I was loathe to admit it at the time, but I may as well do so now: I didn't actually own a copy of Pop'n Magic when I wrote the aforementioned post.
There are a couple of reasons for that, of course. One is, well, I didn't much like this rather precious (but not too precious) single-screen platformer when I first played it. Another is that even used copies of Pop'n Magic can be kind of pricey.
Thankfully, I found a reasonably priced copy on eBay a few weeks ago. The case and manual are a tad worn (you can't really tell in the photos below), but that's OK. The only thing I care about is that the game runs properly when I stick it into my trusty PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 system (which it does).
Anyway, Pop'n Magic's cover art is pretty nice, don't you think? I'm not entirely sure why the main illustration was placed on top of a photograph of an assortment of candy, although I have a feeling it's because this game, like most that follow Bubble Bobble's lead, features quite a bit of the sweet stuff. (It pops up every time you defeat an enemy, naturally.)
The inside of its manual is similarly colorful, so expect to see a Pop'n Magic-centric "Manual Stimulation" post appear soon.
All of the photos above, plus an additional one, have been added to my Flickr photostream, by the way. Check them out in all their cacophonous glory here.
See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts
What an adorable box and game disc! I love colorful stuff like this – it's exactly the game of game box that deserves to be shown off! Though Pop'n Magic keeps reminding me of Pop'n Music ;)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your follow-up manual stimulation post!
Awesome! I want this game (as well as an Engine CD-ROM itself, of course)! They're nearly all unknown to me as I can't emulate them yet... :(
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty damn adorable, isn't it, Anne? I hear you about the title reminding of Pop'n Music, by the way. It also reminds of a Super Famicom game called Magical Pop'n. And then there's another SF game called Pop'n TwinBee. What is it with the Japanese and the word "pop'n"? :)
ReplyDeleteYou should get one, Simon! The PCE CD is a great little system. I especially like the piggyback "Super CD-ROM2" system I own :)
ReplyDeleteIf you want to stick with emulation, though, you really should buy/try Magic Engine. Yes, you have to pay for it, but it's worth it. PCE CD emulation on other PCE emulators completely sucks, in my experience.
Thanks for the tip Bryan - I would love a Duo but I expect the missus wouldn't be happy! :P I already use Magic Engine but haven't tried running CD games on it yet - I hope it's easy!
ReplyDeleteSimon: Unless the files you find on the Internet are bad, you shouldn't have any problem whatsoever getting CD games to run on Magic Engine. In fact, the only game I can remember having a problem with is an Arcade Card game (Madou Monogatari). Anyway, should you ever try it and run into problems, let me know and I'll try to help you!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the cute illustrations inside the manual -- here's a little trivia tidbit for you. In an odd case of inappropriate illustration imitation, the manual for Wolf Team's "Arcus III" on PC-98 actually uses some of Pop 'n Magic's illustrations, right down to the hero and heroine (who look nothing like any characters in Arcus III). I thought that was really weird, considering one game is serious and the other is cute, one game is on PC Engine and the other is on PC-98, and they were developed by different companies (although both were owned by Telenet).
ReplyDeleteWow, that is ... weird, Zigfried. Why on earth did they do that, I wonder? And Pop'n Magic was released before Arcus III, I'm guessing? Strange.
ReplyDeleteThanks, by the way, for helping push me to give this game another chance. Like I said in this post, my early experiences with it weren't all that positive.