History VideoGame / MadouMonogatari

In 1998, Compile sold the rights to ''Puyo Puyo'' to Creator/{{Sega}} in what was thought to be a temporary measure to get out of financial trouble. This included all of the characters and much of the music in ''Madou Monogatari'', but ''not'' the series itself. Ultimately Compile failed and went under, leading to the rights to ''Madou Monogatari'' finding their way to D4 Enterprise. D4 and Sega have worked together more than once for re-releases of previous ''Madou Monogatari'' games, but the only new console or handheld entry since Compile's closure is ''Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God'', a game created by Compile's successor company Creator/CompileHeart that features none of the original characters.

Most ''Madou Monogatari'' games are first-person dungeon crawlers whose most distinguishing gameplay trait is [[VagueHitPoints the near-complete lack of numerical stats]]: health, attack damage, and the amount of magical power the character has remaining are inferred through text cues and by reading the portrait of the player character, who becomes increasingly distraught as their endurance wears down. The games did experiment with other [=RPG=] formats, however, including some with normal stats.

* VagueHitPoints: Your ''only'' numerical value is how much money you have. How much HP and MP you have is based on the text descriptions the game prints out during battles, such as "I feel great!", and "I have plenty of magic!".

* YouCanTalk: Occurs in Saturn Madou, once Arle and her party encounter Nomi the flea. After initially having some difficulty in trying to pinpoint where a high-pitched voice is coming from, they're left in shock at seeing Nomi berating them for their inability to notice him at first.

* VagueHitPoints: Your ''only'' numerical value is how much money you have. How much HP and MP you have is based on the text descriptions the game prints out during battles, such as "I feel great!", and "I have plenty of magic!".

* RareCandy: Golden Apples in the ''Madou'' games give you an instant level up. Some are in chests, others...are in weirder places. [[spoiler:In ''Final Test'', you have to run straight into a wall to find one!]]

Most ''Madou Monogatari'' games are first-person dungeon crawlers whose most distinguishing gameplay trait is the near-complete lack of numerical stats: health, attack damage, and the amount of magical power the character has remaining are inferred through text cues and by reading the portrait of the player character, who becomes increasingly distraught as their endurance wears down. The games did experiment with other [=RPG=] formats, however, including some with normal stats.

* OffModel: Several of the Disc Station games, likely due to the fact that they were regular releases in a disk magazine and thus presumably had little time or budget dedicated to them. Notorious examples include ''[[http://i.imgur.com/U6CjAYb.png Madou Monogatari: The Final Test]]'' for Windows and the two ''[[http://i.imgur.com/tYS0jbI.png Daimadou Senryaku Monogatari]]'' games for PC-98.

* CallAHitPointASmeerp: ''Madou Monogatari: Big Kindergarten Kids'' switches out the common gold currency for ''cookies''.

* BloodierAndGorier: Quite possibly the most jarring example of this trope ever. Compared to the lighthearted and cutesy ''Puyo Puyo'' games, whose cartoon violence is extremely tame on the rare occasions it's even present, the PC-98 versions of ''Madou Monogatari'' occasionally feature [[http://okiraku06.lolipop.jp/gazo/madou-2-10.bmp graphic]] [[http://puyonexus.com/mediawiki/images/2/26/Dullahammadou2.png decapitations]].

* EverythingIsBetterWithPenguins: A small legion of cute blue penguins is led by Mrs. Eve. Eve herself is penguin-themed as well.

* ShowsDamage: The portrait in ''Madou Monogatari'' is a visual indication of how much HP you have, looking more worried (or about to keel over even) as stamina declines. Enemies will also look beat up as they take damage. For ''Big Kindergarten Kids'', Arle's movements in battle scenes will look more labored depending on her HP.

* HurricaneOfPuns: Floor 2F in ''Tower of the Magician'' utilizes one involving "アイ"[[note]]"Ai"[[/note]] as part of a puzzle. All over the floor, Schezo could find Ice Cream[[note]]'''アイ'''スクリーム, Aisu kuri-mu[[/note]], Eyeshadow[[note]]'''アイ'''シャドウ, Ai shadou[[/note]], a card with the letter "i"[[note]]The letter "I" is a homophone.[[/note]], and an Iron[[note]]''アイ''アン, Aiarn[[/note]]. [[spoiler:None of those are the answer. You're supposed to cast Ice Storm[[note]]'''アイ'''スストーム, Aisu suto-mu[[/note]] at the door.]] Behind the door is the Master Key[[note]]合鍵, '''あい'''かぎ, aikagi[[/note]], and it opens a door to Incubus, who has a Present of Love[[note]]愛, or '''あい'''[[/note]]. When Schezo takes in Tenori Zoh, he calls him his partner[[note]]相棒, '''あい'''ぼう, aibou[[/note]].

* MoodWhiplash: While it's [[AdultFear terrifying]] to watch 4-year-old Arle get lost in a dark forest in ''ARS'', the first song that plays when you start the actual game is the [[SoundtrackDissonance upbeat, triumphant]] "Fiend Empire".

** ''Madou Monogatari I'' for Mega Drive features a subversion; two unique enemies appear in this version: the hot blooded swordsman Billy Burn and the penguin queen Mrs. Eve. As it happens, both are related to characters from Compile’s platformer series ''JUMP HERO'', with Billy Burn being the brother of series’ protagonist Billy de Babine[[note]]Despite seemingly sharing the same first name, Billy Burn is merely a pseudonym used for his ''Madou Monogatari'' appearance. In actuality, he’s named Barry de Babine.[[/note]], and Mrs. Eve being the mother of Prince Ivan the penguin. The two would show up later in ''JUMP HERO Gaiden'', making their appearances in Madou Monogatari I something of an EarlyBirdCameo.

* CompanyCrossReferences: ''Madou Monogatari ARS'' features cameos from characters from other Compile games, including ''Samurai King Megason Z'', ''Seirei Senshi Spriggan'', and most notably ''VideoGame/MadoushiLulba'', either acting as enemies or as [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]].

[[caption-width-right:250:Before [[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo they became puzzle game characters]].]]

* VoodooShark: The ''Madou Monogatari Chronology'', which was originally billed as the end-all ''Madou Monogatari'' timeline, doesn't even choose a canon version of ''1-2-3'' (or, in 1's case, ''Hanamaru Dai Youchienji'' or the Mega Drive / PC-Engine ports), some of which offer radically different takes on their respective plots. The closest thing to clarification is that, judging by the descriptions of the unused ''Saturn'' stories, one of the versions of ''Madou Monogatari I'' featuring Fudoushi is likely canon.

** ''Madou Monogatari 1-2-3'': A first-person RPG consisting of three separate stories: Arle Nadja's graduation from kindergarten, the battles against Schezo Wegey and Satan, and finally the encounter with Rulue and her bodyguard Minotauros. Initially released on the [[UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} MSX2]], it received a DarkerAndEdgier port on the NEC PC-9801 before being sold individually on the Game Gear. ''Madou Monogatari I'' received remakes on the PC-Engine CD and the Mega Drive, the latter notably being the final licensed Japanese Mega Drive game.
** ''Madou Monogatari A-R-S'': A prequel released on PC-98 consisting of three separate stories: '''A'''rle's very first adventure, '''R'''ulue's introduction to Satan, and '''S'''chezo's ascension to the title of Dark Wizard. Arle's story received a Game Gear port, ''Madou Monogatari A: Dokidoki Vaca~tion'' (Fan-translated as "Sorcery Saga A: Vivacious Vacation").
** ''Madou Monogatari: Hanamaru Dai Youchienji'' (Fan-translated as ''Madou Monogatari: Big Kindergarten Kids''): A very loose reimagining of ''Madou Monogatari I'' for Super Famicom. Arle has to find eight magical stones, spread in various locations, before she can take her kindergarten final exam. Uses more traditional RPG maps, but retains the original games' lack of numerical stats.
** ''Madou Monogatari'' (commonly referred to as ''Saturn Madou'' or simply ''Saturn''): A traditional RPG for the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, involving the ARS trio, Lagnus Bishasi, and the villainous Yogs.
** ''Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God'' (''Sei Madou Monogatari'' in Japan): A {{Roguelike}} created by Compile Heart for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, featuring {{Captain Ersatz}}es of the Compile-era cast. It was localized by Aksys, with this localized version later being ported to UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} by Ghostlight.

** ''Madou Monogatari Episode II Carbuncle'': A prototype version of the second game in ''Madou Monogatari 1-2-3'', released in MSX Disc Station's Christmas '89 special edition.
** ''Madou Monogatari: Michikusa Ibun'' (roughly ''Sorcery Saga: Strange Wayside Story''): A dungeon crawler in the style of ''1-2-3'' and ''A-R-S'' for PC-98. [[CanonWelding It is essentially a playable version of the first arcade Puyo Puyo's backstory.]]
** ''Bayoeen Wars: Daimadou Senryaku Monogatari'', ''[[UpdatedRerelease Daimadou Senryaku Monogatari '95]]'': Hexagonal-grid TurnBasedStrategy games for PC-98, where Arle and her familiar enemies summon monsters to aid them in combat.
** ''Madou Monogatari: Hachamecha Kimatsu Shiken'' (roughly ''Sorcery Saga: Chaotic Final Exam'', often abbreviated to "Final Exam" or "The Final Test"): A first-person dungeon crawler, in the style of ''1-2-3'' and ''A-R-S'', for Windows 95. Arle is taking her school's final exam, but during her test of skills, she sticks her nose into ruins that hides ancient history...
** ''Madou Monogatari: Madoushi no Tou'' (''Sorcery Saga: Tower of the Magician''): A first-person dungeon crawler for Windows 95 starring Schezo Wegey and Witch, with Schezo trying to find [[HeroOfAnotherStory former world savior]] Wish in order to steal her power for himself.

** ''Madou Monogatari: Hachamecha Kimatsu Shiken'' (roughly ''Sorcery Saga: Chaotic Final Exam'', often abbreviated to "Final Exam" or "The Final Test"): A first-person dungeon crawler, in the style of ''1-2-3'' and ''A-R-S'', for Windows 95.

* RecurringBoss: PlayedWith in the Game Gear version of ''Madou Monogatari II''. In it, you face Schezo several times...however, each new encounter ends up ''easier'' than the previous one due to him getting increasingly tired.

** ''Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God'' (''Sei Madou Monogatari'' in Japan, with ''Holy Sorcery Story'' as a previous WorkingTitle): A {{Roguelike}} created by Compile Heart for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, featuring {{Captain Ersatz}}es of the Compile-era cast. It was localized by Aksys, with this localized version later being ported to UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} by Ghostlight.