Madou Monogatari A: DokiDoki Bake~shon

"Why does that guy have a bag on his head... And why is he attacking me?!?!"

Wow… How unusual to see Madou Monogatari A on the Sega Game Gear! Originally, Madou Monogatari A was the first chapter of the ARS series. The ARS series was released on the PC-9801, and no other system after that. It featured a quest for Arle (A), Rulue ®, and Schezo (S). Compile was kind enough to release the (A) chapter on the Game Gear, but since Game Gear was probably fading away during that year, Compile decided not to make the ® and (S) chapters.

Game play- 9/10

Basically the same as the system of gameplay on Madou Monogatari 123. Large 3-D maze, wander aimlessly through the labyrinth, finding items, fighting enemies, learning new spells. The system of gameplay seems more updated though. It is a little more interactive than what you’d see from Madou Monogatari 123. For instance, more objects are spell-activated this time around and switches scattered throughout the labyrinth can do more than just open doors.

The battle system is as strange as always. It is turn-based, but all HP and MP are hidden from you. You’ll just have to use your best judgment on when you should attack and when you should cure Arle. The spells are quite basic. You have Fire, Ice Storm, Lightning, Power Up (Daia Kyuuto), Healing, and few more to name as well. If the spells are used correctly, you should have no trouble winning a battle, but you cannot win a battle simply by using Fire and Ice Storm… Unless you happen to be at a high level. After the battle, you return to the labyrinth. If you check on Arle’s face next to the game screen, you can see how much damage she took during battle depending on how happy/sad she looks. You cannot tell how much MP you’ve lost, but you’ll know whenever you hear this really dizzy sounding music. ^^;

The control has improved a bit. With a 3-D RPG game like this, it seems like it doesn’t really matter, but sometimes, the controls can become a bit slippery and you’ll suddenly make an un-wanted turn, causing you to get lost in the labyrinth. Now and then, you’ll run into a slippery path that may be a bit frustrating to control yourself on, but fortunately for Madou Monogatari A, there aren’t as many slippery paths as there were in Madou Monogatari 123.

To tell the truth, the difficulty of the game isn’t too difficult. It does take a while to get through some of the puzzles though, and when I say it takes a while, it may take one a few hours to get it solved! Not to mention, the game is pretty long. Not nearly as long as some of your RPG today, but it is long. Well, puzzles are the main challenge in this game. Battles with enemies are not. I could compare the challenge of this game to Madou Monogatari III for the Sega Game Gear as well, only this one may be a little more difficult.

Story- (8/10)

The story takes place after Madou Monogatari I and before Madou Monogatari II. Arle is probably ten years old at the moment. It all starts when Arle goes out to play outside. She runs through the grassy fields and into a dark forest… As she exits the forest, she finds a pack of fairies quickly flying away. Arle looks on, and she is surprised to see a colossal machine standing in the next forest. Curiously, she walks a bit further to get a closer look, and at that moment, she runs into Satan-Sama (Who is wearing a construction worker hard-hat).

A conversation brews between them (And since I don’t know Japanese, my observation may not be too accurate…). The machine standing is a deadly weapon that Satan-Sama and his gang of monsters are working on. Arle is willing to stop the production of this monstrous machine, but she was chased out of the forest, and into a mine where construction of the machine took place. It is a complicated maze in here with locked doors, dangerous hazards, and more enemies who are willing to keep Arle from moving forward.

As the story continues, you’ll meet up with some more unusual characters. Most of these characters are some you’ve never even met before, and maybe some characters that appeared in this game for the first time appeared in later Madou Monogatari games as well. I’m pretty sure you’ll only meet one friend along the way though…

Media- (10/10)

Wow… Is this supposed to be a Super Nintendo game? Wait… No… This is only a Game Gear game… What gives? The media in this game is perfect in every way. I’ve never seen a Game Gear game that looked and sounded great at the same time!

The graphics are near Sega Genesis quality. The first thing you see when you turn on the game is the introduction. Everything is well drawn and well colored, plus there is some animation here and there as well! Next, you’ll see the title screen, featuring Arle and a fairy, which looks great and it is very colorful as well!

During the game, the walls, ceilings, and grounds of the many rooms in the labyrinth are nicely detailed and the sprites of characters, enemies, and other objects look excellent as well (In case you wondered yet, the guy with the bag on his head, otherwise known as Chopun, is an enemy in this game)! Some characters that appeared in this game even looked better than their 16-bit counterpart. The magic spells that were used were not simple, like before, they are actually big. If you use “Fire”, you see a group of fireballs emitting from Arle’s hand. If you use “Lighting”, you see a group of lighting bolts (This magic style was used in the later Madou Monogatari games that were on the Windows ’95 DiscStation series).

The music was very unfamiliar to the Puyo Puyo/Madou Monogatari series. The only familiar tune you may here is the battle theme. Everything else is completely brand new. It is a good thing the music sounded good. It was nicely composed, but still, I’d like to have heard a few remixes of at least several older tunes.

The sound effects were very well done (Is that all I can say about the sound effects? ^^;). Well, they do sound very nice for coming out of a Game Gear game. They are much like the sound effects in Madou Monogatari 123 for the Game Gear, only more updated (Er… I didn’t do the sound effects rating too well this time around…). There are voices in the game as well and don’t worry, the voice actors in this are good, as usual. In every Madou Monogatari game made, voices were an available option in them. Compile seemed to take advantage of voice usage back in the days when hearing a voice sample from a game system was a big deal.

Replay Value- (7/10)

Sorry… I just can’t find RPGs very playable. Sure, you could replay this game for the laughs of it... If you can understand Japanese that is… You could also replay the game for its excellent graphics and sound; after all, you can never get enough of seeing such marvelous graphics on a Game Gear! Okay… I feel as if I keep saying the same thing over and over in my reviews… Something isn’t quite right…

Desire to Purchase- (9/10)

A must purchase for any fan of the Puyo Puyo/Madou Monogatari series. This isn’t the rarest of the Madou Monogatari series, but by far, it would be a gem to see in one’s game collection. The game itself is almost an un-finished product due to the fact that the game needs MMR and MMS to continue the story line, and of course, they weren’t continued.

If you can manage to get over to Japan on a vacation or can pull a few strings to receive a copy, then go for it! This isn’t a game that too many import stores will actually notice, so don’t expect it to be on any auction sites or import sites.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/01, Updated 06/30/02