Magician (1990). Play Free Online

Summary

Magician puts you in the boots of Paul, an aspiring sorcerer wandering a pixel‑rich NES landscape. Between side‑scrolling combat, you wander towns, chat with villagers, and stock up on food, water, and potions—a vital routine because those supplies deplete steadily and must be refilled manually. The game’s biggest twist is the spell‑craft system: you assemble phonemes to form the exact word of a spell, then write it down at a cost of 50 mana. Writing every spell early is possible, but you’ll spend your magical reserve quickly. As you help NPCs and solve maze‑like puzzles, Paul’s experience grows, expanding his maximum mana and his rank as a magician. The ultimate goal is to gather the four elemental vials—earth, air, fire and water—meld them into the Ultimate Potion, and finally confront the rogue wizard Abadon. A modest battery‑backed save lets you pause anywhere, though the system caps saves at fifteen across four slots. In 2012 the original source code was released for educational use.

Storyline

In the NES game Magician, the realm of Merlwood is threatened by the evil sorcerer Abadon, who summons hordes of dark beasts and constructs a foreboding castle as his base. Abadon dispatches his minions to eradicate the land’s peace‑loving wizards, quickly wiping out the magical defenders. Meanwhile, Paul, a young apprentice magician from the neighboring land of Serenna, is preparing a personal quest to study the ancient masters and master forgotten secrets. When news of Abadon’s purge reaches him, Paul abandons his training and resolves to become the last surviving wizard. Determined to stop the tyrant, he sets out across the kingdom to confront Abadon and put an end to the darkness spreading from the castle.

Edited by Maya Carter