After the success of the first collection with Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 and Madou Monogatari ARS, a new compilation has been released for Windows in Japan regarding to the Madou Monogatari series called Madou Monogatari yu~ Kyoku Taizen-Tsu MD & DS by companies D4 and EGG Project. In this collection contains the Mega Drive version of Madou Monogatari I and varies DiscStation titles, along with the original cover from the Mega Drive Madou Monogatari I and an OST. In addition, the first collection that contains Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 and Madou Monogatari ARS is receiving a reprint until September 2016.
Madou Monogatari was a precursor to Puyo Puyo, originally adapting a first person dungeon crawling gameplay style similar to the Wizardry series. The key difference is that there were no numbers barring how much gold you had,  so details like your health and stats were determined by different visual cues. For example, the character you control will have varies expressions depending on their health, and as health depleted they gradually grew more tired or worried. Later games would experiment with different mechanics, for example the Mega Drive version of Madou Monogatari I changed how battles worked by making battles play out in a side prospective and gave Arle options to dodge with jumping or a comedic trip. The Madou Monogatari series would eventually get overshadowed by it’s spin-off Puyo Puyo, but the Madou Monogatari series is important since it introduced a lot of the earlier characters that would eventually become Puyo Puyo staples like Arle, Carbuncle, Schezo, Rulue, and Satan. As for what happened to the two series, Puyo Puyo would belong to SEGA as of 1998 and Madou Monogatari would later belong to Compile Hearts, effectively becoming separate series and creating copyright confusion.
List of games
- Madou Monogatari I (Mega Drive): A remake of the first Madou Monogatari in the trilogy, which was technically the second game released in the series after Madou Monogatari II. In this game you play as 6-year old Arle Nadja, as you’re tasked with climbing up a tower, collecting three orbs, and defeating a final boss (in this case Mamono) as the final test for her to graduate kindergarten. As mentioned, this game is a first person dungeon crawling game, with battles taking place in a side prospective. You have the option to dodge with jumping or tripping, and the ability to use different spells as you progress through the game. But be careful, your stats are hidden away, so pay attention to how expressiver Arle is so you don’t fall in battle. While the overall game is similar to the original MSX game, there are key differences. Satan makes an appearance in this version and can be fought under certain conditions, more dark elements like certain enemies and the infamous kids turning into monsters scene are removed, and introduces new characters and enemies like Camus and Billy Burn. This is also notably the last Mega Drive title to be officially released in Japan.
- Daimadou Senryaku Monogatari ’95Â
- Ra~Tsukyo Carbuncle No.1
- Ra~Tsukyo Carbuncle No. 20
- Imohori
- Madou Monogatari Michikusa Revelations
- Daimashirube Senryaku MonogatariÂ
- Madou Monogatari 4-5-6
Madou Monogatari MD & DS is available for the price of ¥7,800 or $70 plus tax and can be ordered here.
Madou Monogatari 1-2-3&ARS is also available for the price of ¥9,801 or $89 plus tax and can be ordered here.
Be cautious as these games are entirely in Japanese, but aside form the language barrier these games can be played in all Windows version from Windows Vista up.
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