Preliminary: At first I was a bit frustrated with the limitations--such short seeming jumps and limits on your attacks/ability to make blocks. But obviously that's what makes the puzzle in puzzle platformer ha. I'm usually not a big fan of puzzle platformers, preferring just action-packed platformers, but this grew on me real quickly after I read up that you can make blocks below you to the right or left by kneeling at the edge of a block and using your wand; that you can make a block 2 squares ahead by standing at the very edge of the one you're on; and other quirks (gotta love strategywiki). The best part? I was able to get through the first 4 stages and collect all the Fairies without referring to the guide for hints! That's a sign of a good game imo. Seems kinda crazy long with 44 rounds but, hey, I see a Tecmo Plate is involved at some point according to strategywiki and now I'm realizing that even if I don't refer to the guide to help me get the basics, I should at least doublecheck it to make sure I don't miss any cool secrets. Tecmo was really coming through in 1986! (I enjoyed Mighty Bomb Jack a lot... only beef was the difficulty got so high at the end... I wonder if the same will happen here... but I love how Tecmo incorporated secrets and optional stuff in arcade platformers... now that I think of it this has a lot of similarities to Mighty Bomb Jack in general ha)

Look: 7/10 Functional and cute enough. Nothing particularly special, and nothing struck me throughout it, but great colors, good backgrounds, and cute fantasy sprites.

Sound: 7/10 Good, did get a bit old but only when I was frustrated with the gameplay itself ha, nothing striking but great for its time.

Play: 8/10 As usual I prefer ways to fight back, and was glad when I got the Fireball attack, though it was temporary :( But ooo turns out there are Super Fireballs and Scrolls. Tecmo always goes in on the adventure elements in their arcade action games. Ooooo I love that continuing right from where you were is built into the game! Which, uh, can be exploited by the way ;) The first secret of the game was quite apparent--the Bonus Stage literally tells you to use your wand on the 3-3 key ha . And ahhhh I love the arcade style mid-jump movementttt. And I like the spark ball's movement/mechanics in that you can manipulate them (usually I hate spark balls--I'm looking at you Zelda haha)

It's funny that I felt the movement and jumps were really limited when started, and now I'm over here jumping over enemies, jumping over open doors when I'm not ready to leave yet, etc. Not perfect collision masks and mechanics like I always want from arcade games, but very quick-to-learn quirks and mechanics (as is often the case with platformers, some of the quirks are necessary to exploit, namely the one where you can stand partly into the next tile to create a block in the next tile over without interacting with, uh, the tile you're partly standing in ha... so technically that collision mask is illogical, but it came in handy often... plus, was relatively quick to learn). I do wish there were an upgrade for the jump, but I suppose they then would have adjusted the level designs accordingly anyway. Definitely addicting, all around.

Feel: 8/10 Love a game where I only need to look to a guide for the maps to see if any particularly special power-ups or secrets in a level and then otherwise just play around to figure it out. Plus, Continue feature? Sold! Welp, on the first night, I got further than expected, played for about an hour and a half already! The Strategywiki calls it Stage 17, not sure the 6-1 or whatever it is ha, the game labels its levels oddly. But I'm still enjoying it! Nervous that it may get super hard, and also nervous that the simple puzzle mechanics will eventually get old to me like often happens with puzzle platformers for me (especially as the difficulty increases). We shall see when I play again tomorrow! I will note that I've already started to ignore some Fairies and just focus on Fireballs/Super Fireballs and Scrolls in terms of looking for special stuff on the strategywiki maps--not seeking a higher score or all the Fairies (turns out those are just for extra lives, it seems, not like Mighty Bomb Jack where certain collectibles unlock different ending sequences)

Attachment: 8/10 Sure enough, on my 2nd play session, the difficulty level was seemingly much higher. As is inevitable with puzzle platformers, the simple mechanics get more and more exploited into frustrating setups. But maybe it was just a matter of getting back into the groove/used to the quirks since always forget them overnight lol

There were many times during this 2nd play session where I considered giving up. Round 25 was one of those moments ... and Round 27. And yea on my thirdish hour of gameplay I was really debating whether I was still having fun. I loved the first 20ish rounds! but this always seems to happen with puzzle-focused platformers for me... Uff and how tacky. The Continue option stops after Round 31?

We'll see what I think tomorrow with one last play session. But I think several hours and this many deaths is enough to call it quits. Why do I always feel such an urge to finish out a game??? I suppose because I'm 31/44 done!

Wellll, I returned later that very same night lol cuz it's hard for me to give up. The fact I keep returning to it is a good sign, but the fact I also keep wanting to drop it is a sign it's a bit too hard and tedious/puzzle-y in the later levels. I did get past Round 31, so we shall see how the rest go. (Pro-tip: mash the spell/wand button while in mid-air and you can stay in air for an insanely long amount of time while you sit there and let enemies pass or figure out what the hell you're about to do ha. Great for panic moments)

Like Mighty Bomb Jack and Fantasy Zone, my biggest complaint is, the insane difficulty in late game. But, that makes sense--it's end game. And it's okay to have a cap for gamers like me. But I have an urge to finish games, so if a game doesn't mesh with that, it's of course gonna be a negative. And it'll detract from the fun factor. And indeed, I finally gave up here Round 33

A couple of the later levels were fun but this one... the time factor was just obnoxious. The structure of the level wasn't clever or anything, it was just tedious since you can't make a block where an item is. I believe I had the solution down, just kept running out of time after getting the key and almost to the door. After 3 attempts, considering how most the later levels simply weren't fun to me anymore, I figured I had met my limit in the game. Great game with a lot of positives, but runs its course at the later levels. That being said, I could consider that a positive since that way it appeals to gamers who want to truly get to know a game that well and has enough difficulty/high-end levels to appease them while still having plenty doable levels for gamers like me. Still, frustrated I didn't finish it! Haha. If this had a stronger Look and Sound, it had potential to being a 4 or 5 star, because I really really enjoyed early and mid game.

Completion: To Round 33, Score 384,710 (wasn't going for high score though) Playtime: ~3.5 hours