EVIL is making a comeback and it is all thanks to the conniving Zareth; he plans to resurrect Zao, the worst entity in existence, and the only way for Zareth to bring him back is to use the special soul of the kidnapped Alexandra as sacrifice. It is now up to Joe Yamato to fight Zareth's army, raid Azuchi Castle, rescue Alexandra, and defeat EVIL. You'll do this within a side-scrolling platform set-up, traveling through forests, temples, and dreadful places littered with corrupt monks, demons, and cultists with magical powers.
But Joe happens to be a spellcaster extraordinaire, able to conjure up special powers to counter incoming deadly attacks. At the beginning of the journey you, as the protagonist, are only able to perform Psycho Magic, materializing energy balls from his hands and shooting them long distances; hold the charge longer and he'll unleash three balls simultaneously for double the damage. Not a bad starting attack, actually. There's only two "drawbacks" to this, with one being that he can only shoot in one direction, the forward facing position, and the other being that the long charge takes some time in the midst of battle. Though, the second drawback can be rectified by finding power-ups that charge faster.
Not long after, you'll obtain Flame and Sonic Magic; the former summons a temporary long stretch of flame that can be aimed in all directions and the latter unleashes multiple projectiles that bounce around the screen. Crazily, you gain the Flame at the end of the first stage and it just happens to be the best consistent attack in the entire game. There's a reason this is crazy: if you exclude the charge "drawback," there's literally no other flaws when using this attack. You don't run out of "ammo" and there's really no cooldown penalty. Even if the meter stops charging when your character starts moving to dodge, the charge resumes where it left off if you were holding the button the whole time!
But just because you start out with a strong attack, that doesn't mean a video game automatically becomes a breeze; Mega Man titles and shoot'em ups are prime examples of this. It ultimately comes down to the design and structure of a game, along with enemy placements and their attack patterns.
Mystic Defender awkwardly lands somewhere in the middle.
The game feels like it doesn't know if it wants to be a port of a non-existent action arcade release or an exclusive console platform title. The structure of the first stage is the biggest giveaway: you're easily plowing through monks and bugs in a linear forest path from left to right, but you're also given the option to jump on and upward on tree branches that... go nowhere? The only time platform-jumping on branches becomes practical is during that stage's boss fight where you need to hop around to provoke an attack.
As progress is made through each stage, you do notice minor attempts that make enemy encounters a bit challenging. For instance, stage two is vertically-structured, making your way up by platform-jumping while enemy placements are intentionally meticulous; there are zombie monks "near" platform ledges, giant zombie heads that bounce down stairs, and zombie babies being "birthed" from windows as you walk by. However, these efforts are instantly cancelled out by the absurd reach and strength of your Flame Magic: with its multi-directional aiming, enemies can be vanquished on stairs or on platforms above you without ever getting close. This issue is never fixed, probably because the devs don't see it as such. Encounters with most enemies are such a non-issue in Mystic Defender.
At the very least, platforming comes out on top due to some form of variation between stages. In stages three and six, H.R. Giger Alien-like structures involve a lot of moving platforms and flames needing to be dodged. But the most consequential moments happen in stage four and stage four alone: you must hop across several thin fleshy platforms that sink and rise from a boiling yellow ocean. If you fall once in this liquid, you instantly lose a life. As the player, you'd think this would be an indication the game gets harder from here on out, but it does the exact opposite. Stage five is a linear corridor, stage six just remixes stage three, and stage seven switches out platforms with... elevators.
Mystic Defender is oddly designed, the quality bounces around, essentially making it just a generic action game. Though, the lack of creativity is quite baffling considering the game's "spiritual" predecessor, Spellcaster for the Master System, did more with its settings and magic usage. While Spellcaster is an entire hot mess on its own, that game at least forces players to be careful with their magic due to a Magic Point system that requires refilling. Perhaps the only solid thing Mystic Defender does well is the visual representation of often haunting and terrifying surroundings; going from temple zombie babies, to a setting structured with the bones of aliens, to then a fleshy pathway with a "yellow liquid" ocean is quite the transition.
