Majogami

Pretend that the thumb is yellow and pointing sideways. Mixed feelings on this. Inti Creates is such a fascinating company when it comes to their 2D action platformers. They're not afraid to make a game hard, but they're also not afraid to shower you with mechanics, super modes, and buffs that will completely trivialize their games. Sometimes you have to work for it and it's still not a free win (feeding cyber elves in Mega Man Zero, Overdrive in Luminous Avenger iX 2), other times the game just forces it upon you for the sin of Messing Up (Anthem in the Gunvolts, Umbraclaw's... everything), then there are cases where such mechanics aren't thrust upon you, but they HEAVILY encourage you to play with them and constantly add more carrots to entice you by adding new moves (that's this game with Astralization). It's like they're apologizing for daring to insert things that can kill you into their games, though I generally remain a fan of them despite that. They can make some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ boss fights and proper challenges when they care. Said boss fights and trials are really all I have to praise this game for, everything outside of that is middling at best. Very curious that there are no …

Superb action platformer in the style of Mega Man Zero, if you're familiar with Inti's output you know what to expect here, now with 2.5D visuals and a creative storybook aesthetic. Combat's all about the lock-on attack, Setsuna, and using it to hit enemies at the correct angles for damage. It's a little finicky with which enemy in a group it chooses to target, but for the most part works as intended. Certainly makes you feel like a badass to chain attacks together and blast though parts of levels. Instead of a scoring system there's just a completion timer on levels, so Gotta Go Fast is the name of the game if you care about those leaderboard bragging rights. Bosses have a bit of Sekiro going on, where you have to stay on them to build their damage bar and open them to a Setsuna hit that starts the next phase. Fights tend to go full shonen anime by the end, with quicktime clashes (better brush up on your button-mashing skills) and Shiroha calling on her Astral buddies for some power-up transformations that change her fighting style and boost mobility (more on that later). Can't say they don't nail that epic feeling you come to the genre for, that's for sure. Story-wise, we got…

[b]A Fantasy/Mythical Mix, visual-gameplay-adventure you wont forget....![/b] + visually pretty peak + modern Witchy-style MC (+ transformations) + artistically too + much varied artworks made with love + interesting characters (different appearance and speech patterns) + Inti Creates true to the fanservice (would hinder some cool char designs, so its great) + peak Japanese VA (as always) + very stylisch boss design, moves etc. + stages have good vibe + and the design is pretty peak + music and background noices are fitting and very good + intersting storytelling + localisation is good + story is nice + artwork and presentation very good + boss fights are peak and can be long, which is good (many movement animations, Boss Special cut ins) + some stages can be very hard when you first dive into + very thoughtfull special moves (transformations etc.) + Witch x Magic x Powerranger Vibe + Transformation songs (also Duet Singing, very peak japanese J-pop mix) + Upper Hyper Special Attacks + the cut -ins somehow remind me of Trigger Animes, with much flashy animations! + 2D-Platformer well done made with love + some story related good things! + no bugs detected Conclusion: A very pea…

This is a really great action platformer that has a unique charm and fun personality. The story and characters are written pretty well, and there's a good amount of content to enjoy. The papercraft world makes for a super cool aesthetic with a variety of interesting environments. It's definitely worth playing.

I only recommend this game if you enjoy fast platformers and it's on sale. I really wish steam had an in between button for reviews. The bones for a good game are here, but the learning curve is nonexistent and the difficulty spike partway through will likely deter a lot of people. There are mechanics but early on the game doesn't reward you for engaging with the mechanics until it becomes mandatory to progress into the endgame. Visuals are beautiful, music is great. The story is eh, localization is atrocious. This has always been a problem with Inti games however. If the game wasn't as pretty as it was I probably would have dropped it. It's a shame engaging with the game mechanics doesn't really feel good until postgame. I *want* to like this game, if that makes sense.

I don't think I can recommend this right now when the Zero/ZX collection exists for effectively the same price. I did get this for ~$18 and the early game is quite fun but it really starts to drag around Act 4. Will update when I finish the game Update Post-game is locked behind bond levels and I basically only maxxed 1 through the course of my playthrough so I don't think I want to do that tbh. I never got to the point where I straight up hated the game but the boss fights can be a major drag sometimes, like you'll do several levels that clearly have fast and fun ways of doing them only to then do a boss fight that should've had half of it cut because it's not like MMZ where bosses just have health, they have a gauge you fill and when the gauge is full you can do your lock-on move to remove a flame. In most cases you have to do this 3-5 times and it's genuinely a slog most of the time. Oh and if you ever die restart the whole fight again. The Zero/ZX Collection is $5 more than this game, that alone makes this hard to recommend. The core of this game is pretty good because the core of the Zero/ZX series is good, the main issue is the gauge for the boss fights takes way too long to…