''Mystic Heroes'' is a hack and slash

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by Koei. The game is loosely based on ''

Investiture of the Gods ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

'', a Chinese supernatural novel about the fall of the

Shang Dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

and the rise of the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

. A

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

version, known as , was released simultaneously with the GameCube version, known as , exclusively in Japan on March 29, 2002. The PlayStation 2 version, known as , has additional characters and gameplay modes.

Gameplay

''Mystic Heroes'' is a hack and slash similar to Koei's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

''. Players can perform melee attacks and element spells, which become more powerful with continuous use. The game has eight stages. There are four playable characters, and four unlockable characters in the PS2 version, for a total of eight. The game features a single-player story mode and three additional single-player modes, as well as co-op and versus multiplayer. The game levels take place in a variety of settings from deserts, to castles, to swamps. The enemies are consistently soldiers, but have a variety of different bosses depending upon the level.

Plot

Long ago in a legendary land, Emperor Kang and his wife Sheva ruled with an iron fist. Tai and Naja, two elite mystics, sealed them away in Mt. Houshin, thus restoring peace. But Kang's son, Cyrus, built up an army to battle the mystics in an attempt to free his father. At this time two more mystics, Shiga and Lani, joined the fight alongside Tai and Naja. The four mystics along with their friends once again saved the land and returned the peace. Now Emperor Kang, Sheva, and Generals Grifon and Kai start to plan their escape. Grifon brings up the existence of something known as the "Dragon Star", which could free them. Kang calls upon the powers of the Dragon Star, and he along with all of his minions are set free, giving Kang the chance to rise once again to dominate the land. This game takes place after ''Hōshin Engi'', ''Magical Hōshin'' (this game takes place after the first title) and ''Hōshin Engi 2''. The player can choose to play as Tai, Shiga, Lani, or Naja.

Reception

''Mystic Heroes'' received above-average reviews on both platforms according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' gave the game a score of 33 out of 40 for the GameCube version, 32 out of 40 for the PS2 version, and 30 out of 40 for the Game Boy Advance version.

References

External links

*
Mystic Heroes
' official site * * {{Musou series 2002 video games GameCube games Game Boy Advance games Koei games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation Network games Video games about magic Video games based on novels Video games developed in Japan Works based on Investiture of the Gods