"Мың бір түннің сиқыры: Шаһразадды құтқару"

1987 video game

The Magic of Scheherazade is an action adventure/role playing video game (RPG) developed and released by Culture Brain for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game was released in 1987 in Japan and 1990 in North America. The plot is based on Middle Eastern folktales found in One Thousand and One Nights. It involves an amnesic hero traveling through time in an attempt to rescue the princess Scheherazade from the evil wizard Sabaron, who has summoned a horde of demons to bring chaos to the once peaceful land of Arabia. The Magic of Scheherazade is divided into chapters and incorporates elements of both action adventure and RPG gameplay styles. In each chapter, the player character can freely explore an overworld in a top down perspective. The player engages hostile enemies with various weapons and spells through both real time solo action on the overhead map and random, turn based battles fought alongside befriended allies. Once the commercial viability of the NES was proven in North America by the late 1980s, Japanese developer Culture Brain opened a company branch in the United States and chose to publish an English language version of The Magic of Scheherazade after making several changes to the graphics and musical score. It has received mostly average review scores but generally positive commentary from critics for its visuals, gameplay, and difficulty balance. The game has been noted for its fusion of the adventure and RPG genres, though journalists have referred to its gameplay mechanics as lower quality versions of what was seen in both The Legend of Zelda and the Dragon Quest series.

The Magic of Scheherazade combines gameplay elements from action adventure games and RPGs. In the game, the player must travel through a series of worlds and defeat the evil wizard Sabaron, rescue Scheherazade, and bring peace back to Arabia. The game consists of five chapters; the first four chapters involve the player's journey through four worlds in which they must find the palace and defeat the demon that resides there. The fifth chapter involves the final battle with Sabaron. Players may start a new game or resume the game with a password. If a new game is started, the player must choose between three classes – Fighter, Magician, or Saint. Each class differs in weapon usage and certain abilities. For instance, a Fighter can use strong swords but is limited with the rod, a Magician is adept at using powerful rods but is restricted to a weak dagger instead of swords, and a Saint can exclusively utilize items like boots that prevent damage on hazardous floors. The majority of play takes place on an overhead map where the player can freely move between separate screens; the overworld comprises numerous landscapes and locales including forests, deserts, towns, underwater areas, dimly lit dungeons, and palace labyrinths. The player will also find "Time Gates" that allow for time travel between the past, present, and future; they transport the player to the same location but in a different time and environment. In the overworld, enemies will often randomly appear and are fought in real time. The player can use a sword for close range attacks, a rod for shooting long range projectiles, and magic spells. Slaying enemies earns the player experience points that go towards increasing overall experience levels. Reaching higher levels improves the player's maximum attributes (HP and MP) and can sometimes enhance weapon strength or yield new magic spells. The start of each battle gives the player the option to fight, escape, or attempt to bribe enemies into leaving. Fighting alone or with up to two allies, the player takes turns trading blows with enemy units by picking commands such as striking with equipped weapons or casting magic. Formations (learned for a fee at "Magic Universities" in certain towns) can also be created, which can grant the party added defense or enable them to cast powerful group magic spells; certain formations work particularly well against certain "squads" or "regiments". Finally, mercenary troopers, which can be hired in towns, can be used to aid the party in attacks. Many years prior to the opening of the game, the land of Arabia was taken over by the malevolent demon Goragora and his army of minions. A magician named Isfa, harnessing the power of the blue star Airosche, vanquished the demons and sealed them underground. Peace briefly returned until the evil wizard Sabaron freed Goragora and the demons from their captivity and imprisoned the Arabian princess Scheherazade and her family. The player character takes on the role of Isfa's unnamed descendant, who unsuccessfully attempts to save his lover Scheherazade from Sabaron. As a result, the player's memories are erased, his magical powers are sealed, and he is thrust into a different time period. He is quickly greeted by the catlike spirit Coronya, who possesses the ability to open a passage to travel through time. With this, the amnesic hero traverses through five worlds in order to regain his memories, learn new magic, recruit several allies, and defeat the demon overlords. Once Scheherazade's three sisters and father are rescued, the protagonist confronts Sabaron, who realizes releasing Goragora was a mistake. The hero then goes to the Dark World and destroys Goragora, returning tranquility to Arabia once again. After being thanked by Scheherazade and her family, the hero promises to return to his beloved someday as he and his party depart on a magic carpet toward their next adventure.

The Magic of Scheherazade was developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom in Japan) by Culture Brain. A person working under the pseudonym "Akademiya Yumenosuke" was the game's producer, according to a Weekly Famitsu interview. A short manga based on the game titled Magical Book was published in Japan and features all the game's party members. Culture Brain USA announced the game in mid 1988 with a tentative release set for January 1989. It was delayed but was showcased that month at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with other Culture Brain USA games for the NES, including Kung Fu Heroes and Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll; it was showcased once again at 1990's Winter CES, this time alongside Baseball Simulator 1.000. The game was released in North America on January 15, 1990.

The Magic of Scheherazade received mixed reviews at release. Opinions of the game's graphics and musical score have been mostly positive. Both William R. Trotter of Game Players and Rusel DeMaria of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment commended the game's visuals but DeMaria simply characterized the music and sound as "fine". Video game journalist and Retronauts writer Jeremy Parish vaguely described the game in 2017 as "innovative and memorable", even declaring it to be Culture Brain's "crown jewel" when mentioning its conspicuous absence from Nintendo's Virtual Console service.

A sequel to The Magic of Scheherazade was first listed by Nintendo for a future 1990 release for the NES in that year's official buyers guide for World of Nintendo retail boutiques. The sequel was further noted by GamePro in the magazine's September 1990 issue for its coverage of the Summer CES. Nintendo Power also mentioned it in its November/December 1990 issue. At the Winter CES in January 1992, GamePro reported that an SNES game titled Golden Empire was officially announced by Culture Brain as a follow up to The Magic of Scheherazade. One year later, GamePro published a similar tidbit from an article about the 1993 Winter CES, where the game was then titled Golden Empire: The Legend of Scheherazade. Gaming retail chain Chips & Bits continuously advertised Golden Empire under its SNES role playing section in US magazine catalogs throughout the early to mid 1990s. As late as 1996, the Japanese publication Family Computer Magazine listed the game as Scheherazade Densetsu The Prelude with an unknown release date for the Super Famicom. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Ninja Boy includes a town called Celestern, named after one of the worlds in The Magic of Scheherazade, and contains its musical theme from that game and cameos from characters like Princess Scheherazade and Coronya.