Prism Land Story (プリズム・ランド・ストーリー) is a Breakout/Arkanoid-esque Action Game published by D-cruise and released on Sony's PlayStation in 1998.
The player(s) takes control of Prism and Rhythm, a cat and fairy respectively, as they embark on a quest to save seven sealed guardians of the land. The core gameplay is pretty much identical to Arkanoid; destroy inanimate objects, keep the ball on the screen, collect power-ups, and defeat the boss at the end of each world.
The original game has never been released outside Japan, but it was re-released several times from 1998 to 2003, under different titles and in different regions. It was first re-released in 2000 and in Europe by Midas Interactive, as Prism Land, then in Japan by Hect. as Action Puzzle: Prism Land. Finally, it was re-released as Sorcerer's Maze in 2003 by XS Games, in Europe and the U.S.. Due to being released in two regions, Sorcerer's Maze is probably the most well-known version of the game.
This game uses the following tropes:
- Breaking Out: The core gameplay is using a ball and paddle to destroy inanimate objects while keeping the ball from going off the bottom of the screen.
- Cat Folk:
- Prism is an anthropomorphic cat.
- The boss of World 4 is a cat who wears spectacles.
- Empty Eyes: The boss of World 1 has no pupils.
- The High Queen: Queen Rilis, who Prism and Rhythm find at the end of World 9.
- Multiple Endings: The original game and its first re-release have a bad ending after beating World 7, which is unlocked by using a Continue during the first seven worlds and ends the game right then and there. Action Puzzle: Prism Land and Sorcerer's Maze let the player experience the last three worlds whether they use Continues or not.
- Never Trust a Title: The 2003 re-release, Sorcerer's Maze, suffers from an inaccurate title. The titular sorcerer only appears on the title screen, while the core gameplay is almost entirely unchanged and has nothing to do with sorcerers or mazes.
- Poison Mushroom: Among the multiple power-ups are a few with negative effects, including one that shrinks the player's paddle and one that speeds up the ball.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The boss of World 6 is a whale with red eyes.
- Savage Wolves: The boss of World 2 is a wolf.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Some of the music played during boss fights don't have the dramatic tension you would expect. The music for the boss of World 6 is probably the best example, as it's a jaunty dance tune.
- Winged Humanoid:
- Rhythm is a humanoid fairy girl.
- The boss of World 9 has large, avian wings.
- Yuki-onna: The boss of World 1 is a witch who attacks with snowstorms that temporarily shrink the player's paddle.
