In the beginning of Magatama, players go through a short introduction where a jellyfish-like creature called Orochi is given to you as a sidekick. The jellyfish courses through the air and attacks foes while swirling around like a friendly familiar. Before players delve into the meat of the game, a training exercise featuring an invincible golem of sorts teaches the finer arts of hacking, slashing, combo attacks (B button) and how to pull off a dramatic armageddon attack where a massive local explosion levels an opponent. When attacking an enemy, an eye icon will eventually appear on it's midsection. Pressing "X" at this point will send Orochi wailing at the enemy to cause damage.

Once the main game starts, the goons rush in hot and heavy. They're not much of a threat in the early action since they come in quickly and then stand there like cannon fodder. Occasionally, they'll swing a blade but most of the time, they'll hunch over and wait for your blade to sing through the air and dispatch them. A few background structures are destructible and shatter when attacked. Slash moves are fairly simple to pull off by tapping the "B" button. Jump attack moves may be pulled off along with fancy slashes when moving the D-pad in conjunction with the attack button. Moves and combos increase as experience builds up for some powerful attacks later in the game. A simple power-up attack move is available to the player at the outset of the game which is activated by holding the B button until you see Shinato's hands glow. Pressing the B button again will unleash an attack laced with light trails.

There are some camera problems where it can't keep up with fast-paced attacks but the right-thumbstick may always be maneuvered to change the camera angle though one would be hard-pressed to change camera angles while in the midst of hacking for one's life. When hitting foes, little purple/blue bars appear above each one which indicate their level of vitality remaining.

A helpful area map on the upper-right corner of the gaming screen shows the location of monster generators and corridors to explore. Monster generators are colored blue and while areas of interest are marked with a red orb.

The first mini-boss in Magatama is a big, red, demonic bruiser who roars when it first appears but its bark is worse than its bite. Fire off some mindless hack 'n slash moves on it and surrounding cohorts and you'll be moving along in no time. Yes, it's that simple. As long as you keep hitting it, it will never get a chance to attack you. Immediately after the boss is gone, little demonic crickets with red eyes skitter across the floor but these are also killed with the quickness. Their attack patterns consist of running up and then jumping up to impart damage...

Spoiler/Hint
First Level:
After defeating the red demon mini-boss for the second time and clearing the monster generators, run to the large demon skull at the end of the corridor. Summon Orochi and it will light up the eye sockets of the skull with blue fire. Attack the skull until it shatters and a secret passageway will appear. The first meeting with the evil Monkan awaits.

Jan Code: 805529702905

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