History VideoGame / MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory

* BadassCrew: Your team can be this when properly strengthened.

* ClassChangeLevelReset: Awakening magical girls works somewhat similar to promoting units in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', resetting units all the way to back to Lv. 1 (with appropriate stats), as well as removing the buffs from using materials (while keeping everything else). In exchange, Connect and Magia are made stronger, the level cap is raised and the stat growth is improved. As the game went on, girls initially capped at 4-stars (or lower) were given further awakenings.

* DramaticIrony: There's nothing stopping players from [[InvokedTrope invoking]] this in [=PvP=] by doing things like defeating Oriko with Madoka or [[VideogameCrueltyPotential Madoka with Homura.]] {{Downplayed}} in that the [=PvP=] opponents are mere copies of magical girls created by the Mirror Witch.

* ElementalRockPaperScissors: The game features five elemental types by which magical girls are categorized: a Flame-Aqua-Forest triangle, working similarly to the triangle found in ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'' and a Light-Dark pair, which are strong against each other. Later, a Void/Null element was added, which is [[NonElemental neutral in every relation.]]

* FanserviceCharacters: Alternate bikini-clad versions of several characters--Iroha, Homura, Kyouko, and Tsukuyo+Tsukasa (as one combined unit)--were added for [[BeachEpisode summer events]]. As for [[FanserviceCostumes main-menu costumes]], swimsuit Iroha[[labelnote:note]]Different from the unlockable swimsuit Iroha[[/labelnote]] was a reward for early adopters upon the NA version's launch. More costumes were released for the original series' Holy Quintet followed by most of the ''Magia Record'' cast.

* LuckBasedMission: Getting new characters and Memoria, as one would expect from a game of this kind. Portrayed as literally drawing cards.

* MarketBasedTitle: Some of the event names were shortened or changed for the localization, or [[BlindIdiotTranslation translated terribly]]. For example:

** BlindIdiotTranslation: "Beginning and Eternal [The Lost Record]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]The event is an adaptation of the ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' anime. "Beginning" and "Eternal" were the subtitles of the two recap movies.[[/labelnote]] was translated as "Endless Beginnings."

* PointAndClickMap: Used to navigate single-raid events and Chapter 7.

* PromotionalPowerlessPieceOfGarbage: Applies to some, but not all, event-related Memoria. "The Story That Starts Here" is the main promo card for the game as a whole, and one of the least useful, providing only a 10% head-start to charging one character's Magia[[note]]10% of the cap. A Magia Level 5 character gets a 20% head-start.[[/note]]--a rare but also very niche effect (one Accele combo gives a flat 20 boost to the whole team!). Generally averted for event variants of characters, like kimono-Mitama and [[FanserviceCharacters swimsuit-Kyouko]]; these are usually slightly better than the normal version, with the caveat that filling out their Memoria slots is much harder, since they're not available from the normal Fate Weave.

** ImpossibleItemDrop: Averted with the non-elemental materials (other than rainbow orb), as they are clearly part of a Witch/familiar they drop from.
** RareRandomDrop: Some of the materials are this due to the fact they're only on maps with low drop rates but Rainbow Orbs are by far the worst offender, dropping only from a rare enemy.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Of all people, Homura gets hit with this ''big time''. In the original series, she tries to [[CassandraTruth warn the rest of the Holy Quintet about the origin of Witches]], setting up [[spoiler: [[GroundhogDayLoop a long chain of events]] that ultimately led to her [[FaceHeelTurn usurping Madoka's position]] at the end of ''[[Anime/PuellamagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'' as a consequence]]. Here, [[PointOfDivergence she chose not to tell them about it]] and as a result, she remains the same old BespectacledCutie from the early timelines [[spoiler:even after Walpurgisnacht is destroyed]].

* HotterAndSexier: Downplayed, however Magia Record incorporates a lot more Fanservice with the magical girls than the fairly tame original show did.

* ImprobablyFemaleCast: Justified, as its a game about magical girls.

** Tart's name was changed to Darc despite ''the manga being officially released in English'' as Manga/PuellaMagiTartMagica. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Joan_of_Arc However, both Darc and Tart are alternate spellings of Joan of Arc's surname.]]

* PragmaticAdaptation: Because of the different medium and script writers, as admitted by [[WordsOfGod Inucurry]], some of the plot details are different from the game:

* ObviousBeta: The NA version at release was incredibly unstable, crashing every few story missions, during [=PvP=], and often ''on the front game screen'' at random. Furthermore, people have struggled with broken menus, inability to equip memoriae, and/or leveling up their magical girls.

** In the most basic sense, though, this is averted. The initial chapters use all-new characters, but the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Mitakihara girls]] all eventually appear and become involved in the story.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Of all people, Homura gets hit with this ''big time''. In the original series, she tries to [[CassandraTruth warn the rest of the Holy Quintet about the origin of Witches]], setting up [[spoiler: [[GroundhogDayLoop a long chain of events]] that ultimately led to her [[FaceHeelTurn usurping Madoka's position]] at the end of ''[[Anime/PuellamagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'' as a consequence]]. Here, [[ForWantOfANail she chose not to tell them about it]] and as a result, she remains the same old BespectacledCutie from the early timelines [[spoiler:even after Walpurgisnacht is destroyed]].

* SaveTheWorldClimax: In the final season, [[spoiler:Alina Gray reveals her intentions to transform ''all'' of humanity into witches by bestowing them magic after she fuses with Embryo Eve to make them share the fate of all Magical Girls]].

** In the anime finale, [[spoiler:Alina wastes no strength in using her last moments as a Magical Girl to sell the others out to Kyubey by [[NoOntologicalInertia shattering the Doppel barrier]] once she becomes a Witch to turn all humanity into Witches]].

* TakingYouWithMe: In episode 13, [[spoiler:as the Memory Museum collapses upon her, Holy Mami yanks Iroha down the same bottomless chasm she fell in]].

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Since there is no official translation, fan translators can...disagree on some things.
** There's a Memoria that can be translated either as "Magical Girls Who Define Causality" or "Magical Girls Who Weave Their Fate With Madoka". This is the result of a pun with Madoka's name.
** The horse Rumor's name stumped many fan-translators. The sticking point was the word "Machibito" which means either a person who is waiting, or the person being waited for. One wiki decided to just translate it as "Rumor of the [[TooLongDidntDub Machibito]] Horse", another called it the "Rumor of the Awaiters' Horse", and one fan translator decided to abandon a literal translation and called it the "Sweetheart's Steed Rumor". The official localization settles with Commoner's Horse.

** Futatsugi City, Promised Blood's home city, is presented as a lawless (for Magical Girls) place where gangs of Magical Girls frequently fight and kill each other for territory, much like Mami's description of how most Magical Girls behave. Their city is also empty of Incubators, not because of [[spoiler:a barrier keeping them out]] like in Kamihama but because when a Magical Girl witnessed another Magical Girl turning into a Witch, it spiraled into a wholesale massacre of Incubators until they abandoned the city.

** [[spoiler: Walpurgisnacht too. Unlike in the original series, where she's presented as an InvincibleVillain that only Madoka can slay, this Walpurgisnacht ''can'' be slain by the combined efforts of every Magical Girl available (from Kamihama or otherwise), albeit with some empowerment from Madoka. Though this is downplayed at the same time because Walpurgisnacht is ''still'' as powerful as ever.]]

** In the game, the Connect is just a gameplay mechanic. In the anime, the Connect is described as a magic latent to the magical girl's general powerset, but often buried for reasons. A Coordinator session brings this power out so those who have been adjusted can easily use it.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: By the end [[spoiler: Ui, Touka, Nemu, and Kuroe are all dead, meaning Iroha didn't manage to save any of her old friends. Madoka also died offscreen, as shown by Homura leaving for another timeline(which leaves little hope for Sayaka, Kyouko, and Mami]]. The worst part, which really leaves in ending in ShootTheShaggyDog territory is that [[spoiler: with all the Magius dead, there is no Doppler system, and magical girls will have to go back to their old life of fighting over Grief Seeds to extend their short lifespans.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: After several months of being separated from everyone, The Puella Historia arc ends with Iroha and Ui being allowed to remain separate and to return home, much to their and their friends’ joy.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The end of Arc 2. The civil war ends with minimal causalities, Alina making a HeelFaceTurn and Mikoto and Chizuru deciding to believe in Iroha, joining with her. However, Iroha, just like Madoka before her, ascends to a higher plane of existence to restore all of Uwasa-turned girls and to complete the Doppel system that would ensure that magical girls the world over will never be able to become witches ever again, taking Ui, Touka, and Nemu with her, causing everyone but the Magical Girls to lose all memory of them. Despite that, all the girls no longer have to worry about becoming Witches and are moving forward in their lives.]]

*** [[spoiler: Ui’s body was too far gone to be saved since she mutated into Embryo Eve, and Lil’Kyubey (who contains her soul) ends up dying in a kamikaze attack alongside Touka and Nemu, meaning Iroha has lost her beloved sister for good.]]
*** [[spoiler: Since Ui, Touka and Nemu are dead, the Doppel system is gone as well, forcing the girls to go back to hunting for Grief Seeds. However, it’s not entirely a bad thing, as there is no more risk of any Puella Magi becoming addicted to using their Doppels and then contracting Doppel Syndrome due to overusing them as a result.]]
*** [[spoiler: Due to the girls now being vulnerable to having their Soul Gems become fully corrupted and becoming witches permanently, it is likely that they will eventually be taken away by Ultimate Madoka at some point, never to be seen by their friends and loved ones again. However, Ultimate Madoka would ensure that the girls will not become witches, giving them peaceful deaths instead.]]
*** [[spoiler: Momoko and Mifuyu sacrifice themselves to restore the Doppelized girls, overloading themselves with the corruption from the other girls to the point where their Soul Gems shatter.]]
*** [[spoiler: Kuroe ends up rejecting Iroha’s help when she finds her, and her Doppel takes her outside of Alina’s barrier, causing the girl to witch out and Iroha has to put her down.]]
*** [[spoiler: And since Walpurgisnacht is never fought in the anime, with the Holy Quintet returning to Mitakihara, four of them died fighting the Witch offscreen, forcing Homura to travel back in time.]]

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Alluded in the final episode. The Magical Girls speak out on how nobody will be aware of the struggles, loss, and hardships they had and will continue to endure. [[spoiler:Something that Ultimate Madoka makes sure their tales are written in the [[TitleDrop Magia Record]]]].

** The Chelation Land, [[spoiler:and by extension Holy Mami and Uwasa Tsuruno]], is immune to Homura's timestop because the entire theme park is an Uwasa; Homura walking on the Uwasa's ground counts as touching it, thus the Uwasa isn't affected by her magic.

** The Chelation Land, [[spoiler:and by proxy Uwasa Tsuruno]], is immune to Homura's timestop because the entire theme park is an Uwasa; Homura walking on the Uwasa's ground counts as touching it, thus the Uwasa isn't affected by her magic.