| Magician Lord | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Alpha Denshi |
| Publisher(s) | SNK Neo Geo CD |
| Producer(s) | Akira Ushizawa |
| Designer(s) | Takashi Egashira |
| Programmer(s) | Eiji Fukatsu Hiroyuki Ryū Osamu Iijima |
| Artist(s) | Kenichi Sakanishi Shinji Moriyama Tomoharu Takahashi |
| Composer(s) | Hideki Yamamoto Hiroaki Shimizu Yuka Watanabe |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD |
| Release | Arcade
|
| Genre(s) | Action, platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
Magician Lord[a] is a side-scrolling action-platform arcade video game developed by Alpha Denshi and originally published by SNK on April 26, 1990.[1] It was one of the launch titles for both the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and Neo Geo AES (home) platforms, in addition of also being one of the pack-in games for the AES.[2]
When the evil sorcerer Gal Agiese breaks free from his imprisonment and steals the magic tomes that were used against him centuries ago, the magician Elta embarks on a journey to recover the stolen magic tomes from the hands of Gal and his followers before the god of destruction, Az Atorse, is revived and destroys both the land of Cadacis and the world. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS, Magician Lord was later released for both Neo Geo AES and Neo Geo CD in 1991 and 1994 respectively, and has since been re-released on compilations and through download services for various consoles, among other ways to play it.
Upon its original release, Magician Lord received praise for its colorful and detailed graphics, sound department, gameplay and for being a showcase of the capabilities of the Neo Geo, though critics felt divided in regards to the difficulty and was considered a financial flop in arcades,[3] despite the positive reception it garnered. Retrospective reviews for the title have been mixed in recent years, with reviewers praising the graphics and sound but criticizing its challenging difficulty.[4] A sequel was in development but was never released.[5][6][7][8][9]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "極楽VGブラザーズ: SNK – Magician Load". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). No. 7. SoftBank Creative. April 1990. p. 100.
- ^ Thacker, John (December 2009). "Retroinspection: Neo Geo AES". Retro Gamer. No. 70. Imagine Publishing. pp. 72–81.
- ^ Trieu, Venn (April 30, 2003). "Interviews – Chad Okada – Former Gamelord Of SNK USA". SNK, Capcom. Archived from the original on June 1, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Provo, Frank (November 14, 2007). "Magician Lord Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ "Next Wave – New Soft News". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 45. EGM Media, LLC. April 1993. p. 88.
- ^ Fantastic, Kid (April 1993). "Neo Geo Classic – Magician Lord". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 5. Shinno Media. pp. 80–82.
- ^ Barres, Nicholas (January 1995). "The Graveyard – Magician Lord". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 1. Shinno Media. p. 140.
- ^ Verlet, Nicolas (September 28, 2012). "Magician Lord: la suite que personne n'a vue". gamekult.com (in French). Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Celine (October 11, 2012). "Magician Lord 2 [Neo Geo Pocket – Cancelled]". unseen64.net. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.