Posts tagged Magic at DS Fanboy

Posts with tag magic

Master of Price Cuts

Posted May 5th 2008 6:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Sales

We're losing count of how many times we've brought you news of Master of Illusion being offered at a lower price, and now it's cheap again! Newegg.com has the quirky (and rather decent) magic trainer on sale for $15.99, plus $2.99 postage.

We know that this has been even cheaper in the past, but we also know that magic continues to be serious business. So buy Master of Illusion today, and no longer will your bungled card tricks be greeted by awkward, slightly pitiful silences at dinner parties; indeed, we expect you all to be sawing siblings in half by the end of the week.

Gallery: Master of Illusion

[Thanks, Ernest!]

Doodle Hex casts first screenshots

Posted Mar 6th 2008 3:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Screens

And it's about time, as well. We last heard about Tragnarion's spell-casting title way back in August 2007, if you can recall such a time, before the game seemingly disappeared in its own puff of smoke.

It's back now, however, along with a publisher (Pinnacle Software) and the first half-dozen screenshots. As described previously, the touchscreen is to be used for scribbling out your hexes (and contains all sorts of gauges and meters that we don't fully understand yet), while the top screen is reserved for the game's hand-drawn art. We like that pig, but some of the other examples look kinda janky.

The gallery below has the first six screens, each super-imposed onto a DS. It's almost like the game itself is in your hands! Or not.

Gallery: Doodle Hex

[Via press release]

Magic Made Fun conjures up screens, possible PAL release date

Posted Feb 6th 2008 7:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Rumors, Screens

Master of Illusion hit the U.S. back in November, but PAL gamers are still waiting on Tenyo's magic simulation, where it will carry the far more approachable moniker of Magic Made Fun. The mystery surrounding the game's European and Aussie release date may have been solved, however, as Jersey-based retailer Play.com now has the game listed for release in the UK on March 14th.

On a possibly related note, thirteen new screens of the game ~~appeared in a puff of white smoke~~ were distributed today by Nintendo, which makes us think that the official unveiling of a PAL release date is imminent. Rabbits and hats at the ready!

Gallery: Master of Illusion

[Via press release]

Finally, magic is fun

Posted Jan 30th 2008 7:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports

In the U.S., magic is serious business. The art of illusion is a skillset to be mastered, as evidenced by the North American title for Nintendo's magic trainer, Master of Illusion. But what if magic tricks could be a recreational activity? Something that people could do for entertainment?

That's the idea Nintendo of Europe came up with when they branded the game: much like Brain Age makes brain exercises fun and Flash Focus makes looking at stuff fun, Magic Made Fun takes magic, which is an important life skill, and makes it fun. No longer will you have to force your kids to practice their card tricks!

Gallery: Master of Illusion

[Via GamesPress]

DS tapped for Magic: The Gathering card viewer

Posted Dec 13th 2007 8:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Homebrew

Before you get carried away with fantasies of playing Magic: The Gathering matches with your Nintendo DS, try to remind yourself that this is only a simple homebrew application for viewing the game's cards. As far as we know, Wizards of the Coast has no plans for turning the king of collectible card games into an online-supported release for the DS, further confirming our suspicion that life isn't really worth living.

Even if you can't actually make a deck and play with the cards in this dressed-up GIF viewer, it's still a useful resource that allows you to look up artwork and information for over 1800 cards. Displaying everything book-style, the program fills the top screen with the selected card while icons on the touchscreen sort everything by color, type, set, and rarity. Developer Sylus101 promises to add more cards and features, but, at the moment, the card library is limited to sets from the Ravnica, Time Spiral, and Lorwyn blocks. Core sets and older sets have yet to be added, so you might not be able to find some of your favorite cards, including the best Magic: The Gathering creature of all time, Phelddagrif.

[Via Dev-fr]

A cheap trick? No, a half-priced Illusion!

Posted Dec 9th 2007 6:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Sales

Joys be thine, amateur magicians! If you thought that twenty-buck bargain from earlier this week was the best deal Amazon could conjure up for Master of Illusion, prepare to be amazed -- the online shop has sawed the magic kit's original price in half, bringing it down to a mere $14.99 only two weeks after its release in the US! This deal won't last long, however, as it's scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight (or whenever Amazon's stock runs out), so grab this one before it disappears in a puff of smoke.

See also: Metareview: Master of Illusion

Metareview: Master of Illusion

Posted Dec 6th 2007 2:15PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Metareview

Since it popped up on Amazon's sale yesterday, and since it's an intriguing title (at least, to this blogger), even though it's been out for a while, we thought we would take a critical look at Master of Illusion -- or at least, a look at what the critics are saying.

Game Informer: 80% -- At GI, they dig the freebies and the attention. "You might think the Wii is perfect for parties at your house, but this game and its magic tricks will make you and your DS the center of attention. Master of Illusion not only shows you how to perform tricks of various stripes, but also has practice exercises and performs some of its own magic tricks on you (the game also comes with a specialty deck of cards)."

IGN: 70% -- At IGN, they see Master of Illusion as the new magic kit: "Visit any toy shop and you're faced with a few "magic kits" that will teach kids how to perform feats of illusions using the props that are included in the box. That's exactly what Master of Illusion is: this generation's magic kit. But instead of the trick hankies, cup and balls, and collapsible wands, you use the Nintendo DS as the tricks' "prop." Master of Illusion is easily one of the most unexpected products on the Nintendo DS. Use your Nintendo DS to perform magic tricks? All right! It's certainly unique, and there's entertainment value in Master of Illusion, but keep in mind it's not a game; most of what you get out of this product is what you put into it."

Game Daily: 70% -- At Game Daily, it's all about performance. "The most enjoyable mode is Magic Show. Here, you can take your practice and tricks on the road, so to speak. While a lot of these tricks are pretty nifty, especially the ones where you pretend to be psychic, most verge on a tad obvious. Luckily, Master of Illusion's manual instructs you on how to deal with mistakes you might make or problems you might have with your illusions without spoiling the atmosphere or the show. Your deck of cards will soon become your best friend."

WRUP: Final Countdown edition

Posted Nov 30th 2007 11:30AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: What are you playing?

Considering the big release this week is Master of Illusion, we figured there would be no better anthem to herald the beginning of the magic act than Europe's "Final Countdown." Gob taught us many things, but most importantly he taught us the best magic is done to Europe's masterpiece.

So, will you be honing your skills at illusion or do you have some other game you plan on sinking your teeth into? What are you playing?

Master of Illusion info appears from a cloud of smoke

Posted Nov 15th 2007 12:20PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Screens

Nintendo has released a ton of screens and info on their magic trainer/simulator, Master of Illusion. Whereas we previously approached the title with bemusement, the screens have captured our hearts. They're so charming! The whole thing looks not like traditional magic tricks, but like a Nintendo game. We must admit that we have a fondness for the Paper Mario font, as well.

The screens show some of the game's trick demonstrations, which are used to teach the player each trick before he or she can pull them off. According to the fact sheet provided with the screens, each of the game's 20+ tricks has a detailed tutorial.

Will your friends be able to solve the mystery of the Hand I Just Drew that Picks Up the Thing They Wanted? Will they thrill to your powers to transform a thing into another thing with only a clap? Will they see you surreptitiously controlling the tricks? We hope not, on that last one, at least. Check after the break for the full fact sheet!

Gallery: Master of Illusion

[Via press release]

Continue reading Master of Illusion info appears from a cloud of smoke

Master of Illusion finds quarters behind Joystiq's ears

Posted Oct 16th 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Apparently unafraid that the game's secrets would be revealed by the open-air policy, Nintendo let a bunch of game bloggers try out their new magic training game, Master of Illusion. In summary: if you've ever wanted to use your DS to perform shockingly obvious magic tricks in non-obvious ways, then this is, like, the only product on the market for you. If you want to play a game or something, look elsewhere.

Joystiq's Zack Stern explained the game as a set of interactive magic tricks which rely on the included deck of marked cards; the idea is that, once you've determined your friend's card by looking at the marks, you feed that information into your DS surreptitiously (by, for example, drawing a face in a certain way or entering button combinations), allowing the DS to miraculously guess the card. The game also contains some basic lessons about misdirection and other skills involved in magic.

Zack, ironically, wanted to see more training in this DS non-game: "I hope that creative magicians will eventually figure out ways to perform without the handheld. I just wish the game offered that outright, analog goal."

Nintendo puts scarf over Nintendo Magic, reveals Master of Illusion

Posted Sep 10th 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Rumors

First we saw Nintendo Magic on Nintendo's upcoming releases list during E3, and figured that it was a localized version of the magic-training game Magic Taizen. Then, last week, Nintendo registered the trademark in Japan at the same time as a bunch of Wii stuff, leading us to think that maybe it's a Wii thing.

Now, as discovered by a GoNintendo reader, the title Nintendo Magic is nowhere to be found in the list of games on Nintendo's press site, for DS or Wii. However, a new game called Master of Illusion is set for release on November 26 for DS. Maybe this is the thing that we thought Nintendo Magic was? Or maybe this is the thing that we didn't know Nintendo Magic was going to be?

It all feels like misdirection. Maybe Nintendo's about to reveal which card we were thinking of.

E307: Nintendo making magic for non-Japanese gamers

Posted Jul 13th 2007 3:40PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

In the midst of everything else -- boy, we didn't think we'd be saying that after the keynote, at least in regard to the DS! -- bursting out of E3, we almost didn't notice this line on a release list of upcoming DS games: Nintendo Magic. Once we did, however, a collective gasp shuddered forth from the DSF staff as we realized that this rather vague name (which, for all we knew, could have been the release of the money-printer at last) was most likely Magic Taizen, the magic trainer that we thought might never make it outside Japan. It looks like we're not the only ones who've reached that conclusion. We can only hope we'll be learning some one-handed cuts and all about pulling rabbits from our clothing this November. DS games are a lot cheaper than buying magic books!

DS Fanboy Favorites: Eric's top five

Posted Apr 20th 2007 10:00AM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Homebrew, GBA, Features, Meta

All this week, the DS Fanboy staff is letting you in on a few of their favorite titles. Each day, a different member of the staff will present their personal top five DS games along with a snapshot of their gaming paraphernalia and habits, in an effort to provide our readers with a little more information on the tastes and personalities of our writers.

When my afternoons aren't busied by hours of photoshopping cat heads onto pictures of my friends, I pass the time with puzzlers and plumbers on my DS Lite. But those kitten-free days are few and far between, so I end up being able to only fit either the most polished or the most eccentric games into my packed schedule. Wario: Master of Disguise? Sorry, I've got things to do and feline faces to retouch. Lost in Blue 2? I'll have to pass -- I'm already lost in trying to get these whiskers to look perfect.

My collection is a mishmash of AAA titles and niche releases, their cases piled atop one another like a Jenga stack of mismatched blocks, threatening to topple over at any moment. Just pulling a game from the middle of the shaky structure is an act preceded by hours of anxiety and self-doubt. Having my wife provide commentary during the ordeal, remarking "Oh god, it's going to crash this time for sure, I just know it. Why'd you even try, Eric?! Game over, man! Game over!" as I tug out my copy of Advance Wars DS doesn't make the challenge any easier.

So when I do manage to put aside the pussycat photos and secure a game to play, it better damn well be worth it. Journey forth and read which of those titles have captured a place not only on my top five list, but in my heart.

Continue reading DS Fanboy Favorites: Eric's top five

Meteos Disney Magic outsourced

Posted Mar 19th 2007 11:00AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff

If you were concerned about having to love the new Disney version of Meteos because you're a huge Q Entertainment/Tetsuya Mizuguchi fanboy, well, now you can take a second, more critical look at it. As it turns out, Q outsourced their game to two companies: Platinum Egg, who did a Harvest Moon puzzle game, and Aspect Digital Entertainment, who are professional game ghostwriters, like Tose. This fact may be obvious from the title screen, but we hadn't seen any investigation about it until today.

This is news only because it's about Q-- this kind of thing happens all the time, but we thought that Mizuguchi's studio was kind of a "boutique" operation that only worked on games they wanted to. Why, then, would they take on a project that interested them little enough to outsource it? Oh, right.

More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book

Posted Oct 26th 2006 1:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

In the latest update for Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book, some info relating to the game's battle system and characters is revealed. The game is to feature 3 playable characters in (the obvious) Chocobo, Shiroma (a White Mage) and Chromo (the Black Mage responsible for bestowing the book upon our yellow-feathered protagonist). The game's villain is Bebazu, who is sealed within the magical book in the game's title of the same name.

The battle system for the game is card-based. Using cards causes them to be gone for good, however after you win each battle you are gifted with new cards, so your deck is very much a renewable resource. It is also said that there will be character cards, like the ones present in Final Fantasy VIII, so discretion is certainly advised.

See also:

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Master of Price Cuts

Doodle Hex casts first screenshots

Magic Made Fun conjures up screens, possible PAL release date

Finally, magic is fun

DS tapped for Magic: The Gathering card viewer

A cheap trick? No, a half-priced Illusion!

Metareview: Master of Illusion

WRUP: Final Countdown edition

Master of Illusion info appears from a cloud of smoke

Master of Illusion finds quarters behind Joystiq's ears

Nintendo puts scarf over Nintendo Magic, reveals Master of Illusion

E307: Nintendo making magic for non-Japanese gamers

DS Fanboy Favorites: Eric's top five

Meteos Disney Magic outsourced

More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book

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