Line #50 VideoGame/MadouMonogatari


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madou123pc98cover_0.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320:[[MorePopularSpinoff Before]] they became [[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo puzzle game characters]].]]
3	''Madou Monogatari'' is a RolePlayingGame series originally created by Creator/{{Compile}}. First appearing on the Platform/{{MSX}}, most entries follow a young mage-in-training named Arle Nadja, and chronicle her adventures in a world filled with colorful characters and monsters -- everything from a fish with human arms and legs to the [[{{Satan}} Prince of Hell himself]] is here. The cast of these games was later used to create a puzzle game by the name of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' which [[MorePopularSpinoff went on to become infinitely more popular than its parent series]].
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5	Most ''Madou Monogatari'' games are first-person dungeon crawlers whose most distinguishing gameplay trait is [[VagueStatValues 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.
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7	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. That said, Compile Heart [[https://www.famitsu.com/news/202310/05319425.html announced in an October 2023 interview]] that a ''Madou Monogatari 4'' is in development by Sting Entertainment, with Sega onboard to allow the original cast to return.
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9	Retail games in the series include:
10	* ''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 [[Platform/{{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.
11	* ''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").
12	* ''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.
13	* ''Madou Monogatari'' (commonly referred to as ''Saturn Madou'' or simply ''Saturn''): A traditional RPG for the Platform/SegaSaturn, involving the ARS trio, Lagnus Bishasi, and the villainous Yogs.
14	* ''Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God'' (''Sei Madou Monogatari'' in Japan): A {{Roguelike}} created by Compile Heart for the Platform/PlaystationVita, featuring {{Captain Ersatz}}es of the Compile-era cast. It was localized by Aksys, with this localized version later being ported to Platform/{{Steam}} by Ghostlight.
15	* ''Madou Monogatari 4'': An upcoming title announced by Compile Heart in collaboration with rights holders D4 Entertainment and {{Creator/Sega}} and developed by Creator/StingEntertainment.
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17	Smaller games included in Compile's disk magazine "Disc Station" include:
18	* ''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.
19	* ''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.]]
20	* ''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.
21	* ''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...
22	* ''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.
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24	Riding on ''Puyo Puyo''[='=]s success, Compile also created several side novels for ''Madou Monogatari''. Perhaps the most famous of these is ''Shin Madou Monogatari'', built based on a rejected story outline for the Sega Saturn ''Madou Monogatari''; the first volume contains the "Madou Monogatari Chronology", a unified timeline for the ''Madou Monogatari'' and ''Puyo Puyo'' series with [[SchrodingersCanon questionable canoncity]].
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26	!! Tropes that appear in the ''Madou Monogatari'' series:
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28	* AbortedArc: The ''Shin Madou Monogatari'' timeline featured many, many unreleased names of games and novels. ''Shin Madou Monogatari'' itself was supposed to receive a second part, but by the time the first part completed in 2001, Compile was on death's door.
29	* ActionizedSequel: Or in ''Madou Monogatari I'''s case, Actionized Remake. In a departure from the turn-based menu combat it's known for, the Mega Drive version features real-time battle encounters where Arle can jump, crouch, and even defend against enemy attacks. All of her spells are bound to a button command performed on the D-Pad while holding the A button, such as pressing "down, left, up, right" to cast Ice Storm. Because the battles play in real time, skilled players can rapidly churn out spells and possibly defeat enemies before they could even touch Arle.
30	* AdaptationAmalgamation: The Game Gear ports of ''Madou Monogatari 1-2-3'' combine the general look of the original MSX version of ''1-2-3'' with elements introduced in the PC-98 port.
31	* AntagonistTitle: The Game Gear port of ''Madou Monogatari III'' is called ''Madou Monogatari III: Kyuukyoku Joou-sama'', with ''Kyuukyoku Joou-sama'' translating to "Ultimate Queen." The "ultimate queen" in question is Rulue.
32	* ArtShift: The PC-98 versions feature realistically-proportioned characters, unlike the superdeformed style of the other versions.
33	* AwesomeButImpractical: Jugem the Mega Drive version of ''Madou Monogatari I'' is guaranteed to get you a KO, but there's three stipulations regarding it. One, its command input is a difficult 450 degree rotation; two, its magic cost is quite steep; and lastly, its success rate is ''pitiful''. Sure, being able to pull it off results in immediate destruction, but you'll be better off slinging your basic Fire and Ice Storm spells rapidly within the same timeframe for more consistent results.
34	* BloodierAndGorier: A very jarring example when taking its [[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo spinoff series]] into account. There is not a chance in hell a ''Puyo Puyo'' game would ever depict [[http://okiraku06.lolipop.jp/gazo/madou-2-10.bmp bloody]] [[http://puyonexus.com/mediawiki/images/2/26/Dullahammadou2.png decapitations]].
35	* BossCorridor: The chamber leading to the final battle with the Dark Prince in ''Madou Monogatari II''; it is a Carbuncle-shaped one at that!
36	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: In ''Saturn Madou'', many characters fall under mind control via mysterious plants planted by the Yogs. After defeating a mind-controlled victim, Carbuncle uses the laser beam from his gem to destroy the plant, snapping them out of their trance.
37	* BreathWeapon: In ''Madou Monogatari I'' for Mega Drive, one of Mrs. Eve’s attacks is to summon a large penguin that fires a huge laser from its mouth.
38	* CallBack: ''Sorcery Saga'' has a cross-continuity example. Its tutorial sees heroine Pupuru climbing a tower in order to retrieve an orb that will guarantee her graduation from magic school. This is almost identical to the plot of ''Madou Monogatari I'', where Arle climbs a tower in order to retrieve three magic orbs that will guarantee her graduation from kindergarten, down to how they both qualify for the tower climb: they left it to a pencil roll to decide their answers. The difference is that [[spoiler:Arle passes, while Pupuru fails]].
39	* CanonImmigrant: Serilly and Ragnus, characters from ''Puyo Puyo Tsu'' and ''Puyo Puyo Sun'' respectively, were introduced in later ''Madou Monogatari'' games, Ragnus in particular having a major part in both the Saturn ''Madou Monogatari'' and in the ''Shin Madou Monogatari'' novels.
40	* CanonWelding: Several attempts are made, to connect ''Madou Monogatari'' and ''Puyo Puyo'', which only serve to make the SchrodingersCanon situation even more murky.
41	** ''Madou Monogatari: Michikusa Ibun'' is more-or-less a playable version of the 1992 ''Puyo Puyo's'' backstory.
42	** The Kadokawa light novels start as sequels to ''1-2-3'' and eventually adapt parts of Puyo Puyo games, namely ''Rulue no Tetsuwan Hanjouki'' and ''Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon''.
43	** The ''Shin Madou Monogatari'' light novels, particularly the ''Madou Monogatari Chronology'', infamously attempts to weld the vast majority of ''Madou Monogatari'' and ''Puyo Puyo'' together via a centuries-long battle between Arle and the Creator, leading to the destruction of the ''Madou''-verse and subsequent recreation by the Dark Prince into the ''Puyo''-verse.
44	** [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] once 2002 came and the two series were divorced from each other; ''Puyo Puyo'' underwent a SoftReboot while ''Madou Monogatari'' was forced to [[InNameOnly throw out everything except its name]].
45	* CompanyCrossReferences: The series features a few appearances from characters hailing from other Compile titles.
46	** In ''Madou Monogatari II''’s MSX version, Owlbear from ''VideoGame/MadoushiLulba'' (an adventure game by Compile with a similar theme to the ''Madou'' series) appears as a common enemy. He’d soon start appearing in other ''Madou'' games, most notably ''Madou Monogatari A'' as a recurring boss, where he’d carry over his telepathic abilities and fierce demeanor.
47	** ''Madou Monogatari ARS'' features cameos from characters from other Compile games, including ''Samurai King Megason Z'', ''Seirei Senshi Spriggan'', and even more characters from ''Madoushi Lulba'', either acting as enemies or as [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]].
48	** ''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 in ''JUMP HERO Gaiden'' a few months later as their first proper appearances in that series, making their debuts in ''Madou Monogatari I'' something of a ProductionForeshadowing.
49	* CompilationRerelease: By the hand of D4, ''Madou Monogatari Ultimate Collection'', a set of limited-run PC ports of the original Madou games, coming in four volumes.
50	* CuteSlimeMook: Puyo Puyo, eventually renamed Puyo in their [[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo namesake series]], are adorable entry-level slime monsters that wear exaggerated facial expressions.
51	* DarkerAndEdgier: The PC-98 port of ''1-2-3'' is this compared to the original, eschewing the light-hearted and cutesy aesthetic in favor of a gritty, realistic one (the battle sprites normally display a SuperDeformed look - the PC-98 port replaces it with realistically proportioned ones) and turning monster-type enemies into actual monsters (i.e. Harpy being drawn like her namesake instead of an angel). The port is also infamous for being much more violent than the original, as it features blood, on-screen decapitations, and applying fatalities on certain monsters with the right spells.
52	* DistantReactionShot: If Arle's lucky to get [[OneHitKill Jugem]] to successfully proc in the Mega Drive version of ''Madou Monogatari I'', then the game will show a short cutscene of a massive explosive beam shooting into the sky or out from the tower.
53	* DistractedByTheSexy: [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]] in ''Madou Monogatari II'', where the sixteen-year old protagonist Arle is captured very early on in the game. She uses her sex appeal to snag the key to her cell from some demon guards and escape.
54	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Neither Arle nor Schezo have names in the MSX version of ''1-2-3''; they received their names for the PC-98 version.
55	* EasterEgg: As ''Madou Monogatari Saturn'' is a CD, you can stick it into a CD player to try and play it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbgRxvNIwEo You end up getting scolded by Arle for being reckless with technology.]]
56	* EscapeSequence: After defeating the final boss at the top of the tower in the Megadrive version of ''Madou Monogatari I'', a self-destruct sequence is mysteriously invoked in the basement. You have five minutes to get out, and there's a couple of hallways that will send you in circles to waste your time.
57	* HereWeGoAgain: Arle and Rulue, despite coming out of the dungeon alive in ''Chaotic Final Exam'', end up getting sent to another one as a make-up exam, and for beating up the Masked Headmaster (actually the Dark Prince), mid-exam. It was just a farce, though, as he already marked a passing grade for the both of them.
58	* 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, Aishadou[[/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]].
59	* InNameOnly: ''Sei Madou Monogatari'' (''Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God'') is a legally-necessitated example, as Compile Heart had none of the rights to the original cast of characters.[[note]]Notably, none of the original ''Madou Monogatari'' have used the ''Sorcery Saga'' title, although it's more or less a straight translation.[[/note]]
60	* InventoryManagementPuzzle: Game Gear ''Madou Monogatari'' games only limited you to nine item slots per bag. You would have to discard an item if you found another and want to keep it.
61	* IsometricProjection: Though ''Saturn Madou'' starts out in traditional RPG perspective, the game after the prologue plays out in this fashion.
62	* TheLastTitle: ''Madou Monogatari: The Final Test''.
63	* LostInTranslation: There are technically two separate novel series called ''Shin Madou Monogatari'': One series created by Tsuyoshi Yamamoto (released under Kadokawa) focusing around Arle, Rulue, and Schezo (with the second and third parts serving as a sequel to the original ''Madou Monogatari'' light novels and the second part doubling as a sequel to ''Rulue no Tetsuwan Hanjouki''), and the other series being the infamous CanonWelding novels from Kenji Oda (released under Famitsu Bunko). The former series uses the kanji for "New"（新）, while the latter series uses the kanji for "True"（真）, both of which are pronounced ''Shin''. The fandom uses ''New Madou Monogatari'' and ''Shin Madou Monogatari'' for the Kadokawa and Famitsu novels, respectively.
64	* MarketBasedTitle: "Madou Monogatari" was turned into "Sorcery Saga" when ''Sei Madou Monogatari'' was localized.
65	* MoodWhiplash: While it's 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".
66	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: According to the ''Madou Monogatari Chronology'', the Dark Prince created fake replicas of every resident of the Madou-verse that can never age (or even think about growing up), following the Final Ragnarok (the war between Arle and The Creator of the Madou world), which killed everyone who resided in said world.
67	* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: Zigzagged with ''Madou Monogatari 1-2-3'', which is three games in one...that were later sold separately on the Game Gear. (Granted, the Game Gear version of ''II'' and especially ''III'' modify many plot details and feature exclusive enemies.) It appeared that ''Madou Monogatari ARS'', which is also a 3-in-1 package, was going to receive similar treatment; however, only the A(rle) portion actually saw a separate release.
68	* OneSteveLimit: Averted franchise-wide for "Lucifer". In the Kadokawa light novel continuity, Lucifer is Arle's teacher. However, in the ''Madou Monogatari Chronology'' continuity, Lucifer is a previous name for the Dark Prince.
69	* PsychoticLoveTriangle: In the Game Gear ''Madou Monogatari II'', Schezo comes to Arle's aid when she confronts Dark Prince and they ask her to pick between the two. [[spoiler:If she picks either of them, Dark Prince will beat Schezo. If she picks neither, [[VillainTeamUp Schezo will take her power and Dark Prince will take her soul]], [[NonStandardGameOver resulting in a game over]]]].
70	* RareCandy: Golden Apples 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!]]
71	* RecurringBoss: {{Parodied\|Trope}} 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. One encounter is even delayed, because he faints on the spot from exhaustion before catching up to actually engage in battle.
72	* RecycledTitle: Subverted with ''Madou Monogatari'' for the Sega Saturn. There were many ''Madou Monogatari'' games up to that point, but there was never a game named "Madou Monogatari" without any kind of suffix. Regardless, the fandom referred to the game as Mado'''h''' Monogatari for years in an attempt to differentiate the specific game from the series as a whole.
73	* RuleOfCool: Very first games in the offical series? You're fighting ''demons!'' As a '''''six'''''''-year old girl!'' Or even better, fighting monsters as a '''''four''''' years old in Madou Monogatari ARS: Side “A” (Arle’s story)!
74	* SchrodingersCanon: Not only does the ''Madou Monogatari Chronology'' located within ''Shin Madou Monogatari'' serve as the only bridge between ''Madou Monogatari'' and ''Puyo Puyo'', it is just about the only thing keeping ''Madou Monogatari'' itself from landing somewhere between BroadStrokes and full-on NegativeContinuity. The contradictory usage of the ''Chronology'' by Compile just muddies things even further.
75	* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Ultimately, ''Tower of the Magician'' ends with Schezo gaining nothing out of his pursuit of power, sparing Wish for another day out of personal honor. He found his adventure entertaining enough to take the loss with grace, though, and it made him consider training for himself, as opposed to stealing magic, to get stronger.]]
76	* 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. Later games such as ''Big Kindergarten Kids'' and the Windows games would reflect this too, with the battle stances looking labored when low on HP.
77	* UpgradeArtifact: The Megadrive version of ''Madou Monogatari I'' has three legendary accessories that are hidden in the tower, a brooch, earrings, and make-up, which power up Arle's health, speed, and power. [[spoiler:Collecting all three transforms Arle's armor into a more ornate, powered-up armor that upgrades her Diacute spell.]]
78	* VagueHitPoints: How much HP you have is based on the text descriptions the game prints out during battles, such as "I feel great!", and CharacterPortrait changes as more damage occurs.
79	* VagueStatValues: The game displays none of its stat values. Your ''only'' numerical value is how much money you have. Instead, things like the VagueHitPoints, {{Mana}}, and attack power are determined using context clues such as CharacterPortrait changes and the wording of character descriptions such as "I have plenty of magic!".
80	* VanityPlate: The Game Gear ''Madou Monogatari'' games have Carbuncle parody the classic [[Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]] lion.
81	* 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.
82	* WeirdCurrency: ''Big Kindergarten Kids'' switches out the common gold currency for ''cookies''.
83	* 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.

Context VideoGame / MadouMonogatari