Magical Drop [Model SHVC-AD7J-JPN]

???????? © 1995 Data East Corp.
(Magical Drop)

Magical Drop is the conversion of a cute arcade puzzle game by Data East and undoubtedly inspired by other popular puzzle games such as Tetris, Puyo Puyo or Puzzle Bobble. The game features six playable characters all derived from traditional Tarot cards - Fool, Magician, Priestess, Star, Devil and Chariot. The gameplay is similar to other games in the genre - colored bubbles and other items appear from the top of the screen and when three of them get vertically aligned, they disappear and bring with them any bubbles of the same color close to them. The player has the ability to grab these bubbles, accumulate more of them (if of the same color) and throw them back up. Most of the game's modes are designed like one-on-one battles, so players always compete against another opponent. Special items also fall in the playfield and they can be used as weapons. For instance, medallions, if aligned in group of three, will transfer all the gems of the corresponding color to the opponent's field. Other modes are of course available such as an interesting puzzle mode where special patterns of bubbles have to be cleaned up within a given amount of rounds.