The Master of Magic

The Master of Magic is a top-down action-adventure/RPG, published by Mastertronic's Added Dimension originally for the Commodore 64 in 1985.

The game was developed by Richard Darling, while the legendary composer Rob Hubbard created the soundtrack. Even if the title is the same, this game has nothing to do with the famous 1994 strategy game. This title by Mastertronic is less popular than the masterpiece created by Microprose almost ten years later, but this doesn't mean you should not play it. The Master of Magic might look simple, but it's delightful.

As in the iconic Warren Robinett's Adventure for the Atari2600, you explore a dungeon from a top-down view, basically just a minimap. Your hero, a wizard, is represented by a simple circle, while the monsters are made with very few pixels. Next to it, you can see a text window, with the messages scrolling down as in typical RPGs. To use the bottom part of the screen, the developer decided to show there a zoomed version of enemies and other characters you encounter. In contrast, you have the inventory and other actions you can perform in the center of the screen. This layout looks pretty original, but it works perfectly.

I don't know if it's the dungeon you uncover while you explore, the music, or the text description that looks like your dungeon master talking, but this game can create a great atmosphere. If you add that, unlike many games of the 80s, the difficulty level is perfect also for beginners, you understand why this game is so good.

The Master of Magic is a classic example of great gameplay built with limited resources. Try it!