The Magic Candle is one of those rare CRPGs, along with Ultima 5, Betrayal at Krondor and Baldur's Gate 2, that does everything right. From background story, NPC interaction, puzzles, exploration and combat, Magic Candle does it all well, and the end product is a well rounded, solid CRPG.
The background story is a variation of the tired old "evil demon/mage/warlord is threatening to conquer all the world and only YOU can stop him" story, but the twist is that in this game the evil demon starts imprisoned in a Magic Candle, but the candle is melting, and the object of the game is to prevent the candle from melting down, and prevent the demon from escaping and wreaking havoc. There is a time limit, which is different based on the difficulty setting you choose.
So time is of essence in Magic Candle - literally. The logistics of time management is one of the things that sets Magic Candle apart from so many other CRPGs. Everything takes time, from traveling to memorizing spells, working for money and training skills. So while on a ship voyage that takes three days, your spell casters can memorize lots of spells, for example.
Which brings us to another novel thing in Magic Candle - the splitting of the party. It's possible to have some characters exploring a dungeon, while one character is making money in a city in another part of the world and yet another character is memorizing spells at an inn in a different town. Usually you'll want all you characters present in dungeons, though, but when exploring a city, it can be a good idea to have one character (preferably one with high charisma) do the exploring, while others make money, rest, train or memorize spells. The party splitting is also important in order to solve some of the problems in the game.
Magic Candle looks like an old Ultima game, where you control a party or a character on a top down map. There are several types of maps - the overland map, the castle and town maps, and the dungeon maps. Combat either takes place directly on the dungeon map, or it switches to a combat map if on the overland. The combat system is among the better turn based systems. It's not very complex, but has many unique features, like different kind of mushrooms you can eat to get various combat bonuses, the ability to side step attacks (if not blocked on the sides), and the ability to hit several rows of enemies with one arrow. It's quite simple, but also quite tactical and fun. The monsters are a mix of generic types like orcs and trolls, and original, exotic ones like hraffels, zorlims and bargs.
An important part of the game is talking to NPCs to piece together the big puzzle that is how to stop the Magic Candle from burning down. Lots and lots of note taking (or screen capping) is needed. The NPCs also have schedules like in Ultima 5-7, and finding them can sometimes be a challenge in itself. Some of them won't even leave their houses and you have to knock on their doors, but they won't open unless you adress them by their names.
Speaking of names, you can't name your own characters, but have to chose from around 30 NPCs to join your party. You take the role of Lukas, a young Ranger, and can recruit up to five companions, from five different races and nine different professions, who have different strengths and weaknesses. Most of them reappear in Magic Candle 2, and you can transfer from MC1 those who reappear in MC2, thus being able to recruit more powerful versions of them in MC2.
The characters have most of the traditional CRPG stats and skills, but also some rare ones like hunting and armourer, to unique ones like gem cutting, tailoring and carpentry. There are no XP or levels; stats and skills increase through various methods, from practice and training to more adventurous ones, and various characters have different aptitude in various stats and skills. The charisma stat is very important; without high charisma many NPCs won't even talk to you.
Magic Candle feels more like a simulation than most CRPGs do. You need lots of items to survive in the wilderness, like food, arrows, ropes, and many special items that are useful in dungeons. There is also a day and night cycle, need to sleep and rest, and need to repair weapons and armour. Shops open and close, and ships leave on certain days. If you like logistics you'll like Magic Candle.
If there are any negative things I can say about Magic Candle it's that the weapons and armour selection is rather sparse and there are no random drops, and maybe that the game is a bit too long, with too much combat towards the end. Skills and stats maxing before the end and no random loot, makes combat too much of a chore in the end.
Speaking of the end, Magic Candle has one of the most unique ways of winning a CRPG.
What do you want to change bro? It's no big deal.
