Mystic Heroes (GameCube Beat-Em-Up)

Not too long ago, I started seeing ads for an odd looking game from Koei
called simply, "Mystic Heroes".  However, from the screenshots, I was unable
to discern exactly what KIND of game it was.  Even when Nintendo did their
review of it, I STILL wasn't able to figure out what kind of game it was.
From their descriptions, it sounded like it had RPG and strategic elements to
it but also seemed to be action oriented.  But...  That STILL didn't help any.
Eventually, as fate would have it, I ended up with this game as my birthday
present (I was intending to at least rent it first but Blockbuster never got
it in).  Sooooo... Let's find out together just what kind of game this IS!

Not too long ago, there was an evil Emporer named Kang who along with his
wife, Shiva, ruled the land with an iron fist.  4 heroes fought a war to
dethrone them and seal them within a tower on Mt. Hoshin.  However...  A rare
astrological event is about to offer the trapped bad guys a way out.  Can you
lead an army to stop them from bringing their tyranny back to the land?

Gameplay

So, what IS Mystic Heroes?  It's actually a Beat-Em-Up, like Capcom's
Final Fight, Konami's classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, and
Double Dragon, only in 3D.  Just like in said games, you go from stage to
stage beating up anything and everything that moves.  The difference?  For
starters, you have 4 characters to choose from, all fairly unique and with
their own path through the storyline (Shiga, the balanced character, Lani,
the dedicated sorceress, Tai, a strong but slow, fighter/magician, and Naja,
the dedicated fighter).  Also, unlike said games where you're usually
fighting a couple or more baddies "per screen", this game places you in the
midst of ancient Chinese battlefields (it's also worth noting that this game
is actually part of a long running series called Hoshin Engi, based on an
ancient Chinese novel.  This game's japanese name is Battle Hoshin) swarming
with all sorts of enemy soldiers and monsters.  However...  You do not fight
alone.  Aside from your character's partner in the storyline who will be with
you most of the time, you're also being backed up by a handful of your own
side's soldiers.  In fact, every one of your buddies on the field comprises
their own military unit with anywhere from 2-4 soldiers under their command.
Sometimes, you'll even get a whole unit of nothing BUT soldiers!  Granted,
you cannot command ANY of these units and they'll often do whatever THEY want
to do, but on missions when they're not there, you'll miss them!  Of course,
your units are not impervious and WILL take damage.  In fact, if the enemy
swarms your troops and they start to take serious damage and casualties,
they'll yell for help.  If you remember having to save Slippy every 5 seconds
in Star Fox 64 and keeping your wingmen alive in Rogue Squadron, then you
know what this entails.  In fact, from a certain perspective, this game is
very much like Rogue Squadron, except with an ancient foot army, rather than
a squadron of star fighters.  And if they get too hurt, they'll retreat.
Cover them so they can return to the start of the stage to replenish HP and
restock dead soldiers.  But... If you don't help them, they'll be massarcared
and you'll be alone to face the hundreds of enemies raining down on you.  But
that's not all!  Not only does the game involve fighting for every inch of
land on a stage, but it also involves a certain level of exploration.
Scattered through out the game are jars and other breakable things, sometimes
hidden in out of the way or hard to find places, which contain many helpful
items.  Some of which are simple arcade style power-ups that give you
invincibility or double your attack power temporarily.  However...  They also
hold the RPG end of this game!  Your character's stats are rather basic at
the start of the game.  Wanna build them up?  Find items!  Hidden in jars and
sometimes dropped randomly by enemy leaders are items that'll boost your
character's stats permanently, making them better able to deal with the
increasingly strong monsters and troops ahead of you.  Also contained in jars
are Runes, the key to the game's magic system!  There are many, many Runes
hidden in the game, each of them bearing both an elemental alignment and even
stat boosting capabilities as well as spells!  There are 4 kinds of spells in
the game:  Direct Spells (tap Y) which let you dumbfire magic at whatever's
directly in front of you, Target Spells (hold Y) which...  Well... Let you
TARGET enemies from a distance, Sword Spells (tap or hold X) which allows you
to briefly enchant your weapon and launch special attacks, and Jump Spells
(tap X while jumping) which let you literally throw down magical justice on
your foes.  There are a great many different spells with which to wage war
with, some of which even hit your foes with status ailments, however, finding
them all is one of the game's challenges.  In anycase, with Runes, you can
change your character's spell compliment by equipping different Runes on
them.  And last but not least, though actual fighting will not alter your
stats unless you find an item that does so, spell use DOES result in
experience that can raise the level of your magic.  This is important since
certain spells will not be available to you if your character's spell level
in that vein (Direct, Target, and so on) isn't high enough.

Graphics

For the most part, the game's environments are lush and the character designs
are quite detailed and lavish.  If the game has any graphical flaws, it's
that the game has an AWFUL lot of fog.  Up to now, I haven't really seen any
fog in ANY GameCube game I've played but the fog in this game is quite
reminiscent of the N64.  Now...  Perhaps China's just a foggy place but...
Still...  :\

Music

The game's music actually pretty good.  Many tunes have that "epic" feel
which helps highlight many of the battles.  Unfortunately, the game's dubbing
isn't as good.  While some of the voices are passable many, such as Shiga and
Naja just don't sound right.  And though Lani has her moments, her battle
dialouge is just grating at times.  And NO, you can't just switch to the
Japanese dialouge.  Though, they probably should've included that option.

Conclusion

This game's probably not for everyone.  Though it has a storyline and a magic
system, it's still for the most part a Beat-Em-Up where most of the game play
is simply hacking and slashing your way past hundreds of thousands of enemy
soldiers at once.  In anycase, despite some sound and graphic problems, the
game play's solid enough.  But I recommend renting it first.

Score:  7/10