Kid Mystic: Enchanted Edition

When thinking back to those charming budget games you used to get in cereal boxes throughout the 90s alongside other unusual titles in the 'bargain bin' that turned out to be surprisingly decent (if uniquely flawed) experiences to be enjoyed, one of the most peculiar games out there has to be a little fantasy RPG for the PC that came out right at the tail end of the second millennium in August of 1999 that went by the name of 'Spooky Castle: The Adventures of Mystic Kid'. Funnily enough this has a rather intriguing story behind its initial release as this game had the notorious reputation of being a budget release product that proudly claimed itself as being "the best fantasy role playing game for the PC". The source of this bold claim coming from none other than the very box cover art itself remains a mystery as seemingly none of the reputable gaming magazines of the time ever came forward to take full ownership of this rather cheeky marketing stunt that, depending on your perspective, may or may not have helped shape the cult following of this very niche game in the decades since. Though to focus on what Kid Mystic (the now 'rebranded' name to avoid confusion with another entry of Hamumu Games, 'The Adventures of Bouapha: Spooky Castle') is all about here, the goal is to guide the titular Kid Mystic through his journey across the lands of Tulipton by recovering the magical orbs that was stolen by the warlord Bobby Khan. This is accomplished by exploring each of the game's several dozen levels that are separated into four chapters that shows Kid Mystic's progress throughout his adventure. Touching upon the gameplay of this top-down action RPG, each level begins with Kid Mystic only having his magic to back him up when fighting against the various monsters that have invaded Tulipton. Since you don't have access to many spells early on and your magic + health bar being pitifully low at the start of the game, typically your main source of attack will be Kid Mystic's renowned fireball spell that works differently from the rest in that you collect yellow energy orbs (different from the green magical ones needed to complete each level) to increase how many projectiles you fire at once whilst speed gems naturally help to shoot fireballs at a more rapid rate. Although being the only spell that costs no mana to use, Kid Mystic can learn ten other spells that each have their own special properties. To give a few examples that I made use of often myself, the seeker bolt is a moderately-damaging spell that briefly floats in front of you before quickly homing into nearby enemies, stoneskin is an armour spell that grants a brief but huge defence boost for moments where enemies are overwhelming you, inferno acts as a powerful 'Area of Effect' spell that delivers decent damage against nearby enemies in a circular fashion and healing naturally does exactly as it says on the tin whereby it recovers a fair amount of health in exchange for your magic points. These spells are automatically added to your spellbook whenever you find them in each of the levels that feature them, although something worth noting is that you can collect these again in later levels as well. Whilst this may simply serve as a back-up way of getting an early spell for those who missed that particular spell on their first run of things, those who collect it whilst they already have said spell in their arsenal will be rewarded with a more powerful version of it. Again to provide examples, seeker bolt becomes seeker swarm that casts three bolts at once instead of just the one, stoneskin turns into steelskin that makes you outright invulnerable to all but the most powerful of attacks, inferno becoming hyper inferno that greatly increases the AoE effect and healing evolves into life that will heal your entire health bar, no matter how big it is! No doubt the various spells on offer will lend themselves well to different playstyles, however Kid Mystic also has variety in the levels it offers as some focus on typical high-octane action against hordes of monsters and even the occasional demi-boss whilst others prefer to have the player use their intellect to work out puzzles to progress. A few that stood out to me personally were River Rafting and its more 'Red' equivalent where you navigate a flowing river downwards on a log/stone and failing to avoid obstacles results in death which makes monsters a secondary threat for a change, also with Lost in the Woods/Twisty Passages making use of procedurally-generated rooms that randomize the layout every time you enter it and Whack-A-Zoid/Smashball engaging in more 'minigame' like mechanics that shifts towards a more lighthearted level experience. And as if that isn't enough, there are three different versions of Kid Mystic in this Steam release that each have their place as the original 1999 release is the most 'arcade-like' of the lot that I'll go into detail first since it is the most barebones content-wise. Noting that you can't repeat levels or go back to previous chapters once you progress which makes grinding for money to spend on various items you can purchase at the store for much-needed improvements much more difficult than necessary, however it serves its place for those wanting the raw and most hardcore version to play on! As for the next game mode, the 2004 'classic' mode is an earlier remaster that brings forth some much-needed quality of life changes that improve the overall experience. Alongside fixing the issues I spoke of above, it also added new items to the shop for players to purchase as well as a 'fairy' system which couples nicely with four new levels for each chapter that host the fairy bells needed to awaken these fairies. Once caught in the overworld, they can be selected one at a time to grant the player both a complimentary buff alongside an equal drawback to add further diversity to playstyles. Also worth mentioning are new bosses being added for chapters 1 & 2 plus HP/MP potions no longer being wasted when at full health or magic and XP being gained at a slower rate to account for the nearly double amount of levels in this 2004 version. The last one that's exclusive to this Enchanted Edition is the 2025 'modern' mode which brings further new changes in the form of damage numbers displaying when enemies are hit and improved shading in dark areas alongside changes to the overworld of chapter 2 & 4 to make it more visually pleasing and easier to navigate. On top of all this, the modern version further enhances the gameplay by introducing a skill tree where levels gained no longer contribute towards slowly gaining health/magic but instead each skill point from a level can be assigned to one of 36 skills, 6 core skills affecting Kid Mystic himself and the remaining 30 spread across the ten spells which empowers specific aspects of that spell. Couple that with equippable runes that can also be strengthened further with rune stones dropped by enemies and you can see how this mode encourages the arsenal of spells you have with enemies also being buffed somewhat to reduce the widespread usefulness of the standard fireball spell! That's not even mentioning the new game+ addition that is 'Madcap Mode' plus various challenges for those with a love for brutal difficulty, plenty on offer for those who enjoy repeat playthroughs! Though if you aren't a fan of action-based RPGs or the unique early 3D artstyle that partially gave this game its cult following, then I can understand why this may not strike you as being a fun game to try out. All in all, Kid Mystic has a lot to offer for players looking to engage in good old-fashioned Wizard combat and, despite its questionable record of being better than the likes of Ultima IX and Everquest in 1999, I'd argue that this is a retro game worth experiencing if you have any interest in trying out a weird and quirky RPG whilst enjoying a fun 'blast from the past' adventure, flaws and all!