Master of Magic

Master of Magic

MS-DOS - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Simtex Publisher MicroProse Software Published 1994-09-?? Platforms DOS, PlayStation, NEC PC-9800 Genres Management simulator, Strategy, Turn-based strategy Themes Fantasy, War Distribution Commercial

Master of Magic is a turn-based strategy video game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Simtex and published by MicroProse Software for MS-DOS in September 1994.

Like Civilization, over-world exploration takes place in a square grid, and new units are built in towns which can be upgraded. However, unlike Civ, combat takes place in an isometric grid and has many units, heroes, and spells.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes. Multiple times on normal difficulty.
Finished	2000s.

While I may have seen it advertised in gaming magazines, I didn't play Master of Magic when it came out. Instead, I found it reviewed on the Internet, probably Home of the Underdogs, and it looked fun so I played it.

Review

7	6	7	5	8

Best Version: MS-DOS

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• I like how you can customize your character's starting magic affiliation and spell abilities.
• There is a very wide assortment of different units, races, and spells to keep things exciting.
• You can recruit heroes who can cast spells, raise levels, and carry powerful artifacts.
• The art and animation is quite nice.
• The music, while pretty lo-fi, makes a very fine backdrop.
• I like the variety in the wizard portraits; several races and sexes are included.

Bad

• The AI has some pretty big flaws.
  • They build ships in tiny ponds.
  • Casters will often cast spells that don't help at all, like create mud on units behind walls.
  • Casters will cast non-stacking enchantments on units that already have them.
• Heroes and champions are cool, but even at their highest levels and when fully equipped, they're out-classed by the powerful regular units.
• The interface is well designed, but its speed is a little clunky.

Ugly

• For some strange reason, the game lacks multiplayer! Not even hot seat.

Media

Covers

• 

  DOS - USA.

• 

  PlayStation - Japan.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - DOS - USA - Digital.

• 

  Spellbook - DOS - USA - Digital.

• 

  Strategy guide - Master of Magic: Explore and Conquer Magical Worlds - The Official Strategy Guide.

• 

  Advertisement - DOS.

Videos

Longplay.

Play Online

MS-DOS (France), MS-DOS (Germany), MS-DOS (USA)

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	You can play as one of the female wizards: Sharee, Freya, Ariel, Kali.
Bechdel test?	Pass	If playing as a female, you can talk to other female wizards.
Strong person of color character?	Pass	You can play as Raven (North American), Sharee (African), Lo Pan (Chinese), Jafar (Arabic), Tlaloc (Mesoamerican)
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	Master of Magic
French	Maître de la Magie	Maitre de la Magie	Master of Magic
Japanese	シヴィザード 魔術の系譜	Shivuizado ~ Majutsu no Keifu	Civizard: The Magical Genealogy

Links

           

• masterofmagic.wikia.com/wiki/Mod - Mods to improve the AI, units, and spells.
• sourceforge.net/projects/momime - Open source remake with online multi-player.