Mei Q: Labyrinth of Death (alternately known as Death Under the Labyrinth or Mei Q no Chika ni Shisu) is a Dungeon Crawler Role-Playing Game for the PlayStation Vita. The title was developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory, being released in Japan on December 17, 2015 and getting a North American release September 13, 2016, with a European release on the 16th.
This title is the second under Idea Factory's Makai Ichiban Kan line, following Trillion: God of Destruction.
On an unknown world, the planet has stopped rotating, casting eternal night upon it, and monsters roam the land. In order to set things right, the Planet Key (Celestial Screw) must be wound up once more. In order to do so, the Protector Gods in the four towers surrounding Machina City: Southern Cross must be confronted.
Stepping up to the task is Estra, a Machine Mage and her robotic Guardian. Alongside four other Machine Mages, they set off to set things right, unaware of the enemies they'll be facing within.
Tropes found within Mei Q:
- Absurdly High Level Cap: Initially, your party's level cap is 99. By finding special elixirs, you can eventually raise the cap to level 999.
- Action Girl: The party is half-comprised of these.
- Ambiguous Gender: The party's Guardians can be either male or female, and as they are machines....
- Battle Couple: A non-romantic variation, as each Machine Mage is paired with their Guardian for combat.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Upon defeating a Guardian in each of the towers, you make a contract with them, allowing you to use them in battle.
- Design-It-Yourself Equipment: Guardians are comprised of a Body, Core, and two arms. These parts can be freely mixed and matched.
- Dungeon Crawler: Much like Etrian Odyssey, it's in first person, so mind your step.
- Elemental Powers: Each Machine Mage starts off aligned with one element:
- Estra, the heroine, uses Earth magic.
- Flare, as her name implies, uses Fire magic.
- Connie, the youngest of the group, uses Wood magic.
- Maki, an honors student mage, uses Metal magic.
- Setia, the Shrinking Violet, uses Water magic.
- This is also a major part of gameplay, as matching your Mage's element to their Guardian increases their stats, and knowing how to exploit Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors helps immensely.
- Improbable Accessory Effect: Gemstones known as "Seeds" are used in lieu of equipment in this game. When equipped on Mages, it increases their elemental affinities alongside their other effects, like monster warding/luring. For Guardians, they get straight stat-buffs alongside other effects, such as multiple attacks.
- The Night That Never Ends: Due to the fact that the world stopped spinning.
- Stop Poking Me!: On the status screen where you can change the girls' equipment (and in Estra's case, her forms), tapping on the screen on certain parts of the girls will prompt responses from them.Estra: (tapped on her legs) Legs like an antelope!....Or an Ox.Flare: (tapped on the head) Do these hair ornaments look like horns?
- Stripperiffic: Another given, due to the artist. Flare and Maki are player-controlled examples, whilst Aria and Pamela are antagonistic examples.
- World of Buxom: As Nomura Ryouji is the character artist for the game, this is a given. The only known character that isn't stacked in any way is Connie, which may be due to her age.
