The Magic of Scheherazade -NES- 8.5

December 25, 2022

I just beat The Magic of Scheherazade for nes. This was a very ambitious mix of Zelda-style adventure, time travel, and traditional RPG. Most of the fighting felt like to the swordplay action in Zelda, but sometimes you would enter a turn-based battle with party members you recruited throughout the game. I preferred the standard action battles, but this was an interesting idea. Exploring the lands and implementing the time travel elements into the puzzles were neat. It reminded me of Oracle of Ages (which came out much later). There were five chapters with separate maps to complete, but I would have preferred if it was one giant map for the whole game, like a traditional Zelda game or RPG. I have to admit that I had to use a guide much of the time I was playing, especially in the last couple chapters. The game box comes with a map and manual that help at first, but the last chapter gets very cryptic with the puzzles (much like a lot of adventure games on the nes). The boss of chapter 4&5 were especially difficult. But overall, I really liked this game. Some parts got frustrating (as was the case with many games of the 8bit era), but it was very unique. Most of the ideas work really well. This is an epic adventure on the Nes that should not to be missed. It has good music, too, in that classic 8bit style. My favorite tune was the Winter theme from Chapter 3. Anyway, I’m giving The Magic of Scheherazade an 8.5 out of ten.