The graphics of Magi Nation are alright. They don't use much Light Colours, they instead use Medium-to-dark colours. The Character Models are more or less just a few pallette swaps of eachother (Mainly the townsfolk), the portraits when the people are talking all show some originality (Most of the special characters get their own, and there are alot of special characters here), and the Character models look alright too-I like how Eidon and Foney Bones-Err Tony Jones looks. Tony Jones even has Saggy Pants. The Backgrounds look alright, sure, some of the earlier Shadow Geyser backgrounds are just bleh, but the backgrounds in the Shadow Hold and 5th Shadow Geyser are probably one of the best ever on the gameboy Colour. And the Dream Creatures aren't just Pokemon ripoffs, where Pokemon are trying to be cute, the Dream Creature designs are more or less "Pokemon Grown up" in the words of one of the few INTELLIGENT gamefaqers who review there. (Suprisingly, almost all of the gamefaqers who reviewed Magi Nation or post at that message board ARE intelligent. O_O)
Magi Nation's plot starts out using some recycled elements, how Tony Jones falls into Magi Nation after getting a crystal from a cave (Or else some people will call him "Foney Bones" [img]tongue.gif[/img] ), he's trying to get home, they think he's the incarnation of a wizard named Magus Kyros, and then he summons dream creatures to defeat his enemies. Sure, in the beginning, it starts out a bit recycled, but when he reaches the Underneath, after Tony Jones says he's the great Magus Kyros and then everybody acts Shocked and then they tell him to leave after the Shadow Geyser. Then in the Cald, he is looked down upon at first. And after the fourth Shadow Geyser, it throws something out somewhat unexpected. The Storyline is trying to be serious, but it is trying to be funny sometimes. Korg and Zet are absolutley hillarious with Korg's stupidity and Zet's unknown genius. Other Magi are also just trying to be funny by saying a few memorable quotes like on the card game. (Gorgor= [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] )
The game is a bit on the hard side-This is not the kind of game where you can just breeze through with just one Dream Creature. The Bosses are all challenging and involve quite a bit of leveling up. The First official boss, Togoth, will NOT AT ALL go easy on you (Though if you have 3 Wasperines, then it'll be a cinch), the 2nd boss, Ogar, had an extremely annoying Shadow Geyser and her Chaos Jiles can literally take your party down in one hit, and Zet is probably one of the HARDEST bosses EVER. (Cunning Blow=
) Still, later on when facing bosses like Zet or Morag, Hyrens, the legendary Ormagon (Hidden Dream creature and limited edition card), a very high-level Leaf Chogo, and Chaos Jiles are your best friends. Heck, you even have the choice to skip the 4th shadow Geyser boss (Even though you'll have to fight her in the 5th shadow geyser if you do, but she's much easier if you level up in between those two areas).The Music is more or less just a "Take it or leave it", like most other Gameboy Titles. The Boss music was really well done though, it didn't really sound like a regular boss. The Shadow Geyser music also gets annoying after awhile, and the final Battle music is repetetive but it really is catchy.
While some pokemon fanboys may be accusing Magi Nation of ripping off Pokemon, getting the Dream Creatures is very different. Not only do you have to kill them first to get the 100 EXP required for each level, but you have to get their animite too. The Animite is not only used as Currency, but you can use it to forge rings to summon the dream creatures. You can have up to four per battle, but that also means that the enemy can have up to four too, and if they're 4 Chaos Jiles (I hate Consume.
), then you'll need the strongest ones. Sometimes, you'll only need just 1 animite, but other times you'll need more than that, and sometimes, you even need quite a few other animites. Not quite a Pokemon ripoff, as you can see.There is some mild replay value, like the Secret Start (Restart with all your current stats and dream creatures), the Ormagon side-quest (Which is very easy to miss), the core ringsmith (If you have a Chaos Jile and Core Hyren, then you'll be invincible), the Hyrens, and a few other stuff (Like the Lightning spell and the spell "updraft", Aderrial spells).
Overall, Magi Nation is definatley one of the best Game Boy games period. If you think all monster catching RPGs involve the Yellow Rat or that shame-to-all known as Dokapon (Don't EVER waste time on that), then think again-There's Magi Nation, and Tony Jones CERTAINLY desereves to be on Neglected Characters (Hey, I'm like the only one here who even KNOWS who the hell he is unless Yuuki or Angelic from STF show up). Small annoyances occurr, like how annoying some Shadow Geysers and the godammed Shadow Hold, but that still can't stop Magi Nation from being one of the best and funniest games on the game boy. 9.45/10
Pros:
-=They successfully add humour to a semi-serious game=-
-=Some Dungeons are very extensive=-
-=Hyrens=-
-=A somewhat recycled plot becomes original later on.=-
-=Some of the themes are pretty catchy=-
-=A nice way to grab the dream creatures=-
-=The Ormagon is indeed in the game=-
-=Korg and Zet=-
Cons:
-=Some of the dungeons are VERY long and easy to get lost in=-
-=How freaking hard Zet is when you fight him=-
-=The bosses are hard=-
-=Some of the musics are "meh"=-
-=The Ormagon is easy to miss=-
