Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color

Written by Chris Reiter on September 02, 2003

Full Review: The Artist Formerly Known as Color Quest.

Art is anything and everything. It's a creature inside of us waiting to set loose upon the world. Sometimes we don't think we possess its magical power, but we do. We sense it when choosing what color dress to wear to the prom, we hear it when bopping our heads up and down to the music we enjoy, and we see it when our hands go to work composing a new literary piece, editing a home made movie, or even spicing up dinner in a fettuccini recipe the maker can certainly know appreciation for when its fans ask for seconds. Art isn't just about painting, drawing, or sculpting -- it's us, and we make it happen. With so much raw potential for individuals who aren't using their artistry in the world, Agetec knows there has to be one of you in the crowd who could at least draw a line. And with that in mind and Garakuta-Studio and Taito at the development helm, Agetec presents their latest creation upon the world, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color.

A world blanketed in darkness once lay silent...until the Spirit of Creation decided to unearth life upon it. Thus came the four elements of color -- wind, sun, water, and earth -- in which the spirit felt something was still missing. Then humans came to realization, a race in which were entrusted with a free spirit and the ability to devise doodles, the creatures of free body that all color breathed into in this land of peace. Together, doodles and humans lived in harmony in all the assortments of colors there were to unleash upon the world. However, the greedy king of the human race in his selfish ways wanted all the colors for himself. Enslaving all doodles, the king had wronged what was a once pure balance between two worlds -- and because of this, the king of doodles pleaded itself unto the Spirit of Creation that if it were to free its captured doodle brethern and remove all immoral humans of the ability to produce more doodles of their own except for those true of heart, it would relinquish all of its colors to the Spirit. And so, the Spirit granted the doodle ruler's wish which started a chain reaction forcing the king to turn to those with the ability to amass doodles for his own desire of color. It's now years after the incident, and you are one of what is left for those who can still make.

You may remember a certain Super Nintendo release titled Mario Paint. This paint tool was the first of its kind to literally allotting the player into drawing and colorizing whatever image came to mind. Magic Pengel is not that, though the two game similarities aren't too far behind. Classifying Magic Pengel as nothing more than an artist's instrument to summon 2D characters from paper thin layers and into a living, breathing 3D environment is the wrong idea to think about since the game is much more than just that. It's a story-based RPG where drawing is essential to playing the game. Even if you suck at it. Sure, no one's going to win a gold medal from developing a knack from slapping together a few lines with a controller, but this is a game where anyone can learn how to have fun penning their own characters and tossing them into a story where they'll definitely matter.

How unreal is it that what you'd draw on top of some flat surface remerges into a walking, spinning, dancing, hopping blob that you can actually get up close to and stare upon until your mind snaps back to reality? Very, as the concept in question has never been attempted before now. Pengel's reason for drawing though isn't for show -- it's because you're a Doodler. When it comes to being a rarity onto a limited market, and meeting two cute little orphan siblings (the spunky sister Zoe and the lively brother Taro) has promise for stopping the tyrannical king in his tracks whose fault it is for bearing such small quantities of color and paint options across the land, what reason is there to say no to that? Doodlers are those who give life to his or her doodle creations. Doing so all happens within the confines of the Doodle Sketchbook, where by combining averrable color gems and newly gathered palette parts for your Pengel (acting as a paint cursor) to good use, you can then fabricate your Picasso masterpieces into the game reality. But starting out without the proper quantity of colors or attributes to create what you want from the very beginning (at first, you'll only be able to draw things like a body or arms), you'll need to get out there and earn supplies for your palette to have an advantage. Winning these new parts isn't exactly kid's play however, as you need to enter into the game's tournament sessions, commence in standoffs between random people with doodles by their side, or swapping for or purchasing new colors (or even Doodles) located in merchant shops scattered throughout Pengel's inner district. The process of "doodling" howbeit doesn't slice easily without the necessary colors and shape upgrades (which come with Magic Pengel's monster matchups), and in turn, the battle system cannot be won without strong enough doodles that get stronger only with more colors and stranger shapes that make for a stronger doodle durability rate and vice versa.

Normally you won't find many RPGs out there with creatures of a different sort duking it out on one another. Magic Pengel isn't your standard RPG game, however. Imagine having control over a tiny, multicolored Pengel, a sprite thing that can roam through the cluttered island the story takes place on. Now on this same island are also a few different areas in which to access that open their doors to a tournament ring. You, your drawings, and another person and their drawings go at it one on one in combat similar to the old school yard game 'rock, paper, scissors.' Rather than three available choices though, your path for greater rewards has four: attack, magic, block, and charge. Naturally, each piece to the larger puzzle works like they sound -- attacking consists of beating on other doodles with your doodle's arms or legs; magic can appear in multiple forms for different doodles, whether it's a spell that can drain another doodle's MP (magic points) or flatten them with a mighty hammer; block creates a shield in front of your character so that the damage of an attack is less likely; and lastly charge restores a small quantity of life lost during the round. Each ability though is to be used only with the smarts that knowing magic cancels attack, attack cancels block, block cancels magic, and charge is all on its own because like the rock, paper, and scissors game, one skill leaves you vulnerable to another making it so you don't just press anything at any time, and instead you need to study the way the opponent functions. Still, while Pengel's fighting system isn't as deep as one you might find in a Final Fantasy adventure, its method for a little luck and a little knowledge make for an interesting presentation that can keep the fun of thinking going (plus with the included two-player versus mode using both player's doodles to test a friend or sibling's mettle, you can keep the game's replayability lasting for a good while).

What can be said with Magic Pengel's not so complex surface, it's a fairly simple game to square into its play style rather quickly. After all, there are only three major portions of the game in which to fiddle through: the Sketchbook to realign or make up doodles, the combat mode, and straight through Pengel's short lengthened but highly interactive, intersecting island. While merged in battle against another person's creep figure has you commanding your own doodle in attacking (L1), blocking (R1), charging (L2 or R2), or casting a spell on the other (one of the face buttons), the other two of these sections have you in control over the Pengel -- nestled in the Doodle Sketchbook and navigating the island's every inch. Sketching with an analog stick might seem unusual at first impression, but initially pressing X to start a line and then twisting the left stick where and which path you'd like to guide your something's every curve and crevice around is a relatively effortless trial to take up. Even easier is the fact that all that really needs to be done in order to fly your Pengel across the island's inner pathways is to toggle the left and right analog sticks for motion of the Pengel itself and its placement of height position while boarding the midair express.

Possible or not, the year's best cel-shaded game so far has just got itself some competition. Magic Pengel sports a similarly surprising graphic effect that is reminiscent to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in some ways, while in other ways captures its own unique blend. Inspired by anime, the several character models you will meet in battle formation or on the trail there all look so elegantly tasteful in their one of a kind variety. You'll find fat, skinny, tall, short, male and female shop owners, traveling traders, a Doodle know-it-all, and even a mysterious fortune teller stuffed within the game's viscera. Serious, cranky, annoying, delightful, friendly, and fun -- these characters of the Pengel world come packaged with their own mode of attitude. For example, you could be talking about Zoe to the fruit lady one minute, who has an uplifting cheery spirit, when the next lurking around the corner is a killjoy who wants nothing to do with you or anyone else. And the demeanor of each one of these persons is an unmatched batch of beautiful. With squinty eyes some of them, spiked hair others, rosy cheeks, facial hair, and dress apparel that only a fantasy world like this can supply, Pengel's characteristics and colors are many and it does exceptionally well with it all. Unlike the character models however, the appearance of the island backgrounds is a little more...not cel-shaded. While not terrible to look at, there's really not a whole lot going on in the limited spacing of the game's setups, from a grassy domain, to a busy lineup of mildly textured shops, and the entryways into the fighting arenas, there's sufficiently built but shortly experienced amounts of places in which to wander around and glance upon.

Taking into account how good the people in Pengel turned out, the doodles are a different story all together -- a suitable story at that. It's just that with singular tints and simple shapes and drawn edges that look tattered aren't what you'd call a great definition of greatness. But these same awkward qualities make the doodles all the more inspiring while getting their groove on in a 3D state. And speaking of moving about, these drawings of yours and everything else in the game are all able to dazzle your eyes with their own clockwork mannerisms. If say you're floating the Pengel past the assorted rows of shops, all with their own busy little people either motioning for attention of their services or are busy at what they do best, you'll find really a lot of activity in such a small percentage of game area in which to explore. Stop by the carpenter's workshop for example, and clipping's from the wood being sliced will fly off and drop in successful order. And other subtle details where grass on the ground and trees up above blow and rustle around supply a splendidly fitting aspect. It's the doodles that steal the show though, because you make these things yourself, and because they are all unified with a property that shows based on their appearance. Give a giant circle legs sprouting from its top half, and it'll crawl around like a spider. But fit it with arms or even wings, and you can see how far its bizarre nature can reach out.

Anime films seem to add a touch of magic not only with their own blend of wordly imagery, but also with their imaginitive and touching sound elements that evoke an emotion into all who watch. Magic Pengel is something like that. It's got music, it's got voice work, but it hardly has any audio in which to affect the overall presentation. As your job is to control the Pengel through the air, it's noticeable that the main sounds emitted are from the game's passable people (since you've got no legs). Hammering, cutting, banging, scratching, and other noises are emitted through the town's few locales, while in battle whatever option you choose to perform does submit to the instance of sound as well. Although it's unfortunate there's a tad lack of audio, in other cases there's plenty to listen to. Music for one is just about everywhere. Its lightness and its harmonious melodies chiming through certain sections of the island, and in battle its faster paced beat all sets a charming endeavor for this particular anime-inspired piece.

Going with the whole anime theme here, the character voices fortunately acts unlike any other and at the same time energize a mill of aptness abound. Strolling...or more like floating around the island's innards, you'll hear all sorts of clamoring about business related this and that. Strangely, if you're to engage in a conversation with any one of these shop keepers, they'll speak only the first word or words of their sentence, leaving the rest to your mind to think of what it might sound like had they spoke it -- which actually is a neat pattern to see in such a game of its own style. During story sequences and in attack position though, the characters will talk full sentences, and even though some voices are very odd (like Taro's high-pitched vocals), the voices do fit nicely for the types of persons they were meant for.