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マジカルチェイス
©1991 Palsoft
Release : 1991-11-15 (¥7800)
Hucard (4 Mbits) PL91001
Shooter / Horizontal
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Released in America as
MAGICAL CHASE
( TGX040086 )
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Magical Chase is a cute horizontal shooter developed by Palsoft
and published by Quest. Ripple is a young apprentice witch
who, one day, breaks the one cardinal rule of the witch code - she looks inside the
forbidden demon book and accidentally releases six evil beasts into the world.
The poor Ripple grabs her broomstick and sets off on a dangerous journey to
seal the demons away and rectify the whole situation. Thankfully, two friendly
twin-stars join the party and follow Ripple's every move to protect her
from harm. Oncoming waves of the demons' minions drop all kind of colored gems
and crystals when defeated, whereas Pumpkin-head shopkeepers await customers at
the corner of each stage, ready to sell accessories and weapons at a premium
price. Ripple uses the dropped gems to purchase new weapons
(3-ways, Balkan, Waves, Bubbles and so forth),
life or special attacks. Interestingly, each stage features its own set of
weapons but they have no ability to upgrade. Although short introduction sequences
reveal middle-bosses before the action starts, even tougher bosses await
Ripple at the end of each level. Finally Magical Chase offers
six long stages and three difficulty levels - however, the game can't be
completed in the easiest mode.
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The American TurboGrafx-16 version shows some differences, most notably in
the first level - the backdrop was changed and the colored lego-like bricks replaced
by castle walls (picture on the right). Among other changes, some enemy sprites were edited to appear less
colorful and shops were redesigned to look like giant pumpkin heads rather than
colorful gold balloons. Finally Ripple's sprite was slightly altered. The
TG-16 version of Magical Chase is supposed to be the very last
turbochip to be released by TTI (Turbo Technologies Incorporated)
on December 31st 1993.
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The original Japanese version of Magical Chase was released twice;
first as the standard edition (tested here), and secondly as a special mail-order
"PC Engine Fan" release (picture on the left). PC Engine Fan was a Japanese magazine
dedicated to covering the PC Engine system and published by
Tokuma Shoten. Both games are identical but the back of the case and
the instruction manual come with a different "PC Engine Fan" logo.
However, they are both equally rare and expensive.
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Magical Chase was first released for the PC Engine in 1991 and
was followed by the American version in 1993. Interestingly, a
PC Version was released in 1998 and runs on Windows'95/98
(picture on the right, see also the 'omake' section). It was
published by Bothtec and is fairly similar to the PC Engine
version tested here. Although the game comes on a CDRom, the music soundtrack
is directly borrowed from the HuCard version. Finally, Magical Chase
was ported in 2000 by Micro Cabin to the Game Boy Color. This
version was called 'Magical Chase GB : Minarai Mahōtsukai Kenja no Tani e' (which can be
roughly translated as 'Magical Chase GB : the wise apprentice witch of the valley')
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Teaser text from the American version:
Ripple is a student of magic, and her teacher is a terrifying
witch. Ripple's particularly afraid of her teacher right now,
because she's just broken a promise she made to the
witch: Ripple took a peek inside the forbidden book
Sleeping Demons! No sooner had she opened the cover
than out jumper six demons, which raced away! Unless
she can catch all six demons and get them back inside the
book, the witch will turn Ripple into a frog for breaking her
promise! Ripple sets off on her quest with her two Elf-Star
friends, Topsy and Turvy. Good luck, Ripple!!
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Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :
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MAGICAL CHASE
STAFF
Program
Tat.P
Asm
Masa.H
M.Ogawa
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Director
Nigoto
C.G.Design
Suguru.T
Nigoro
Music and Sound
Rezon
YmoH.S
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Special Thanks
Yaz
Tobei
Machimo
G. Miwa
Presented by QUEST
©1991 PALSOFT/QUEST
All rights reserved
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
O
V
s
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Magical chase is such a lovely and cute shooter. While
the gameplay is typical of the genre, the witch and fairy tale
theme is what gives Magical chase it own charm and personality.
The game is brilliantly executed and is filled with weird enemies
and wondrous bosses. The first thing you'll notice is the fantastic
graphics of the game - they are polished and incredibly well animated.
Many players argue that the American version looks better but I
personally think both releases are good (and the TG-16
version is insanely more expensive). But what shines the most about
Magical chase is the flawless and incredible controls,
they are responsive and I feel the game has just the right
amount of difficulty to make it fun and challenging.
Magical chase is a game that reached for the stars and
flew among them. It might not please all the hardcore shooter
veterans out there, but the charm of Magical chase may
win over the others. An excellent shooter.
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