The Magic Candle II: The Four and Forty

Gameplay

The game is notable for having a number of skills characters could train in to improve their effectiveness, including common role-playing game skills like "sword" and "magic", and less common skills, such as "music" and "carpentry".

The game is also notable for its magic system, which is similar to that of the seminal role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons: a magic-using character can study spells while camping at night, in order to be able to cast them the next day.

Reception

Computer Gaming World's Scorpia stated in 1992 that "Magic Candle II is an uneven sequel ... many improvements have been made, and some good touches added [but] not all those improvements have been properly implemented and, with the excessive combat, makes the game irritating at times". The magazine concluded that the game was "still several cuts above the typical CRPG" and stated that fans of the first game would enjoy it. Stefan Petrucha wrote that year that "on a technical basis, MC2 doesn't fare well at all" compared to the Ultima series, describing the graphics as "archaic". He called NPC management "cumbersome" and the built-in notes "either uselessly massive" or "fail to record important data". He nonetheless called the story "a resounding success ... eccentric and fun", and recommended the game "to whom a CRPG means story, quirky characters and plenty of atmosphere". Scorpia in 1993 stated that while better than other CRPGs, Magic Candle II "isn't quite up to its predecessor".