This is an obscure little title, released in 1995. There was also a Magic Knight Rayearth RPG made for the Saturn around the same time, which is more famous and probably better, but this SFC version never made it outside of Japan. There were good reasons for that. I'm not even sure why I played it, but I did. I guess that when I found an RPG that most people hadn't even heard of, I couldn't help myself!

And now, after finishing it, I might as well do some good with the experience by reviewing it!

Anyway, this game is based on the very famous Manga/Anime "Magic Knight Rayearth" by CLAMP. As I have not seen the Anime, I cannot comment on that, but I have read the manga, and this game follows the story of books 1-3. It tells the story of the adventures the Magic Knights had the first time they were summoned to Cephiro. In fact, it follows the story very closely - in a nutshell, this is the story from the first three manga books with most of the humor and drama removed and a lot of long, linear dungeon crawling and monster bashing added.

For you who are unfamiliar with the Rayearth concept, it is the story of three normal 14-year-old Japanese girls, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu, who are magically summoned to the fantasy world of Cephiro to become the "Legendary Magic Knights" and save the land. In manga form, the story is nice and fun, although slightly childish. However, as an RPG, it seems very clichéd. There is exactly one plot twist, and exactly one choice you can make that affects anything (and even that doesn't affect a lot). As a result, the game is extremely linear and predictable.

The story of the game suffers from being a simple conversion from a comic book/movie. Dramatic moments were made shallow as the RPG medium isn't used to the fullest. The dialogue, without the imagery of the manga, is simply not enough to convey some of the scenes in a good way.

Also, some features, like towns, seem to be added only because they are "supposed" to be there in a game, and don't fill much of a purpose, being small and filled with uninteresting dialogue.

The gameplay is standard RPG fare, only simplified. You view the characters from an overhead perspective and run into random battles once in a while. There is no equipment, as the girls' swords and armor "grow along with their owners" according to the story. But there are a variety of items, some of which are fun, but most which are not very useful.

The battles are completely turn based, and usually very easy. The encounter rate is annoyingly high, though. In battle, you see the heroines at an angle, from the back/side/above, and the monsters are in front of them. Each of the girls will learn a limited number of spells connected to their respective magical alignment (Hikaru/Fire, Umi/Water and Fuu/Wind, which are rather obvious both by their colors and the meanings of their names in Japanese :).

However, most spells are only marginally better than just hitting at the monsters, so I found myself not using them too much. The only spell I found really useful was Fuu's "Healing Wind"...

The bosses are equally easy, and most require no strategy. Just bash them with all you've got and heal when necessary, and you should be perfectly fine. There are some, though, that are supposed to be "unbeatable" - but you can still beat them! I don't know why this is the case, but at least one boss can be fought over and over until you lose, and another one renders a Game Over screen if you beat it.

The graphics are actually one of the good points in this game. It's nothing spectacular, but it's pleasant to look at. The characters are always Super-Deformed, and have extremely large eyes, just as CLAMP characters usually do. The sprites have several frames showing the characters in different poses, like Hikaru with cat ears. When a character talks, unless it's a very unimportant NPC in a village somewhere, a portrait directly from the anime (or so it seems) is shown next to the dialogue box.

The heroines' portraits change with their moods too, and are really nice. There are also anime stills showing up at some points of the game (most in the beginning) and they look really good, despite low resolution.

Battle graphics are also nice. Characters do not have a lot of animations, but what they have looks good. Some monsters and most bosses also have attack animations. Spells do lack variety, and there isn't too much animation, but they are always well drawn.

The music is nice, but not extremely memorable. The battle theme, which you'll hear a lot, is upbeat and hummable. But most of the music simply fits with the situation without adding anything to it. The notable exception is the intro music, also played during a part of the ending, which I like a lot. I've been told that it is the same intro music as in the anime TV-series, only with SNES synths and without the singing. I can't tell if any of the other music comes from the Anime as well.

The sound effects, just like the spells and the animation in general, lack variety, but what there is, is good. Also, like in many Anime RPGs, there's a small amount of voice acting included! To be sure, it is nothing but two tiny battle shouts (one for attack and another for magic) for each playable character, but it is there. Each character has her/his own voice actor, all credited in the after texts, and I believe they are the same actors as in the Anime.

Overall, this game seems to be a simple spin-off of a popular manga/anime. If you know the story, you won't get many surprises, and if you don't know it, some things might confuse you because they are simply not explained. However, it is very, very easy and very, very short (about 10 hours), so if you're looking for something short, sweet and not too thought-provoking, this might be at least worth trying.

In conclusion, if you've read this far, I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone but a die-hard MKR fan, a die hard Anime Game fan, or (like myself) someone who wants to play every odd RPG in existence.