MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy from Idea Factory International, Compile Heart, and STING is a 3D school life/dungeon crawler journey on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy review!
MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy from Idea Factory International, Compile Heart, and STING is a 3D school life/dungeon crawler journey on Nintendo Switch. You’ll be taking on the role of the titular Fia, who has traveled from her hometown to enroll in the Ancient Magic Academy to try and become the best student, so that she can hopefully become a Great Mage. Things start off on the wrong foot, since by the time you arrive, the enrollment exam has already taken place! The invitation listed the date for the entrance ceremony, hence the confusion. The good news is that, thanks to your extreme luck, the fact that you were invited and managed to make it to the Ancient Magic Academy is sorta going to be considered as your test! You’ll learn this straight from Principal Egard.
The MADO MONOGATARI series got its start way back in the year 1990, with the first game in the franchise releasing for the MSX2 home computer. The games remained as Japan-exclusive releases until the launch of Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God on PlayStation Vita in 2013. That was the last game released for the franchise until MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy. An interesting trivia fact is that characters from MADO MONOGATARI ended up appearing in the beloved Puyo Puyo series, which served as a spin-off release… for a franchise that has now far outgrown MADO MONOGATARI.
You can play through the game in one of three difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, and Hard. If you choose the Easy difficulty setting, then you will be able to enjoy the game while fighting against enemies that will have their abilities lowered. The Normal difficulty setting offers you the standard experience, balanced to provide a good challenge without making you feel overwhelmed. As for the Hard difficulty setting, it’s one best reserved for those of you who want to take on battles in which a single mistake could spell your doom! You can give each one a try and change it later.
You’ll have to pick your role when you first enter the Ancient Magic Academy. The role you pick will have an effect on your stat values. On top of that, your role will also determine what types of weapons and armor you’ll be able to equip. You’ll be able to switch roles as you progress through the game, but your initial pick will set how your journey begins and what you’ll be specializing in. Your options for roles are the Magic Knight, Wizard, Witch Thief, and Hermit Hunter. The Magic Knight has access to more weapons, and favors strength and defense over other stats. A Wizard is a mage who focuses on magic, which is why it has higher mentality and intelligence. A Witch Thief will focus on speed and luck, while acting more as party support. The Hermit Hunter has balanced stats that make it easier to use weapons or magic while in combat.
You’ll get to enjoy the school life side of things as you explore the school grounds and work on completing a series of mini-games. You will also get a chance to interact with classmates, plant and grow ingredients, do some cooking, go fishing, and more. You’ll also have to explore randomly generated dungeons that will test your skills, so that you can apply what you’ve managed to learn at school so far. Dungeons will have enemies for you to fight, as well as gimmicks that you’ll need to avoid to survive. A swinging blade is never good news, so be sure to dodge it… or else!
When in combat, you’ll have to pay attention to the timeline at the top right of the screen. This will show the time until a special attack, depending on when a character’s icon reaches the left edge, which will allow them to use a skill. You can move around while your turn comes up, and you can also use regular attacks. While regular attacks can be used without issue, skills will require that you spend some MP. Damage from skills will be dealt to all enemies within the attack range displayed on the field, so be sure to pay attention! As you collect Elemental Orbs, you’ll be able to eventually launch a Great Magic Artes, which will deal a ton of damage.
Your Grimoire is an important element for your time at the Ancient Magic Academy. It’s going to be engraved with your current Title, and completing assignments from teachers will allow you to progress with your studies so that you can become a Mage, which is your goal. Your Grimoire will organize skills and spells in order of power, so that you can more easily expand your knowledge. You’ll have to spend Learning Points (LP) to be able to learn spells. You’ll earn LP by attending classes, as well as by leveling up when you earn enough experience points in battle.
You’ll start by learning Fire and Fire Burst from your Grimoire after earning our first LP. When learning skills, you’ll get to earn Credits. Once you’ve earned enough Credits, you’ll be able to take the Promotion Exam. You can check how many Credits you have thanks to the number in the upper-left corner of your Grimoire. Learning a skill is one thing. If you want to be able to put skills and Great Magic Artes to good use, then you’ll need to equip them from the equipment menu.
MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy is a 3D school life/dungeon crawler journey on Nintendo Switch. You’ll be taking on the role of the titular Fia, who has traveled from her hometown to enroll in the Ancient Magic Academy to try and become the best student, so that she can hopefully become a Great Mage. Things start off on the wrong foot, since by the time you arrive, the enrollment exam has already taken place! The invitation listed the date for the entrance ceremony, hence the confusion. The good news is that, thanks to your extreme luck, the fact that you were invited and managed to make it to the Ancient Magic Academy is sorta going to be considered as your test!
MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy is available on Nintendo Switch with a $49.99 price tag. If you want to check out the first games in this long-running series, you can get EGGCONSOLE Mado Monogatari 1-2-3 MSX2 on Nintendo Switch, which is available with a $15.26 price tag.
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/eggconsole-mado-monogatari-1-2-3-msx2-switch/
You can also get the MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy Deluxe Edition for $69.99. The Deluxe Edition includes:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/mado-monogatari-fia-and-the-wondrous-academy-deluxe-edition-switch/
・Digital game
・Digital Art Book (64 pages)
・Digital Soundtrack (27 tracks)
・The Apprentice Mage Enrollment Set
The Apprentice Mage Enrollment Set will give you access to the following items:
・Mage Hat x 5
・Special Spicy Curry x 3
・Quality Pickled Scallions x 10
・Special Apple Juice x 3
・Special Spice x 3
・Miracle Water x 3
Disclaimer
This MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Idea Factory International.
