Highschool Romance: Magi Trials is a Visual Novel created by independent studio AJ Tilley and pretty much a sequel of their other game Highschool Romance, this time in a fantastic, magic-based setting.
Shaun is an incredibly ambitious young man who dabbles in magic. However, the capital's Magic Academy is very strict, and will only take the best of the best to join their ranks. Willing to go through anything to reach the title of Magi and, eventually, Sorcerer, Shaun sneaks in the Academy's forbidden library to cast a ritual to enhance his magic powers and become powerful enough to pass the Trial... but because of a magic misshaps, he finds himself stuck in the body of a beautiful buxom girl!
The Trial fails, but Magi Shira, one of the school's teachers, sees enough potential in Shaun to enlist "her" as her apprentice Sophie alongside her other pupil, Charlie. Together with her or by herself, Sophie will have to train, learn magic and reach her goals. However....
The game itself plays out like the previous Highschool Romance title, but this time it features a different setting, more (usually action-related) cgs and even multiple endings, though this time most of them are actually bad endings.
This Work Contains Examples of:
- Affably Evil: Eri is a Succubus, and as such a Demon. However, despite being lecherous and overly flirty, she's shown herself as helpful and sensitive. She's still behind one of the game's downer endings.
- Ambition Is Evil: Zigzagged, Shaun's ambition leads to the entire mess, but in the end, his ambition to become a Sorcerer is motivated by a serious, selfless reason. Magi Shira, on the other hand, is a much more ruthless, negative example, willing to steal the life energy of her pupils, kill and lie to get what she wants, and Sophie can end up following that path alongside her.
- And the Adventure Continues: The best ending ends with an open note, with the "Magi Wars" ahead of Shaun and Charlie, with the former still aiming for the title of Sorcerer (or rather, Sorceress).
- The Bad Guy Wins: In pretty much all but two scenarios, Shira gets what she wants. In one you even become her lover/accomplice and in another you manage to expose her crimes and force her to flee... only for her to come back two years later with revenge.
- Bait the Dog: During the story, Eri has moments where she's surprisingly helpful or kind, for a honry demoness. in two of the non-fatal endings, she either doesn't care if Sophie and Shira kill Warren and Aureman for power and turn the Academy into their private feeding ground, or she enslaves Sophie to make her her new concubine for all eternity.
- Barrier Warrior: Defensive magic (in the form of barriers) is often discussed and used. According to Shira, most barriers are large spherical domes covering the caster, but are actually inefficient and magic-consuming, while more efficient barriers are small, woven in a web-like patter and cover only just enough to shield the mage from an incoming attack, acting more like floating magic bucklers.
- Big Damn Kiss: Between Shaun and Charlie in the hospital wing, if s/he reveals her the truth about the situation. In the good ending, they share another one which could count as a Smooch of Victory. A darker variant is seen in "The Dark Magician" between Shira and Sophia, with the latter pretty much renouncing everything to help Shira.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Magi Shira appears to be a strict but overall good person who often sympathize with Shaun and is willing to help him despite his breaking of the law. She's secretly a mostrously evil and ruthless black magician who gains power by sucking magic out of her own pupils like a parasite and wants to take over the academy, and is willing to resort to murder against anyone getting in her way. She's also implied to be attracted by Shaun's currently female body and reluctant to have him turn back to normal. Furthermore, she absolutely refuses to see anything wrong with her actions.
- Black Magic: Magi Shira actually uses forbidden magic to suck the magical energy out of her own pupils (such as Shaun) under the pretense of balancing their chaotic magic. This gave her an incredible amount of power.
- Boob-Based Gag: When turned into a girl, Shaun finds himself with rather big mammaries. Both he and Charlie poke fun at their size, the latter at one point claiming that she could use them as cupholders.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Eri the Succubus is usually talking about sex or lewd activities or flirting with Sophie. She's, however, an expert in magic and can actually help Sophie and Charlie training, albeit often using pervy comparisons (like telling Sophie that she has to imagine inflating her boobs with elium to get the levitation spell to work). She can also see Shaun's original gender and can reveal to him that Shira's ritual is actually a way to suck up magic.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The bearded old man who wakes Shaun up in the library at the beginning? He's actually the headmaster, Master Aureman.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Charlie is never happy to see Eri around and costantly makes remarks at her. Eri later confims that she feels jealous.
- Clothing Damage: Happens to Shaun at the end of his first Trial against Shira at the beginning. It happens later, even more extensively, either if he goes on the offensive against Charlie while training or actually faces Warren in his Magi Trial. Charlie can also be a victim of this trope, apparently common in magic duels.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Actually invoked and discussed in a possible cutscene with Aureman: while indeed certain magic rituals and spells tend to have a specific color, raw magic in by itself has no proper color. However, each person's magic tend to have a distinctive color. For example, both Shaun and his brother Darren's magic is golden.
- Comically Missing the Point: During their first massage scene together, Shira casually mentions that the underwear Sophie's wearing is hers. When she freaks out, she assures her that's clean.
- Covert Pervert: In the Shira weekend event, Sophie wonders if it's really a coincidence if Shira bought her clothes that emphasize her cleavage, and this is after she spent nights having her massage and touch her all over her semi-naked body to "stabilize her energy", although while mantaining a detatched, cold air about it. The Black Magician ending confirms that Shira is actually attracted by Sophie and pretty much agrees to share power with her if they become lovers.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Trial against Magi Shira at the beginning, as you have little experience and are faced by one of the thoughest Magi of the Academy. The "Enslaved by a Demon" ending has you facing Warren in an equally one-sided Trial you lose.
- Darker and Edgier: Compared to Highschool Romance, this game has a more serious plotline and can have deaths and surprisingly dark endings, contrasting the former which only had three endings (all of them good).
- Deadpan Snarker: Certain moments of internal monologue from Shaun tend to be rather sarcastic.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Both Charlie and Shira start out distant and cold towards Shaun, but during the game you can actually, depending on your choices, make them open up to you more.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Running Gag has Shaun has him spouting the first (usually embarassing) thing coming out of his mouth when nervous or flustered.
- Downer Ending: Surprisingly enough, compared to the other Highschool Romance, in this game pretty much all endings are this, and you may end up:
- Having failed the Trial and to keep either Charlie or Shira's friendship, you're expelled from the Academy and enslaved by a succubus.
- Try to warn Aureman about Shira, only to be attacked by her and having Charlie die. Two years later, after you have adjusted to a new, overall happy life, Shira comes back, mortally wounds you and burns your home village to the ground.
- Try to stop Shira's energy-sucking ritual too soon or too late, ending up being knifed to death or drained to death.
- After seemingly giving up denouncing Shira's plot, Charlie tries to confront Shira. You either do nothing and are murdered by her or try to attack her... and end up knocked unconscious and framed for Charlie's murder, with Aureman being forced to resign and Shira taking over.
- Evil Redhead: Eri is a red-headed (and also red skinned) Succubus and, as herself proclaims, not a nice person. Magi Shira though is an even worse example, willing to murder and drain anyone in her path to power.
- Evil Is Petty: In the Retribution Cometh ending, Shaun/Sophia and Charlie denounce Shira to Aureman and in the following struggle the latter is forced to flee after murdering Charlie. Two years later, she suddenly shows up in front of Shaun (now trying to carry on a new life) and wounds her to death before burning her home village to the ground purely out of spite.
- Expy: Shira's appearence and role are rather similar to the one of Principal Lea from Highschool Romance, being a red-headed Hot Teacher who tries to help the protagonist access a school by adopting a female persona, and has some Teacher/Student Romance option, though she's far less buxom then her. And less nice, being the villain of the story, though she's still romanceable and, like with Lea, she pretty much marries (unofficially so) the main character in the end.
- Face–Heel Turn: In the Black Magician ending, you're persuaded by Shira to help her murder Warren and then seduced into becoming her partner... in more ways than one.
- Forced to Watch: Judgement Cometh ending has Shira mortally wounding Sophia before burning her village, the village she spent two years protecting, out of spite.
- Foreshadowing:
- Shaun's unusual golden magic burst while training with Charlie or when talking to Aureman. Turns out, his brother Darren had the same type of magic, but died while undertaking the Sorcerer Trials.
- Shaun mentions feeling so tired after each of Shira's "magic-stabilizing" sessions, which supposedly are meant to boost his magic power. In truth, she's draining the excessive magic she got with the ritual that genderbent him.
- Gender Bender: The game opens with Shaun, an apprentice Magi wannabe, turning himself into a woman by accident, and wanting to revert to his former gender, but it takes an equally powerful, Sorcerer-level spell to undo it. This also follows the first law, but defies the second and third law (as Shaun still considers himself a boy even when acting as Sophia and isn't good at acting feminine either). In Shira's path, she seemingly tries to enforce the latter two laws on Shaun, first seemingly to hide the whole illegal spell thing, but apparently because she's actually in love with his female form and wants to keep him a woman.
- Gender-Blender Name: Charlie, as lampshaded by Sophia (who, at one point, even thinks that she'd have no trouble if the undergoes the Gender Bender spell herself).
- Golden Ending: Arguably of the Earn Your Happy Ending variety, it has Shaun revealing his story to Charlie, the two falling in love, discovering Shira's plot thanks to Eri and manage to turn the energy-drain spell on Shira, killing her off and gaining a large boost in power. Due to their action, they get to undertake the Trials and join the Academy, with a bright future before them.
- Had to Be Sharp: Apparently, the Sorcerer's Trial are so severe and though that they cost many lives every year. However, the powers Sorcerers dab with daily are so great and risky only the absolute best of the best can apply, and so all the tests required to reach that rank are made to be incredibly difficult. Shaun's other desire is to make them less difficult for the next generation of mages.
- Hidden Depths: Both weekend events can reveal much more background of Charlie and Shira, depending on which one you go out with.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In the unambiguously good ending, Shaun and Charlie, with Eri's directions, manage to turn the energy-absorbing spell back at Shira right when it's at his peak, causing them to reverse the flow and drain energy from Shira, killing her for good.
- If It's You, It's OK: Charlie's sexual orientation isn't entirely clear, but when she declares her love for Shaun/Sophie after hearing the whole story she makes clear she's in love with Shaun as a person, regardless of his gender. Contrasting Shira, who seems to harbor feelings exclusively for Sophie and tries to feminize Shaun.
- Impossible Hourglass Figure: Lampshaded by Shaun in the beginning, when he's just discovered he's been turned into a girl and still tries to disguise as a boy. He openly asks himself if it's normal for a boy to have such a thin waist, and contemplates blaming it on being vegetarian.
- The Ingenue: In-Universe, Charlie ends up getting the impression Sophie is really prudish and ingenue when she mentions how she finds Warren handsome.
- Jerkass: Mage Warren, the male teacher of the Academy, is cold, condescending and seemingly opposed at giving Shaun a chance at joining the Academy. He also seems to antagonize Magi Shira and her wards.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The above being said, Warren does have a point, in that Shaun did an illegal thing and tried to cheat his way in the Trial. He's also damn right in thinking Shira is on to something.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eri is a Demon and, by default is obnoxious, teasing, arrogant and uncaring. She does though persuade Shaun to go and pay a visit to a wounded Charlie in the middle of the night, which can bring a Relationship Upgrade between the two.
- Love Makes You Evil: In the Dark Magician ending, Sophie is left shocked and horrified upon seeing Shira draining the magic and the life out of Warren and expressing her intention to murder Aureman next, but after the latter not only proposes to share power but also kisses her, she forgets anything and willingly becomes her partner in crime and love.
- Loving a Shadow: After seen both endings, it's highly implied that while Charlie genuinely loves Shaun for being Shaun, regardless of his current gender, Shira's infatuation only involves Shaun's ambition and his currently female, sexy body, which may be why she insist in calling him Sophie even in private.
- Marshmallow Hell: During one of their "magic-balancing" sessions, Shira ends up placing her bosom right into Sophie's face before lowering her to bed and make her sleep.
- The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Averted, despite his transformation into a girl, Shaun keeps considering himself a boy and sometimes acting in rather unfeminine ways.
- Mistaken for Cheating: When you meet up (late) with Charlie after the first day of summoning Eri, she accuses Sophie of having had "fun with her demon wife".
- Mood Whiplash: One of the final paths has a sudden cute and tender moment where Sophie and Charlie lie in bed together while waiting for Shira to come. This soon becomes tense once she arrives and can downright end in tragedy if you don't act at the right moment.
- Moral Myopia: Shira sees absolutely nothing wrong with her quest for power, slowly draining the magic from her pupils, molding Shaun into an indentity of her liking and openly going for murder and violence when opposed or challenged while showing a monstrous lack of empathy. In the graduation ending, she briefly express panics and begs for mercy when her own magic drain is turned against her and she's about to die for it.
- Mugging the Monster: In Shira's weekend event, a masked mugger tries to rob her at knifepoint despite Shira being a Magi. Whether Shaun tries to attack him or reason with him, he ends up blasted to cinders by Shira's magic.
- Multiple Endings: The game has eight endings, though most of them are, more or less, game overs.
- Mundane Utility: Amongst the many things magic can do, there's apparently an entire branch of magic devolved to makeup.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- In an humorous way, when Shaun's attempt to shield Charlie with magic causes her clothes to become invisible, exposing her underwear.
- In a much more serious moment, Shaun/Sophie freaks out after accidentally wounding Charlie in a sparring match hard enough to send her to the hospital. Luckily, Eri can talk them out of it.
- In one ending, Sophie is left in a catatonic shock when Shira reveals the truth about her and actually kills Warren rather than simply alter his memory. She however gets snapped out of it when Shira seduces her into becoming her accomplice and she falls for her completely, losing any moral compass.
- In another ending, both Sophie and Charlie are shocked over having just killed Shira with her own draining spell, even if they had no choice.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Some of the endings have Sophie actually help Shira's efforts to rise to power, in one case willingfully becoming her lover and partner in crime.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Shira admits that she thinks this is the case between her and Shaun (or "Sophie", as she prefers calling her), which she states it's the main reason why she's so keen on helping her. Shaun, however, would never resort to extremes such as hers to get power.
- Oh, Crap!: Starting from the moment he realize the spell has turned him into a girl, Shaun has many, many of these moments scattered along the game. Shira gets a satisfying one when Sophie and Charlie turn the tables on her and she suffers her own energ-draining spell.
- Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Halfway through the game, Shaun overhears a conversation between Mage Warren and Master Aureman about a certain someone who may have done something illegal, with the former insisting for punishment while the latter bides his time and tell him to wait his order to take action. Shaun freaks out because he thinks they're talking about him/her. Turns out, they were talking about Shira all along, and while Aureman knew about Sophie's intrusion, he didn't report her since no harm was done.
- Precision F-Strike: There's at one point an uncensored use of the word "Shit" during a cutscene with Charlie.
- Psycho Lesbian: Magi Shira. She's an amoral, ambitious bitch who gets her overwhelming power by absorbing it from other people, mostly the other students. Her "magic-balance" sessions involve stripping Sophie to her underwear and sensually touch her all over (at one point even pushing her face against her breasts) and despite Shaun's still thinking of himself as a boy she insist on calling him Sophie, buying him sexy bust-baring dresses and feminize him, implying that her love stems from his currently-female body and doesn't really care about Shaun as a person.
- Purple Is Powerful: Magi Shiva is an expert and incredibly powerful magic user whose aura and spells are mostly purple colored.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Master Aureman is the wisest and most powerful mage in the Academy, as well as the headmaster. He's also a very kind, paternal old man, never once rude to Shaun even when he makes blunders and more than willing to help his students whenever he can.
- Refuge in Audacity: When Sophie's protection spell accidentally makes Charlie's clothing invisible, she can claim she did it on purpose to use the surprise effect. Charlie finds it hilarious and takes it in stride.
- The Reveal: Two big reveals hidden in the game, one of which can only be seen in the good ending.
- One: Magi Shira is actually a ruthless, selfish dark mage, obtaining power by using energy-draining magic on her own students to refill hers, and plan to dispose of Warren and Aureman to become the headmistress and gain even more power, in one ending she also plans to do the same thing with the added bonus of turning Sophie into her accomplice and later mistress.
- Two: The reason why Shaun is willing to risk his life to become a Sorcerer and his spells are golden? He had a brother, Darren, who was even more talented whan him and became a skilled Mage, but died in the attempt of passing the Sorcerer Trial. To honor the promise he made, Shaun is willing to become a Sorcerer (or why not, Sorceress) and then take measures to make sure Magi Trials and Sorcerer Trials are less dangerous.
- Secret-Keeper: Three at the price of one!
- Magi Shira is the first to learn of Shaun's incident which turned him into a miss, but is willing to give him a chance, forcing him to pass as Sophie, Shira's latest apprentice.
- Master Aureman knows that "Sophie" was in a forbidden place, but since nobody actually got hurt he doesn't take any measure against Shaun for this. It's implied he figured out the whole genderbending thing on his own.
- Eri, being a magic-sensitive Demon, is able to tell that "Sophie" is actually Shaun because of the residual magic surrounding him. She agrees to not tell anyone though.
- Sex Slave: The ending "Enslaved by a Demon" has Shaun/Sophie failing the test, leaving the school and being snatched by Eri, who gleefully claims they'll be cuddle mates for the rest of their lives, the ending pic featuring a nervous and blushing Sophie in a strapless bikini as an eager Eri leans in seductively.
- Shout-Out: At the beginning of the game, while still trying to pass as a boy, Shaun/Sophie mentally asks himself how a boy is supposed to have such a thin waist could be seen as a nod to Highschool Romance, where the protagonist Shoji (a boy who has to crossdress and pass as a girl) has a rather narrow waist even when not in disguise.
- Slasher Smile: Shira, especially when she let her real nature show. Best seen in the "Wrongfully Convicted" ending where Sophie is blamed for Charlie's death and Aureman retires and in "The Dark Magician" where she and Sophie overpower Aureman.
- Smoldering Shoes: What's left of the thief who tries to mug Shira in the shop.
- Street Urchin: Charlie's background. While she's not exactly fond of it, she still has good memories, considering the other urchins and homeless of the area as an extended family.
- Succubi and Incubi: Eri is a succubus accidentally summoned during midgame by both Sophie and Charlie (since the summoning ritual needed a lot of energy). Eri is incredibly flirtatious and lewd, but also smart and affable, and does have something of a heart of gold, though she admits she doesn't care much for humans. She's also very good with magic. In the path to Charlie's ending she can reveal to Shaun that Shira is depriving him of energy and in the bad ending Enslaved by a Demon she appears out of nowhere to enslave Shaun.
- Summon Magic: Halfway through Sophie and Charlie end up summoning Eri, a Succubus Demon, by mistake. Due to the rules of the summoning, she must obey the order of the summoner and cannot be seen by anyone else.
- Take Our Word for It: During an event, Charlie tries some makeup magic on Sophie, which is described in detail and implied to be quite good... however, there's no proper cg picture in game for it, so we don't get to see the actual results.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Just like with Lea, the player can make Shaun (or rather, Sophie) pursue a growing relationship with their mentor Shira. However, this time it's much darker and portrayed in an unhealthier way.
- Underboobs: Invoked during the floating spell incident, where Eri goads the now floating Sophie to at least show them their underboobs. Shaun mentally thinks that they're the less interesting part of boobs.
- Unholy Matrimony: In a dark Call-Back to the Lea ending from Highschool Romance, the "Dark Magician" ending has Shira agreeing to share her rise to power with Sophie on the stipulation that "she gets to keep her like this" before embracing and kissing her, causing Sophie to fall for her completely and to help her with her villainous plans. In a twist from the above, dark-clad Shira has a more dominant approach to the kiss while Shaun/Sophia is devoted and bride-like in her embrace.
- Vampiric Draining: Shira secretly uses her powers (under the pretense of keeping the balance of Shaun's magic in check) to drain the excessive magic and add it to her own, growing more powerful. According to Eri, this spell is deadly, but there's a specific moment when the energy is being drained from the "core" (the heart) during which the user is vulnerable to a sudden counterattack which can even reverse the flow of energy.
- Villainous Breakdown: Brief as it is, Shira has a genuine moment of terror when her own draining spell is turned against her and she has the galls of begging for mercy before being drained to death.
- Wizard Beard: Master Aureman is the oldest and strongest Mage in the academy, as well as the wisest, and has the humongous, grey bushy beard to show it
- You Need to Get Laid: Eri the Succubus claims that both Charlie and Warren should benefit from this.
