Reviewed on: PC

A glorified emulator, tailored for a small niche of retro arcade lovers.

In 1992 the Data East development team brought Wizard Fire to the world, successor to the arcade hits Gate of Doom/Dark Seal. Today, over 25 years later, the title is being brought to a new generation of gamers to get to know a small step in gaming history… But, above all, to show how much the industry has evolved since then.

Mechanics: 4

Unlike the most acclaimed classics of the Beat’em Up genre, Wizard Fire has aged very badly. The re-release doesn’t try to hide the precarious controls, with imprecise directionals that are hard to master and a low variety of commands – one button for normal attacks and one to activate a special power that consumes energy.

The game is a Beat’em Up, involving advancing across an isometric map and defeating hordes of enemies trying to stop you, but with RPG elements in the form of equipment that influences the characters’ attributes. There are 5 characters to choose from, each with their own attack, magic and special property (resistance, movement speed, etc.). Still, the gameplay experience is quite similar and this “variety” can’t reduce the repetitiveness.

Narrative: 6

There’s not much to say about the story other than that it’s simple and straightforward. 5 warriors are trying to stop an evil emperor from destroying/conquering the whole kingdom. Some noteworthy points are the implementation (even if rudimentary) of voiced dialogue and small cutscenes during the stages themselves. They are small things, but impressive for the time the game was released – and still manage to be pleasant today.

Audiovisual: 6

Maybe for its time Wizard Fire had good graphics, but the visuals haven’t aged well. The re-release brings some options to emulate different (d)effects of past screens and TVs, plus the possibility of playing in 4×3 and 16×9 (widescreen) ratios… But these are options that only interest the most devoted and demanding retro players.

The music does its job competently, and the game deserves a highlight for its voiced dialogue: even though it’s rudimentary and low quality, it’s admirable to imagine this kind of work in a game over 25 years old.

Final Thoughts

Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Wizard Fire doesn’t try to alter the original game’s experience, and focuses only on presenting a title from another era to the modern audience. Unfortunately the approach serves more as a history lesson than as entertainment, helping players see how much Game Design and the industry as a whole have evolved over the decades.

Score

Mechanics = 4

Narrative = 6

Audiovisual = 6

Worth the 8 dollars? No. Only fans of the original and those passionate about retro emulation should consider giving the game any attention.

Final Score: 5.3