I'd Buy That for a Dollar: Magical Drop V

Sometimes I like cruising Steam to see what sort of stuff they have available for dirt cheap. Is the game horrible? Underrated? Is it a half-assed mobile phone port being snuck into the library? Sometimes it turns out that the game is actually pretty decent; it's just that for whatever reason the publisher has it up for a buck. Such was the case with Magical Drop V. I'd played some of the older games in the series from back in the 90s, and enjoyed those, so I got to wondering why this installment was so cheap. As it turns out, it was rushed to market and wound up being a buggy mess. Folks were rather peeved by this, and it wound up getting mixed reviews, relegating it to some far flung, long-forgotten fringe of the Steam catalog. However, years later the game appears to work just fine. At least it does for me. So, what I got out of the deal was a fun little puzzler for essentially a sack of nickles and a button.

Magical Drop V is pretty typical console-y arcade-esque puzzle match three game fair, where players need to make a certain number doodads of the same color touch one another so that they disappear. The more of these you do, in greater numbers, and possibly while pulling off combos, the more points you get, and the more you screw over your opponent. It's something that's been around for 25 years, is familiar, easy to get into, and quite a fun little time waster.

What stood out to me while playing is just how much speed is a factor. In order to do well, you really need to go fast, clearing your doodads as quick as possible. Sure, this is the case in quite a lot of puzzle games where the faster you go the greater chance you have of winning due to overwhelming opponents, but it is emphasized so much more here. After the third or fourth match, players really need to kick in the afterburners to do well. It's fun, though, as I did enjoy the hustle of it all. However, it isn't a good idea to play the game before bed, as I'm always so wired afterward that it is extremely difficult to sleep after.

One area where I do have some complaints about the game, though, is its visuals. It looks like a Flash-based mobile phone game with the art and color usage. A lot of games are going for more hand drawn 2D looks as we get further and further away from the age of sprite graphics, and some do a very good job of this (ie. many of Arc System Works recent offerings). However, there is an overly simplistic quality to the characters, backgrounds, and whatnot in Magical Drop V. Moreover, while the game goes for a cutesy, cartoony look, the artists still found a way to give most of the female characters huge breasts, which makes no sense, and is more than a little bit creepy.

Nonetheless, good times have been had. There's an overall chipper sensibility to the game, which is something that is pretty common for Japanese arcade-style puzzlers: bright, cute visual aesthetics, some really upbeat tunes, and even some very satisfying sound effects as you clear the screen of your colorful doodads. Even with the fast pace of MDV, it's still hard not to smile while playing.

So for a game I only payed a little over a buck for, I really can't complain. I've gotten far more enjoyment out of it than I ever expected. It's unfortunate that it launched so poorly, and is now largely forgotten, as the game is well worth checking out. In an age where these sorts of puzzle games are becoming increasingly rare, it's nice to have one come along that is actually pretty fun.