Madou Monogatari Episode II: Carbuncle
| Madou Monogatari Episode II: Carbuncle | |
|---|---|
 Cover for Disc Station SPECIAL #5 | |
| Developer | Compile |
| Publisher | Compile |
| Platforms | MSX2, Windows
MSX2
Windows XP and Vista (MSX2)
Windows (via Madou Monogatari Kyukyoku Taizen: 1-2-3 & A-R-S)
Windows (via Windows (via Madou Monogatari Chou Kyukyoku Taizen Puyo Puyo-iri')
|
| Players | 1 player |
Madou Monogatari - Episode II: Carbuncle (魔導物語 EPISODE ＩＩ CARBUNCLE Madō Monogatari Episode II: Carbuncle) is a first-person dungeon crawling RPG developed by Compile, and is the first entry in the Madou Monogatari series. It was released for the MSX2 through Compile's bimonthly disk magazine, Disc Station, specifically in Disc Station SPECIAL #5 - Christmas Edition. This packaged release contained four numbered disks, with Madou Monogatari - Episode II: Carbuncle being included on the second disk.
This version of the game is sometimes referred to as a demo or prototype, as a revised version of the game with numerous changes was later created alongside two new episodes for the release of Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 in 1990.
Story
The game immediately opens up to Arle Nadja (unnamed until the release of Madou Monogatari 1-2-3) encountering a mysterious sorcerer looking to absorb her magic power. The sorcerer puts her to sleep using a sleeping spell, and Arle later awakens with a headache inside of a dungeon prison cell. She notices two guards in front of the cell, whom she manages to seduce and attack them, granting her the key she needed to escape. As she traverses through the dungeon, she meets Millu Holzo Benjamin, a strange red bird who offers Arle the Staff of Uranus as a compromise for not eating him, but also in exchange for a gem called Carbuncle that he explains can be found in Lyla's Ruins. As she continues through the dungeon, Arle is relieved to discover the exit, only for the sorcerer to once again stop her in her tracks. The sorcerer, annoyed that she had escaped, threatens to kill her, but Arle manages to defeat him and escape the dungeon.
Once outside, Arle reaches Lyla's Ruins and descends underground on a rope in search of the Carbuncle gem that Millu had mentioned.
Development
Madou Monogatari was conceptualized by Kazunari Yonemitsu who also served as the game's overall writer, scenario writer, and planner. Yonemitsu had previously planned and written the episodic fantasy adventure game, Madoushi Lulba, another Disc Station title released by Compile. Madou Monogatari was designed to be an antithesis to other RPGs of the time, which often depicted male heroes on quests to save the world. Because of this, the game starred a female protagonist who was an aspiring magician with a focus on smaller everyday adventures.[1]
Madou Monogatari was revealed for the first time in Disc Station #7 as part of a trailer advertising the upcoming release of Disc Station SPECIAL #5 - Christmas Edition that would be including the game.[2] In this trailer, Arle makes her very first appearance as she begins to explain to the viewer what genre the game would be and what to expect from the gameplay. This trailer humorously pointed out that the game would have small maps and very few enemies to battle, once again straying from what was typical of most RPGs of the time.
Upon its release in late 1989, the game was given the title Madou Monogatari - Episode II: Carbuncle. In one of Yonemitsu's blog posts commemorating the 20th anniversary of Madou Monogatari in 2009, beginning the franchise with Episode II was revealed to have been inspired by the Star Wars series of films, in which Yonemitsu also had ideas for up to 9 episodes of Madou Monogatari.[3]
Characters
Playable Characters
- Arle Nadja (Unnamed at this point in time)
Enemies
Bosses
NPCs and Merchants
Gallery
-
The Madou Monogatari logo from the game's intro -
Arle's status sprite -
Carbuncle's first appearance. Note the sharp pointed ears in comparison to the rounded ears in later designs.
References
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