Developer/publisher: Dazkarat.
Platform: PC/Switch.
Official Site: http://dazkarat.jp/majemajo_sw/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21895
Release date: 22/12/2022.
This originally was a segmented release much like taisho x alice on PC
but they have made an all in one switch port which collects them.
It took them like four years but it happened, and i'm actually kind of glad they did!
I never heard from this developer before but I was still excited to try out their game
maybe cuz it reminds me of wand of fortune if only a little! and with not much
new otome game releases I was like why not? why should I not support this game?
Also for the switch version there is a new route; Jasper Beryl so they have definitely tried
to make it worth to pick up the port if you hadn't played it before cuz there's something new..
The protagonist Lapis is an apprentice magician who is tasked dealing with some troublesome
humans and collect gems for science! by getting close to them. Regardless she remains optimistic
and tries her best! she also had a little spunk. She wasn't useless and could definitely hold her own!
Though the part of collecting gems reminded me a little of Clamp's Kobato as well
but other than that the two series are not similar at all, just the bottle part.
Pro's
- A confident heroine atleast I found her to be so.
- Interesting characters in each volume that contrast each other well.
- Mostly light-hearted, doesn't shy away from bad ends.
- Amazing art and backgrounds, Music fit the mood.
Con's
- A bit on the short side...
- Playing it blind can be difficult because of not knowing how much or little gems are needed.
- NTR ends but really there were only two I consider being such.
The art style looked really cute and the backgrounds seemed pretty well done too.
I really loved the fantasy setting! is that the right way to describe it? hmm if I had to look
at the world design it reminded me of europe but not very modern.
The voice cast of this game had a lot of popular seiyuu that I went like OMG its Kaji Yuuki!
or Shimono Hiro as some of them I haven't heard in quite a while.
*If one of your fav seiyuu is in this game it could be worth a spin*
The pacing was alright, this vn wasn't slowpaced that it took hours for anything to happen
and I am really glad for that as otomate's VN's tired me out lately.
Nothing seemed to drag on for too long while still delivering cute moments etc.
This with some exceptions kept it light and fun! At times it did feel like it went a little fast but...
they were going to school and interacting like every day, falling in love can happen like this so its
not totally unbelievable. Honestly I found it heartwarming to see Lapis and Mitsuki grow closer...
This game is more romance oriented, which is great if you're tired of games where
the romance is but an after thought! or get to dating right at the end.
System; There are four different endings and as well as a sort of petting minigame
this is how the protagonist is able to get gems; how many gems you get determine the end.
Its not annoying; especially if you use a guide telling you how much to pet the bishie
it might get a bit more difficult if you don't use a guide but hey if you're stuck they exist!
Playing it blind could be fun too! honestly after a bunch of otomate games
that only had happy and good ends, I very well prefer otome games or VN in general
that like actually make it so my choices can change what happens.
MajeMajo is one of those VN where depending on your choices things
could turn out a little different!
I did encounter a bug at the end of Ruu's route that caused my game to lag and crash
but with force skipping I managed to get to the ending... not sure why but it seems
that there is an extra graphical effect that just slows down the game to an extend it can
no longer function. I play on a switch lite so cannot tell if it is present on the other model...
but if it is, just force skip the text or wait out a patch? if there is any.
I thought it was great was how the guys of the volumes are different in contrast to each other.
MajeMajo can look a bit deceiving though like if you see the cover of the game
and think oh this looks like it'll be dark full of toxic love interests then i'm here to tell you
a flat out no its not like that at all, most of the game outside of Shiki or Ruu's route was fairly light.
All of the characters did have their own set of problems yet this game is no diabolik lovers
but even then if you like to live dangerously those two routes exist.
I loved all the cg's! they were gorgeous. The music is like, at its best it adds to the vibe
and at its worst its just there. One may think this game is short but hmm is that a bad thing?
I think if you're tired of games that are long winded or just seem to keep going MajeMajo is
actually kind of nice because you get all the same things just that it knows to not let it drag on.
The love interests are diverse and you'd probably find someone that catches your eye or
are totally like oh hell no! despite it being short it was still fun to me.
Things to keep in mind is that MajeMajo focuses more on romance than its overall plot!
Vol1&2 are very character specific and its not untill vol.3 that it tries to focus on story and lore.
The addition of the Jasper route makes its story more well-rounded than its original PC release
you may as well ask why they didn't include it to begin with since it further
added to the picture+his character . So I think this switch port is pretty good
in value despite that 1 bug I encountered which is actually pretty game-breaking.😥
9/10
*Edit: Without the Jasper route it would be a 7/10 so I guess that shows...*
An enjoyable otome game that I will most likely remember for having extremely cute and heartwarming scenes as well as some whackos(not all of the guys are like that I swear!).
I could recommend this game if you have a good grip on your japanese!
as sadly it isn't out in english at the moment but that might change.
Since this game was segmented by volume I will be going by release order so my play order
will be like: Mitsuki > Shiki > Shinnosuke > Shoutaro > Shell > Ruu > Jasper.
You can't do volume 3 till atleast one route is complete, Jasper unlocks after Ruu
but it is recommended to do Ruu later due to him having the most story spoilers.
So well there you have it! there's not too much choice due to how it works!
More character rambles after the jump! there will be spoilers + my fav cg's.
