Magician Lord (Neo Geo AES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Alpha Denshi and SNK's 1990 platformer for the SNK Neo Geo, Magician Lord.
Played through the US AES version on the default settings.
Magician Lord is a fantastic platformer that really struts the Neo Geo muscle as one of its 1990 launch titles. The SNES was still a year away, the Genesis was making people ooh and ahh with Altered Beast, and the SNK shows up with the Holy Grail machine - a console with arcade-perfect home versions! (But that price tag!...)
Anyways, Magician Lord looks great, with big, detailed characters and tons of parallax scrolling, a sweet soundtrack rocking heavy FM and samples everywhere, and some of the hardest platforming action you've seen this side of Ghosts n Goblins. Demon's Crest has nothing on this bad boy.
And that death after I killed the orange sky boss in stage 7 was such bs. I was more than a bit frustrated by that since it left me with no power ups going into that insane boss rush near the end. They really were sadistic.
This version (the AES, or home cartridge version) does differ from the "normal" MVS version. Along with some rebalancing in difficulty, it now has a full introduction, Elta gets a longer life bar, and it allows you to save to a memory card. I prefer this version, though if you want the easier experience, you're better off with the MVS version.
It may now be a bit dated, but I still absolutely recommend this to anyone that appreciates a challenge and classy, classic platforming action.
____
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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[@bwilliams463]

Always be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon. Then, always be a dragon.

[@pablodaniel-retrogamer716]

Lol XD.

[@batteytehoukamau9962]

😂😂😂

[@pianomanlee1763]

Classic

[@StarDragonJP]

Of course

[@maltheopia]

Being a ninja is an acceptable, if pathetic, substitute at time.

[@michaelzoran]

Magician Lord is my favorite platform game of all time. The combination of amazing graphics, amazing music, and amazing sound effects are incredible. The gameplay is truly fantastic.

[@daviddefortier5970]

Love this game. Try black tiger capcom 1987

[@Leny1777]

Yeah and mofing hard

[@toofine9]

@@daviddefortier5970 Yo I used to beat black tiger every day it was so fun

[@toofine9]

@@daviddefortier5970 Rastan too

[@toofine9]

I never liked this game it was way too hard

[@NintendoComplete]

Brutally difficult and an amazing technical achievement, this 1990 launch title for the Neo Geo system may be a bit dated now, but it's great fun if you like being made to work for the ending.

[@choobacca]

NintendoComplete how much time do you take, or how many times do you play the game before you post your gameplay?

[@NintendoComplete]

Over the past month or so I've been playing it on and off. Probably beat it five or six times before I was able to record this without continuing. Thankfully it's much easier once you've memorized stuff like where the enemies will appear and which of the doors you should avoid. For other games, it really depends. Sometimes I can play it for the first time and maybe two or three hours later can breeze through it - easy stuff like Yo Noid or Tiny Toons. The really hard games, like Metal Gear or a Ninja Gaiden, probably a couple of weeks of on and off play and I can do them fairly well. The biggest factor and difference for difficulty is my want to play it, by far. The more I'm into it, the more I focus on it so it gets much easier, no matter how difficult it is.

[@choobacca]

NintendoComplete thanks

[@bossbrown8704]

Lol was guna say you must have ridicolous memory to have done what you was doing would be deep if you just did that off one play. Loved this game it is way too don and bun any talk about dis game bein dated it is neva dat dis is a classic that has more relevance then even the bigger known titles including GnG, BT etc. If you are comfortable with it should voice record or cam record while your playing sometimes would love to see your reaction at parts like on the 7th boss LOL BARE RAGE MOMENT I would of bin so aggie

[@DrymouthCWW]

damn you drunk bossbrown

[@ReccaWolf]

This was my one of my favorite Neo Geo games of all time. I got so hyped up with the background music so much, it was just so cool to play it again and again.

[@IsaacKuo]

THANK YOU for playing as the Dragon most of the way through. Simply the coolest looking one, and the flame weapon looks coolest also (albeit of course the range is a bit short).

[@Soddarkryder]

The soundtrack is golden!

[@trainyourdog7351]

Fact

[@BladeBlur]

You sure make this game look A LOT easier than it actually is.

[@srichard7291]

I owned this for neo geo in the 90s,great game.Your playthrough brought back good memories.

[@haircafekevin]

"I'm destined just to die." ...Huh?

[@elpeneenorme]

I'm just playing this... Thought the same... Wtf with that dude!??

[@heehooobsessor7907]

It's a translation error, but I interpret that as him pretending to be you as to mock your mortality.

[@thejervis86]

It is basically saying, “you’re merely a mortal.”

[@tonepot2339]

Reminds me of the scene in Borat, "I will eat your shit. You will fuck my mother."

[@chuckobscure]

Holy crap, a non-fighter Neo-Geo game. :P Bought this on the Virtual Console a while ago, only got about halfway through before giving up.

[@Aqua.man045]

This and Blue's Journey were the only platformers for the console XD

[@NintendoComplete]

Aqua Man Blues Journey was a much easier game than this, at least :D

[@toofine9]

never could pass the 2nd stage

[@BlackPhillip765]

Really liked this game back in the day.Loved how can change into different characters 😀😁

[@adderalljunkie6144]

"You persistent guy!"

[@Bloodreign1]

This game is damned good, but you better have patience that is endless, and nerves of steel, this bad boy is killer hard. Wish I had the PS2 SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1 (there is a Vol 0 on PSP with pre-Neo Geo stuff, but people want a boatload for it), but I do have it on PSP, so I have my Magician Lord to play if I choose so.

[@danielsanchez6235]

Funny translation xD Your power is powerless here! Sounds legit! :)

[@ayuloveappears]

oh god the frogs

[@zinki120]

the guy in the thumbnail for this vid reminds me of Dr Strange. "Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

[@moviemetalhead]

zinki120 *Strange gets impaled*

[@MrDibara]

moviemetalhead "Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

[@markkoetsier6475]

"I'm destined just to die."

[@John00065]

Although the graphics themselves didn't look much better than the Genesis at the time, what set this apart was the speed and playability of this game. As it was actually using pro arcade hardware of the time, the game did not have the slightest hint of slow down at all. Plus the sheer number of levels in the cartridge alone made this game so memorable. Most Genesis or SNES side scroller games had average of 8 levels this had damn near sixteen!! One of my favorite games on this system to show off the sheer power of the Neo Geo system.

[@DemureDave]

"I'm destined just to die." It seems like the voice actor should've been asking questions about the translation when he was told to say that line. 😅

[@benjaminjohnson765]

Much respect! I can barely beat the first level, such a tough game.

[@republicoftaiwan]

Great play. Things are easier when you have max power. But I saw some nice skills there. The best player I've ever saw was a guy in my college that finished the whole game using Samurai after transforming into Samurai after second board. It was useful later to be able to attack thru the wall and shield. KZbin has one where the guy finished the entire game with Raiijin (electricity guy). I thought that was very cool too. It's a shame nobody I know can finish the game with Poseidon or Water Man. Poseidon was only good against frogs. You need skills to kill flying skulls with Poseidon. I wish someone could try.

[@ZEKESPILLEDINKMUSIC]

The grphics and music here are great. Although it's not so over-the-top, the voice-acting reminds me of Last Alert for the Turbografx CD.

[@patricknelson1471]

this game was insanely difficult

[@dorpth]

Between all the ladders and firebreathing, this feels like a repurposed Karnov. Damn though, that soundtrack.

[@Bluexhox]

And to think, they were ahead of the time with over 30 years ago

[@trainyourdog7351]

One of my top 5 gaming ost of all time!

[@TheGrimaceBSX]

Incredible! If it's possible it's my goal to beat this game without being hit once..

[@thefifthdoctor6780]

Got it, one of my favourites 😎

[@DrownedInExile]

I seem to remember this game being insanely hard back in the day. Having played it more recently on emulator, it doesn't seem unreasonably difficult. But if there's only one thing I'd change, it's the post-hit invincibility. It lasts too short, and it's much too easy to get "air juggled". At least have the flicker-timer start only when you're back on the ground from knockback.

[@matthewgg9286]

Wonder why the girl sub boss was spared and never showed up at the end of the game?

[@sammyyo461]

In many forms of media, the lady is mostly spared from certain death!! As for never showing up again??… ...um...I think she probably just simply fled from defeat, I suppose...

[@austinreed7343]

The other humanoid enemies exploded, too.

[@drunkmccheese3377]

I loved this in the arcade. Neo Geo was $700 when it came out...only way to play this outside the arcade at the time. Mom and dad wouldnt come off 700 so I could play one game

[@NintendoComplete]

+Drunk McCheese Hahaha oh me too. I always wanted one, and I think they might have gone for it until they realized that each game cost more than an entire SNES system at the time!

[@KTJohnsonkidThunder]

I have this on the Neo Geo X. I mainly liked it for the music. Those growing frogs are from Hell.

[@mrf19741]

God, I hated those damn frogs!

[@cobaltnightsky]

4'36 love how the skulls head bang the music in lava

[@malequiro2973]

x2

[@MarioPawner]

The intro text is surprisingly good English considering... everything else's translation quality.

[@cloud1971]

Simple and creepy as f..k. I loved that game back in the day. It had the same vive as Lionheart or Shadow of the beast for amiga or heman series. Completely alien world that is at the same time casual and mundane.

[@daviddefortier5970]

This game seriously needs a remake or a sequel

[@toofine9]

nah

[@puppylove3781]

A sequel would be nice, but HELL NO to a "remake".

[@marciopaja9885]

Neo geo is the best console ever

[@theblocksays]

Kind of an underwhelming final boss design, no? I expected at least another form after being those spinning orbs.

[@NorthStarBlue1]

So, final battle aside, is there any reason to use the other forms or is kickass dragon dude just the most efficient way to get through this game? Or is this one of those cases where switching forms would reset your power level and leave you weaker than if you just stayed with what you already have?

[@NintendoComplete]

+NorthStarBlue1 I think a lot of it is just preference. I like him because of the range and power is all.

[@NorthStarBlue1]

+NintendoComplete That makes sense, since a lot of the enemies seem to get right up on you it certainly seemed to be working out more effectively than the projectile-based attacks. And let's be honest, when you have the options of "be a dragon" and "not be a dragon" it's a pretty easy choice to make, yeah?

[@NintendoComplete]

+NorthStarBlue1 Yeah, like Shinobi and the Fish guy were kinda neat, but seriously, they aren't dragons.

[@wgalletto]

Neo Geo could have had more games like this. This is the only NG game I remember that is not a fighting one.

[@DigitalHaze65536]

I had the AES when it was new. I loved this game. I really resented the fighting game craze, how many did we need?! A few less fighters and a few more side scrollers would have been awesome.

[@Shoe3003]

there's two editioNs of this cartridge?

[@plume...]

0:38 I'm glad they clarified that it is a story of fantasy.

[@MrBossyful]

Never played/seen this game before, I think I'm gonna give it a go later! Also, Engrish power is strong with this one. :D "Your are very dangerous. Be dead down here."

[@NintendoComplete]

+Mariusz Bosy It's an awesome game that gets pretty easily lost among the great fighters on the machine. It has a lot of good not-fighting games though!

[@moviemetalhead]

NintendoComplete Indeed. Sengoku 1-3, Burning Fight and Mutation Nation come to mind.

[@NintendoComplete]

moviemetalhead All of those are great. I'm a big fan of Crossed Swords and Super Dodge Ball.

[@moviemetalhead]

NintendoComplete Super Dodge Ball is always awesome. My top 3 Neo•Geo sports titles are: 3. Dunk Dream 2. Super Dodge Ball 1. Windjammers Those first person type games were really cool, Crossed Swords and The Super Spy.

[@NintendoComplete]

moviemetalhead Dunk Dream - that wouldn't be the same as Street Slam, would it be? I love that game. The music makes me laugh so hard. Oh Nam 1975 is another good shooter

[@reidecopas2150]

Congratulations!

[@sainttan]

When I saw the thumb nail, I though "Oh, I didn't know Doctor Strange has an old game." XD

[@MVA74]

A masterpiece!

[@whoisthis3732]

8:30 "I'm destined just to die." What. The. Fuck.

[@Smartphone775]

I'm here after watching some Nick Arcade.

[@angeloshardy1140]

Who hasn't.

[@joolsstoo3085]

I never realized how much that second level's music sounds like the Turbo Grafx version Of Dragon Spirit

[@silkdragon504]

why does the main villain in this game look just like Dr. Strange?

[@DarKKnightt07]

Damn whoever is playing they are amazing.

[@viciouspucca110]

too bad the sequel never saw the light of day.. it would of been great to see what SNK did with it.

[@demonology2629]

Fun fact the intro and storyline wasn't in the arcade but it was in the NEO-GEO AES Home console game cartridge instead. 🎛🔉🎵🕹🤘🤩📺🕹🤯🎧🎚🔊🎶

[@lil----lil]

You're one of the smartest players I've seen.

[@jarrelledson5301]

Always wanted to play this game on an actual system, it's a shame that Neo Geo AES is one of the most expensive things to collect in the gaming world. .....is it bad that the villain's voice to me makes me imagine Garfield as the villain? XD

[@TheRealCFF]

1:08 welcome to the days of old. When Jonathan Frakes terrorized the world.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I saw it on nick arcade when I was a kid and I played it and I like it. 😀👍🎮

[@KainYusanagi]

It's not just me, right? The two sword ladies look like Rei and the magic caster looks like Yuri, from Dirty Pair.

[@toofine9]

I never could beat this game ..its super hard

[@Mitjitsu]

How have you got increased health? On the AES version I play. I only get 2 bars of health.

[@jonespianist3189]

You have a reprint cartridge. For some reason, only first-print cartridges of the AES version had the opening and extended life bar.

[@adrianodiasbispo9275]

O 99Vidas 358 - 4×4: Blazing Star, Crossed Swords, Cyber-Lip e Magician Lord me trouxe até aqui. O jogo realmente é muito bom e gostaria de ter jogado na época.

[@javim3389]

I had a friend Who had a Neo Geo and this game, but he prefered my SuperCastlevania IV, and we exchanged for two weeks the machines. I played this game 6 hours a Day, but i couldnt finish the game. Amazing game, but í prefer supercastlevania too😅

[@michaelanthonyg3851]

Supercastlevania sucked balls its a shitty port of the turboduo supercd game

[@michaelanthonyg3851]

Castlvania came out 2 years later this was developed in 1989 as a launch title in 1990 no other game in 1989 looked this good

[@greathey1234]

Whoever designed this game was a sadist

[@greathey1234]

My childhood was sad because of him

[@derrickpage6220]

21:47 What just happened? Did you win or lose or is this a draw?

[@NintendoComplete]

Derrick Page I died. And screamed several obscenities. It didn't count as a win, that's why I had to do it again.

[@derrickpage6220]

Well,that explains that.

[@DocMcStuffins8539]

And dying in a boss battle restarts the boss battle?

[@derrickpage6220]

Well,Yes Doc McStuffins. If you die during a boss battle,You have to restart the battle all over again!

[@KirbyThePinkPuffBallHero9714]

I agree with Derrick Page,Doc McStuffins. That would happen the same thing on me while I'm fighting a boss on every Kirby game! (Except for Kirby Alr Ride because it doesn't have bosses.)

[@GamingWolf_Plays]

Ooh, great choice.

[@xxadsxx2000]

18:58 you use inversible mode !!?

[@jiveAt5]

My favorite arcade game next to operation wolf n golden axe

[@arnoldbliss6238]

Nice job thanks!!!

[@angeloshardy1140]

You can thank Nick Arcade for getting me into this game.

[@johnnywebb8696]

Seems Dr.Strange is the main antagonist...

[@algosonicracing1670]

30:14 cliffhanger?

[@ronjeremy4571]

Game is F'n hard especially with no hit recovery time 🤷

[@PrimitiveBaroque]

You make it seem so easy.

[@NintendoComplete]

I promise, the climb to get there was unbelievably painful and bloody lol

[@TasmanianTigerGrrr]

The dark souls of 90s platformers

[@tonepot2339]

Can you please post another playthrough but without getting any power ups? I keep dying and need to watch a pro play as the standard magician. Thanks for posting this

[@magnusdiridian]

makes me want to fire up my AES and give it another shot

[@kalasatwater2224]

Tried putting cheats on it but didn't work lol

[@OswaldMiyake35]

Claro, los 700 dolares valieron la pena. There is a computer that can hold a Neo-Geo emulator.

[@Beastkingzetta]

NO DAMAGED WALKTHROUGH

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Hey Nintendo, Glad to see you playing another great game for the Neo-Geo with Magician Lord. One of my favorites of all time. Thank you for sharing this. I posted this on, The Official NEO-GEO Thread on Atariage.com for you. Its on page 220, post #5485 for you to view. atariage.com/forums/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page-220 As always, keep up the great work. I remember I was watching your channel starting out 3 years ago. Now your channel has boomed to greatness with over 12,700+ subscribers. Nice job bro. You deserve it! 8^) Anthony...

[@NintendoComplete]

+Charlie Cat Thanks man, much appreciated! :D

[@getzapped313]

Some one made a mockup genesis tech demo if anybody is interested

[@agentemxzalondra5513]

Ca si no lo jugaba pero si me gustaba mucho ,no entendía mucho pero me gustaba el sountrack

[@gocpng4699]

Heatness, Reboot

[@ultimacj]

I don't know what stage it was but when I played this game there was this REALLY HARD JUMP about 1/2 through the game. Wish I knew what part that was.... or some sort of point of no return or something....

[@NintendoComplete]

+ultimacj Its in the last stage in those tunnels with the spikes. Level 8 is all difficult jumping

[@michaelanthonyg3851]

Were the bat keeps appearing?

[@notanfningain]

This is my next game

[@MarkWandRobBobPresent]

I always wondered about these Japanese games with terrible English translations. Couldn't they have just thrown some random American (or British person, etc.) about $50 and ask them to edit their translations so they're not laughably bad? I mean there's not that much text - it should be about a 10 minute job (unless they spend another 10 minutes laughing at the bad originals).

[@DonnyKirkMusic]

Yeah, they liked to do everything in-house and didn't usually hire overseas people to help on arcade machines. For home console stuff, it was different.

[@patricknelson1471]

im gonna loose from the how to play part

[@ericlensher7936]

8:29 ihhhh... Será que o Bolsonaro jogou isso? 😨

[@kainigwon5433]

01:06 Doctor Strange has gone Evil! Oh shit. Things definitely got out of hand.

[@josephcasals9477]

In MAGICIAN LORD 🧿🔮🔥the DRAGON WARRIOR ⚔️🛡️🐲🐉is the most awesome deity fighter you can pick! Another one is the Japanese Thunderstorm God RAIJIN 🌩️⚡️💥⚡️💥🔥

[@planetschlock]

0:40 Whaaaaat, the game called "Magician Lord" is a story of fantasy? NO WAY!

[@thecowboy2]

Beware the anderground passages. ;-)

[@Jamie-yp7qz]

Again changes to hell.

[@Leny1777]

Im fucking stuck at 24:31 Are you ecen cheating!? Seems impossible

[@teamrocket5704]

I’m destined just to die.

[@skoetkonung7353]

Impudence + Rudeness = Imprudence. In Engrish. Simpre Rogic. 👩‍🎓 🧮

[@patrixopior]

Não consigo chegar de forma alguma no GAL!!!

[@ericlensher7936]

10:15 meu Deus! É o Luciano Huck! 😱

[@Versatil-1980]

Este juego es interesante, sin embargo - No se compara a la calidad que ofrecen otros juegos del mismo genero para la Super Nintendo y el SEGA 16-Bit (SEGA Genesis & SEGA MegaDrive)

[@ericlensher7936]

13:11 odiava essa fase! 😡