Gamertell

Title: Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times
Price: $29.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: May 11, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Konami (Konami)
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ for Comic Mischief and Mild Suggestive Themes
Pros: There are tons of magic spells and incantations. There are magic duels. You can decorate your dorm room. Lots of villagers/fellow students in each town. Multiple shops. You can make best friends and date. You can treasure hunt, fish, catch bugs, explore a haunted mansion and garden. Lots of clothing options. Large town to explore. Nintendo WiFi Connection compatibility so you can visit others or friends can visit you.
Cons: It’s pretty easy to forget to save. There’s quite a few “fluff” classes before you start learning real magic spells. Only one neighbor moves out per month, and you often can’t stop it from happening. Fishing is quite tricky.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 97/100, A. * * * * 1/2 out of 5

Animal Crossing is a wonderful game. I love it. I try to play Animal Crossing: City Folk every day, to maintain my hybrid garden and keep up to date with the free downloadable content. But let’s face it, after a while it gets boring. You pay off the mortgage and get your house just so, and then there’s pretty much nothing left to do.

Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times isn’t like that. It just doesn’t happen.

At least, it doesn’t happen until you’ve played for 356 days and completed all of the challenges.

Welcome to _______ Magic School! Get ready to learn all sorts of silly, fun and mischievous spells!

In Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times, you are a human boy or girl who has come to the legendary ________ Magic School (you get to decide the name) to become a wizard or witch. You’re the only human in town, meaning you’re the only one who can access the Gateway of the Beginning and End, which allows you to take part in multiplayer and begin Mysterious Time. All the other teachers, shop owners and students are anthropomorphic animals, items, monsters or plants.

The overall goal is to attend classes regularly, learn magic and become a wizard or witch. You’ll also have weekly challenges to undertake to test your prowess. Along the way you can make friends with fellow students (perhaps even gaining a boyfriend or girlfriend), catch fish, catch bugs, hunt for treasure, cast spells, take part in magical duels, go shopping, go on playdates and dates, design clothing, garden, learn musical compositions and explore every inch of the new magical world you’re a part of.

A practically flawless life simulation

There are essentially two parts of Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times - civilian mode and magician mode. Civilian mode is more for socializing with neighbors, as pressing the X button or tapping your character will cause it to wave at a nearby villager, and then talking to said villager will open up a menu allowing you to give gifts, go to school together, chat or play/date. Magician mode is for casting spells and incantations, since the wand then replaces the empty hand icon and pressing the X button will unleash the magic spell stocked in the wand. You can ride brooms, perform music, dig, fish, catch bugs or water plants in either state.

The magic part of the game is easily the most fun. The magical duels are entertaining, and the other students are perfect targets for both kind and unkind spells. Just be careful what you do, because you’re not the only one who can cast spells. Other students will cast them on you as well. Also, be aware that the spells you use effect what the other students think of you. My personal favorites so far include a transformation spell that lets you turn into the target, then impersonate him/her around town and a spell that can cause a meteor shower in the sky above.

Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times isn’t perfect. There are a few editing errors when it comes to dialogue. Fishing can be quite difficult and boring until you get the hang of it. Plus it’s very easy to forget to save, meaning your character will be stuck with monotonous cleaning duty at the school.

Another minor complaint is that it can take a while to start learning spells. However you don’t have to take a class to actually use a spell. If you look online and learn how to cast it, you can immediately use the spell in the game. It’s a very handy feature for those who want to start making NPCs fart or sleep in a cloud hammock. It just won’t be added to your magic list or incantation list until you attend the actual class.

A rare and amazing game that is easily one of the best on the DS.

There’s only one really bad thing about Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times, and that’s how hard it is to find it. Unless you’re buying it online, you’ll experience quite a quest trying to find it in a local store.

It’s just a wonderful life simulation game. I’d recommend it most to Harry Potter, Sims and Animal Crossing fans, but really it’s the sort of game that all DS owners could enjoy. It has action, RPG, collection and simulation elements, all tossed into a stylish and sweet package. Plus the weekly challenges and multiple spells will keep you coming back every day.

Personally, I’m hoping for either a Wiimake or a Wii edition. I’d love to see this on a bigger screen, possibly with even more content. Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times is a phenomenal game that deserves to be a series.

Site [Magician’s Quest Mysterious Times]