Usually, when a project's not completed in time for the deadline, they're left abandoned forever. That's not the case for the 20-year-old PS1 game project by Japanese developers K. Matsunami and PIROWO, though. They made their project, Magic Castle, using the Net Yaroze development kit for the PlayStation One. After more than two decades in development, the two finally released the game just before the end of 2020.

Forgotten by time

Incidentally, Magic Castle didn't really take twenty years to develop. Rather, its original creators abandoned it when they failed to get big publishers on board with the project. Since then, the developers behind Magic Castle have since went their separate ways. Then, almost two decades later, PIROWO found the original files of the 20-year-old PS1 game, and decided to finish the project once and for all.

The two developers met each other when they both worked for a game development company called Video Systems. Matsunami later realized that his studio will never make a hit video game. The then decided to leave and establish his own independent studio. Along with PIROWO, Matsunami founded his own independent studio called KAIGA.

“I thought my game company couldn't make a great game,” says Matsunami in an interview with NetYaroze-Europe.com. “I left the company, purchased development equipment, and tried to make a game that could sell one million copies with two (key) people.” He concludes by saying that he created Magic Castle as a pitch to a game production company.

When the pitch didn't get any major backers, the two abandoned Magic Castle and decided to part ways. Today, Matsunami is a video game developer at SEGA. Meanwhile, PIROWO is also still into video game development, but prefers not to disclose his workplace. Recently, the two came together to finally release the 20-year-old PS1 game that was forgotten by time.

Magic Castle is a 20-year-old PS1 game with modern rogue-lite mechanics ahead of its time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LmApMIbFtE

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The 20-year-old PS1 game is amazing. Magic Castle aged like wine. Unlike other classics that later spawn long-running franchises but are already unplayable by modern standards, this game still holds its own today.

Magic Castle is a rogue-lite isometric action game. Players will go through the castle and clear twenty randomly-generated floors to defeat an evil warlock. The player can play as one of the four available classes: Knight, Archer, Wizard, and Fighter. Players get to experience completely different playstyles between these four classes. Players can even change gears using a weapon wheel. The weapon wheel allows seamless equipment changing without pausing or going to a separate menu. The UI is customizable, a rare feature even today, allowing you to place it wherever on the screen you find it most suitable. There's also both cooperative and PvP multiplayer modes built into the game.

While a typical run of Magic Castle can be completed in just a little less than an hour, the game is still an impressive feat for just two developers. Had it received the funding and backing of a big game publisher like it was intended to, it probably would have spawned the rogue-lite genre all by itself.

If you're interested in playing this game yourself, you can download the ROM and run it on a PlayStation One emulator on your desktop. If anything, this 20-year-old PS1 game by two passionate developers deserves at least one look from avid gamers in the modern day.