Game:

Magical Drop (1995)

Duration: 45:06

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21

It's Magical Drop. It's the sixth main game. It's on Steam, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One too. It's not nearly as bad as MD5, but it's still a little annoying. You unlock virtually everything. It's got a few unique modes. It's a bit obtuse when it comes to getting the extras. There's seasonal DLC for it so expect the game to attempt to gouge you later. It was released last year (2023) by Storm Trident S.A. and Highball Games in conjunction with Forever Entertainment. The game was originally based off of a game called "Drop Drop" by Russ Ltd, a Russian company. That about sums it up. Want to know more? Magical Drop rocks as a whole. Let's get into it.

For the uninitiated, I'll quote Wikipedia here instead of improvising on the same talking points with slightly different verbiage:

"A stack of random colored bubbles descend from the top, and a player is defeated when a bubble hits the bottom. Bubbles can be picked up and dropped by the player's clown at the bottom, and are destroyed when three or more of the same color are put together on a single column. Chains are formed either when a single drop caused a chain reaction, or when more than one group of bubbles is destroyed in quick succession. The game is normally played with two players (one may be a computer opponent), and chains cause the opponent's stack to descend faster."

"There are 24 characters overall, all but the Black Pierrot being named after a tarot card (although the Strength card has been represented by two characters throughout the series). Different characters have different attack patterns. The columns of the opponent's stack will descend at different rates relative to each other depending on the character chosen. This causes a disjunction of colors that may make it more difficult for the other player to clear their stack. For example, with the character Devil, all the columns will descend at the same rate, whereas with Sun, the middle columns will descend faster than the others."

MD6 is mostly MD3 with an updated HD coat of paint. The game's Story Mode is a modified version of MD3's "Magical Journey" and features multiple endings with different routes determining what characters you use. The game's Survival and Puzzle Modes are just as they sound. "Path of Destiny" is an expanded "Magical Journey" with a ramped up board game vibe that has you competing against others to reach the end while collecting money along the way used for unlocking things and the Caravan Mode is a timed race against the clock while gaining as many points as possible. The game does not allow you to lose against an opponent (though you can lose solo games in Story Mode, this is illustrated in the video) and has to be played MANY times to unlock everything, but I suppose it's a little better than the alternative (not having anything to work towards).

On the surface, the game is a proper return to form... the graphics are great (although a few of the animations seem... off, and a handful of assets look cheap) and the music is slightly upgraded versions of familiar tracks. The characters have updated Japanese dialog which is kinda cool and it also has local / online multiplayer available. The only downside? After more than a half dozen games and almost 30 years, the core gameplay nor the extras have seen any significant updates. I love Magical Drop, but it wouldn't kill them to add some worthwhile new features, even if they're optional. Even so, the game's lightning-fast gameplay and high skill ceiling on harder difficulties is a blast and a testament to the series' lasting appeal. This is a video showing the game in action. You can get this version at:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2176320/Magical_Drop_VI/

Enjoy.

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