Customer Reviews

Magic Knight Rayearth

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yes, It is for Sega Saturn, but there is also a Game Gear version as well, otherwise it wouldn't be here. Sorry if people have gotten confused by the other "review" by the other person.

Magic Knight Rayearth is a game based on a Japanese Anime of the same title. I played the game to the surprise ending, although after seeing the Anime the ending is pretty true to the series. Three schoolgirls, Hikaru (fire), Umi (water) and Fuu (air) each use their unique talents in this RPG to solve puzzles, defeat enemies and progress through what I'd call a track RPG. Since the game follows a storyline, then the gameplay likewise follows the storyline and there's not much room for exploration.

This was the final U.S. released game for the Sega Saturn. Sega of America and Working Designs had a parting of ways so Working Designs only finished this for the fans and didn't skimp on the deal. It does have some of the old Working Designs quirky humor (Elvis jokes are in the game) but it's a pretty faithful adaptation of the Magic Knight Rayearth canon. Mokona's voice is even as piercingly annoying as in the series. Puu-puu-puu!!

About 30 hours to play, difficulty level below medium, action RPG (i.e. Zelda), 68 blocks backup for save, color manual, color disc, video cutscenes, graphics are 2D isometric perspective.

I bought this game because I was a fan of the translator, and the history of it was interesting. On that subject, this was the first game announced for release on the Saturn, but was the last game ever released. It took the entire life of the system to be translated due to a loss of source code, which means they had to translate on a binary level at some point. You can see this in the game with the occational barely noticable sound glitch. The characters all spoke audibly in the Japanese version, and that also took a lot of time to translate/dub but that was all cut from this game due to a few bad reviews, so what is left is a fun game world, where you can interact with everything, but very little speech you can hear. The story and scenes are very accurate to the books and TV show (anime) this game is based on, so fans should be happy and it was fun to play even though I hadn't read or seen anything it was based on. One con of this game was that is seems like it would be best suited to a female audience since there is a lot of cuteness and things seem to look prettier than most average games.

I've waited 10+ years to add this game to my RPG collection on my Saturn, so here it goes...

This game is good for Action-RPG Genre on the Saturn. Story is good with nice touches on Character development and setting. I think this game was intended for Kids because there are some *tutorials* that will make you laugh a little. Replay value is a bit low because once you beat the game, there are no bonuses or gallery art to unlock. This game was a great playthrough but not as good as Zelda series (because this game was far too short).

Great game, great cutscenes, exceptional voice acting (circa 1997). Recommended to RPG fans, Especially to Manga/OVA anime fans.

Editing from my last review, I finally managed to get my hands upon the US version of Magic Knight Rayearth. The game is packed with fan-service fun, from audio-speakable diaries of the three main characters Fuu, Umi, and Hikaru to full-speech dialect in the text. Along with animated cut-scenes for important events and animated character portraits.

That however, is also the problem. The game has focused heavily upon this that at the beginning the player is merely watching the action. All fights concerning Alcione are done automatically at that time, which is disappointing compared to the SNES verison of the game. The game stays close to the animated series but be warned that the game has a tendency of interrupting conversations and automatic cut-scenes during gameplay. This later relaxes somewhat as progress in the game continues, and the player is given more ability to explore and fight some interesting battles.

Another problem is the audio-text. Some of parts of the girls diaries, the speech jumps from stereo to mono. At some conversations you can tell it was an audio from the slight animated movement of the portrait, but its mute. It seemed that Working Designs had a problem translating the audio from Japanese to English, thus explains the reasons why there is no speech when there "should" be.

This game is outdated, and it shows its age. The graphics are old and their origin, Fuu magically looses her glasses whenever she turns to the side but then they'll appear again if she's facing forward. The characters themselves aren't very helpful in combat either, while one fights the others are practically standing around. They also have a habit of lagging behind or become stuck behind obstacles.

There are three main interactions in the game. Jump, Attack, and Magic. So far there is three main magic skills offered in the game. These can be changed according to the players liking to the main three. There is some cursing within the game, and some comments made appropriately towards an older audience. Which is somewhat surprising considering that some tutorials where clef and prescia speaks calls the audience kids.

Is this game worth the high pricing its asked for now? I would say no. It's better than the SNES, but this game took the entire life-cycle of the Saturn too late. Not to mention that the voice-acting was mute on some very important scenes. On the other hand this is the best game that I have seen based off a show. Usually when video-games are made from a movie or show, they play poorly. This game has also been available used in the Japanese version for $35 if searched well for. Good luck for anyone who is interested in owning this used without a scratch CD or missing case/manual.

------Spoiler Section-------------

The game contains cut-scenes that were strictly made for the game. Also, all of Zagato's minions die, including Larfarga, Caldina, Ascot and Alcione. Prescia is alive throughout the entire game when she died in the anime. Clef also is automatically revived at the end of the game and continues to steer the player throughout the entire game.

There is only one brief cut-scene with emeraude speaking to zagato as the dying Alcione witnesses Zagato's true feelings. The Snes verison has Alcione entering Emeraude's domain in order to destroy her, in which Zagato kills Alcione. In the anime, it is Zagato that puts Alcione down, not Innova in the Sega Saturn verison. Also there is a part which Zagato lifts up Innova's chin in the cut-scenes, which then Innova begs Zagato to become a beast once more. It would have been nicer to have the scene in which Zagato wipes off the visual image of Emeraude's tears, showing the real relationship of the pillar and high priest instead of Innova's eerie Igor chattering.

The SNES verison gives the player a glimpse of the relationship between Emeraude and Zagato, and it would have been more pleasing to have that in the Sega Saturn version. At the end Emeraude appears alone to thank the Magic Knights for granting her 'wish' compared to the SNES, manga and anime in which both Zagato and Emeraude are shown holding one-another together in the 'afterlife'.

There is also a Special Thanks section at the ending credits, one of them pertaining to quote "Patient Sega Saturn fans". Indeed this was Working Design's last piece of artwork before shortly closing their doors permanently before the recession period of 2007. Farewell Working Designs, I and others have truly enjoyed the humor and work-ethic of your translation team to make these games possible for the English-audience to enjoy.

-Maday

Just an FYI to everyone - this game is for the Sega Saturn, not the Sega Game Gear.