Mystic Defender
System: Genesis
Release Date: December 1989
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action
Mystic Defender is the sequel to Spellcaster and makes its debut on Sega Genesis. This time, we get a straight up action game instead of the action and point-and-click adventure hybrid from earlier in the year. The evil King Zao has abducted the daughter of the Supreme Deity and it’s up to Joe Yamato to save her before Zao can complete his evil plan of sacrificing the maiden to revive his evil master.
Mystic Defender is your typical action platformer. You have to run through the levels, fighting enemies, collecting items, then taking on a boss. Enemies might go out in one hit or may need multiple shots to defeat. Joe starts out with his Psycho Ball Magic, which can be shot as a small ball with a press of the B Button or charged to shoot multiple larger balls by charging the attack first. This will likely be your main attack. In level 2, you gain Flamethrower Magic, the longer you charge it, the longer the flame. This is the proper weapon in some instances where you need some sustained protection. It’s nice because you can bend it up or down to defeat enemies on different levels.
The Sonic Balls Magic shoots six balls that bounce around the screen at higher charges. This weapon is imprecise, but may be the only way to hit some enemies. You can also find a few items to help you on your way. The lightning bolt is the Thunder Dragon magic that clears the screen or damages bosses. These are rare, but useful. Red spheres increase spell charging speed and are great to have collected. The blue sphere increases your life bar by one. There are also rare 1ups hidden through the levels.
Round 4 is a terribly designed level where you have to jump on platforms that move up and down while enemies that take multiple hits with the Psycho Ball fly across the screen. If you get hit or miss your jump, you lose a life. You’ll run through your lives and continues pretty quickly here. Levels 3 and 6 are a pain, as you have to deal with verticality, moving platforms, and flame throwing statues. The rest aren’t terrible, but not really that good, either. The jumping physics just feel odd and lead to more deaths and missed platforms than you’d like.
Bosses have patterns that can be learned, but they exist to take your health away and try to waste your lives. I accidentally saved my game right before the final boss with only one health unit, no lives, and no continues left. I didn’t want to play through again, so I tried a couple dozen times to win before finally succeeding. That boss is creepy looking!
Graphics: 2.5
The graphics are alright, with plenty of colors and effects, but they don’t feel special.
Sound: 2.0
The sound of your charged weapon overpowers everything else, which is annoying.
Gameplay: 2.0
The jumping is bad and it’s a big component to the game. The delay in releasing a charged shot sucks, too.
Difficulty: 2.5
Level four is cheap, some of the bosses are, too. You’ll need to memorize everything to beat this legit.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I got mad when my continues ran out and I had to start again, not a good sign.
Overall Grade: 2.1
Mystic Defender earns a C. It’s not a great game, merely average, whether or not you try it is on you.