"Ok, the good news is that you dyed your clothes! The bad news is that your clothes got propelled all over the island!! Also, a lot of dimensional rifts are opening everywhere and spitting angry color elementals. So... I think I’m leaving!!!"
— Cauldron
Magic Twins is a co-op arcade Puzzle Game developed by Flying Beast Labs and published by BadLand Publishing.
Two twin sister witches named Abra and Cadabra accidentally release a horde of color monsters upon the world, which they now must stop. To do that, they need to constantly swap their magic powers, as each monster can only be defeated with a spell that matches its color.
Players need to use color-based magic (also known as chromagic) to complete different objectives per level. This makes all of them, despite being graphically similar, feel different and unique. This concept and the very nature of the mechanics forces players to constantly plan and communicate in order to face unexpected challenges. On top of that, the different enemies (each with their own special ability) will test their teamwork and resilience. It also features several game modes and unlockable skins that increase replayability.
The narrative is simple and wacky, based on puns, absurd situations, teasing the player and almost self-aware short dialogs. Voice acting consists of gibberish, giving a lot of personality to the narrative scenes, as well as menus (there is even a kawaii button, to listen to random cuteness at will).
Magic Twins was released on March 18, 2021 for Steam and Nintendo Switch. Versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were also announced, but never released.
Magic Twins contains examples of the following tropes:
- Addressing the Player: Cadabra tends to lean on the fourth wall. This means that sometimes she will talk about the players (and how all her mistakes are their fault). Some interface texts mix lore with allusions to the players.
- Always Identical Twins: Abra and Cadabra share the same sprite and animations. The only way to differentiate them is their position: Abra is always on the left and Cadabra on the right. However, players can equip them with different skins to help distinguish them.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Every color elemental has versions in red, green, blue, yellow, black and white. Some of them are based on animals from the Island of Mallorca.
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: This is a crucial point of the plot. More than unlocking new skins, Abra and Cadabra spend all the game recovering their now dyed clothes... and saving the Island of Mallorca in the process. Beating zones, bonus levels and getting some achievements is rewarded with new skins.
- Animate Inanimate Object: Cauldron is a living cauldron. Also, some color elementals seem to be mundane objects affected (and dyed) by the Colormageddon.
- Auto-Save: The game auto-saves every time players finish a level or something is unlocked.
- Bad Liar: Cauldron (aka Little Potty) is constantly blaming the Magic Twins for everything bad that happens on the Island of Mallorca. One of the most obvious examples is when he tells Abra and Cadabra that they are going to perform a completely harmless ritual to dye their clothes. The name of the ritual is "Noddegamroloc". That is, Colormageddon backwards.
- Bad Luck Mitigation Mechanic:
- Enemy generation is pseudorandom, so sometimes, a level can be spawning elementals that don't meet the requirements for the players’ strategy. However, they can use colorful spells to change their color. In fact, this is crucial in order to beat some levels. Colorful spells are also useful to rapidly dispatch all the elementals on screen.
- Black elementals need to be shot with a chromagic ball in order to reveal their true colors and be defeated. They always change to a different color than the color of the chromagic ball that hit them. Players can use this knowledge to avoid unwanted colors.
- Iridescent elementals change color every time they take a step. However, the pattern is always the same and follows the arrangement of the chromagic balls in the lower part of the screen, so they are easy to predict.
- Battle Theme Music: Little Potty's Metal is played during the final (and only) boss. This is a metal version of the main theme, inspired by Ayreon's "Through The Wormhole". It is also the only theme of the game that features a real instrument (the electric guitar).
- Berserk Button: In the final level, when Abra and Cadabra are talking to Cauldron, he states that he unleashed the Colormageddon because the sisters always call him "Cauldron" instead of his real name. Furthermore, after years of not hearing it, Cauldron has forgotten it. After stating this, Cadabra says that they can call him "Little Potty". Suffice to say, Cauldron does not take it well.
- Big Bad: Cauldron, later known as Little Potty is behind it all. However, he is not discovered earlier not because of his cunning, but because of Abra and Cadabra's reluctance to believe that their friend is a bad person.
- Bilingual Bonus: Each unlocked skin is accompanied by a message that is funny, ironic or simply related to the theme of that skin. The sailor-themed "Ahoy" skin features a real Majorcan seafaring jota in the original language. This text is not localized, respecting the traditional lyrics.
- Blatant Lies: On every first level of each zone, Abra and Cadabra follow the instructions of Cauldron to try to stop the Colormageddon. Each attempt always fails, but it's obvious that Cauldron is playing them in order to further spread the calamity.
- Boss Battle: The last verbal confrontation with Cauldron turns into this, after Cadabra calls him "Little Potty" and he fuses with the last Colormageddon rift, becoming the final (and only) boss.
- Color-Coded Multiplayer: Players can turn the game into this, if they choose the same skin but different chromas.
- Company Cross References: The mask of Kirm from A Rite From The Stars (another game by Flying Beast Labs) appears embroidered on Abra and Cadabra's socks and on a beach towel in the levels of the second zone.
- Co-Op Multiplayer: The game is intended to be played in co-op. However, it also features a single-player mode, in which the player can switch between Abra and Cadabra to control both sides of the screen. An AI takes control of the witch the player is not currently using, in order to ease the difficulty, but a player shouldn't expect it to do all the dirty work.
- Create Your Own Villain. Abra and Cadabra never used Cauldron's real name, so he ended up forgetting it. This made him mad and ended up deceiving them to unleash the Colormageddon. In addition, Cadabra once left him abandoned in a forest.
- Creator Provincialism.
- Played straight with the whole setting, the Island of Mallorca. However, the only similarities (besides the name) between the chromagic and the real one are just some references and jokes.
- Averted with the Christmas carol that goes with the Christmas skin. Each language features a different real (and wacky) song from its country of origin. Also, a lot of Spanish expressions and idioms are properly localized.
- Crossover: One of the skins is based on Angelica Kocklire, a character from the game The Pizza Situation. The game also features a quote of hers when unlocked.
- Cute Witch: Abra and Cadabra are witches, and they are portrayed as cute. Even the marketing material played this trope straight.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Players only need to wait a couple of seconds after dying to be back in action.
- Deliberately Monochrome: During single-player mode, the witch that the player is not controlling appears in black and white.
- Determinator: Abra and Cadabra will stop at nothing to get their clothes back... and stop the Colormageddon.
- The Dividual: Abra and Cadabra are a clear case of The Twindividual and the game expects the players to behave as such... As far as possible.
- Family Theme Naming: Twin sisters Abra and Cadabra are named after the common magic word "abracadabra".
- Fearful Symmetry: The achievement "Sister love" requires the players to shoot a chromagic ball each and hit each other's barriers at the same time.
- Final-Exam Boss: Played straight. The final (and only) boss spawns all the enemies of the game and players need to use all their tricks in order to defeat him.
- Flying Broomstick: Averted. Abra and Cadabra spend the entire game flying or floating, but they do it on clouds, not on flying brooms. A loading text addresses this:It is said that in the past, witches used brooms instead of clouds to fly. How uncomfortable!
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling. While Abra is prudent, diligent and usually the Only Sane Man, Cadabra is closer to the Cloudcuckoolander archetype, with no clue about how basic things work (although sometimes she is really Genre Savvy). However, Abra is always willing to join Cadabra in her shenanigans and always supports her, even when she doesn't understand what is all about.Cadabra: Let's make an arbitrary scoring system and test our skills!
Abra: That really makes no sense... but sounds like fun. Let's do it!
Cadabra: I love you so much because you always support me! And I also love your face!!! - Gone Horribly Wrong: Abra and Cadabra were just trying to dye their clothes using chromagic, but they ended up unleashing the Colormageddon. Also, the subsequent attempts to fix things. The Launch Trailer summarizes this up neatly:Narrator: Abra and Cadabra only wanted to dye their clothes...
Abra: It's cheaper using magic!
Cadabra: And safer!
Narrator: Yeah, no... - The Goomba: Beutas have no special ability and spawn in almost every level. Their purpose is to be a nuisance, more than a threat. However, Abra and Cadabra still need to match their color in order to defeat them. Unless they are white.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: Aside from Abra always being on the left and Cadabra being on the right, there is no way to distinguish the Magic Twins. However, players can invoke this trope by selecting different skins and/or chromas for their avatars.
- Justified Tutorial: The first three levels of the game serve as a playable narrative opening, but also as a tutorial. The ritual in which Abra and Cadabra try to dye their clothes is playable and serves to teach players the basic controls and how to perform a Colorful Spell (under Cauldron's tutelage). The next two levels serve to introduce more complex mechanics such as the objectives of each level and the first enemies. Abra gets that information from the Emergency Chromagic Scroll (which justifies all of the game's interface windows, including the help ones).Abra: The Emergency Chromagic Scroll says: "In case of Colormageddon, complete rituals to close the rifts".
- The Lost Woods: A mild example. The fourth zone, Mushroom Grove, features giant mushrooms and its specific enemies (Tallones) are basically self-conscious pieces of the forest substrate.
- Made of Explodium: Crubllhus (the enemies from the third zone) will explode if a chromagic ball hits them, changing the color of the elementals surrounding them.
- Magic Cauldron: Obviously, Cauldron is a magical cauldron. He helps Abra and Cadabra during part of the tutorial and seems to be essential to perform several rituals. He also talks.
- Mundane Utility: Abra and Cadabra use their chromagic powers to dye her clothes with the aid of Cauldron. It goes horribly wrong and kickstarts the plot.
- One-Hit Kill: Every non-black elemental of the game dies if players hit it with its color. White elementals are vulnerable to every color. Stackies, the enemies from the fifth zone, are invulnerable until they are next to a barrier, but then, the same rules apply.
- One-Shot Character. The Great Chasm only appears in one level and it's only there for marketing exposition.
- One-Winged Angel. After being renamed "Little Potty" by Cadabra, Cauldron fuses with the last Colormageddon rift, becoming the final (and only) boss. In this form, he controls the spawn of enemies and has several abilities, including attacking Abra and Cadabra behind their barriers (something that only he can do).
- Our Witches Are Different: Abra and Cadabra fly using special clouds, not brooms. In fact, one of the loading texts lampshades this. Also, all their magic is based on color manipulation, or chromagic.Loading text: It is said that in the past, witches used brooms instead of clouds to fly. How uncomfortable!
- Palmtree Panic: The second zone, Pineapple Beach. It features palm trees, sand, fun Caribbean-style music... But they don't really affect the gameplay. The specific enemies of this zone, Crubllhus, are basically crabs affected by the Colormageddon.
- Patchwork Map: The Island of Mallorca is composed of eight visually different zones, although one is a separate isle. However, the zones are not radically different from each other, so only the separations between them seem artificial.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Abra and Cadabra are identical twins with opposite personalities. Abra is smart, scholarly and capable; while Cadabra is chaotic, wild and imaginative. However, both tend to get excited and obsessed in the same way, albeit about different things.
- Port Town: The third zone, Dinky Port. Strategically placed next to the Pineapple Beach, it features a pier and music with accordions. The boats are just for show, though.
- Rearrange the Song: The Main Theme of the game is rearranged to thematically fit every zone of the game. In that regard, while the original tune is inspired by Harry Potter and Angry Birds, the other themes include a wide variety of genres like calypso, bluegrass, jig, etc. Curiously enough, the Main Theme is only played in trailers and during the credits.
- Recurring Riff: Except for the map music, all of the game's themes include the same riff; even the victory and defeat fanfares after each level. This is the Magic Twins leitmotif, which represents not only Abra and Cadabra, but the entire game.
- The Reveal: Somehow downplayed, because he is a bad liar, but Cauldron almost at the end of the game reveals that he was evil all along and unleashed the Colormageddon. It is a little justified, as it seems that Abra and Cadabra occasionally are not gentle with him and they forgot his real name. However, his reaction is quite excessive.
- Rhyme Theme Naming: Obviously, Abra and Cadabra.
- Scoring Points: Used in the Endless Mode, which includes a leaderboard system, so players can challenge each other.
- Sibling Team: Abra and Cadabra always do everything together, and sometimes boast about how well they cooperate. This is also translated to the mechanics. If the players don't coordinate they won’t be able to progress in the game.
- Speaking Simlish: All the voices of the game are this. Except for one Cauldron's line in which he clearly says "ABRAAAAAAAA CADABRAAAAAA!!!!"
- Talking Is a Free Action: Played straightforward every time a character speaks. Lampshaded by Abra and Cadabra during the last bonus level:Abra: Something has been bugging me this whole time... What's the deal with all these elementals, Cadabra? Why aren't they attacking us?
Cadabra: Well... it's rude to attack people during conversations!
Abra: Really?
Cadabra: Yeah! Everybody knows that. We aren't attacking them either.
Abra: Oh, and we totally could... But we are well-mannered!
Cadabra: And awesome! - Theme Twin Naming: Abra and Cadabra count both as alliteration and theme.
- Twins Are Special: It's heavily implied that Abra and Cadabra are able to overcome every challenge because of this. The Shared Minds mode, in fact, is a mechanical representation of their supernatural twin bond. How effective it is depends on the players' skills.
- Upgraded Boss: After defeating Little Potty, he will ask Abra and Cadabra to spare him and promise he'll be good from now on. That seems like another joke, but it's up to the players to finish him or not. If they decide to wait, he will eventually recover and resume the battle, stronger than ever (defeating him grants an achievement). As doing nothing is counterintuitive in this game, this rematch with Little Potty also counts as an Optional Boss.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The final zone, The Witchcraft School Castle, only has one level. Guess what it contains?
- A Winner Is You: After defeating Little Potty, you get a short message that lampshades this trope. It also lets the players know if there is still content to unlock.Well... This is it. You saved the Island of Mallorca. Although you still have stuff left to unlock... Let's go watch the Credits!
- Wizarding School: The School of Witchcraft of the Island of Mallorca, an institution devoted to the teaching of chromagic. In reality, little is known about it (other than that it forbids the use of chromagic to dye clothes), due to the excuse plot of the game. It is composed of the first and final zones of the game.
- Wonder Twin Powers: The Colorful Spell. First, Abra and Cadabra need to gather elemental essences from defeated foes. Then, when they have four, they need to perform it (players need to press a button) at the same time to unleash the spells. It changes the color of all elementals on screen. The exact effect depends on which color essences they have picked.
- World of Pun: The game is full of puns, usually related to colors, magic or both.
