Magmar - Reception

Reception

Since appearing in Red and Blue, Magmar has received generally mixed reception. GamesRadar described Magmar and Jynx as the Romeo and Juliet of Pokémon. They also named it on their list of fugly Pokémon, noting that its forehead resembles a butt. GamesRadar's Carolyn Gudmundson included Magmar in her list of "the most overused Pokémon designs" as an example of a Pokémon that has "duck-like features" and wrote "Oh Magmar, what are we going to do with you?". Author Loredana Lipperini described Magmar as resembling a duck. The Escapist's John Funk commented that while the Pokémon in Pokémon Black and White look weird, Red and Blue had weird Pokémon too, citing Magmar as well as Jynx and Lickitung.

IGN criticized Magmar as being weaker than its counterpart Electabuzz, and much weaker than fellow Fire type Arcanine. However, they noted that it still has its advantages. IGN's Jack DeVries used the headline "These ladies are hotter than a Magmar!" in his article on female Pokémon characters. Official Nintendo Magazine's readers named Magmar the eighth best Fire type Pokémon; ONM editor wrote that it was a "cross between a mythical Salamander and a duck" and "an awesome Pokémon". Destructoid's Jim Sterling included Magmar in his list of 30 "rubbish Pokémon" in Pokémon Red and Blue. He cited its "convoluted" design and that it "doesn't look even slightly decent". He also wrote that its appearance made it look like it had Down's syndrome and that its head resembles a butt. In another article, Sterling cited Magmar as an example of Blue's inferior selection of Pokémon compared to Red.