Mystic Riders

The Good
There were several companies that employed the witch-on-a-broomstick theme, and one of them happened to be the same crowd that gave us R-Type. Created by the same team who made Hammerin’ Harry, the game centers around Mark and Zeal, two witches trying to save their land from an evil witch. Like most modern arcade games that were released in the early Nineties, a simultaneous two-player option is available, with player one controlling Mark, while player two controlling Zeal.

Each of the six stages are littered with enemies that look like they came out of a B-grade horror movie; there are ghosts, grim reapers, bats, gargoyles, and skeletons. You deal with most of these with your flame shot. You have two other weapons at your disposal, one of which is your own broom, which you can fling at enemies in your opposite direction by pressing the B button. It acts like a boomerang, and it is able to hit the same enemy multiple times on the way back.

You can also hold down A to unleash a powerful thunderbolt. You can also get Spirits by breaking open treasure chests scattered around every stage. You have to deal with a boss at the end of each stage. Each of the six bosses have their own forms and attack patterns. Each enemy leaves behind red gems called “Spirits”. Collect enough of these, and not only will your weapon be upgraded, but it will also count toward an end-of-stage bonus. Die, it will be all for naught.

The backdrop in the first stage is just spectacular. This stage has you flying over rooftops and viewing fireworks that go off in the distance, and some of them even form the outlines of the protagonist. This stage really sets the scene. Second preference would be the peninsula in stage three. As mentioned above, the game was created by the Hammerin’ Harry team, and so the enemies have the same quality look to them. The high score table looks good as well. Sound-wise, I think the effects are fantastic; I love the sound that plays when you insert a quarter. Each stage has their own piece of music; however, stage two has two different pieces. The bosses have the same music.

The Bad
There is nothing bad about this game.

The Bottom Line
Mystic Riders is a cute, horizontal shoot-’em-up that has you controlling two witches who are trying to save their land from the evil witch. The game shares the same mechanics as R-Type in that you can charge up your main weapon and release a thunderbolt in the path of your enemies. You can also use your broom to good use, hitting enemies multiple times in the process. The graphics and sound is great, and if you manage to complete the game, then perhaps you’d like to play it again at a much higher difficulty level. I suppose Mystic Riders wasn’t popular enough to warrant some ports except for one gizmo called Blacknut, but hey, who has ever heard of such a thing?