to catch on to." One of the magazine's writers, Ed Semrad, appreciated its challenge level and referred to it as the next "decent quest game" following Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Critics have addressed the game's similarities to other action-adventure titles and turn-based RPGs, as well as its blending of the two genres. Several compared the game's top-down adventure aesthetic and interface to The Legend of Zelda. DeMaria recognized the two games' resemblance, but noted The Magic of Scheherazade as being much more linear. Hardcore Gaming 101s Michael Ayala contrasted the time travel aspect with A Link to the Past and its turn-based battles with those of Dragon Quest. However, he admitted both features felt unpolished in The Magic of Scheherazade but proclaimed the soundtrack as "excellent" aside from one "incredibly grating" theme heard in rare instances in battle. Destructoid contributor Colette Bennett praised the music and found the Middle East-inspired setting unique amid medieval-themed RPGs of its release period. Andrew Vestal of GameSpot comically described the game as a result of two development groups feuding over whether to create an action RPG or a turn-based RPG. He credited the game as being one of the first RPGs to introduce team attacks, in which two party members could join forces to perform extra-powerful magic. Video game journalist and Retronauts writer Jeremy Parish vaguely described the game in 2017 as "innovative and memorable," even declaring it to be Culture Brain's "crown jewel" when mentioning its conspicuous absence from Nintendo's Virtual Console service. Legacy A sequel to The Magic of Scheherazade was first listed by Nintendo for a future 1990 release for the NES in that year's official buyers guide for World of Nintendo retail boutiques. The sequel was further noted by GamePro in the magazine's September 1990 issue for its coverage of the Summer CES. Nintendo Power also mentioned it in its November/December 1990 issue. At the Winter CES in January 1992, GamePro reported that an SNES game titled Golden Empire was officially announced by Culture Brain as a follow-up to The Magic of Scheherazade. One year later, GamePro published a similar tidbit from an article about the 1993 Winter CES, where the game was then titled Golden Empire: The Legend of Scheherazade. Gaming retail chain Chips & Bits continuously advertised Golden Empire under its SNES role-playing section in US magazine catalogs throughout the early to mid-1990s. As late as