Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wonderous Academy Review

Mado Monogatari, also known as Sorcery Saga, is a series of first-person dungeon crawler role-playing video games that has been around since 1990, when it made its first appearance on the MSX. I’ve never played any of these titles; instead, I know these characters from the spinoff titles Puyo Puyo and Puyo Puyo Tetris. So Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy will be my first experience with these characters in a non-puzzle setting.

We join Fia, who dreams of following in her grandmother's footsteps and attending Ancient Magic Academy. To be enrolled, she needs to pass the required entrance exam, but after making the long journey and arriving there, she’s told that she is a few days late, as the testing has ended. Fortunately for Fia, Principal Egard appears and says it’s fine, as she has already passed… somehow. He states that her test was receiving the invitation and finding her way to the school, and since she managed to get there, she is now a student of the Ancient Magic Academy.

The first thing you need to do is fill out the paperwork and select your Role; this determines the type of weapons and armour Fia can equip and changes her stats. Each type attacks in a different way: some Roles focus more on Weapon Skills, like the Magic Knight, the Wizard uses Magic Artes; the Witch Thief uses quick movements to confuse enemies; and the Hermit Hunter uses a mix of weapons and magic. As bad as "Hermit Hunter" sounds, I selected that one for my first time playing. If you change your mind later, you can always swap to a different job.

One of the initial things Fia learns is how to attack with the Role you’ve chosen. The first opponent you face is a super cute Puyo. There’s a rectangle that shows your attack area; any enemy in this space will get hit. Since my character attacks with weapons and magic, the normal attack is with a sword, or you can spend MP if you want to use a spell. There is a cooldown period with magic, so you won’t be able to spam these attacks.

Each student has their own Grimoire, which is a book of magic spells; the one Fia has belonged to her grandmother. This tome acts as a skill tree for spells and other abilities, like fishing. The book arranges them in the correct order so you don't learn dangerous spells too soon. You earn the required Learning Points by attending class, and they can be used in your Grimoire to unlock these new abilities. While in your lessons, you’ll receive assignments to complete, and if you pay attention, you’ll learn a lot more. The first Magic Artes you learn are Fire and Fire Burst. As you learn skills, you also earn credits that allow you to take the next Promotion Exam and move closer to becoming a full-fledged Mage.

Much to Fia's dismay, she needs to form a party with someone else to go into dungeons; she can’t go full lone wolf. When you enter one with multiple attacking enemies, it’s easy to see why being part of a team is essential. Once you've assembled your party, you'll head to Mage's Tower, where you'll have to learn to fight alongside party members while testing your skills, gathering materials, and taking exams. Fia will strategise, and the rest of the team will listen and follow her lead.

Mado Monogatari makes it easy to change how the rest of your team behaves in battle. When you have four or more people in your party, you’ll select who participates, except for Fia; she’s always present. If her HP drops to zero, even if everyone else is fine, you will lose the battle.

When in a dungeon, you’ll climb one floor at a time, trying to get to the top. Each time you enter, the map for each floor will change. Blue magic circles will transport you between floors, but they can’t be used to go back. Most of the time, you won’t be able to escape until you’ve completed your objective. The only way to leave midway is to use an Escape Magic Circle, which you can buy from a merchant or shop.

Once you successfully clear the dungeon, you’ll be shown your Adventure Results, telling you how many floors you reached, what items you picked up, and how many enemies you defeated. Head to the classroom after completing a run to hand in your finished work. Assignments that progress the story are marked with “Req.” beside them, which is helpful, but it’s worth doing the others, too, so you can learn new skills from your Grimoire. Turning in the first report earns you 10 LP. Personally, I want to learn as many cool spells and skills as possible! There’s so much to do here; it’ll keep you busy for a long time.

Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy is full of light-hearted music, featuring violins and adorable anime-style characters with short, chibi-like bodies when walking around, despite their portraits looking normal-sized. This style may not appeal to everyone, but their unique designs made up for it. All the characters you interact with have silly personalities, except for Rosemary. She’s one of the old professors, and she’s so grouchy and crotchety; not a fun person to deal with. Everyone else is pretty awesome, especially Carbuncle. That little guy follows Fia around everywhere and is a treasure. And if you find the constant gugu gu sounds irritating, you’re wrong. This little guy is a ray of sunshine, especially when Carbuncle starts dancing in the most inappropriate situations; it’s so funny!

I’ve been having a great time playing Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy. I had no idea this was where Carbuncle and the Puyos originated. I love how it’s set at a school that requires you to attend classes and take exams to learn new skills and spells, instead of just gaining XP. Plus, being able to plant seeds, grow fruit, cook, and fish, on top of fighting enemies, was really cool. There’s just so much to do! If you’re a fan of fun anime characters, dungeon-crawler-type games, or Carbuncle, check this one out.