Mystic Defender, known in Brazil as Mystic Defense and in South Korea as On Dal Jang Goon (온달장군), is a reskinned version of Kujaku Ou 2: Geneijou. It was first published in the United States in December 1989 by Sega, then it was brought to Europe, Brazil, and South Korea the following year.
Mystic Defender takes place in an alternate Japan fantasy setting in which the anarchistic sorcerer Zareth kidnaps a young woman named Alexandra. Zareth plans to use Alexandra as a sacrifice for the resurrecting of an ancient and evil god known as Zao. Not long after the kidnapping, Zareth's plan becomes apparent as Azuchi castle, the dwelling of Zao, rises from the waters.
Joe Yamato, an experienced sorcerer, is called into action to save Alexandra and stop Zareth's plan to resurrect Zao by battling his way through the dark and bizarre disciples and demons of Zao.
Gameplay
Yamato
The game is an action platformer. Yamato walks with and , crouches with , and jumps with . His means of offense is casting spells with , which damage enemies and their projectiles. He has a charge meter that is charged by holding , which increases the power of his magic; the charged spell is cast by releasing . Spells can be charged while crouching and jumping, but the charge meter pauses when Yamato is walking. Yamato can find items that let him increase his charge meter faster. He starts with the ability to quickly throw energy balls, but he obtains other spells throughout the course of the game. He can switch between each spell in order with .
Yamato has three hit points and loses one whenever he takes damage from an enemy. Some enemies only do half a point of damage, though the damage is not indicated until a full point is lost. He can find items that replenish his health. His health is also replenished at the start of each round. If he loses all of his health, he loses a life. He is revived in the same place that he died (or nearby if he died in a pit or similar) rather than at the beginning of the level. If he loses all of his lives, the game ends, but it can be continued as long as the player has continues remaining. There are three difficulty levels (Easy 1, Easy 2, and Normal), which change the number of lives and continues that the player starts the game with.
Magic
Psycho Magic
The starting magic and the only one that can be fired without charging. Fires an energy ball across the screen horizontally. Shoots a small but fast energy ball when uncharged, a larger energy ball with a higher level of charge, and three stacked energy balls at full charge. It can penetrate multiple enemies in a line when charged. This magic can be used while crouching and jumping but not while walking. This spell is useful because it is the fastest to cast and can destroy most common enemies when fully charged.
Flame Magic
Found before the boss of the first round. A stream of flame that can be directed with and . The length of the flame depends on how much it is charged. After releasing the charge button, the flame is expelled until the charge meter is expended or the charge button is pressed again. This magic can be used while moving and jumping. This spell can attack multiple enemies simultaneously and can inflict continuous damage on larger enemies that stay within its area of effect.
Sonic Magic
Found before the boss of the second round. Releases six energy balls that move outward toward the edges of the screen. At higher charge levels, four of the energy balls bounce off the edges of the screen before dissipating. This magic cannot be aimed. While not as powerful as the other spells at full charge, it allows the player to attack enemies without directly engaging them and can often be the only way to attack enemies that are out of reach.
Thunder Dragon Magic
Summons a three-headed dragon that destroys all enemies and projectiles on the screen (but only damaging bosses). This magic does not use the charge meter. It can be used once per item found, which are dropped by some enemies starting on the third round.
Items
Red Sphere
Increases the spell charging speed, up to two times. Yamato loses a charge level if he loses a life.
Blue Sphere
Restores one point of Yamato's health.
1-Up
Awards the player an extra life.
Thunder Dragon
Gives the player the ability to use the Thunder Dragon Magic one time. The player can collect multiple instances of this item to have the ability to use this magic multiple times in succession.
Rounds
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
According to the US manual, this round is meant to be infested with ghosts. However, these were seemingly scrapped in the final game[6].