Supermagical review for PS Vita

If you’ve ever played one of the many, many bubble-popping/matching games that exist on pretty much every platform and device of the last, say, twenty years, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what’s in store for you with Supermagical. There are little demons that come in various colours, you have to fire matching colours at them to make them go away, and you repeat that until you’ve cleared the board. If you somehow haven’t played a similar game…well, all you really need to do is read the previous sentence. Complicated, it’s not.

Because Supermagical sticks to such a well-worn path, there’s not much to say about it. The game generally meets a basic level of competency, so there are no concerns about whether it’s playable. It adds a story about a magical being trying to rein in her sisters, which I suppose puts it one step above most other Bust-a-Move clones, but it’s not like one of these games lives or dies by its plot. Likewise, having a world map is an interesting addition to the genre, but by no means a make-or-break one.

There are some minor issues, to be sure. The controls are a little finicky, whether you use touch controls or the thumbstick/button combo; neither, unfortunately, allows you to be as precise as the game sometimes demands. Generally this isn’t a big deal, but in the puzzle levels, you may find yourself cursing the game.

Not too much, though. As I said, Supermagical is precisely what it looks like from the very first level. It’s not going to set the world alight as far as innovation goes, but it’s a decent enough timewaster if you need one on your Vita.