Magicians and Looters (XBLIG)

If someone were to take the wacky character interactions from the "Harry Potter" series, and mix them with "Castlevania: SotN" you'd more than likely have the game that Morgopolis Studios has created. Their indie game appropriately titled "Magicians and Looters" takes elements from retro "Metroidvania" style games, and adds pun filled humor to build up the story at hand. That story of course involves an unusual cast of young magician apprentices, an elder wizard, and an evil sorcerer who is hellbent on ruining the day. As the gamer you will guide three chosen students known as Vienna, Nyn, and Brent as they traverse various danger filled locations in order to try to rescue their headmaster Versimos from the evil Lord Skree. Along the way you will be collecting loot, and relics of power as you make your way across the connected rooms that make up the students' world. Ultimately one of the students will face off against the evil Lord Skree in a duel that is not much unlike the wizard duel between Harry Potter, and Lord Voldemort. There's even a nod to "Castlevania: SotN" for those lucky gamers who can make it to the final boss fight.

Magicians and Looters in all it's glory could best be described as a "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" derivative. It incorporates a lot of the elements of such a game including the secret areas, the save points, the warp rooms, the boss encounters, and even the merchants.While it does maintain it's own unique set of characters, RPG system, special character based events, and plot the majority of the game seems to be a spoof that copies a lot from both the previously mentioned game as well as the previously mentioned movie/book series. Like I said before it's like "Castlevania: SotN", and "Harry Potter" were mashed together into some sort of humorous creation. Aside from it's many similarities though you will find that 'Morgopolis Studios' does aim to give the gamer a unique experience. The playable characters for example have their own unique attacks, and skills within the game. You also find that even the NPC (Non Playable Characters) add their own witty one liners, and noteworthy contributions to the story being told.

When it comes down to the main characters' individuality in the game Vienna, Nyn, and Brent all stand apart significantly. Vienna for example is an athletic girl sporting a navy blue leotard. Her attacks involve the use of kicks, and punches while her evasive maneuver allows her to jump backwards out of harms way. You'll find that she is mostly used for getting to those just out of reach areas. Nyn on the other hand is another female character that is completely unrelated to the brother/sister duo of Vienna, and Brent. She has limited use when it comes to gaining access to hidden areas, and you will unfortunately find that using her in the game is not as necessary as the use of her other two friends. Nyn's appearance is elvish in nature, and her attacks come from her interchangeable dual wielded swords. Her evasive maneuver allows her to do a dodge roll past an enemy to gain a surprise advantage against her attacker. Brent who just so happens to be the only playable male character of the group has that squire vibe about him. Like a knight's apprentice this young lad wields a sword as well as a shield. As you can likely guess his sword is used for melee attacks, and his shield as his evasive maneuver.

As you traverse the many areas of the game's map using the currently required character you will collect loot from the defeated enemies which can in turn be used to purchase items, relics, and weapons from the merchants that are scattered about the two dimensional world. These weapons, and items will no doubt come in handy as you make it to the more dangerous areas in the game, and will definitely help you make progress much more easily. There are also certain items, and techniques that can be obtained in other ways (Hidden Chests & Captain Cuddles) which in turn will help each character get past previously locked, or blocked areas. The game is definitely all about revisiting the places you have already been to. Fortunately for you not all of that traveling in this game has to be done by virtual foot by foot progress though. Warp rooms which can be found all throughout the map's many locales will make for quick travel from area to area. For a full map completion you will need to travel each room via warp room, or do it the old fashioned way by walking/jumping your digitally represented character from room to room. Certain areas will require a specifically learned techniques to get past, or get into though. Without giving too much of the story away there is a magical talking cat named "Captain Cuddles" who bestows new techniques upon the characters that visit him. Often times you'll find him in hidden rooms not shown on the map. In retrospect this feature is not all that different from when "Alucard" obtains orbs in his own respective 'Castlevania' game.

Being the RPG platformer that it is, 'Magicians and Looters' will allow you to not only level your character up, but will also let you equip the character with the latest relics, and weapons that you have obtained through gameplay progression. Leveling up the characters up in the game for example is simply done by collecting the required amount of experience orbs displayed on the start menu, and the in-game HUD display. The small chests that the orbs are hidden in are often times located in secret areas (pass through walls). Once you have collected enough of them party balloons will appear, children's cheering will be heard, and the words "You Have Leveled Up!" will appear onscreen. Basically all the leveling does is give an added boost to attacks, defenses, and life bar as it would in a Castlevania type of game.

Equipping your current character with the best of weaponry, and items is an entirely different deal in itself. When you bring up the "START" menu you will find the current character's weapon slots, as well as their slots for items/relics. Each character has character specific weapon slots, and non-specific item/relic slots. As you can imagine only the characters wielding swords (Brent & Nyn) can use the swords that you have purchased, or collected. Since Vienna is without a weapon her slots are mainly for items with added effects, or relics as I have referred to them before. Every character, whether you're playing as Brent, Vienna, or Nyn can use every item/relic that you've obtained, but only in the limited number of slots that are available. In fact you'll also find that all characters can use magic spells that are learned a little later on in the game.Keep in mind though that magic uses meter, and with the use of certain equipped items/relics you'll be able to counter the loss of magic, or even boost it in specific ways.

Magic, and melee plays a huge role in this off-the-wall 2D adventure. Along with the equipping, and usage of weapons, and relics the characters will also depend heavily on the magic spells that they obtain from the books which are gathered during their several character based encounters. While the spells are definitely limited you will find that spells such as the fireball, and the wisp will help you significantly in certain parts of the game. The fireball spell for example can be used to light sconces which in turn opens up passages to newer areas. It can also be used as an attack spell against the enemies, and bosses found within the game. The wisp spell is different in that it is mostly good for deflecting projectiles from the bosses, enemies, and projectile spamming statues that are found throughout the various rooms that make up the game's map. While each magic spell may have limited use they are all very necessary.

As far as the goal of the game goes it is simply to find all the necessary items, techniques, and spells that are needed to get to that final boss battle. Between the ongoing action, enemy/boss fights, and plot advancement you will be blessed with an ongoing nonsensical series of conversations that are carried on between the main characters of the story. Since the plot is mainly spoof material it will no doubt only serve for an occasional grin, chuckle, or laugh from the gamer playing the game. Even so the action part is well made, and is decent enough that it will give even the most diehard 'Castlevania' fan a run for their money. There's plenty of enemies to defeat, plenty of items/weapons to collect, plenty of secrets to uncover, and plenty of puzzles to solve before you can finally say that you have bested the game.

Quirky additions such as the "Obstacle Events" which are hidden in certain room locations, and the wacky voice-overs that can be found at the most unexpected times add laughable moments to the gameplay at hand. Unlike the Castlevaina, or Metroid games you'll find that "Magicians and Looters" does contain some features that such games never had. The "Obstacle Events (I hope I got that right ...)" for example allow the player to take control of an in-game creature as they try to get past hordes of enemies, and across a finish line in a set amount of time. By beating the timer, and crossing the predetermined finish line you will be awarded a prize, and will be praised by the little leprechaun lad who was hosting the event. Being able to control the tusked bat pig as it ran through the goblins was a blast, while controlling the fire breathing bat was most definitely infuriating. All in all though it's details like these that set the game apart from others in the genre. I should also mention the fact that 'Morgopolis Studios' has incorporated their own style of art, and uniquely animated character sprites that greatly differ from any game creation before it.

In the end "Magicians and Looters" is not something I'd consider groundbreaking, but it is unique in it's own way. The plot, and characters, as knock-off as they may seem live in a mythology only found in Morgopolis Studios' creation. Everything from the characters themselves to the character interactions, and the enemies you will face are all unique enough as to not be a total ripoff of anything. You'll also be glad to know that the level design, and all the in-game mechanics work properly as they should. While there are definitely some moments where you'll get frustrated, such as with trying to use the zip-lines to get to a higher platform the majority of the puzzle based progression to be found will not be that difficult for you. As far as glitches go I did run into a "Fatal" error that caused the game to crash, and sent me back to the XBL dashboard. After it happened though I went back to the same spot (the final boss area) without further incident. I'm not sure if it will be a reoccurring issue, or if it was just some freak glitch that won't affect others. Regardless of whether, or not it will though it did happen, and may be something worth looking into.

As far as recommending this game goes I think fans of the "Metroidvania" genre will be pleased enough with this lowly priced game that it's short length, and wacky dialogue driven story will be easy enough to look past. The true fun, as I found it lies with the gameplay itself, and the unique RPG system that the developer has applied. One question remains though, and it's a question I'm sure my readers are curious to know. Do I think it's worth it? As a diehard fan of "Castlevania:SotN" I say "Hell Yeah!". You can't beat paying a couple of bucks for a "Metroidvania" based indie that is this well made!. At least give the demo a try folks. There's nothing to lose in doing that. If you can look past the goofy art, the wacky dialogue, and enjoy the gameplay for what it is you will no doubt have at least a few hours of fun.