I had the opposite experience with this game as I did with Gilligan’s Island. Whereas Gilligan’s Island was a bad game that I nevertheless had fun playing, The Magic of Scheherazade appears to be a good game that I didn’t enjoy playing very much. There are a few reasons for this. I mostly played it at night after the kids were asleep so I was already tired and couldn’t focus on a confusing action RPG. It’s also a game that I had attempted to beat before so this time through I was just trying hurry and get it over with. I played the bulk of it in two long sessions and probably went past the point where I was enjoying myself. I’m curious to know if this actually is a good game or if my love for RPGs runs so deep that I just assume it is good. Let’s look at the evidence.
It certainly has a good setup. It’s based on the Arabian Nights making it one of the few games of the era with a Middle Eastern theme. Its story includes amnesia, evil wizards, and time travel which of course are all the best plot points. It switches between Zelda-style action sections and turn-based RPG combat. It also has a large cast of quirky characters. Many of them are playable in the RPG section giving it a very large cast for an NES game. So far it sounds like a slam dunk, but there are parts of the game that really bring it down.
(It's gotta be good if it looks like this, right?)
The first problem is that the turn-based battles are no fun, and they always seemed to happen when I wanted them to the least. They happen unexpectedly between screens, so they always snuck up on me when I was trying to go somewhere. As the game goes on they do become easier with better party members and strong matchups, but every time I got into one of these battle I rolled my eyes. It’s basically just my party slowly attacking and then waiting for the opponents to slowly attack. It doesn’t have any of the strategy or tension of good turn-based combat. The action based combat is better, but still nothing special and too often turns into button mashing. I wish the developers would’ve picked one method of fighting and made it excellent instead of having both and making them mediocre. The game, however, does have some excellent bosses that require strategy and take up most of the screen. They are some of the biggest bosses I have seen in an NES game. So at least they got that part right.
(One of those big bosses I was talking about)
It’s also one of those games that is both too hard and too easy. Like most 8-bit RPGs it can be quite cryptic at times. Dungeons often feature mazes and hidden pitfalls. I hope you are paying attention to what all the NPCs say as well, because you will need some knowledge to solve puzzles too. Of course in an RPG wandering can be a good thing because it gives you a chance to level up without resorting to just grinding. Unfortunately there’s just not that much leveling required. Every world caps the levels gained at five which is never hard to accomplish. You get money from combat too, but items are not that expensive. Most regular monsters die in one or two hits to begin with, so the challenge level throughout is fairly low besides the bosses. So when you’re stuck in a dungeon you are mostly fighting the same monsters over and over without much sense of accomplishment. It once again shows that the developers wanted to make an RPG but didn’t really understand how they are supposed to work.
I hope I am not being too harsh on this one. It’s certainly one worth checking out if you are at all interested in 8-bit RPGs especially since it is much more affordable than many other similar NES games. It’s just not one that really elevates itself to the “lost classic” or “hidden gem” category that many modern reviewers place it in. It is a game that strives for depth in a field of simple action games. It’s also a game that misses the mark with all the RPG elements. You will not be challenged by the combat. You will not enjoy the turned-based combat very much. You will have to use the internet to get through some dungeons. At the same time, you will probably enjoy the quirky characters, intricate story, and well designed overworlds. It’s not a lost classic by any means, but it’s still a decent NES experience. I am certainly glad I played it, but I wasn’t too sad it was over either. Hey if you’re looking for definite conclusions than you are reading the wrong blog. I’m just some dude on the internet.
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