‘Mage Gauntlet’ Casts Its Spell On Nostalgic Gamers

RocketCat Games have staked their claim as the preeminent developer of retro-flavored iOS games. First, they lovingly recreated the 16-bit aesthetic for their ‘Hook’ games, a trilogy of swinging side-scrollers. Now, RocketCat brings that same touch to the action-RPG genre in the form of Mage Gauntlet. Upon first glance, the game can pass for an early-90s SNES title, one of those behemoth cartridges that boasted how many megs they had and sold for over $60 when they released. Today, Mage Gauntlet can be had for only $2.99 from the App Store. Quite a deal if you’ve waited 20 years to jump into the action-RPG pool or you’re an old veteran of the genre ready to dive back in. Mage Gauntlet puts you in control of a young apprentice mage named Lexi. In a world where everyone is acquainted with magic, she has a strange defect. She can’t touch any magical item without it shattering in her hands. She seeks out the wizard Whitebeard for answers, and he promptly bestows on her the titular gauntlet which envelopes her hands, allowing her to finally wield magic. The wizard then asks her to visit far-flung locales to check on three weakening magic seals that are holding the evil force Hurgoth at bay. Mage Gauntlet spins a silly yarn that pokes fun at old RPG conventions. The dialogue can be quite cheeky, too cheeky for my taste, but others might find its humor tolerable. Either way, the story is secondary to the action that is about to unfold. There is not hunting down mystical artifacts so you can open this seal and revive that fairy, or other typical console-RPG scenarios. Indeed, they’re aren’t even towns in Mage Gauntlet, or any shops to speak of. There are no NPCs to talk to, no fetch quests, no puzzles, and not even much looting. By eschewing that many RPG conventions, Mage Gauntlet strips itself down to just a few core gameplay elements. At heart, this game is a brawler. You fight enemies, plain and simple. Your arsenal includes your weapon, a dash maneuver, and the spells your gauntlet can hold. You can hold attack for a charge move but it takes a full bar of energy, a store of which dashing also draws from. Equipment in the game serves as an augment rather than the basis for Lexi’s statistics. Character customization is also kept to a minimum, boiling down to spending points on three different offensive bonuses. There is a disconcerting lack of depth for statistic-starved RPG diehards, but Mage Gauntlet isn’t as concerned with number-crunching as much as it is with monster-crushing. The action in this game can get frantic; Mage Gauntlet is no cakewalk. Enemies often attack in groups, and you have to take care not to be surround by them. Different creatures attack in different patterns, and you has to recognize their ticks if you want to come out of a battle unscathed. Thankfully, the game is generous in handing out heart and spell urns, and players are afforded three lives with which to complete each level. There is an unquestionable visual charm in Mage Gauntlet. The graphics are definitely informed by games like A Link to the Past, where cutting down bushes was a compulsory act. I was constantly delighted by the little touches in the game, such as how the flower bushes fall apart or how you can push around pieces of debris after breaking objects. Knock a torch off the wall and it’ll fall to the floor, burning for a few more seconds before slowly dying out. These interactive details make it a delight to roam through the game’s many levels. Minor quibbles do persist in the game. Hit detection feels suspect at times. I have some issues in getting Lexi to face enemies in the right direction. Often times my left thumb would move slightly and I find my character turning 90 degrees away from the enemy, leaving Lexi vulnerable to attacks. I’d hit the attack button, hoping to slash an incoming enemy, only to whiff and lose a heart in the exchange. The game demands precise handling of Lexi, something I wasn’t able to consistently muster with the virtual controls. Another miscue occurs in the way the walls are drawn. I tend to stick to the walls to search for hidden passages, but when I venture to the bottom of the screen the wall obscures my character. I often had to engage in skirmishes while being completely blind to the combatants. Losing a heart in this situation when I’m already low on health can be quite grating. I also must say something about the spell system, which generally seems half-baked. Lexi can hold only four spells at a time, and the action must be paused to access the spells. The spells themselves are graphically impressive and effective; I only wish the spell system was implemented more elegantly. As it stands, magic behave more like one-time-use items rather than actual spells in Lexi’s repertoire. You’d expected more from a mage, but then again, she’s only apprenticing. Once you’ve installed Mage Gauntlet on your preferred iOS device, it will be a while before you take it off. Instead of an overworld, there are individual levels. Each level is self-contained and can be replayed for better scores. There are 42 total levels in the game, and you can tackle them all over again in the more difficult Master mode that unlocks upon completion. On top of that, there are scores of secrets and collectibles in the game. You’ll spend hours discovering new weapons, hats, and even pets. Achievements are also available to players who are achievement-inclined (aren’t we all?). Given the competitors in its genre, Mage Gauntlet is sort of a watershed moment in RPG gaming on the iOS. The game is an upgrade over the many Korean-developed RPGs, such as Zenonia and its brethren, in that game feels like it was actually developed with the iPhone in mind. Grinding is non-existent, in-app purchases are completely superfluous, and the grammar is functional. What a welcomed change! While clearly informed by classics like Secret of Mana and Legend of Zelda, Mage Gauntlet doesn’t aim for their heights; the streamlined nature and the lack of a cohesive world demonstrates a more modest ambition. Instead, RocketCat has crafted a taut little dungeon brawler that is packed to the gills with worthwhile action. Their creation hits a nostalgic sweet spot for many gamers out there, me included. RPG fans pining for the old days can revel anew in Mage Gauntlet. AppPicker Rating: 4 / 5 Stars Pick It Up in the App Store: Mage Gauntlet Other apps by RocketCat Games  

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