BAZOOOOOO!

Ancient Magic: Bazoo is one of those games that does something new, even by today's standards (keep in mind, I don't play modern games). And that something can be fun, is really rad, and it's wrapped in a lovely box your grandfather bought for you. But your grandpa is a bit crazy, and there's a bomb attached to the lid. 

Let's start with the good! I thought the story was amazing. You play a teenager in a small town. Relatable! You choose your name, gender, and background. Gender doesn't seem to mean much, as there's no apparent romance, but your background dictates what your character says when interacting with the world. I chose priest because its skill is lore. I like to think I know about the world and want to show it off, which that does. Anyway, you quickly learn your dead dad was a heroic mage, and you want to follow in his footsteps. Your reluctant mom listens to a bard, who whisks you off to your rich uncle, where you meet your cousin. But your uncle kinda sucks and has you working as a servant until you do something cool. And then you go to wizard school to spend the next two years. 

And that's one of the best things Bazoo does. It tells a long term story about how you grow as a mage and as a person and introduces you to characters and concepts slowly. It does feel like a life, but without the boring stuff. Only adventure! And from there, you save the world, but whatever. The story has neat twists about your morality, a strange history, and what happens after "happily ever after." There are even small choices along the way that slightly change the story. I'm not sure by how much, but you can 'skip' certain bosses by making the appropriate decision. 

And the battle system is pretty neat too. It looks like your typical turn based affair (where speed matters), but there's a twist. There isn't just one screen all battle participants are standing on, but an entire field. You'll often have to run up to your enemy to actually stab them. It's very D&D in that manner. And sometimes a mob can't hit you because someone is standing in the way. Which is where magic comes in! Magic is very powerful, but it's also even more expensive. MP drains fast. This can be mitigated by actually buying elixir fizzes, but guess what I didn't find until too late. The lack of item descriptions is poor game design, I'll give you that. Most important, don't forget to do the ritual for learning new spells after you've bought the scroll. Your master, another choice you make, only teaches you so many. 

Visually, the game is kinda NES Premium. Tile sets are reused, and every village and town feels the same. Not too much variety here, and that includes the spell animations. They try to do something while the magic travels, but it's a meager attempt. 

And musically, it's much the same. A few good songs are scattered about, but there isn't much here. It's also forgettable. 

But... the world! I got a kick out of seeing it live. Ships sail, and carriages travel as you leave the villages scattered throughout the world. NPCs are almost up there, but there isn't enough side content to make them matter. The game's also pretty short, so they only get so much time. 

It's a shame Grandpa planted that bomb, though. The encounter rate in Bazoo is outrageous. It might be the second worst on the console, behind Arabian Nights. I wish the story was longer, but I couldn't suffer through any more encounters and had to tap out early. 

I enjoyed playing Ancient Magic: Bazoo... I like games that try new things, even if they're rough around the edges. I didn't know that about myself, but this SNES RPG saga has taught me that. Ogre Battle, Metal Max, and Cyber Knight can attest to that. If I don't finish it... All in all, Bazoo gets a score higher than those games. 32/50. I'm shocked, but I'm not gonna argue with myself.