’d be easy to ignore if this were some kind of bonus, but it’s part of the main game. It’s also not explained at all, so I imagine some new players will be confused when they play as Bruce for the first time.
The rest of Magical Drop V is far less ambitious. Gone are the puzzle and adventure modes of previous entries, leaving only a very dull story mode that is basically pointless dialog exchanges that leads to a forgettable character specific ending. This is how it’s always been, but the visuals and sound of Magical Drop V lack the charm of the original. The drawn artwork looks far too clean and lacks personality. I couldn’t stand to look at any of the characters. I’ve never been a fan of the series' roster, all named after Tarot cards, but something about Magical Drop V’s visuals turned me off more than before.
Sprites aren’t the only thing I miss. The speed of characters and the progression of a match feels off in Magical Drop V. Everything is sluggish compared to the blazing fast Magical Drop 3. Having to constantly click the Xbox 360 joystick left and right feels awkward after a while, since your character doesn’t smoothly move when you hold in a direction. These are things most players won’t notice or even mind, but any Magical Drop fan will take note right away. Magical Drop is a game where you want to zone out during an intense match. Due to the lackluster design and broken AI, that never seems to happen in Magical Drop V.
I frequently found myself losing matches with an A+ score and winning with a D. The AI is all over the place. Some early matches were incredibly tough (on Normal), while later matches where a cinch. It all just seems like dumb luck, unlike early Magical Drop games where you’d need to put some serious practice in to beat the game on a quarter. The hardest thing you’ll encounter in Magical Drop V is Bruce, who puts up a heck of a fight. Maybe Ghostlop players will dominate the online lobbies, after all.
Magical Drop V features three multiplayer modes, including the traditional Head to Head, Team Battle, and King of the Hill. Team Battle is Head to Head except with two-player teams. Considering the speed that Magical Drop is played at, it’s near impossible to coordinate with your partner. Consider it a novelty, best played after a couple drinks -- good luck convincing your friends to play when they see the big boobed Moe girls on the title screen, though. King of the Hill is even more pointless, since it’s Head to Head with four players. The more the merrier but why give up so much screen real estate for a mode that adds nothing to the traditional one-on-one mode?
Magical Drop V’s technical failures carry on to every aspect of the game. Changing controls mid-match causes the game to crash, the text is littered with typos, and there is an “Extras” option that opens a window for the Steam Greenlight page of Golgoth’s upcoming Tiki. Sure, I get it: You want to promote your game. But, voting on your game’s likeliness to be sold on Steam isn’t exactly something I’d designate as an “Extra.” Regardless, it gave me a chuckle, unlike the game’s unlockable character gallery full of embarrassing descriptions and typos.
Good on Golgoth for resurrecting a forgotten franchise and another one that never even saw the light of day. Younger gamers that missed out on Magical Drop at the arcade owe it to themselves to experience it at its fullest. Unfortunately, “fullest” has nothing to do with modern consoles and HD graphics. Magical Drop V is a bare, ugly, and badly programmed ode to the original series. There is fun to be had with it, but it can’t stand up to playing Magical Drop on PSN or Critter Crunch, which owes a great deal to it.
If nothing else, Magical Drop V succeeds in featuring one of the most busted English translations I’ve seen in years. It’s the closest the game comes to offering some genuinely entertaining ‘90s nostalgia.
THE VERDICT
4.5 /10
Below Average: Has some high points, but they soon give way to glaring faults. Not the worst games, but are difficult to recommend. Check out more reviews or the Destructoid score guide.
Monster Hunter 4 is no doubt going to be a massive win for the 3DS. The combination of traction Nintendo's handheld already has, along with the massive install base, and the incredible success of the Monster Hunter ... more
Remember when Capcom released Street Fighter X Mega Man without a number of core features -- like, oh I don't know, a password or a save system?Well, they had a change of heart, and now you can reap the benefits of fan demand... more
"Out with the old, in with the new," as they say. Capcom is getting ready to launch Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and in return, they're shutting down the servers for the Wii's Monster Hunter Tri on April 30th.
You'll have six w... more
After I beat DmC: Devil May Cry the other day, I unlocked the white-haired Dante costume. Essentially, it's the new Dante in his same "new" style, with his old hair color.
It was small concession for fans who really cared wha... more
Toy modder Jin Saotome has come up with a pretty awesome homage for the big bad of the Mega Man X series himself, Sigma.
Jin took a bunch of parts from different toys, assembled some glass gems and metallic domes, and came up... more
It seems as the North American and European release date for the long-awaited Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is finally upon us: March 19th and 22nd respectively.
It'll launch in both 3DS and Wii U form (the latter of which is ca... more
While a fair number of us weren't enthused with Resident Evil 6, some players are into it, and for that reason it's nice to see continued support from Capcom. A second title update centered around providing more options will ... more
Capcom has today revealed its ultimate gift to Mega Man fans everywhere. To celebrate the blue hero's 25th anniversary, Capcom has seen fit to grace the world with the only gift that measures up -- Xbox Live Avatar items!
Dr... more
Mega Man fans have probably given up on the Legends series by now. Between the cancellation of Legends 3, and the fact that Mega Man Legends 1 and 2 can't be released on the PlayStation Network because Capcom no longer has th... more
In the first level of DmC: Devil May Cry, Dante gets a little surprise while taking on the game's first boss. The video is below the fold as the thumbnail is a a bit spoilerish.
[Thanks, Zak!] more
Hey, Television! Check out Double Fine’s latest game for Xbox Live Arcade: Kinect Party. In fun-loving Double Fine fashion, it was released for free upon launch in mid-December until the New Year. For those of you who d...more
DmC: Devil May Cry is an insult. It insults the fans, who have loyally supported Capcom through thick and thin, and it insults the legacy of a most respected action series. Ninja Theory has spat upon one of the last pure name...more
The original Fire Pro Wrestling was a game specifically for the hardcore fans of pro wrestling. I'm not talking about the male soap-opera that is WWE, but a more brutal version such as some of the Japanese wrestling circuits ...more
Joe Danger was the definition of a perfect downloadable game. It was reasonable priced, it was tons of fun, and it was packed with content.
Naturally, since a lot of other people felt the same, a Special Edition version of th...more
The time has finally come. After numerous delays, and nearly a year of waiting after the Japanese release, Max Anarchy, known internationally as Anarchy Reigns, is finally here.
Conceptually, the game is basically a "Greatest...more
Imagine for a moment that you have the power to make videogames. OK, I guess you don't have to imagine. With tools like Unity, Game Maker, and Flash on the market readily available to anyone who puts their mind towards snaggi...more
Seduce Me is only on our radar because it was developed by folks who worked on the Triple-A Killzone franchise, and later denied a place on Steam's Greenlight project. We likely wouldn't have noticed it, much l...more
Maybe it's just me, but it seems that every once in a while there is a game that comes out that makes a statement about MMORPGs. That the best part of those games is the player-versus-player segments. In 2007, there was the "...more
The Sims series will always have expansion packs. It's part of the experience to slowly add more content to the game. Usually these packs add active content like new town locations, new interactions, or new career paths for y...more
I've just saved the planet, and I couldn't be less enthused about it. A New Beginning is a self-styled eco-thriller with a spot of time travel and science fiction thrown in for good measure. It launched in Europe a couple of ...more
It used to cost ridiculous amounts of money to record video from other sources, especially in HD. But these past few years companies like Hauppague, Pinnacle, AVerMedia and others have released affordable boxes that...more
A game that combines ideas from both Minecraft and Team Fortress 2 sounds like it would be a match made in heaven. The LEGO-style buildings and aesthetics combined with the multi-class gameplay should be right up my alley.
Ye...more
Capcom's treatment of the Mega Man franchise these past couple of years has been atrocious. When Street Fighter kicked off its 25th anniversary, Capcom clearly laid out its plans for the coming year, which included key softwa...more
Pirates and Vikings have a lot of things in common. Pillaging, raiding, exploration, and adventure -- these are their shared loves. One could be forgiven for assuming that they might even be able to get along, but that is mos...more
“How dare you? HOW DARE YOU! How dare you review a Lord of the Rings game without having every film box set in a display case! HOW DARE YOU review a MOBA without having been yelled at and debased by 12-year-olds for m...more
It’s not very often that I get a chance to review something bad. It’s even rarer for me to come across headphones that I just hate. Truth is, most things that you spend $50 or more on are pretty good. Mediocrity c...more
The Guild01 collection is a very special project that I'm glad we could be a part of. Although the last game in the set isn't slated for a release out of Japan, the mere fact that Level-5 decided to take a chance with any of ...more
Within my first thirty minutes of playing Black Knight Sword, I encountered a menu option called "cat head grass," a giant mother eye that eats hearts, and severed skulls in a microwave oven that serve as health power-ups.
Yep, this is definitely a Grasshopper Manufacture joint.more