User Reviews (1 - 11 of 33)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

A Magi-cal Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

When I saw the GBC Magi Nation sitting alone one the shelves full of GBA games, I had to rescue it! I'm so glad I did!

When I started playing it, I thought, "Oh! It's a mix of Zelda and Pokemon!" That's true in as much as you control Dream Creatures and fight evil in an RPG style. There's items and different worlds and wonderful characters. However, it's not as bright and cheery as Pokemon or Zelda, hence the title of the review. When you get into a new village, they don't welcome you with open arms like in Pokemon or Zelda. There's death and psychological horror. When you "beat the boss", it's not like it solves everything. There are different possible endings. I played through the end twice, trying to change what happened. Both times it ended up the same, but it had a little more closure the second time. Still, it left me sad. I don't know if there is a happy ending. That really tips you off that it's a very different game from the aforementioned ones.

In the game, you play the role of Tony Jones. I really like him. This is the time you're supposed to say, "He's not real - you know that, right?" He might as well be. He's very realistic. I especially appreciated his comments on everything. Never be afraid to click to find out. The script writing is very consistent, and the "extras" are worth it! By extras, I mean the furniture and the books. Tony will comment on the comfort of the beds, and he will read the titles of the books. There's a great one in the underground. It actually had me laughing. I really enjoy the subtle humor in the game. It made it so much more enjoyable. In every new place, I would spend a while looking around for things so Tony could comment on them.

I didn't think the game was short. Either that or I'm really bad at playing it! I spent way too much time on this game, but I loved every minute of it (except when I was lost in the "jail"). I have a very bad sense of direction, and the dungeons are very long. You can't save the game except for when you're on the large map or at an inn. I spent several hours on the "jail" and still didn't find the exit. I had to restart it (due to the inability to save) and finally found it!

I also liked how there are different ways to play through the game. For example, you can take the easy way out of the jail, or you could try and save the prisoners. I missed something in there, but it involved a screwdriver...There's so much in the game that I would think it's worth playing again! You also get choices to make, like whether or not to return the master key...Why am I so conscientious?

The battles are pretty simple, once you get used to your options. The thing I didn't like was that you couldn't see how much energy your creatures had until you chose their attacks. So if you wanted to heal someone but couldn't remember who was hit last round, it's a guess.

My only real complaint (besides the save issue) is that there are strange limits with items. Also, if you use items to increase your creature's abilities, it resets when it levels up! The use of the word "permanently" in battle was confusing. For example, Updraft raises all of your creatures speeds permanently. But it's back to normal after the battle. Maybe "for the entire battle" is better.

This is the first "American" game I've played. It's made by Interactive Imagination, which is based in Seattle. Of course it's licensed by Nintendo and made in Japan, but it was still a new experience for me. It lacks the blatant cuteness of many Nintendo games, but it was still worthwhile and different from the others.

Overall, Tony makes this game worthwhile. It's deep in both gameplay and storyline. I would recommend it to anyone who still has a Gameboy color (yay!).

The best reason to buy this game is that it comes with sheet music for the Nostalgie! Doesn't that sell the game by itself?

Popular T/CCG Gets Pixelated

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

With the rising popularity of the Magi-Nation Trading/Collectible Card game, the guys and gals at I2 decided a vidoe game was in order.

The game itself is easy to learn, and quick addict. You are Tony Jones, a regular kid in our world. He gets bullied into retrieving crystals from a cave, and is transported to the Mooonlands. Once in the Moondlands, the Naroom people will explain how animite, rings, summoning, and dream creatures work. You explore a mass of worlds, each with their own unique elements, music, and creatures.

Magi Nation is a wonderful game. Although lacking in some aspects, it is still worth picking it up to anyone who is a fan of the card game, and even someone who is just starting out.

The music is beautiful. Tools werebrought out by Factor5, and did an amazing job with bringing out memorable tracks.

Gameplay is easy to learn. Although some of the menus have difficulting with scrolling and cancelling selections, they are easy to overcome.

Graphics are an interesting cut above, with short cut scenes that display chosen attacks and spells during battles. Up to four creatures can be summoned in any battle. Magi battles give a feel of boss fights, as well as a challenge.

Leveling up creatures is EXTREMELY tedious, and one of the only downfalls of the game. Energy consumption is insane when battling. But, no one ever said games had to be easy. Still, the battling system is generally unique in comparison with other RPG's.

4/5 stars is my rating. The game makes you think with plenty of puzzles, the music will be stuck in your head forever, and it is simply ingenious.

For more information on Moonlands & the rest of Magi-Nation, I encourage everyone to visit the official Magi-Nation website, at http://www.magi-nation.com

A Good Game, but Missing Some Things.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a great RPG for GBC. It is probably one of the best out there for this system. The battle system is a unique mix between card battling and pokemon-style. The graphics and sounds are stunning (for a GBC game) and the plot is very dark and mysterious. The witty remarks of Tony keep the game humorous. However, there are many flaws. 1: There are dozens of locked doors that you can never enter, and it always leaves you wondering. 2: There are 5 unattainable Dream Creatures; Platheus, Sphor, Bolt Hyren, Thunder Hyren, and Core Hyren. They are on the ring lists, you just never fight them in the wild to get their animite. 3: There are many parts of the game that seem glitchy (Ormagon) and you would never guess the way to do them without a guide. And, last but not least, there are only 5 different worlds! The game is not really that long, it just seems long because of the shadow geysers. They should remake this game for GBA with new worlds like Nar, D'Resh, the Weave, Paradwyn, and Kybar's Teeth, and include all of the dream creatures that they left out.

very fun game but don't buy it if you only have a gba only!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: July 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

u must have a game boy color to play this game i put it in my gba and it was all dark and i couldn't see a thing good thing i have a gbc. thats all other than that the best gbc game every played.

O.K.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The game starts out good. It's pretty interesting, the graphics are good and being able to cast spells yourself is pretty cool. But then it seems to go down hill. The dungeons get repetetive and there aren't the many creatures to choose from. But as you go along everyone in the game hates you and it starts to get boring. It is very hard to find any guides if you get stuck as well.

buy it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I dont want to ruin the story for you, but ill tell you this: you will never find a better game. The music is beautiful. I think they should sell it for a hundred, compared to this, money is nothing.

Who would ever think that this game is bad?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game rocks! It has a great battery save function, practiccaly the best graphics ever shown on GBC, and it sounds great too! If you could tell me the names of the people who gave this game less than 5 stars so I can hunt them down, pop open their bellies, and eat their intestines as a biscut with my barley soup, than I will give you this game so you can see how good it really is.

the best rpg on gameboy ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

this game was truly the best game I've ever played in my life its way better then what nintendo power had to say about it I realy hope there is a sequal to this magnifiscant game, I would give it ten for ten in music because its ust soooooo incredable and catchy, now the game play is by far the best atribute this game has to offer, and the graphics are just outstanding, the plot must have been done by a psycic or something cause its what draws people in and and makes you love this game, you could never get over this game replay value not in a hundred years would this game get boring, I would recomend this game to anyone whos up to the chalenge of there life, okay so maybe its not as good as I think but its deffinatly a ten for ten with me!!!!

Fun Game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

A fun neat game that can use up a few hours of your day. Its sorta like pokemon, with monsters that fight each other. Its hard to beat like all RPG's. Its a good buy but there are better games out there.

Worst battle system I've ever seen!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: December 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

While overall the game is fun, the battle system drove me up the wall. Basically it takes you to a screen, where you have 2 rows of 4 cards each, the upper row being the enemy and the bottom row being your creatures. In order to get a creature to battle you have to summon it, and then it takes place on one of your cards. Then you pick the action that you want this creature to take and eventually, it will take it, which leads to another screen that shows an image of the attack. The whole process is way toooo long and slow and almost painful. There are way too many subtitles explaining each action, who took the damage and whether this creature is weak against the magic used. After the first couple of battles, I could have done very well without all these explanations. Probably the worst part was that in the dungeons you can't avoid the battles and their frequency is nerve wretching. I don't have much faith that I will ever finish this game. So, if you want to work on your patience, that is the game for you. If you want some action and fun, get something else.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 Next 

Actions