Wand of Fortune R - Review

Wand of Fortune R, the R stands for RNG.

ワンドオブフォーチュン

Game: [Wand of Fortune R]

Genre: Otome Visual Novel.
Developer/Publisher: Otomate/Idea factory.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/wandoffortune/vita/

Release date: 2016-03-17

Wand of Fortune is an otome game which has yet again a magic school setting

 like Mahoutsukai to Goshujin-sama a game I played last year, which  I also liked it

 but that game suffered from many ending variations that weren't worth my time. -_-

Also I do not really like normal school settings so stuff like WoF & Goshujin-sama is

something that appeals to me more and I did hear good things about Wand of Fortune except
that the original PS2/PSP versions had a shitty system, so I refrained from buying it all this time
till it got a remake for vita. Oh and apparently this also includes the FD Mirai e no Prologue.

Now otomate pls don't leave me hanging here & port the sequel + its FD as well pretty please.

 For the most part this WoF didn't disappoint me, which is a good thing!

So Lulu has to get a magic element and a partner by the end of the 24th week or else
 her magic gets sealed, to do so she has to stalk errr- stick around with one of the male students.
Game flow is like this, make schedule, train atleast 3 or 4 days and have a mission
with the guy you're going for if one is available and take a day off every once in a while.
Cue random RNG events and magic card games...RNG events are nice the first time but when you keep getting the same one multiple times like Bilal*puppy eyes* begging for help, it just becomes boring, I  get it that
they try and keep school life INTERESTING but have more variety then.
In the end you have no choice but to skip them if  you've seen em once.

Sadly not much is happening the first few ingame weeks other than studying, doing missions and dating the guy if you set it up properly also I highly recommend Choro's guide even tho I noticed a mistake in Bilal's route which is easily fixed.

Pro's

 - Story was interesting.
 - Art, do I even need to add something on this?

 - Heroine is so cute and adorbs... T~T
- The Guys are all likeable dorks.

- Route while short doesn't overlap.
-Everyone gets new CG's even the side route in the vita port.

 Con's

 - This game can become boring and repetitive.
- System, monotonous at best.

- Audio quality.
- Ye olde, idea factory bgm, Tbh its kind of forgettable in WoF.

I like this game but due to the system(even if easier) can get monotonous, its not even funny, it
took me until Est's route to actually appreciate the system more, lol.
The cast is still amazing though, so I can't say it isn't worth it!
Once you get through this game once and you want to do another route it really is a case of rinse and repeat.
Ami and Elberts route suffer the most as they aren't as interesting as the main guys but good thing is they only take around 4 hours of having to put a schedule, skip through most of the week and every 6th day look into your scrapbook and finding nothing new cuz they aren't the main guys.
I wish they wouldn't boot me into the scrapbook menu every damn time though...
 Going through this game multiple times still feels like a chore, I admit its easier from
what I heard of the PS2/PSP version but still I think I do not like stat-raisers all that much afterall.

7.5/10
I love WoF R, its good and a long game even though the system is eh.

 Oh and for anyone wondering how to get a certain CG variation of Varona...
It was the last one I needed and its easy to forget about her.
These were my stats when I went to visit her when I got it, I do not know
the exact requirements but these should be it when going for Lagi.

 Anyway CG,  rambling's and possible spoilers after the jump.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the most part its a fun game but this game took me 3 weeks to complete which I guess

is good considering its a stat raiser, even though the game is short.

One of the worst part was getting character map events... they're random! I had to rewind with
backlog if the character and their event I need didn't show up, which
is just plain annoying if it keeps happening when want to proceed. :(
There is also the item shop which has a minigame to spot the difference, truth be told
I couldn't see it most of the time so I just randomly pick a side if it wrong try again with backlog.
   Otomate WHY you do this?
Also why bother partially voicing Lulu for some minor stuff you hear everyday?
Just fully voice Lulu, she deserves it cuz she's an awesome heroine.

As for the actual route it didn't start till week 24, even then not much romance though
but the FD part ~After Story with you~ makes up for it, also given that its part of a series...
I guess you could say that it wasn't all for nothing cuz some of the build up was there.
The rest of the school life was still pretty boring though, especially
once you see most RNG events that happen everyday.
There was also the side thing with Edgar and his magic glass which didn't unlock till
I did all the route and the all element ending in the first game because it takes place after it.
The after stories unlocked right after you finish a character route.

Liar cards... there are two with events and the first one is kind of scary, the 2nd one is new to the port and are pretty funny.

Magic card game is pretty easy though I found Alvaro's AI the hardest and Noel the easiest.
Lulu > Ami&Elbert >Alvaro > Bilal > Est > Julius > Lagi >  Noel.
You can challenge Lulu but she freaking cheats, she can change her card just in time... >_>
Luckily she doesn't use it all the time but imho its not fair. 
Though they all have a set pattern just sometimes they don't use it, I know that Alvaro is a TROLL!
Julius gets better over time and so did Est.
Lagi will ALWAYS use his fire card first so have a water card ready to cool him down, lol.
Then we have Noel who ONLY ever uses Earth > Darkness > Light... which makes things too easy.

Hnnng Lulu, Usuba Kagero's art is so pretty.

My play order was: Lagi > Ami > Elbert > Bilal  > Est > Noel > Alvaro > Julius >All element end.
Every route is unique so the order shouldn't matter much but its better to do Alvaro later.

~Lagi El Nagil~
CV: Kakihara Tetsuya.

 Lagi is half doragon and half human, he's tsundere to Lulu at first cuz of his problem...
His element is fire, heh so thats why he's so fiery, rofl.
So whenever he gets glomped by the opposite gender he transforms into his baby doragon form
he also has a big appetite whenever this happens cuz it takes alot of energy out of him...
Naturally Lagi warms up to Lulu in no time. :D
Lagi was really cute and I really like him plus he's kind of like Seras from
 mahoutsukai to goshujin-sama(minus the masochism)cuz they are both doragons, I am really glad
 I did Lagi first tbh cuz it made the game alot more enjoyable for me even though I thought that
the actual plot was okay but rather weak in this route, anyway Lagi's the best, I think I'm biased... ♥
The after story from the FD was great, it had all the romance that was missing in the main game, Lagi
was pretty cool in his after story but imho the plot was kind of predictable.

Lagi's friend end, you can obviously see that these shiny CG are new to the vita version.

Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★★★
~
Now to get two side route/ends out of the way before moving on to the better stuff....

~Ami Salovaara~
CV:  Kanae Oki.

She is from some clan with the ability to talk to the stars... or whatever.
But for some reason this isn't passed down on Ami so she can't do all that and is gloomy
all the time since she was little but then she meets Lulu who encourages her to do her best more
and in the end Lulu even fails her exams/goal cuz she's busy to help Ami with her problems
when Ami explains this to the teachers they give her a second chance... to the next route!
~
 Ami's route in general is another girl route where its like we don't need husbandos but
without actual romance, aka just another best friends route. I actually like this, because
 why can't girls(or guys) just be friends for once? Oh well in the end it felt like a waste of time

because barely anything happened. Except learning more about Ami's character 

which was the only thing that made this detour worth it, I just wish they made it more worthwhile

and maybe actual romance would've been good but eh japan is always shy with yuri and they just

give you a little subtext if anything but there wasn't much of that here since she barely even has events.

Well I mean its an otome game, girls usually play it for the guys most don't want to date girls

if they wanted girls love they like would find a game that focuses on that. XD

Basically if you don't care for Ami you can skip it and miss absolutely nothing.
Anyway I like Ami but I wish it wasn't so boring, her after story isn't that interesting either
and most of the route was just cute girls doing cute things after school.
Romance ☆☆☆☆☆ (???)
Plot ★★☆☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆
 ~
 ~Elbert Levine~
CV:  Fujita Yoshinori/Oda Keisuke.

 Elbert is that dorky teacher who's a wuss and seriously needs some backbone...
Wait how did he even get his teaching license? and why is this a route?! he should get fired for this!
Lulu was awesome cuz she was the one going after Elbert's kokoro yet she also was quite
stupid at one point, I don't really like the student x teacher thing most of the time
but I guess Elbert was cute atleast? Oh well... I dunno, he's likeable I guess.
Like in Ami's route, Lulu fails her exam/goal cuz shit happens and Elbert being an idiot
but she gets another chance while humping sensei.

Elbert is a cute little derp, I kind of like him but he really needs to grow a pair. >_>
Good thing is Elbert can be badass, its just that his wimpy side shows more, lol.

His route was as pointless as Ami's but its still interesting character-wise, his route can branch into
the all element ending but as turns out you can't go back for it through a save, believe me I tried.
Maybe its because I did his route so early, oh well, Elbert's route itself wasn't that important though.
My advice? do Elbert´s route after you have done all of the main guys, you really don't want to sit
through 24 weeks of studying and some short events here and there related to the all element end.
I kind of regret doing him so soon now, his after story was cute though Elbert is still the same
dorky ball-less sensei as always, bless Lulu who can put up with him though I sure wouldn't be able to.
Anyway despite character intrigue I feel like both Ami and Elfart's routes were a waste
because either way Lulu fails her exam but gets one more chance its like the plot is telling us
to go for the main boys instead of these two side characters, the suffering and the lack of events
along the way to the last week aren't making it easier for me to say yeah this was worth it.

 Romance ★☆☆☆☆
Plot ★★☆☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆
~
~Bilal Asad Ithnan Faranbal~
CV: Takahashi Hiroki.

 Oh boy... the arabian prince with a long ass name who talks like a gaijin, so naturally
he's annoying because of his speech pattern, his element is water.
Which is nice considering his lineage, rofl.
He studies at the school to up his magic knowledge so he can help his desert country, the
peeps there don't believe in magic/want anything to do with it so here Bilal is trying
to get stronger so he can convince the people back home magic is useful or sth like that.
I had trouble liking him cuz of his gaijin accent and by the time he dropped that accent of his
 it was almost too late even tho he sounded so hawt when speaking normally... 
To be honest he's probably the sweetest guy so far, even tho he doesn't have the purest of intentions.
He's just a wolf in sheep's clothing, yes he's a lewd beast. :P
I actually liked the how the plot in Bilal's route went even further into the past of his country
and overall it was okay, atleast it was actually interesting unlike the side characters.
After story was decent as well, he's such a hard worker and so lewd... its almost to much for Lulu. ♥
At the end of the after story I was like BILAL WAS A MISTAKE... 2lewd4me. 

 Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★☆☆
  ~
~Est Rinaudo~
CV: Irino Miyu.

 He's a kuudere, he doesn't show his dere side alot but I still like him, at first Est appears
like he got out of the wrong side of the bed but tries to hide it with his usual angelic smile.
Despite that he's actually a real angel with the power of DARKNESS and he also has an angsty past.
Like Lagi he doesn't exactly like Lulu in the beginning, Est warms up to her its just that he's so dense....
I can totally see why people can't like him because of that, even I had trouble at first.
Like he can be so cute but he just comes off as an ass for over half the time. 
Est is such a cutiepie, even if he doesn't show it... he's such a maji-tenshi and did nothing wrong.
As for the plot, I won't go into it but it was interesting atleast, it wasn't bad at all.
The after story was okay, more backstory and Est was bittersweet, there's not much to say about it.

 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★★☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★★★
~
~Noel Valmore~
CV: Suzuki Chihiro.

Oh boy, this guy is so gullible and such a nerd who just won't shut up, lol.
He wants to be the best mage there ever was so naturally he has a bit of rivalry with Julius.
His seiyuu also voiced Erlock holmes in Eikoku Tantei Mysteria...
Tbh I like his acting for Noel much more since he actually seems having fun voicing him?
I really like Noel, he's a fun character and after Est's route its just what I needed.
My favorite part was the gemstone and later the mahou shoujo thing, like seriously, lmao.
Noel's route was really fun for the most part but it wasn't that interesting in terms of plot, I
didn't really like the last bit of his route so much angst, dat pube tho...
About his bracelet... it enhances his magic power but it also sorta curses him at the same time.
Double edged sword much? poor Noel... T_T
As for the bad ends they were pretty bad but not as bad as the next guy.
As for the after story, Alvaro was extra annoying but he gave them the small push they needed. ♥

 Noel is da besto.
 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★★★
 ~
~Alvaro Garay~
CV: Suzumura Ken'ichi.

Alvaro is a lie.

 Ah yes another Suzuken character I'm in a love/hate relationship with, oh the suffering.
Alvaro has some heavy backstory and his route reveals some things so he's
better saved for later but not necessarily last, his element is light.
I can see why people like and hate him,  Alvaro is a freaking liar and a sadistic troll...
I didn't like that cuz it makes me wanna punch him >_>
Oh and he's a ****** who paints his nails the same color as his hair, rofl.
Its hard to tell if Alvaro is lying or speaking the truth at times, which reminds me of Lupin JR.
Bless Lulu, for owning the hell out of Alvaro in the end though... she's such an awesome heroine.
He's not my type but yeah since the love/hate thing I have with him, I guess he's still okay?
His route was the most interesting in terms of plot which I really enjoyed but the rest could've been
better cuz half of the time I wanted to punch Alvaro cuz I had enough of his shenanigans.
As for the twist, I knew something was up so but I was still like wtf man?!

Yabai...

Alvaro's friend end is creepy as fawk, after the potion bit he knocks her out and kidnaps her? lol.
He's like if you want to go back then do so... smh, I did not ask for this did I?
His bad ends were oh so terrible, like really bad, worst part is he had four of them, IMHO they
 only added fuel to the fire and made me dislike him more, even tho I want to like him. ;_;
The after story made up for everything though, Alvaro is in his rebellious phase since he's pretty
much Lulu's man slave and is all like what do you really want of me?
The two have a disagreement, they end up fighting each other like cats, Lulu slaps him! :D :D :D
 All's well that ends well though... rofl that was really satisfying, god bless Lulu.
Oh and in Edgar's magic loupe its revealed he also lied about his age, sigh it'll never end.

Alvaro isn't that bad, I like him but for over half of his route he's just messing around. ;_;

 Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆ (God bless that after story...)

~
~Julius Fortner~
CV: Sakurai Takahiro.

 Best for last? Julius is a giant nerd and since he's so handsome has a trio of bitches as bodyguards,
luckily they aren't that annoying, like they never show up in his route or bother Lulu on purpose and
best thing is Julius doesn't even care about them at all, lmao.
Julius is such an adorable dork, honestly its hard not to like him, his element is wind.
The only thing he seems to care about is magic, to the point he would lose sleep over it, d'awww.
He shows his interest in Lulu, since she has no default element yet she can use magic...
Ever since of what happened in the prologue he just wants to know more about Lulu~~.
Other than that I suppose he can come off as a boring, nerdy guy with good looks? XD
That would seem like he's totally my type by default... hehehe.
As for his route, the plot wasn't that interesting and it didn't top Bilal's,Est or Alvaro's but
in my opinion it was better done than Noel. So I can see why people do Julius first. 
I don't regret saving him for last though, it was still enjoyable.
His after story was great.... but damn ermahgerd Julius FFS control yourself! >/////<
It was really cute, sigh but now I am sad that in ended.

 Romance ★★★★☆
Plot ★★★☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★★★
 ~

Lagi's way of saying, Hello Lulu good morning!

It took me awhile but I finally finished WoF! (the main game atleast)
The all element ending was great, the bad thing is that Lulu doesn't end up with anyone but eh
I don't care that much about that since its ties into the sequel but I read somewhere that
 they want you to forget about the first game, which makes me go ??? what was the point then?.
That is kinda like Jyuza Engi since only one route mattered in its first game cuz only one guy was canon.
I suppose its okay with WoF since all is not lost because of Edgar, who first appears in the
FD Mirai e no prologue and in every game afterwards, so this gives me hope!

Now to get started on the rest of the FD...

I found only Edgar's own magic loupe scenario to be worth mentioning since all the others seem
 to be there to tease you for what's to come, Edgar is pretty much the main guy here.
 The basic plot of these scenarios is Lulu being uncertain about her new powers now that she
 has all the elements... there are some hilarious scenes waiting for you here!
Anyway moving on to our cute megane. Sigh... WoF R has alot of content doesn't it?

~Edgar Briars~
CV: Sakamaki Ryousuke.

Well that is some entrance...

 As for Edgar's little route in the FD, it was amusing he's quite likeable and there was no schedule
here or for the other scenario's so it was alot more enjoyable than Ami's or Elbert's route in the main game.
So here comes Edgar, he's like Lulu and sucks at magic but he's in newspaper club so
Lulu ends up helping out Edgar finding a scoop and maybe teaching him a bit of magic?
In the end they help some little girl named Tina find her missing pendant, which was stuck in some
 magical Canavalia tree, everyone helps them out, Edgar climbs up by himself to get the pendant
everyone uses their magic since the tree is rather violent and for the most part this works
but they ran out of magic gass halfway so Lulu had to step in and as turns out
Lulu is able to use her new powers just fine! well would you look at that? :D
Girl I told you everything is going to be daijoubu~~.
After that Edgar was able to write an artical about it and the two go out to visit Tina in the weekend.

The end.

Some fun screenshot's I took during his route.

Your glasses are on your nose...

Oh well that makes perfect sense.

I read some of this as, become my glasses... context what is it.

At one point Lulu and Edgar get tutored by Est, which is literally hell.
Since they've not been studying at all, lmao.

Edgar's route was cute and he quickly became one of my favorite side characters, the
plot was okay for a FD its wasn't bad or anything, the scenarios are actually pretty short
once you do one of them so I will recommend to do Edgar's first for consistency sake.
 Romance ★☆☆☆☆
Plot ★★☆☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★☆☆
~
~The Melancholy of Cynthia~
Cynthia also had her own little scenario about love, Matthew has a crush on her but we know Cynthia
shows that her interest is with Julius, oh the drama but in the end they get together. :)
 I found this really interesting like seriously why can't more otome games have side stories
like this one? sigh... I can't think of many games that do sth like that.

 Romance ★★★☆☆
Plot ★★☆☆☆
 Enjoyment overall ★★★☆☆
~
The rest of the scenarios were pretty funny everyone else had one and there's even a lecture end
and a true end the latter was kinda eh cuz I kinda knew and it branched from Edgard's scenario.
Anyway when I look back at the character routes in the original game and the FD I feel like they're an
introduction or a tease for what is to come! WoF1 + its FD were awesome, I am sad that its over
for now but it can't be helped... gonna miss it for now, sigh its been a while
that I actually enjoyed a VN this much, Lulu's so amazing.

MFW in Edgard's magic loupe the lecture end(bad end) had a CG but the true end there did not...

~
Oh Alvaro is such a troll, even in Lulu's dreams.

One of them is enough! is this a dream? if so wake me up...

Can't wake up...

~ Route Enjoyment, in terms of overall plot.
Alvaro > Est > Bilal > Lagi > Julius & Noel > Cynthia > Elbert, Ami & Edgar.

Fav character
 Lagi > Julius & Noel > Est > Alvaro & Bilal > Edgar & Elbert > Cynthia & Ami.
Its hard picking a favorite since I did liked everyone... even Cynthia.
Alvaro and Bilal are last on my list in terms of main guy because reasons, even tho 
they're not that bad. I am biased for Lagi though, he's just the best.

~
Main game 7.5/10
FD(Mirai e no prologue) 8/10
WoF is still an amazing otomege, but it's far from perfect.

Despite some of my ~complaining~ which was mostly about the system, I still like this game alot. 
 The bad endings were terrible, and the friend endings are kinda eh but atleast the friend ending has a
shiny new CG to make up for it while the bad endings have no CG's at all, only suffering awaits you.
 I'd actually recommend to skip Alvaro's bad ends... because imo they're too terrible and after
I finished this game I heard they're not even need for platinum so yeah please do skip them.
So all in all this was a good otomege, the main game just drags on because of the system.
I heard horror stories of WoF 2's system so I think this is nothing compared to that, if they
do port it to vita just let us make more than one stone at once PLEASE... (thank god we can now)

Le harem.

 Sigh... now I cannot stress how much I want the rest of the series now, so I think the score is fair.
I liked everyone in some way, which doesn't happen alot, system being monotonous sucks
but this is pretty much the definite version, everyone got newly drawn CG's in the main game, even
the minor character route like Ami and Elbert so yes the enhanced vita port is worth it.
So if you already played it its still worth it because its such a huge upgrade, despite
them not re-recording all the lines.
I can fully recommend this game for the chara's, I hope that one day it would be localized along

with WoF2r but I don't want ya'll to suffer through this, it'd be a pain to do so because system.
WoF is all about the characters, the story itself isn't that special.
I could make this longer but that'd be unnecessary... i've said more than enough


Characters ★★★★★ (Everyone is great in some way? lol...)
Art  ★★★★★(Beautiful.)
Scenario/plot. ★★★☆☆(OK but nothing special, a lot of route hints at what's to come.)
Music★★☆☆☆ (Nothing stood out, bonus point because the OP is charming.)
System  ★☆☆☆☆ (A pain in the ass...)
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆(The boys make the journey worth it.)
TL;DR play it for the characters.