In the early 1990s, the Mado Monogatari series provided dungeon crawling thrills before its characters appeared in the beloved puzzle game series Puyo Puyo. The Mado Monogatari brand makes a surprise return with Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy, a new entry that features an original cast of protagonists and supporting characters, returning classic enemies, and the beloved mascot Carbuncle. With a roster of new and old characters, the game features plenty of hijinks alongside its simple take on dungeon crawling.
Fia aims to follow her grandmother’s footsteps by becoming an established mage. However, a set of zany circumstances propels her and her classmates into potential expulsion from the academy. Fia and her new friends must therefore learn to work together and prove themselves to the academy’s staff.
The game’s characterization and humorous interactions are its most noteworthy assets. Fia and her classmates fall into established archetypes, but their personalities clash in hyperactive and over-the-top ways. The voice actors’ line delivery is at times poignantly passionate and emphatic, and it absolutely supplements the writing in a compelling way. As silly as they may seem, these characters really are relatable, and they even show some surprises along the way. The classic Mado Monogatari enemies such as the beloved dancing fish Suketoudara introduce a degree of absurdity that throws the party members off guard. The party often has misconceptions regarding these NPCs and has to figure out how to act accordingly. These enemies are gradually introduced and provide welcome surprises particularly as they have not been prominent in the Puyo Puyo series for quite some time.
Fia and the Wondrous Academy also provides an easy to pick up and play dungeon crawling experience. The party alternates between preparing at the academy to traversing dungeons with randomly generated floors. The game’s progression is reminiscent of roguelikes’ as players defeat monsters, acquire loot, dodge obstacles, and keep an eye on their hunger gauge as they reach each floor’s exit. Even as the game adds fishing, gardening, and other elements into the mix, it never feels overwhelming. One twist is that the battles occur in real-time inside of small enclosed arenas. Fia can perform normal attacks and freely move around at will, but the pacing of her skills’ cooldowns almost feels turn-based to a degree. With its straightforward skill and item menus and ease of picking teammates, the game feels fairly snappy. It also gives the option of saving after each floor, which generously allows players to take breaks as need be.
Unfortunately, several of the game’s features lack impact. In stark contrast with the characters’ colorful designs, the dungeons are stark and visually uninteresting. Their layouts often feel basic. Although they provide plenty of lootable objects, the sheer number of objects may cause players to just rush for the exit in order to see the next dialogue sequence. Obstacles like spikes, arrow tiles, and fire jets are also overly familiar and unsurprising. Furthermore, the main story quests and sub quests necessitate revisiting the same dungeon a bit too often. It would have been helpful to have more dungeon tilesets or supplementary flourishes to differentiate each floor.
The loot flow feels a bit haphazard as the game inundates players with items. Although the sheer amount incentivizes using items regularly, having so many crafting materials, ingredients, food items, and item boxes does not necessarily create a fulfilling looting experience. Even if players use keys to access chests and treasure rooms, the actual pay-off often feels underwhelming.
The music and visual presentation are also a bit underwhelming. Although the main battle track is upbeat and appropriate enough, the dungeon tracks feel more functional and serviceable than anything else. Some songs such as the battle victory track feature noticeably short loops. Despite the game’s effective use of Live2D to create animated dialogue portraits, the polygonal models lack mouth flaps and often repeat poses without always featuring intermediary animations.
Furthermore, the user interface is visually sparse and feels a bit functionally strange. Knowing when battle skills are ready requires looking away from the menu to the upper right or the circle underneath Fia. Having a full inventory also leads to a clunky experience. Rather than having menu pop-ups, players have to open their inventory menu to toss items before opening chests, and post-battle prize items are simply automatically thrown away, which can feel a tad deflating.
Most of all, though, the enemy encounters are a bit too flat. Enemies generally do not move around much and do not provide much resistance, so it does not require too much finesse to trounce them. Enemies across each new area are also repeated quite a bit, and they resort to palette swaps too often and too quickly.
However, despite its underwhelming dungeons, the game is full of genuinely enjoyable dialogue and interactions. The characters’ personalities, growth, and sense of camaraderie are engaging, and Carbuncle’s unpredictable hijinks will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face. Although it would have been ideal if the dungeons matched the characters’ whimsicality and charm, the game still provides an easy to pick up dungeon crawling experience. So long as players do not mind a general sense of simplicity and familiarity, Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy will reward their time with plenty of whimsical heartwarming interactions.
