Welcome to NAdventures, if we feel that you as an adventures fan will be interested in a game or peripheral, we will give it coverage right here on NAdventures. If you enjoy other genres of games in addition to adventures, then be sure to visit NShooters and NSports in order to get your fill of gaming content. Check out http://hub.ngenres.com for the highlight stories from each genre.

Guide Review  Magi-Nation: Keeper's Quest  
- By Michael Loewer

Recently, I received another shipment of reviewable guides, and upon sifting through them came upon one I had not expected: Prima Games' guide for Magi-Nation on the Game Boy Color.

Generally, we expect to receive guides for major blockbusters and well-known titles, such as Conker or Pokemon Stadium 2. Seeing a guide for a game we know relatively little about was oddly calming -- similar to playing a title for the first time...

(NOTE: After reading this review, I recommend you visit the NGenres.com RAFFLE! Time is running out to win up to $1,000 worth of cool merchandise!)






Maps:

If I guide company were to question what sort of map format to use for an RPG, I'd tell them to check out Magi-Nation's system of maps. These bad boys are perfect in their simplicity, and are reminiscent of Nintendo Power's old system for 2D side-scrollers. Instead of assuming gamers will know map directions (since a lot of the screens are similar), Prima simply used arrows to interconnect all the pathways throughout all the screenshots. This allowed them to cram a ton of map space on each page, while keeping directions extremely simple for the gamer.


Hints and Tips:

As with the maps, Prima's guide to Magi-Nation excels in the "hints and tips" department. At the beginning of each new area, a step-by-step walkthru is listed to complete that section of your quest. This is notable because many other guides simply have a general list of necessary actions per area, while this guide explains each one in detail. In addition, Prima was exceptionally liberal in the extra "notes," many of which serve as reminders to return to the area later to get a special bonus, item, etc.


Item/Weapon Descriptions:

Prima's Magi-Nation guide is so detailed in its description of items, weapons, and battle tactics that I feel absolutely lacking in any attempt to summarize them here. Detailed statistics are given on every item, spell, relic, special item, dream creature, ring, and enemy magi. Before this, though, several pages are dedicated to fully explaining the complex battle system in every detail.


General Writing Quality:

The author of this guide did an excellent job of knowing when and when not to be wordy. For the vast majority of the coverage, the author lets the guide speak for itself and thusly is very succinct and to the point in his instructions. On the other hand, in areas where great detail is needed (such as the aforementioned description of the battle system), the author allows himself to go into great detail. The result is a guide that reads very cleanly.


Bonus Coverage:

The real shocker came when I found that the last 53 pages of the Magi-Nation guide were dedicated not the GBC game, but instead the collectible card game called Magi-Nation: Duel. The level of coverage provided comes close to absurd (which is a good thing). In addition to color, readable pictures of every single available card, Prima included: full (extremely thorough) game instructions, battle strategies, sample decks, card type and region statistics, and deck templates. Prima could have marketed this section alone as a totally separate guide -- kudos to them for not being greedy corporate slime.



Senior Editor Michael Loewer, signing off.
Shameless Plug: The Necessity

 

The Lowdown on  Magi-Nation: Keeper's Quest Maps: Awesome Hints and Tips: Awesome Quality of Item/Weapon Descriptions: Awesome General Writing Quality: Awesome Bonus Coverage: Awesome Overall: Awesome! "A Must-Buy"