Line #8 VideoGame/LostMagic


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6	''[=LostMagic=]'' is a 2006 video game for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, made by Creator/{{Taito}} Studios and released outside Japan by Ubisoft. It advertises itself as an RPG, but it's really a RealTimeStrategy game.
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8	''[=LostMagic=]'' follows the story of Isaac and his battle against the maddened Diva of Twilight.
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10	This is a story of the age ushered in by the passing of the [[CrystalDragonJesus Great Creator]], divine architect of our world. The people were long protected by the Six Forms of Magic and the Seven Wands left to them by the Creator. The wielders of magic, Magicians, maintained law and order. The Seven Wands were entrusted to seven especially powerful Magicians, called Sages, and passed down from one generation to the next. Thus the power of the Creator was kept safe, and the many benefits of magic made the people's lives rich and easy. In this way, a thousand years of golden, blessed peace continued across the world. But a fateful event was to forever change the world. The Diva of Twilight, a Sage and keeper of the Wand of Balance, lost all hope in those she was charged to protect, the people.
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12	Disillusioned and angry, she called forth monsters — terrible creatures from another realm — into the world. The death knells of the golden age tolled across the land as the monsters ravaged towns and killed wantonly. Many of the other Sages, the defenders of the people, succumbed to the power of the Diva. Hope, now little more than a flickering candle, was about to burn out completely.
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14	Then, a youth by the name of Isaac appeared...
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16	Isaac, a 14-year-old boy separated from his parents amid the chaos enveloping the world, is found by a venerable Magician who lives deep in the old forest. Taking him as her student, the Magician begins the boy's training in magic. Not long afterward, Isaac's father appears before him in the forest. Without saying a word he hands Isaac a Wand and then is gone. "What did father want to say to me?" Isaac wonders.\
17	His desire to find his father is about to spark a great adventure! For this is the story of hope, however small, in a world ravaged by despair.
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19	''[=LostMagic=]'''s main shtick is the runic circle control. Press the L button (R if you switched to left-hand settings) and a magic circle will appear in the Touch Screen. Scribble your runes on it — [[SomeDexterityRequired the more accurate]], the more powerful — and you can cast spells. Overall, due to a maximum of 18 runes available and the Duo Runes system, ''[=LostMagic=]'' has about 400 spells, each with a different effect.
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21	----
22	!!Provides examples of:
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24	* AllYourPowersCombined: Isaac can do this ''by himself'', using Duo Runes [[spoiler:and, if you take the right SadisticChoice, Trio Runes]].
25	* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: [[spoiler:In the SadisticChoice, you can play this straight or subvert this; you have to do the former to get a good ending.]]
26	* ArtificialStupidity:
27	** Both Isaac and your monsters will repeatedly get stuck, running into walls.
28	** Then there's the civilians, who will occasionally run ''towards'' the ten-foot-tall war golem (who will promptly beat them to death).
29	* TheBattleDidntCount: You die when your HP hits 0, you even get a little halo. But all of the bosses are revived.
30	** However, the game also has a rare Player example — after the HopelessBossFight, Isaac only clutches his arm, despite being repeatedly struck by ''lightning''.
31	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:The Sages. Also, your father — not. Or is he?]]
32	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Present in getting more use out of the UselessUsefulSpell and amped up to eleven on a NewGamePlus. Also, any AI enemies that aren't Mooks have ridiculous stamina, HP, and — the most glaring example — infinite range. Whilst you are limited, at maximum range, to the part of the map you can see (and one entire-map targeting spell that damages you and your enemies with a flood), they can merrily cast all over it.
33	%%* CrystalDragonJesus: The Creator.
34	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The BigBad, the Diva of Twilight, becomes the new [[CrystalDragonJesus Creator]]. You can pimpsmack her to death.
35	* TheDulcineaEffect: Isaac and Trista. One of the Bosses hangs a lampshade on this.
36	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Six elements, and those attuned to none. Hitting anything with its opposite elements will deal lots of damage; same-element spells will heal it.
37	* ExponentialPotential: Your range of spells allows you and ''all'' your enemies to do the following: healing HP (directly, long range, over time, via rain, [[NoodleImplements using a wall]]), terrain effects, elemental armor (times six), elemental weaknesses (times six), buff and debuffs for about six different stats, zones for buff and debuffs for about six different stats, terrain effect zones ([[LethalLavaLand lava]], [[SlippySlideyIceWorld ice]], [[QuicksandSucks sand]], etc.), invincibility, invisibility, instant death roulette, monster capturing, elemental walls, traps, teleportation (though only [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard half as far as the AI]]), turning your monsters into an ActionBomb, ALL StatusEffects (Berserk, Fire, Frozen, Poison, Gravity), [[OverlyLongGag etc. etc.]] Oh, and [[RuleOfCool huge-ass]] [[SummonMagic dragons]]. All that and a bag of chips.
38	* FakeDifficulty: [[TimedMission Arbitrary time limits]], [[ArtificialStupidity idiotic ally AI]], and the computer able to think and move quicker than you, not to mention that they get to [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard fire spells across the entire map.]]
39	* FirstNameBasis: Isaac, Trista, etc. — though Isaac's last name — [[MeaningfulName Lightbrad]] — is stated.
40	* FunctionalMagic: In the form of runes.
41	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: It borders on violating MagicAIsMagicA, as all the Sages have you fight them for their Lost Magic, and a great deal is made out of everyone adhering to one flavor of magic, Isaac being the big exception — but they all use spells that require high-power runes from other elements, though possibly not others' Lost Magic. Also, on a NewGamePlus, you have to fight them for the magic you'll probably use against them.
42	** However, to be recognized as a Sage by the other Sages, Issac has to get the higher-level runes from each element (gathering all of the Lost Magics is left for the hero that will save the world); presumably, this also applied to them before they became sages. Gameplay-wise, since the spell's element, power, and cost is determined by the last rune, casting spells outside of their own element might not be very effective — the [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] mode supports this, as each elemental character has his or her element at level 5, but all others at a measly 3 (Issac is [[JackOfAllStats balanced at level 4]]).
43	* GeometricMagic: You have to draw the runes of the spell you want to cast; as it's a DS game, it's obvious [[SomeDexterityRequired how]].
44	* AGodAmI: The Diva of Twilight. You beat the snot out of her.
45	* GottaCatchEmAll:
46	** You don't have to, but there are 400 spell combinations out there. If you have the runes required, you can make them whenever you want, then promptly forget about them.
47	** Played straight with the Lost Magics. You have to get all the runes — [[DefeatMeansFriendship one way]] or the other.
48	* HermeticMagic: Fits nicely into the RTS genre — get too distracted while scribbling and a monster will sneak up and kill you, or your troops will dawdle.
49	* HopelessBossFight: The fight against the Bishop of the White Night, the first time at least.
50	* HumansAreBastards: The BigBad's motivation; the heroes themselves discuss it and come to the result that, sadly, some people will always abuse power and that [[spoiler:it's better to seal away the Creator's gift of magic because people shouldn't suffer under those that abuse it]].
51	* LukeIAmYourFather: Predictably, Russell is Isaac's father and the Bishop of the White Night, your LoveInterest is [[spoiler:a Sage]], and the Diva of the Twilight is [[spoiler:her sister]]. Also, the guy who teaches you the Dark Rune is [[spoiler:actually a monster; his mother is an elder dragon and teaches you the uber-powerful trio runes]].
52	* MadeOfIron: You can get mauled by ice chunks, hit by lasers and darkness, burnes, frozen, sliced etc. and nothing happens.
53	* MadeOfPlasticine: Get mobbed by monsters and you die faster than you can say "chunky magician paste". In fact, anything in the game dies in seconds if it is mauled by a mob of monsters.
54	* {{Mooks}}: Whatever monsters you and your enemy have around.
55	* MonsterAllies: The Dark Rune allows you to trap monsters and later on use them as your own private army.
56	* NeglectfulPrecursors: Arguably the Creator — could he foresee that (some) HumansAreBastards?
57	* NewGamePlus: With heightened difficulty, and lots of possibility for the [[OverusedRunningGag pimpsmack spell.]]
58	* NoSneakAttacks: Subverted. The Diva of Twilight appears right next to you when you think you've just escaped. [[spoiler:Twice.]]
59	* OffingTheOffspring: The Bishop of the White Night wants to "test your worthiness"; that is a few missions ''after'' the HopelessBossFight against him where he also "kills" you. Fortunately, here ''you'' employ TheBattleDidntCount.
60	* OffscreenTeleportation: Just about everyone who isn't the player.
61	* RazorWind: The lowest-level [[ElementalRockPaperScissors Air element]] spell is "Wind Blades".
62	* ParentalAbandonment: Subverted: Isaac finds both his parents during the course of the story. However, in one of the MultipleEndings, he kills his father.
63	* PermanentlyMissableContent: The Lost Magic of Wind, if [[spoiler:you let the Diva kill your LoveInterest]].
64	* PowerNullifier: The Diva of Twilight wields the Wand of Balance, which allows her to do this to any magic directed at her, effectively making her invincible and setting her up to effortlessly steal the wands from the then-defenseless Sages.
65	* PoweredByAForsakenChild: It turns out that monsters [[spoiler:are ''made from humans'', in a way that makes them a literal embodiment of hatred]].
66	** The method to make monsters [[spoiler:out of ''actual humans'']] was lost, but it is possible to make them [[spoiler:from misery, suffering, and hatred]], which justifies [[OrcusOnHisThrone Diva of Twilight just staying in her tower]]. [[spoiler:She's amassing as large an army as she can.]]
67	* SadisticChoice: Will you hand over the Wand of Light to the Diva or will you keep it? [[spoiler:If you don't, your love interest dies and you'll get controlled and/or killed.]]
68	* StatusEffects: You can inflict them on others, as zones or curse, can buff your monsters, heal them, etc. etc.
69	* SomeDexterityRequired: The game has an ''infuriating'' tendency to read your runes wrongly (or ''ignoring'' them) in any situation. I wanted Heal, not Ice Bullet, damn it!
70	** Due to the similar shapes, 2 times out of 5 your basic water spell will read as the basic dark spell.
71	** It is possible through lateral thinking to make a Teleport (Wind 3) rune look almost exactly like a Light Armor (Light 2) rune, although this must be done intentionally.
72	* SquishyWizard: The justification for your MonsterAllies — or do you want to go against Wyvern and other such things alone, you, a weak, ten-year old boy?
73	* StatusEffects: Oh, so many. [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Charm]], Curse, Accurancy Up/Down, Poison, [[StoneWall Defense Up]]/Down, [[TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential Magic Up]]/[[BroughtDownToNormal Down]], Magic ''Defense'' Up/Down, [[SuperSpeed Speed Up]]/Down, [[HumanPopsicle Frozen]], [[KillItWithFire Burning]], Quicksand, other Terrain effects, [[OverlyLongGag ...]]
74	* TimedMission: Every single one. Even the random encounters are timed.
75	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:The Temple of Balance — NOT: The Diva will, no matter what SadisticChoice you make, [[StartMyOwn make her own, the Twisted Wand Tower]].]]
76	%%* WindIsGreen
77	* YouNeverAsked: Your lovely female sidekick Trista is also [[spoiler:the Sage of Wind. That rune she gives you without warning would have helped with the boss(es) you had to defeat to get her to give it to you]].

Context VideoGame / LostMagic