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This is one of those games that was absolutely made for the Nintendo DS!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 43 / 47
Date: May 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

About Lost Magic for the DS...
This was one of those games that you either love or hate, and has been getting a lot of mixed reviews. I decided to rent it from GameFly, and liked it so much I bought it outright. I will say this about it, it's slow to get into for about the first hour or so, but if you stick with it, it gets better, and you can even go back and repeat maps for extra experience. If you liked Pokemon, Dragon Warrior Monsters and games of their ilk, I think you should give this one a shot.

Note:
The Bad:
You will be re-playing certain maps over and over usually due to the strict time limit or your monster's lack-of-pathfinding skills. And if you can't sketch the runes (or, like my hubby, can't draw anything at all) this game will be an exercise in frusteration.

But, if you are willing to overlook these small issues, you'll find a creative rts/rpg hybrid that really does use the touch screen of the ds to great effect without being gimmicky.

Folks, THIS is the sort of thing that simply CAN'T be done on any other system. Pehaps, if they deign to make a sequel they could get rid of the stupid time limit, work on the AI intellegence, and fix the rollercoaster difficulty. Yes, it's hard, but fun, and I find I keep picking it up to play again-and-again when I swore I wouldn't play it anymore..

The Good:
LostMagic is kind of an action RPG, but it's sort of an RTS, with a few puzzle and strategy RPG elements (as well as monster-catching) thrown in the mix. It broke down such genre barriers with the power of the stylus. That's why it's such a great title.

You are primarily in control of Isaac, and you also direct a host of monsters that you capture and then add to your ranks based on a "unit points" system. Both you and the monsters will gain experience points for defeating enemies. How you defeat them is up to you.

Depending on whether you're left or right handed, you will use either the L or R button to call up the rune screen to enter a rune to cast magic. There a total of 18 runes (3 levels of runes for 6 elements) that you learn throughout the game. Mid-way through the game you'll be able to combine any two runes for a unique spell using the Duo Rune feature. And, if you take the "good ending" path, you will even be able to execute a limited number of Trio Runes. Yeah, the magic system is hot.

During battles, the top screen shows all information along with a zoomed out map. The bottom screen is the field where the action takes place. Using the stylus, you can cast magic, move you and your monsters around, and check the stats of enemy units.

Battles may have one of any number of objectives, including the standard "kill your enemies" or "kill the big boss." There are also "escape from the battle" and "purify the crystals" (sort of a "king of the hill" objective). Every single battle (even random encounters) comes with a time limit (usually five minutes, sometimes three or ten minutes). Even if you're an expert at all the genres of gameplay represented, I promise you this game will be a challenge. Plan on losing more often than winning.

The reason for the number of exceedingly high losses (besides the tight time limits) is that you really need to learn and master spells, as well as plan a decent strategy, before taking on any serious battle. I found that area-based explosions were very helpful most of the time, but they alone cannot do the trick when it comes to taking down rival magicians. You'll also need to discover for yourself the various forms of healing magic, enhancing magic, and enfeebling magic. There is no in-game guide; you learn the spells by experimenting and then reading the description for the attempted spell.

HP and MP are also a significant factor in gameplay. MP regenerates when you stand around not casting magic. MP will regenerate faster if you purify crystals and stand near said crystals. This definitely adds to the strategy factor.

Throw in a decent competitive multiplayer option for kicks, and LostMagic is a clear victor for DS RPGs. I had so much fun with this title, and it challenged me in so many ways, I simply have to recommend it for its gameplay if for nothing else.

Average

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: June 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I liked the idea of drawing spells to cast them, and it really is pretty neat, but it takes so much time to cast spells that I sometimes have trouble keeping up with the action happening around me. The AI in this game is pretty non-existant. If you tell your units to run around a corner they just get stuck on the corner and don't move anymore. So I guess almost no pathing or AI.

There is like 300 spells i think in the game. Which sounds cool, but most are just variations of each other, and half of them are pointless. Like cure poisen, i can't really tell when a friendly unit is poisned much less draw 2 runes back to back just to cure it, especially when the poisen barely hurts the unit and goes away fairly fast.

Most of that sounds bad, but for some reason i keep playing the game! haha. I guess I like the rpg part, where you and your captured creatures grow in level. I usually still beat games that i don't love just so i can get my moneys worth. ;)

Oh ya, and another thing... When you spend all this time to train your units to become strong, you might not realize you can go back to the place where you got the units and capture them again and they are almost or just as high level as the ones you have been leveling.. *sigh*

Sorry this was sort of a negitave post. Like i said, i'm still playing it and i do enjoy it. Just wish it was better.

Nice idea, badly executed and painful to play

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 24
Date: May 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I like RPGs. And I like a bit of action thrown in too. Your classic Zelda is my favourite kind of game. So I had high hopes for this innovative game that has you defeating evil and saving the world by casting spells with the stylus. Unfortunately, it just doesn't hang together. Two hallmarks of Nintendo's own games are that they are delightfully intuitive and completely immersive, but this contender fails on both counts. The menus and the navigation system reminded me of those found on early mobile phones - clunky and frustrating, you always seem to be pressing the wrong button and you can never get the machine to do what you want. Casting spells is fun at first, but when progression in the game simply requires casting them over and over again at increasing speeds to ward of another horde of identical baddies, it soon becomes a chore. Usually RPG's keep you hooked with a story that builds your empathy for the character. In this case, you are plunged into action without any introduction - I actually wondered if I had a buggy copy that was missing the first section of the game. And when you are given bits of backstory, it doesn't seem to make sense and certainly doesn't encourage you to care about your boy's quest. I've felt more emotional involvement playing Pac-man. Depsite all this, the pretty artwork kept me playing for a few hours, but this game quickly lost its magic for me.

Its good on how you look at it

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: July 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is mostly drawing spells. Which can be fun at some times. Graphics basic 2d bout not the really bad 2d. You may think "Wow over 350 spells" well it is true but some are just upgrades rather then completly now ones. The Wifi is the best part. (screen name cheesepuff) You also get some cool monsters but half are just different element of the same monster or a repaint of it. But its cool. Its challeng and fun. A nice rpg that brings out the ds's main feature the touch screen. Also you can send a demo to another person. Id suggest renting or getting a demo first because this game gets mixed reviews. Overall is preety good. (wonder if theres going to be a lost magic 2)

One of the Most Innovative RPG's Out There

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: May 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was very excited about this game when i rented it a few weeks ago, and boy was I not dissappointed! Awesome gameplay, mixing both RTS and RPG elements into a near flawless blend of w00tness.

That being said, there are SOME flaws to this great game. The monsters you use lack any sort of AI what-so-ever, which means guiding them through maze like levels and trying not to get them caught on walls. The time limit makes it interesting, but it feels like the developers didn't go through the game and test to see if the times were actually do-able, (ie, they're very difficult missions in some places).

Though all in all, the spells make up for it. you draw out the spells on the touch screen, the more acurataly you draw them, the more powerful they are. With over 390 spell combos, its very worthwhile to test all of them out!

Overall, I give this game a four star rating!

STINKIN AWESOME!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: February 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is alot of fun if you like RPGs. The touch screen part is really cool. The game is kinda hard though. Like on the boss levels it took me about, I'm not exagerating this, 30 tries to beat it. But other than the difficulty level this game is really awesome. GET IT!!!!

Lost Magic... Pretty good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: May 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought the game after finding out about it on the internet and i thought it wasn't going to be as fun as it looked, but to my surprise it was a lot better. Although it does get frustrating at some points after a while you get the hang of it and it gets easy. Drawing the runes can get annoying ecspecially when you're dieing. Graphics; not all that great but you can tell what's what, and the music is very pleasurable. Overall this game is a fun one!

Fun and challenging

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: February 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Lost magic is the first game that I've gotten for the DS that I've actually liked. A lot of the other games are just boring, too easy, or too short, but Lost Magic is both interesting and deep. The storyline isnt that great so far, but the gameplay is really good. The only drawback is that micromanagement is kind of tricky since your characters don't path around obstacles. The spell system is unique and has a lot of depth to it, which is a definite plus. Overall, I'd recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of the RPG/RTS genre of gaming.

Awesome!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: May 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

the stylus system is good, but it can be hard to accurately draws runes quickly to avoid attacks. When you cast a spell the monsters still attack, you so should cast spells quickly. If you do not, you may die (trust me, this has happened repeatedly to me). Other from commanding monsters during battles, and casting spells, the game is very devoid of life. Also the duo and trio runes are fun, but, the battles have time limits, discouraging time to experiment.

A Great challenging Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I just barely bought this game and it is already one of my favs.
it is really challenging and has a cool story line.
Its cool how you can control monsters and using spells.
A DEFINITE FOR RPG FANS!

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