Beat Magician Lord last night

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:48 pm

Last night me and two friends sat down with the mission to end Magician Lord once and for all. Six hours and about five hundred lives later we finally saw the credits roll. I can say without pause that this is one of the most frustratingly cheap, poorly designed and just sloppy-controlling pieces of crap to ever be produced. So much of it comes down to just rote memorization that it becomes something like an R-Type platformer, only without the finesse and grace of that series.

By the end we were all crashing, having filled our bodies with Mountain Dew and Little Debbie snacks throughout the marathon. The final stage is just one big boss rush, where you have to fight all the mid-bosses in a row before the final confrontation. Each of us knew the patterns of the enemies by heart, but we were all so burned in different ways that it came down to us having to pass off the controller so that each of us could take out the ones that we were best at. I got the honors of taking out the disappointingly simple final boss (a silly-looking flower-like thing that shoots lasers and blue sperm).

I will never play this game again.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:59 pm

Ahh, passing controllers off. I remember those times.

I loved Magician Lord although yeah, it's a tough cookie.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:57 pm

Wow, nice. I got to like level 5 once before giving up. The most frustrating thing is that whenever you get the cool special powers, they are invariably gone within a minute. Shame, really, as I think with the difficulty toned down and a bit more refinement in the controls, this game could have been a classic like Rastan or Shinobi.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 12:28 am

Man, how many years did I have to wait for the news that this game had been beaten?

Yeah, I just remember it being amazingly, stupidly hard. I also remember liking it, but I remember it liking my quarters a lot more!

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:21 am

I beat it too, and didn't play it for about a year.
I still like it, though- it peaks out at around level 3. Maybe I havn't played it since!

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:27 am

I can't stand the fact that your character can only shoot two energy waves from his hand at max. How are you supposed to beat the innumerable hordes of enemies, each taking more than just two hits to defeat?

Harakiri for whoever designed that game using that mentality. ("American gamer yank hair out of frustration. Fulfillment of evil plan much gloating bring for enjoyment!")

Andi · Post by **Andi** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:36 am

I found Magician Lord to be really scary when I was young. It was something about the atmosphere. I recently played it again and realized that I was a fool.

Of course, the first boss of Cyberlip used to give me Nightmares too.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:40 am

I beat Magician Lord once but i totally cheated using those handy instant save-states. Even then i had much trouble.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:19 am

Same here. And then I deleted the rom file, and burned the CD where I had saved it in the first place.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:54 am

Magician Lord was the first NG game I ever played, this could have been back in 93 when I wasn't even 7. I loved it, not sure how well it's aged but I'm sure I'll love it still if only for the nostalgic value.

Imhotep · Post by **Imhotep** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 5:40 pm

I beat Magician Lord a couple of years ago for the first time, and then once in a while.

It's not that hard, everything can be memorized.

I like it a lot, btw.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:40 pm

this is a game i've always wanted to try. it was also the focus of a totally unrealistic project as well (i wanted to remake it).

Post by **undamned** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:55 pm

Congrats, man! I get that way with alot of game levels, where I'll just play over and over, not even because it's fun, but because I have this insatiable desire to know that I could beat if if I really tried to. I think the most recent occurence of that was some of the last bosses in Astro Boy GBA. Not bad once you learn the pattern, but it may take you some time to get it down to a science and execute it properly.
-ud

Dewclaw · Post by **Dewclaw** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 5:29 am

Heheheh...when I saw the subject line I thought you were gonna say that you 1cc'ed it. I was like "BULL SHIT"

Still, congratulations even getting through that nightmare...even with freeplay I just get too frustrated with it.

llaoyllakcuf · Post by **llaoyllakcuf** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:17 am

someone posted a video of a 1cc on another forum:

http://neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114520

(link at bottom of thread)

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:21 pm

I felt the same way about the end of NES Ninja Gaiden when I was a kid. I played it half the night until I beat it.
I also stayed up ALL night beating both loops of r-type 3.
Here's a list of games that really "do it to me"- compulsively want to try again.

Shienryu, Daioh, and Sengeki Striker (great ones too because you don't get sent back on the bosses)
Magician Lord
Truxton
Batrider and Battle Bakraid (I'll intend to play one credit, but just must go on)
All R-types (not super r-type)
Last Resort

I love compulsive games- they really get me in a trance.

captain ahar · Post by **captain ahar** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:27 pm

dpful explained the motivation well (at least in my case)

Gradius makes me fell like this. the only problem is that i generally suck at it (them), and am quite uneven in how i play. i have "breakthrough days." for example, in one day i got through my trouble spots in Gaiden, III (SNES), and Galaxies and am hard-pressed to get as far now.

anyway, that Magician Lord replay is crazy. the game looks really difficult. however, i have read a few reviews that describe the enemy attacks as "shmup-like" and that doesn't seem to be the case.

in any case, the Rolling Thunders on Genesis give me trouble.

so that player has my respect.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:03 pm

I like Magician Lord, but it is FREAKIN' hard, so congrats on beating it!

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:46 pm

8 1/2 wrote:Last night me and two friends sat down with the mission to end Magician Lord once and for all. Six hours and about five hundred lives later we finally saw the credits roll. I can say without pause that this is one of the most frustratingly cheap, poorly designed and just sloppy-controlling pieces of crap to ever be produced. So much of it comes down to just rote memorization that it becomes something like an R-Type platformer, only without the finesse and grace of that series.

By the end we were all crashing, having filled our bodies with Mountain Dew and Little Debbie snacks throughout the marathon. The final stage is just one big boss rush, where you have to fight all the mid-bosses in a row before the final confrontation. Each of us knew the patterns of the enemies by heart, but we were all so burned in different ways that it came down to us having to pass off the controller so that each of us could take out the ones that we were best at. I got the honors of taking out the disappointingly simple final boss (a silly-looking flower-like thing that shoots lasers and blue sperm).

I will never play this game again.

good job, now pick up shadow of the beast

8 1/2 · Post by **8 1/2** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:49 pm

You know, it's odd that you mention Shadow of the Beast, because just a few weeks ago one of the friends I played through Magician Lord challenged me to beat that game. I've never played it, but from what he told me it's insanely frustrating and cheap. I'll give it a shot.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:27 pm

Was Shadow of the Beast just a home release? Because I can't find any entry for it in KLOV.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:55 pm

Yes Dave, just home release. It was originally released for Amiga (All 3 games)

Beast 3 isn't that hard. It's also the only enjoyable game in the series IMO

Now Shadow of the Beast 2 is pure frustation in form of game. I've met some people who claimed to have finished Beast 1, but I don't remember anyone who said it could finish Beast 2.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:03 am

Shatterhand wrote:Yes Dave, just home release. It was originally released for Amiga (All 3 games)

Beast 3 isn't that hard. It's also the only enjoyable game in the series IMO

Now Shadow of the Beast 2 is pure frustation in form of game. I've met some people who claimed to have finished Beast 1, but I don't remember anyone who said it could finish Beast 2.

beast 1 is finishable.. tho lots of memorisation and frustration lay ahead.. luckily its a fantastic game and has that "just one more go" quality to it.

beast 2 and 3 dont have that at all..

shadow of the beast was released for amiga, megadrive and snes.. afaik but proboably even more.
id recommend the amiga and SNES versions beause the MDs sound chip doesnt do the fantastic music justice..

Nemo · Post by **Nemo** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 1:02 am

shadow of the beast was released for amiga, megadrive and snes.. afaik but proboably even more.

Yup, Turbo Duo as well.

Dewclaw · Post by **Dewclaw** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 3:09 am

llaoyllakcuf wrote:someone posted a video of a 1cc on another forum:

http://neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114520

(link at bottom of thread)

*dies* He almost makes it look easy.

dpful · Post by **dpful** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 3:15 pm

8 1/2 wrote:Last night me and two friends sat down with the mission to end Magician Lord once and for all. .

"You persistent guy!"
(I hope you have the engligh version)

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 3:31 pm

Nemo wrote:
shadow of the beast was released for amiga, megadrive and snes.. afaik but proboably even more.
Yup, Turbo Duo as well.

I have the Lynx version, which has some unique gameplay changes/improvements. It's the closest thing to Castlevania on the Lynx. But I still prefer the audio-visual completeness of the Amiga original. The Lynx version is missing the psuedo-shmup stage too.

On topic - Magician Lord is easily one of my top Neo favorites, it's one heck of a launch title for the system. If only all Neo games were this memorable.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 11:03 pm

I finished Shadow of the Beast by cheating. Regularly i can get through the tree labrynth to the left of your starting point and make it from there all the way to the castle with the wierd gun thing in hand. Inside the castle, even with the gun, i always die at that fucker that drops from the ceiling and throws axes at you.

By cheating i at least got to see that crescent headed lockjaw guy though - and that was cool.

What's up with the last boss being a giant foot? Is this the foot that goes with the hand from Turrican? lol

Seriously, though. Roger Dean did the designs for Beast 1 and 2. This is how i discovered my favorite painter. Well, that and Asia album covers.

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:44 am

Dammit! I was watching the 1cc and right at the last level there was a network error and wmp shut down.

shmups.system11.org

Beat Magician Lord last night

Beat Magician Lord last night

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Re: Beat Magician Lord last night