‘Wizards: Tales of Arcadia’ is Wonderful Conclusion
Wizards: Tales of Arcadia is a limited series developed by DreamWorks Animation Television for Netflix. It is also the third part of the “Tales of Arcadia” series developed by Guillermo del Toro. Taking place after the events of Trollhunters and 3Below, Wizards follows Hisirdoux “Douxie” Casperan (Colin O’Donoghue) who is the apprentice of the legendary wizard Merlin (David Bradley). Douxie and several heroes including Trollhunter Jim Lake (Emile Hirsch) are flung back in time to Camelot, where they must repair the timeline. All the while an evil presence looms in the background.Wizards is fairly shorter than Trollhunters and 3Below, clocking in at only 10 episodes. Yet this isn’t to its detriment; it manages to pack a LOT of stories into those 10 episodes and not feel overstuffed. Even better, we get to see how certain events that were alluded to in Trollhunters actually played out. From Blinky and AAARRRGGGHHH!!! befriending each other to the rise of the first Trollhunter, these events are seeded throughout episodes and remind you how far these characters have come.The series also has a unique take on Arthurian lore. King Arthur, who’s usually a noble figure, is shown to be cold and distrusting of magical creatures. Morgana le Fay serves as Merlin’s apprentice and seeks justice for her fellow magical beings; she is a far cry from the power-mad sorceress we saw in Trollhunters‘ third season. As the series rolls on, you see why Arthur has grown distrustful of magic and how Morgana became the self-proclaimed “Mother of Monsters”. Morgana’s journey is especially compelling because she genuinely starts out with good intentions; you know she’ll wind up a villain but it still manages to hit you in the heart when she embraces the dark.
The main characters also show remarkable growth. Perhaps the characters that go through the most growth are Douxie and Claire (Lexi Medrano). Douxie is trying to prove to Merlin that he can be a great wizard; Claire is trying to save Jim from a ghastly fate while wrestling with the Shadow Magic she and Morgana harness. The two connect over their shared magical skills and forge a genuine bond; it’s nice to see a platonic relationship between a male and female protagonist given just as much weight as a romantic one. Alfred Molina is also a scene-stealer as the shape-shifting familiar Archie.
Another refreshing aspect of the series is that Douxie doesn’t always win. He makes mistakes. He oversteps and is unsure of himself. So often, stories feature a capable and skilled protagonist so it’s great to see a guy who isn’t 100% perfect. I also enjoyed his relationship with Merlin; not only are they student and master, but there’s also a father/son bond between them. This is highlighted in an emotionally devastating scene in the final episode where Merlin praises Douxie for his accomplishments. I teared up watching it because I love father/son bonds in stories.
If there’s one issue I have, it’s that certain characters could be utilized better. Jim doesn’t get much to do throughout the series, as he is mostly dealing with a life-threatening injury. Similarly, 3Below‘s Krel Tarron (Diego Luna) also has a woefully small part. I understand that you can only do so much in 10 episodes, but I would have liked to see more of them (though the final episode hints at a new destiny for Jim.
Wizards: Tales of Arcadia is a wonderful conclusion to one of the greatest animated universes ever created, featuring a fresh take on Arthurian lore and stringing together three different series. A feature film, Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, is in the works for 2021; I can’t wait to see how del Toro and crew bring it all to a close.
Wizards: Tales of Arcadia is currently streaming on Guest Affi.
But it’s not, and the last thing Tales of Arcadia: Wizards feels is played-out. On the contrary, much of it feels fresher than ever, from new introductions in the cleverly interwoven narrative to the pure, facile quality of the art design and animation, which is better than it has ever been and given more excuses than ever to really show how. It’s a tremendous-looking show full of imagination, scale, and detail. If you had to imagine an epic conclusion to Trollhunters, this is pretty much exactly what it’d look like.
It didn’t necessarily begin well. I am probably in the minority on this, but I always cringe when presented with something other than traditional flat-screen menus in a VR game - I often find them to be non-intuitive and thus more frustrating to deal with than they’re worth. The Wizards opened with a very simple set of menus that allowed me to create a new profile, which is a good sign - I appreciate being given the opportunity to allow others to play the game without negating my own progress - which was followed by a few more menus asking whether I am left- or right-handed and if I would prefer to stand or sit while playing. Those decisions made, I was placed in front of two large wooden doors blocking access to what appeared to be an old castle. As I was standing there wondering if I was supposed to find a way to open them, a deep, comforting voice started speaking to me. He introduced itself as a time traveler doing something or the other. All I know for sure is that he was to become my most trusted, amusing, and helpful companion throughout our impending ordeal.Then the doors opened.
Thus began a tutorial that covered mobility, which is a clever and very workable combination of free movement and teleportation, and a handful of spells. The teleportation is not difficult, but the tutorial does serve to demonstrate that it is capable of moving you to platforms both higher and lower than where you happen to be standing, something that may not have been obvious at first. You get to practice that a little bit on your way to the first platform dedicated to teaching a spell.
But the unavoidable reality of Wizards is that, for all its grand marketing posturing and the repeated insistence that its ten-episode season would conclude the story, it ends on a cliffhanger, with plenty unresolved. That feels very much like a slap in the face to a devoted fan base who’re been left on tenterhooks while nebulous plans for some kind of continuation are talked about and teased. It’s a deeply cynical move for a series that has prided itself on earnest imagination and enthusiasm for virtually its entire existence. Of course, fans would tune in to see more of these characters and this world – but haven’t they done that already?
Speaking of…. While you will eventually have the spells you will need to not only survive but to win, and the experience to know which weapon to use when, you will also learn (or be forced to learn) the value of tactical retreat. There were very few instances where I found it even remotely possible to stand my ground against multiple encroaching monsters. While I did find it best to try to get to a place where nothing could come up behind me, I usually had to jump around from spot to spot while I fired off whatever shots I could conjure up in the brief moments before the monsters charged my new location. This added a notable level of frantic and futile gesturing as I tried to very quickly conjure up a spell. Darn shame I was never taught a nerve-calming spell, and even a dram or four of 18 year old scotch didn’t do the trick. I didn’t feel as bad about ignominious loss after loss, though, for whatever that’s worth. Potions - who knew I had it in me!
With a great balance between playability, ominous ambiance, and well-designed VR elements like mobility and weaponry, The Wizards is an excellent model of the compelling and enjoyable things that can be done with VR. It is attractive and enticing without being too easy or too hard. One can quibble over the dearth of save points, but the ease of getting back in front of the Boss that killed you mitigates that to a great extent. It’s fun to look at, fun to listen to, and fun to play. It makes excellent use of the Touch controllers and exhibited few (if any) of the difficulties often encountered in games that fail to work around the weaknesses inherent in the current state of VR technology.
With a great balance between playability, ominous ambiance, and well-designed VR elements like mobility and weaponry, The Wizards is an excellent model of the compelling and enjoyable things that can be done with VR. It is attractive and enticing without being too easy or too hard. Level designs are challenging but fair, although they may not feel that way at first exposure.
The best part of The Wizards though, just like any good sorcerer game, is the spell-casting. Instead of drawing annoyingly complex runes in the air like we’ve seen several times in VR at this point (SoulKeeper and Left Hand Path come to mind) it’s all simply gesture-based.
For example, to ready a fireball in my right hand I just hold my left hand steady, make a fist out in front of me with my right hand by holding the trigger, then sliding my right hand to the side quickly. Boom, fireball. Just throw and release like any other object to send it flying across the level. Slide my left hand to the right and a shield pops up on my wrist for blocking attacks. Move each hand towards my chest and an ice bow appears with a quiver of chilling white arrows on my back.
And while the spell-casting is easily the best part, even that does start to grow old by the end of the journey. There just aren’t enough spells to really keep you engaged. You’ll unlock enhancements over the course of the game and find collectible cards that can be used to alter missions for replaying, but there should have been more original, different spells to cast.
The Wizards’ Arena mode is a nice change of pace, but ultimately doesn’t shake up the formula anywhere near enough. There are three environments to pick from and the only way it really differs from the campaign, on a functional level, is that you exclusively fight waves of enemies instead of breaking up the fights with moments of exploration.
By the end I was left wanting more spells, more variety, and more game modes. For example, a multiplayer mode would have been amazing to see — either competitive or cooperative — or at least some other way to use the powerful magical spells I’d been given. The core mechanics and ideas at work were so fun, I wanted to see it live up to its full potential.
I absolutely enjoyed my time with The Wizards and it’s definitely a step up from Carbon’s previous project, Alice VR, but with a few additions it could have been the definitive VR spell-casting game.
The Wizards is fun spell slinging VR action-adventure. There are no other games of this genre among well known titles, so it is quite a unique experience.
Pros:
+ Great pacing. Main campaign keeps juggling action, puzzles and exploration and never gets boring
+ Gesture-based spellcasting is an awesome idea. Really made me wish for something more complex, like rune-based magic of Arx Fatalis
+ Nice environments and bosses. Giant structures and creatures look really impressive in VR, and everything in this game is huge)
+ Flexible difficulty settings via score modifiers like in Bastion or Sairento VR
Cons:
- Targeting is really wonky on any auto-aim settings. It's especially annoying when using bow spell, since any auto-aim is unnecessary for bow combat
- Visuals could be better, especially enemy animations
- Slow start: you begin the game with only 3 spells, two of which are just summoning shield and bow
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