Magical Drop

The Good
The puzzling tile-matching gameplay is very addictive and doing it as fast as you can is thrilling. The US "Chain Reaction" version of the game makes several small changes from the original Japanese version, while retaining the core concept. The use of different sprites (food, sky items, chess pieces etc.) for each stage is one such welcome change over the original coloured gems seen in every stage.

That chibi art style really captures a unique flavour of gaming, making Fool, Star, Devil, Priestess, Chariot, Magician and even World equally lovable. It's very dynamic seeing the characters' expressions change depending on how crowded their side of the screen is as well as comical moments like Priestess ripping her book.

The Bad
Where there's simplicity in the game, there is also repetition, including the same music tune used from round to round and the small variation of it in the credits, becoming so irritating that it's a relief to finally hear something different when playing against World. There are also inconsistent masculine voices that don't match the characters, which tarnishes the game's charm somewhat. The original Japanese version at least had different voices for each character.

The Bottom Line
Data East was off to a good start when they introduced this title to arcade. It is unlikely we'll see arcade games made like this any time in the future. Too bad "Chain Reaction" isn't a perfect conversion from the Japanese version. But whichever region of the arcade version you choose, you can really get hooked on the first game of the franchise for what it is. This is perhaps the nicest change from Tetris you've ever seen. Let the magic of Magical Drop sparkle on you and your gaming collection.