Madou Monogatari 123

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Madou Monogatari 1-2-3
MadouMonogatari123.jpg
Boxart of Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 (MSX)
DeveloperCompile
PublishersCompile (MSX2/PC-9801)
Sega (Game Gear)
D4 Enterprise (Windows XP/Vista)
PlatformsMSX2, PC-9801, Game Gear, Windows XP/Vista
Players1 player
Release dateMSX2 (EPISODE II)
Japan November 7, 1989

MSX2 (1-2-3)

Japan June 15, 1990

PC98 (1-2-3)

Japan November 23, 1991

Game Gear (I)

Japan December 3, 1993

Game Gear (II)

Japan May 20, 1994

Game Gear (III)

Japan December 30, 1994

Windows XP and Vista (MSX2)

Japan September 1, 2008

iOS (Game Gear I, II, and III, via PicoPico app)

Japan February 15, 2021


Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 (魔導物語1-2-3 Madō Monogatari 1-2-3) is a first-person dungeon crawler developed by Compile. It was first released for the MSX on June 15, 1990, and later for the PC-9801 on November 23, 1991. It is the first game of the Madou Monogatari series.

Three Game Gear remakes were published by Sega, the publisher for the Arcade, Mega Drive, and Game Gear versions of Puyo Puyo. Each game remade a numbered segment from the MSX game.

General

Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 consists of three separate adventures, all of which star young magician Arle Nadja. Billed as a "Magical Voice Role Playing Game", Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 combines diverse, colorful monster design with a then-unusual amount of voice work. The game is also notable for a near-complete lack of numerical stats, instead portraying health, damage, and magic capacity using text cues and Arle's face portrait.

All three major versions of the trilogy have stylistic differences. The PC-9801 port attempts to downplay the lighthearted elements of the MSX2 game by forgoing super-deformed art and introducing new, more unsettling enemies and elements. The Game Gear ports return to the MSX2 version's super-deformed look, while incorporating elements of the PC-98 version and adding all new characters and plot points.

Madou Monogatari I

The Game Gear version of the first part of 1-2-3 is titled Madou Monogatari I: The Three Magic Spheres (魔導物語I 3つの魔導球 Madō Monogatari I: Mittsu no Madō Kyū), while the Mega Drive and PC Engine Arcade CD versions are titled Madou Monogatari I and Madou Monogatari I Honoo No Sotsuenji, respectively.

Six-year old Arle Nadja must complete a test by scaling a large tower, collecting three magic spheres, and destroying Cockatrice (who is not present in the PC-9801 version) and Fudoushi (Mamono in the MSX version) so she can graduate from kindergarten. In the Game Gear version, Camus will appear and either help Arle (such as teaching Arle "Bayoen") or slow Arle down (by taking one of the magic spheres if the game has been played for over three hours).

Just before the final boss, Fudoushi/Mamono tricks Arle into seeing a mirage of the exit of the tower and her classmates turning into hideous creatures with their faces melting and eyes leaking out terrifying her. Arle defeats him and exits afraid that her friends would be terrible creatures, but they appear normal.

In the Game Gear version, there is more than one ending in the game if Camus is healed. He appears in the fight with Fudoushi, handing Arle a pair of Dragon Horns to heal her stamina and magic. Camus attempt to take down Fudoushi, but is smacked away into a wall by his old magic. Once he is defeated, Arle checks to see where Camus went, as he vanished. Falling from the tower's top floor and landing, she figures out that Camus was simply an illusion created by Teacher.

The chapter ends with her graduating and showing her, over the years, growing up.

There are major differences between the two versions, with the biggest difference being the final boss; Mamono in the MSX version, and Fudoushi in the PC98 release. The PC98 version also has significantly darker graphics and different enemies, and more realistic enemy designs.

Enemies

Character MSX PC-98 Game Gear
Banshee Trio Y Y Y
Gnoll /
Dog Men
Y Y N
Doppelganger Y Y Y
Ghost /
Human Spirit
Y Y Y
Ko-Draco N N Y
Komori Gal Y N N
Kurogga Y N N
Lycanthrope Y N Y
Mini Zombie Y N Y
Nasu Grave Y Y Y
Nomi-san N N Y
Puyo Puyo (blue) /
Blue Puyo
N N Y
Puyo Puyo (green) /
Green Puyo
N Y Y
Puyo Puyo (purple) /
Purple Puyo
N N Y
Puyo Puyo (red) /
Red Puyo
Y N Y
Puyo Puyo (yellow) /
Yellow Puyo
N N Y
Rotting Person N Y N
Sapropel Insects N Y N
Skeleton-T Y Y Y
Spider Vomit N Y N
Suketoudara Y Y Y
Uroko Sakana Bito /
Uroko Ningyo
N Y Y
Werewolf N Y N
Wight Y N Y
Wizard Y Y N
Zombie N Y N

† denotes that this enemy is also a mini-boss.

Bosses

Character MSX PC-98 Game Gear
Cockatrice Y N Y
Fudoushi N Final Boss Final Boss
Mamono Final Boss N N

Madou Monogatari II

The beta MSX version of the second part of 1-2-3 is titled Madou Monogatari Episode II: Carbuncle (魔導物語EPISODE II CARBUNCLE Madō Monogatari Episode II: Carbuncle). The Game Gear version of the second part of 1-2-3 is titled Madou Monogatari II: 16-year-old Arle (魔導物語II 〜アルル16才〜 Madō Monogatari II: Aruru 16-sai).

The events of 2 take place eleven years after the events of 1. Arle is sixteen now. When she encounters Schezo Wegey in the Game Gear version, she calls him a pervert, which became a running gag ever since. In the Game Gear version, Lynx lures Arle to Schezo, showing how they encountered.

Arle is warped to a dungeon and most of her powers are gone. She tricks demon guards with sex appeal and snatches the key escaping.(In the Gamegear version, there's a dead body in one of the prison rooms that frightens Arle. Implying that she would have the same fate if she stayed any longer in Schezo's Dungeon)

In the PC-9801 and Game Gear versions, she fights Dark Dragon before Schezo, who gets burnt to a crisp and shrinks, leaving his dead skin behind. She meets a small bird, Millu, who tells her about a mystical jewel deep within Lyla's Ruins.

She sees light of the exit but Schezo notices her escaping and fights her. In the PC-9801 version, Schezo is decapitated but the bloody head manages to attack still. After you defeat him, he passes on and you don't see him again (except in the Game Gear version where you meet him again a few times).

In the PC-9801 version, after you defeat Schezo, you fight a rotting test body which is connected to the walls of the exit. After Arle escapes, she sees the old ruins and decides to investigate it. Throughout the game she finds letters on the ground, apparently they were addressed to Satan from Rulue.

Before Arle can reach the final floor, she most collect three colored stones and place them inside the Carbuncle-shaped room. Afterwards, she meets Satan, who finds her beautiful and wants to marry her (Schezo appears for a short time in the cutscene of the Game Gear version, and Satan doesn't have his horns and wings.) She fights Satan and defeats the unholy one himself (Pigra also will appear and heal you if you pay him before the battle.)

The games ends with Arle meeting Carbuncle, who has the jewel Millu spoke of inside of his head. Rather than taking it out of his head, she befriends him, Carbuncle quickly trusts her and they leave Lyla's Ruins.

Enemies

Character MSX (Carbuncle) MSX (1-2-3) PC-98 Game Gear
Banshee Trio N N Y Y
Barbegazi N Y N N
Dog Men N N Y N
Doppelganger N N Y N
Draco Centauros N N Y Y
Garuda N N Y Y
Gorgon N Y N N
Jarne N N Y Y
Kaiju Y N N N
Ko-Satan Y N N N
Lamia Y N Y Y
Lycanthrope Y Y N N
Lynx N Y Y Y
Medusa N N Y Y
Mummy Y
(red/blue-eyed variants)
Y Y Y
Owlbear N Y N N
Puyo Puyo (green) Y N N N
Puyo Puyo (yellow) Y N N N
Sasoriman Y Y N N
Scylla N N Y Y
Siren Y Y Y Y
Tyranno Y Y N N
Uroko Sakana Bito N N Y N
Vampire Y Y Y Y
Will-o-Wisp N Y Y Y
Wraith N Y Y Y
Zombie Y Y N N
Zombie (female) /
Zombie-ko
N N Y Y

Bosses

Character MSX (Carbuncle) MSX (1-2-3) PC-98 Game Gear
Dark Dragon N N Y Y
Mage /
Schezo Wegey
Y Y Y Y
Satan Final Boss Final Boss Final Boss Final Boss
Schezo Wegey's Neck N N Y N
Test Body N N Y N

Madou Monogatari III

The Game Gear version of the third part of 1-2-3 is titled Madou Monogatari III: The Ultimate Queen (魔導物語III 究極女王様 Madō Monogatari III: Kyūkyoku Joō-sama).

3 takes place not too long after 2. Rulue recognizes Carbuncle and becomes upset - she is convinced that Satan chose to marry Arle. Arle is clueless about her jealousy and thus takes her casually, but Rulue summons Minotauros to chase her into a forest.

Arle manages to escape out of the forest dungeon but her hands are torn and bloody due to frostbite caused by overusing 'Ice Storm'. She finds a pharmacy in town and requests the merchant for medicine that can rid of the frostbite. However, he tells her that the raw materials to make it are in Mokemoe Labyrinth, which has recently been rampant with monsters. Rulue sends Minotauros to fight Arle, but Arle defeats him, ending the game.

This plot-point was entirely removed in the Game Gear version and replaced with an entirely different story. A frog follows Arle around on her adventure, you get a new pink armor along with a powerful staff, fight an Egyptian Guardian, Carbuncle gets sick, Arle travels to space to cure him, Minotauros is only the third boss (the second being a super form of Draco Centauros) and Rulue is the final boss instead.

After Arle defeats them, she figures out that Rulue was the one who had unleashed monsters throughout Mokemoe Labyrinth. Rulue claims that the area belonged to her and that the townspeople were roughing it up. Arle continues to object that people cannot gain the raw materials, and Rulue shows no care for it. Instead Rulue tries to make a deal, that she goes to the same Magic School as Arle and learn to be a wonderful mage and impress Satan.

Agreeing to the deal, Rulue orders Minotauros to get up and prepare to leave. Arle's frostbite is cured and says "Two dogs and two men, were heading to the Magic School". As she, Rulue, Minotauros, and Carbuncle look in one direction. Thus ending the trilogy.

In the Game Gear version, though, Rulue still is angered by her defeat. The frog appears, turning out to be Satan the whole time, and tells them that he wanted Arle as his wife and everything was a plan of his. They both send him flying, unimpressed and annoyed. The ending remains the same except without Carbuncle and Minotauros.

Enemies

Character MSX PC-98 Game Gear
Barbegazi N Y Y
Baromett Y Y N
Choppun N N Y
Draco Centauros Y N N
Dragon Y Y N
Dullahan N Y Y
Flying Head N Y N
Harpy Y Y Y
Human-faced Dog/
Jinmenken
Y N N
Incubus Y Y Y
Konaki-Jiji/
Old Coot
N Y N
Mud Alchemist N Y N
Muddy Doll N Y N
Muscle Zombie N N Y
Nomi Y Y N
Pakupaku Egg N N Y
Pangloss N Y N
Panotty Y Y Y
Puyo Puyo (nuisance) /
Nuisance Puyo
N N Y
Puyo Puyo (rock) /
Rock Puyo
N N Y
Puyo Puyo (yellow) /
Yellow Puyo
Y Y N
Rotting Dragon N Y N
Rotting Flying Fish N Y N
Samurai Mole Y Y Y
Sasoriman N N Y
Sheep Spider N N Y
Siamese /
Cait Sith
Y Y Y
Spector N N Y
Sukiyapodes Y Y Y
Witch Y Y Y
Zoh Daimaoh Y Y Y
Zombie Y Y N

† denotes that this enemy is also a mini-boss.

Bosses

Character MSX PC-98 Game Gear
Guardian N N Y
Minotauros Final Boss Final Boss Y
Rulue N N Final Boss
Super Draco Centauros N N Y

Friendly Characters

Development

EPISODE II's release date was first announced on Disc Station Issue 7.


Cutscenes

Soundtrack

1-2-3's soundtrack was composed by Toshiaki Sakoda and Masanobu Tsukamoto. Some of the tracks here would be reused and remixed in Puyo Puyo games.

There are some tracks that are missing from this list as they only appear in the PC-9801 version of 1-2-3. These tracks include "Shopping time!", "UNDERGROUND LAIR", and "TEMPLE GOD SANCTUARY". The order of some tracks also switched around in the PC-9801's port.

All tracks from the MSX2 version (excluding two) were remade using the PC-9801's YM2203 sound chip.

Some track titles are puns in Japanese that might not make sense in English. A list of some track names and their puns explained in English can be found at the bottom of this list.

1

Title (Japanese) Title (English) Plays during:
OPEN THE DOOR
Opening
1のタイトル
Title 1
Title
TRY OUT
Floors 1 & 2
BREAK THROUGH!
Floors 5 & 6
GO!
Floors 3 & 4
まほうがすくないんだソング1
Weak Magic Song 1
Low on Magic
THEME OF FIRE
Magic Spell Learned
だぁー! こうずいだぁー!
Gaah! It's a flood!
Flood
ぼーっとしたぼーれー
Dazed and Disoriented
Possessed State
ぴーひゃらどん
Pi-Hyaradon
Flute
STAFF
Credits
ENCOUNTER 1
Encounter
ITEM 1
Item Retrieval
どんQぢゃないよ、ばたんQ
It's not donQ, it's batanQ
Game Over
やったぜ、ベイビー
I did it, baby!
Level-Up
SEE ACTION!
Battle
さいごまできいて
Listen till the end
Ending

2

Title (Japanese) Title (English) Plays during:
2のタイトル
Title 2
Title
ダンジョンだじょー
Dajō Dungeon
Lyla's Ruins B3 & B4F
ダンジョンだべし PROPHETIC DREAM
Dabeshi Dungeon - PROPHETIC DREAM
Schezo's Underground Dungeon
ダンジョンだべし(奥の階層)
Dabeshi Dungeon (Deeper Level)
Lyla's Ruins Deeper Level
ダンジョンのこころ
Heart of the Dungeon
Lyla's Ruins B1 & B2F
まほうがすくないんだソング2
Weak Magic Song 2
Low on Magic
SEE ACTION 2
Battle
けわしいのぼりざか
A steep climb
Level-Up
オバQぢゃないよ、ばたんQ
It's not obaQ, it's batanQ
Game Over
ITEM 2
Item Retrieval
ENCOUNTER 2
Encounter
ケツくらえのテーマ
Ass-kicking Theme
Opening
ケツくらったのテーマ
Ass-kicked Theme
Ending

3

Title (Japanese) Title (English) Plays during:
3のタイトル
Title 3
Title
どこだっていいぢゃん
Anywhere is fine
Lost Forest Labyrinth
だんじょんこうさい
Kousai Dungeon
Underground Labyrinth
まいごになって、のたれじね
Get lost and die in the wild
Mokemoe Labyrinth B1-B4F
あっちにいきたい
I want to go over there
Mokemoe Labyrinth B5 & B6F
ぼく もう だめ
I can't... go on... anymore...
Low on Magic
SEE ACTION 3
Battle
ながく ひろいみち
A long and vast path
Level-Up
ダイヤルQぢゃないよ、ばたんQ
It's not dialQ, it's batanQ
Game Over
ITEM 3
Item Retrieval
ENCOUNTER 3
Encounter
ついてくんなよ、すけべやろー
Stop following me, you brat!
Opening
てぶくろあんだだよー
I got these mittens on
Market Town
おわっちゃいねーぜ
We ain't done yet
Ending
ついてくんなよサノバビッチ
Stop following me, you son of a bitch!
Opening Chase Scene

Soundtrack Puns

  • ぴーひゃらどん (Pī-hyaradon) is a traditional Japanese folk song performed by children. It is usually played by Taiko Drums and Flutes.
  • ダンジョンだじょー (Danjon Dajō) is a pun on the sexual relationship between a man and a woman.
  • ダンジョンだべし (Danjon Tabeshi) is another pun on the sexual relationship between a man and a woman. This is made because the word ダンジョン (Dungeon) sounds almost identical to the word だじょー (Dajō).
  • ダイヤルQぢゃないよ、ばたんQ (DaiyaruQ jyanaiyo, BatanQ) is a pun on what Arle says when you get a game over. It's a pun based on the ending of words that sound similar to "ばたんきゅ~!” (Batankyu~!). In this case, it reads: "It's not a dial queue, it's batankyu-".

Gallery

Trivia

  • The game's name is a parody of the early spreadsheet software Lotus 1-2-3[1].
  • The idea to divide the game into three "episodes" was inspired by the Star Wars trilogy, and Yonemitsu had ideas for up to nine episodes of Madou Monogatari, with a "River of Time" being a plot element in the planned Episode 6.

Notes

  1. Yonemitsu's blog post