History VideoGame / MagicalDrop

* ''Magical Drop II'': Jumping to SNK's UsefulNotes/NeoGeo, ''Magical Drop II'' features [[ArtShift significantly different aesthetics]] while bringing several gameplay refinements such as a heavily-expanded solo mode, more lenient Special Balloon rules (they can now be matched with standard Balloons), and Rainbow Balloons that are similar to Special Balloons but works with any color that is used to clear it. Five of the six playable characters from the original game, plus World and a new heroine named Justice, battle their way to {{Dominatrix}} villainess Empress, taking down her lackeys Devil and Strength along the way. The Japanese version also includes a challenge mode named Flash Mode that is inexplicably dropped from the international versions.

* ''Magical Drop V'': Developed by French indie team Golgoth Studio and published by UTV Ignition, ''Magical Drop V'' released exclusively on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. It featured none of the traditional single-player modes beyond the standard CPU gauntlet, but implemented characters and gameplay from the cancelled Data East puzzle game ''Ghostlop''. The game was delisted from Steam in 2020, meaning that it is impossible to legally obtain if you don't already own it.
* ''Magical Drop VI'': Developed by Storm Trident and Highball Games and published by Forever Entertainment, the sixth mainline entry released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and PC (via Steam and Website/GOGDotCom). In contrast to ''V'', this game features versions of all five single-player modes from ''II'' and ''III''; it also introduces "Instant Move", which allows players to immediately warp their cursor to the edges of the field.

** For some reason, the ''Magical Drop'' AI in ''Magical Drop V'' regularly dips into this (to the point where [[AIBreaker Death outright breaks most of them in under 10 seconds]]). Unfortunately, the Ghostlop AI goes to the other extreme and edges into PerfectPlayAI (especially if the rank gets jacked up from defeating [[BonusBoss Black Pierrot]]), forcing fights against them to go to quota.

* BonusBoss: Black Pierrot.
** In ''Magical Drop II'', he's the TrueFinalBoss (reached by 1-credit-clearing the game)
** In ''Magical Drop III'', he occupies a "Special Stage" slot immediately before Tower, accessed by having 150,000 points and 3 consecutive victories before fighting Tower.
** In ''Magical Drop V'', he occupies an Extra Stage slot between Empress and Ghostlop character mushman, and requires you to get above a certain score and maintain a high rank to access. Unlike his two other appearances, he can be unlocked in this game by defeating him and finishing the game at the heightened difficulty rank.

** The Empress as well. A [[HellBentForLeather Leather clad]] FemmeFatale with a NoblewomansLaugh, bouncy breasts, [[WhipItGood and a whip]]...

Like [[VideoGame/{{Tetris}} a certain other wildly-popular puzzle game]], ''Magical Drop'' has roots in Russia: Data East employees came across a compilation of small-scale Russian computer games and noticed a puzzle game by the name of ''Drop-Drop''. ''Drop-Drop'' is a simple affair where columns of tiles descend from the ceiling of the playfield, and players attempt to clear the field by grabbing and tossing individual tiles until several with the same picture are lined up vertically. Seeing potential in this obscure DOS game, Data East obtained a license and put their own spin on the title to create their entry into the competitive puzzle subgenre kickstarted by ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTsu''. Instead of as many as seven different unique pieces, there are four color balloons and "special" field-clearing balloons that correspond to each color. Instead of ''Drop-Drop[='=]s'' minimalist aesthetic, the game is drenched in TarotMotifs, with a cutesy cast similar to ''Puyo Puyo[='=]s'' wacky stable of dungeon crawler characters. Instead of solo play, the game is a battle against the CPU or another player.

* ArtificialStupidity: For some reason, the ''Magical Drop'' AI in ''Magical Drop V'' regularly dips into this (to the point where [[AIBreaker Death outright breaks most of them in under 10 seconds]]). Unfortunately, the Ghostlop AI goes to the other extreme and edges into PerfectPlayAI (especially if the rank gets jacked up from defeating [[BonusBoss Black Pierrot]]), forcing fights against them to go to quota.

* FakeDifficulty: Path of Destiny in ''VI'' is difficult for all the wrong reasons. Getting punted back to the start of the board for losing a dual is a tough but avoidable penalty; the AI using items to drag you back 10 spaces or swap spaces with you is completely unavoidable and turns the whole mode into a LuckBasedMission. The rules are also ill-explained and sometimes contradictory: Puzzle spaces don't explain that they require [[AllOrNothing the puzzle to be solved with zero wasted steps]], nor does the game explain that failing a challenge by filling the field is a Game Over while running out of time merely results in skipped turns.

* ''Magical Drop V'': Developed by French indie team Golgoth Studio, ''Magical Drop V'' released exclusively on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. It featured none of the traditional single-player modes beyond the standard CPU gauntlet, but implemented characters and gameplay from the cancelled Data East puzzle game ''Ghostlop''. The game was delisted from Steam in 2020, meaning that it is impossible to legally obtain if you don't already own it.
* ''Magical Drop VI'': Published by Forever Entertainment, the sixth mainline entry is currently slated for release on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and Steam.

* ObviousBeta:
** The arcade version of ''Magical Drop II'' obviously intended to have pre-battle banter between characters that was cut at the last minute, as each battle starts with chibis of the competing characters that do nothing for a few awkward seconds before transitioning to the battle screen. Both the Super Famicom and Saturn ports add conversations to these screens.
** ''Magical Drop V'' had a whole host of issues, from the mundane (control issues, crashes, glitchy AI) to the bizarre (the game randomly failing to recognize that you're playing a purchased copy instead of the demo).

* ArtificialStupidity: For some reason, the Magical Drop AI in Magical Drop V regularly dips into this (to the point where [[AIBreaker Death outright breaks most of them in under 10 seconds]]). Unfortunately, the Ghostlop AI goes to the other extreme and edges into PerfectPlayAI (especially if the rank gets jacked up from defeating [[BonusBoss Black Pierrot]]), forcing fights against them to go to quota.

** In Magical Drop II, he's the TrueFinalBoss (reached by 1-credit-clearing the game)
** In Magical Drop III, he occupies a "Special Stage" slot immediately before Tower, accessed by having 150,000 points and 3 consecutive victories before fighting Tower.
** In Magical Drop V, he occupies an Extra Stage slot between Empress and Ghostlop character mushman, and requires you to get above a certain score and maintain a high rank to access. Unlike his two other appearances, he can be unlocked in this game by defeating him and finishing the game at the heightened difficulty rank.

* FunSize: In II, a miniature version of themselves is the cursor. The dialogue scenes in both II and III have chibi interpretations of themselves.

* GuestFighter: In Magical Drop V: Bruce, [[spoiler:[=McCoy=]]], and Mushman from Ghostlop

* PerfectPlayAI: At release, the Ghostlop AI in Magical Drop V would either be defeated in the first 5 seconds by sheer luck or never miss its target forcing you to go to quota, which basically prevented you from obtaining an S-rank in Story Mode on stages 9 and 11.

** The Empress does double duty by representing both the reversed and upright arcana. Her default, dominatrix persona is the reversed arcana, which twists motherly love into smothering and controlling. Breaking her free from that corruption in II will revert her back to the original motherly persona associated with the upright arcana. Her personality swap is also integrated into her victory animation in III.

* AscendedFanfic: Before the discovery of the official SNES port of ''Magical Drop II'', Retro-bit obtained a license to Aeon Genesis's then-unreleased fan translation to pair with their Data East license, making this translation semi-official.