Magical Beat blends electrifying melodies and tile-matching puzzles with a rhythmic twist. Vibrant 16-bit inspired character sprites give the game an entertaining arcade aesthetic that compliments the side-by-side style combat. Whether you play a few rounds to unwind or test your endurance by battling through consecutive stages you will be drawn in by the soundtracks catchy themes. The inventive musical aspect of Magical Beat offers an extra layer of strategy as you drop blocks in sync with the music for hours of addicting gameplay.
The lengthy list of playable characters includes an amnesiac cyborg schoolgirl named A-ko. The plot is straightforward and it doesn’t take itself too seriously giving you just enough of a storyline to weave these wacky characters together. A-ko fights her way from Beat Town across difficult terrain challenging the bizarre inhabitants on her way to face the mysterious being residing in Beat Tower. The bright pixel-art style contrasts well with the characters that prove to be rather mischievous beings. Amusing mini bios provide a list of each person’s quirky traits that make them even more likeable for their strange behavior. A number of additional characters can be unlocked by completing various requirements and these happen to be familiar faces from the BlazBlue and XBlaze video game series.
As you go head to head with Beat Town residents, you will have the ability to drop a trio of yellow, blue, green or pink blocks known as Beatons onto your grid. Creating a chain reaction of three or more Beatons of the same color unleashes an attack on your opponent by dropping black Beatons onto your their grid. This impedes your opponent’s ability to clear their space because these black blocks known as Jammer Beatons cannot be incorporated into chains. The only way to eliminate Jammer Beatons is by forming chains with adjacent blocks. As you form attacks the characters will hurl spheres of energy back and forth, the longer the match lasts the more Jammer Beatons they drop. The musical element requires you to carefully time your drops to match the tempo of each song. Along the side of your playable area is a bar with a sliding cursor known as the Beat Sync Gauge. If Beatons are not released within the given about of time or they are not within the blue area within the Beat Sync Gauge they will become unstable and break apart leaving you with no control over where they land.
Many of the fast paced electric tunes include the application of synthesized vocals known as Vocaloid. These pop numbers were composed by the artist Kikuo, who rose to popularity through the Japanese video sharing website Niconico. A level’s difficulty is determined by the song’s beats per minute, abbreviated throughout the game as BPM. The faster the tempo the less time you have to stop the cursor within the allotted area.The learning curve can be steep at first as the tempo of songs in Beginner’s Battle mode alone range from 70 BPM to 180 BPM. It takes a few tries to get use to timing and alternating Beatons so that they fit into combinations with those below. Integration of the music felt seamless as you became familiar with each track, matching the beat happens naturally without having to refer to the visual aids on the screen. Completing certain requirements also unlocks new tracks that are themes from the BlazBlue and XBlaze and Guilty Gear series. The extra content offers a number of guitar heavy compositions, in particular the soaring tracks from Guilty Gear allow for even more varied song choices.
Finding a balance between timing and placement proved to be a rewarding experience, more difficult stages required quick maneuvering and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment when they were over. Jumping back and forth from the variety of arrangements forces you to readjust your tactics each time, proving that slower songs present as much of a challenge as rapid compositions. The game does have an easier setting aptly named Training Wheels that will disable the Beatons from collapsing if you happen to drop them out of sync. Just because this game is incredibly cute its difficultly should not be underestimated. After spending an hour on the same level spanning sixty-seven continues, I arrived at the conclusion that I just could not go any further than stage five in the Normal Battle mode with the default settings. This game is rigorous and I think that helps make worthwhile because it has such a high replay value. Ten degrees of difficulty in total offer a lot of room to hone your skills with last five levels including an additional red Beaton to match up. If you are a fan of the Vocaloid genre, follower of games featured in the unlockable content or a lover of challenging puzzles this game has a lot to offer. Orchestrating powerful combinations to the rhythm will keep you on your toes as you try not to miss a single beat.
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