Developer: Studio Evil, Sio
Publisher: Intragames
Platform: PS4, Switch, PC
Tested on: Switch, PS4
Super Cane Magic ZERO – Review
In February we gave Super Cane Magic ZERO a preview while it was still in Early Access, now some time later the game has been fully released. Super Cane Magic ZERO hasn’t been released just for the PC but also for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch! This time we actually got a chance to look at the brand-new Switch version from Super Cane Magic ZERO. Since the Early Access, the story has been fully completed and a different mode has also been added. Super Cane Magic ZERO has been developed by Studio Evil in cooperation with Sio and has been published by Intragames.
Story
Super Cane Magic ZERO plays out in the world of WOTF, where a famous cake wizard lived. This cake wizard could do amazing magic like making cakes appear or making even bigger cakes appear. One day he suddenly died, his dog who was right there to witness it got incredibly sad. So sad that he became a magical dog! Now every time he barked, a magical disaster happened, for example, a volcano freezing.
You start off in a crater with no memory how you got there, even thinking you were an alien at some point. However, this is quickly disproven by an alien police officer. The police officer actually came to arrest you for illegal crate making and that is how you end up in jail. After being able to leave prison, thanks to another magic disaster, you find your way to the Magic School “Poptarts Academy”. There you find out that the teachers have disappeared. These missing teachers are the ones who can stop the Magic dog, so it has become your job to go and find them again.
Super Cane Magic ZERO’s story is incredibly random and sometimes even feels like it is a little kid that thought of it. There are quite a few silly jokes present, both in the conversations and the loading screens. The story jumps around a bit, although it does kind of stays linear, its randomness can make you quite confused about what is going on.
Graphics
The art style of Super Cane Magic ZERO is quite special. An Italian artist called Sio has put his mark on the game with his unique style. The style looks cartoony and a bit silly, really detailed for some parts and a bit more sketchy for others. This just adds to the charm of the style though as it never looks bad or glitchy at all.
Backgrounds are well designed, in the same area there might be a few textures that get repeated but nothing abnormal. All the areas are logically designed with items and chest-like things littered around the place. The characters you can play with might have the same base style but are all really quirky in their own way. In the game, the NPCs are more random, going from alien to cupcakes. Enemies are just as quirky as the NPCs, with designs going from feet to vegetable people.
Sound
The music in Super Cane Magic ZERO is upbeat and similar to the 16-bit generation. There are different tracks for the levels going along with the more dark or lighter theme of the area. Sound effects are present for a lot of things, including the people talking. Since there is no voice acting, you just hear the typical typing sound. A really handy sound effect is the enemies giving a sort of “oh” sound when they notice you. This warns you when they have noticed you off-screen as well.
Gameplay
Super Cane Magic ZERO is an action RPG where you can pick everything up and throw it, even your enemies. As you start out in the game, you start with a tutorial level which is actually the jail we talked about in “Story”. You learn how you can pick up objects and throw them to attack, put them on pressure plates or to open the object you were holding. Besides throwing with objects you can also attack with your special or with a weapon if you’ve picked one up.
There are many objects you can pick up, you can also eat all of them, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it will have a good effect. Rocks, for example, are best used as a weapon and not as food. Weapons, armor, and shields can also be found inside objects, when you pick these up you will be able to choose and equip the ones that fit your playstyle the most. For example, some armor give you more physical defence, but others might give you more mana. A whole lot of food items can be found in the game. Some have a smart little trick where they are already edible but when you throw them against the wall they will split up for more health or so they can be eaten more easily. Sometimes you also are better of opening the food by throwing it against a wall, a can of tuna will hurt you if you don’t get the meat out of the can.
Things like poison, bombs, and volcano baked goods are best not consumed but make really great weapons to do some extra damage. Every actual food item will heal you for different amounts of health even though there are a lot of items to be found, it seems you need to eat quite a lot of them to be fully healed. Certainly, when you are really low on health, you will need to stuff yourself. Besides having healing properties, some food items also have a bonus to other things. What they are giving a bonus to isn’t always clear since it often is only presented by an icon. The clearest items are the meteorites which give you bonus mana and some healthy items which increase your max health. You’ll have to pay attention to some items, as they can revert the bonuses which you originally received from another item.
After you found the first teacher you will have to go find all the other teachers by the hints their dogs are giving you. Some of these hints might still be very mysterious but will be cleared up by looking around in the Poptarts Academy or by getting hints on your way to rescue other teachers. Sometimes navigating yourself around the world of WOTF can be a little bit confusing, certainly, around the Poptarts Academy are not that many directions to where exactly you have to go. Some of the roads leading to another area aren’t always clear either.
There is also a skill tree present in Super Cane Magic ZERO. Every time your character discovers something about themselves, or the world, you will unlock a new skill tree. Every time you level, you can choose to put one or more points in one of the trees. This makes it, so you can customize your character even more, which is great when you’re playing with friends, certainly if they picked the same character. Super Cane Magic ZERO has full co-op possibilities with up to four players but the campaign is single player as well. There is also an arena present where you can just battle it out with your friends and make them very confused if they haven’t played or seen the game before.
Conclusion
Super Cane Magic ZERO is a really random but still entertaining game. You’ll have a lot of fun beating unique enemies and giggling at the silly jokes the developers put in the game. Since Super Cane Magic ZERO can be reminiscent of a kid’s dream game, it definitely is a game that would be great to play with children. They will for sure enjoy themselves with all the amusing ways you can fight enemies and eat everything. Not to say this isn’t a game for adults, it is just as well a game for every age, so if you enjoy some unique randomness, then be certain to give Super Cane Magic ZERO a try.
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