The Magic Obelisk

The first thing you notice about The Magic Obelisk is just how visually attractive it is, with vibrant colours pouring forth from your TV screen, cute characters littering stages and lively environments throughout. Even the soundtrack is an absolute pleasure to listen to, setting up the perfect atmosphere even before the main action and puzzles kick in. Even before diving into the main part of the game, Game Arts’ first WiiWare release proves to be an absolute pleasure to watch and listen to, with much of the music being so peaceful and melodic that the temptation will be to close your eyes, leave it playing in the background and just relax for a few moments.

Once into the main game itself, players will find that they do not get the chance to actively control the protagonist, Tree Spirit Lukus, with them instead having to move a Light Spirit called Popo (who looks like a little blue butterfly) around the numerous levels to create shadows, subsequently guiding Lukus automatically across a stage towards the final goal. Whilst this may seem rather an odd gameplay style, the reasoning behind it is that poor Lukus cannot actually travel in direct sunlight, yet he wishes to use his gift of transforming into a tree to help the people of the world. Therefore, Popo’s ability to use special obelisks to protect Lukus comes in extremely handy and is the main focal point of proceedings.

 

The beauty of The Magic Obelisk is in how Game Arts has masterfully mixed a wide range of variety into the various chapters on offer, meaning that the formula never grows old despite the basic premise remaining the same throughout. There are three coloured types of obelisk that Popo can shine his light against, each of which serves a different purpose. Blue ones create an icy shadow, red ones cast a heated pathway of shade, whilst the cover provided Popo and the yellow obelisks will let Lukus float along to the end of a route. Making best use of the elements is imperative to success during Lukus’ expedition, with the ice obelisk's shadows able to extinguish flames along a path (whilst making Lukus slide non-stop to the end of the path, something that needs to be kept in mind when potential hazards await at the other end), the fire ones melting away pesky frozen obstacles, and the wind-based obelisks lifting the little tree spirit into the air and helping him float across hurdles such as rivers.

Working through the thirty-plus stages is not always a case of going from A-to-B, however, since there are plenty of intricacies to each of the levels, such as having to work your way towards the shadow created by a large creature located in a particular place, needing to complete a designated mission (such as finding specified items), or even needing to avoid strange-looking ghosts that will purposely knock Lukus into the sunlight. There is also the difficulty factor, which ramps up pretty quickly later down the line, meaning even veterans will have a tough time keeping Lukus out of harm’s way. The Magic Obelisk is simply a joy to play through, with extravagant visuals, an interesting story that is wonderfully portrayed via a fairytale-book style theme, a stunning soundtrack (that can be downloaded in its entirety, for free, right here), and an engrossing collection of brain-teasing positional puzzles that are not merely delivered in a sterile fashion, but instead wrapped in a lovely package that comes complete with a intriguing cast of characters that are brimming with personality and warmth. With the US version at just 500 Points, this is superb value for money. Game Arts currently has no plans to release The Magic Obelisk in Europe / Australia, and the only way to convince them otherwise is to make your voices heard…so you know what to do!