YMMV / Madou Monogatari

• Adaptation Displacement: In regards to Madou Monogatari 1-2-3, the PC-98 versions of those games often overshadow their original MSX versions due to their overall darker tone and jarringly realistic art style.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • There's heavy implications that Witch may have a crush on Schezo (fawning over him in Puyolympics, calling him cool and wanting to touch him in Madou Monogatari Saturn). Their frequent spats can be seen as Belligerent Sexual Tension caused by actual accidental phrasing or is Witch really trying to tell Schezo she likes him but Cannot Spit It Out? It even carries on in the Puyo Puyo series.
  • How powerful Schezo's magic abilities and aptitude are is hard to pin down. Thunderstorm and his signature Areiado/Areiado Special seem to be his only consistent spells, with games like Madou Monogatari: Tower of the Magician giving him Fire Storm, Ice Storm, and Diacute, and straight up has Fire and Ice Storm when he's close to Arle's canon age in ARS. This is also only accounting his repertoire in the Madou games, as the Puyo Puyo games blur the lines further.
• Audience-Coloring Adaptation: Madou Monogatari is frequently described as a "dark" series thanks to the PC-98 version of Madou Monogatari 1-2-3 and the Shin Madou Monogatari timeline. Even with those enties, the series is a Cerebus Rollercoaster at worst that is loaded with silly monster design and Narm-laden voices.
• Awesome Art: After all the issues with other Disc Station games having bizarre art, Madou Monogatari: Tower of the Magician, a game created specifically based off of fan polls as a thank you to the fans, has a significant art upgrade, with cute on-model sprite work and cool and varied animations, including idle animations.
• Awesome Music:
  • As you ascend the tower for Arle's graduation exam, reaching the upper half plays the blood-pumping "BREAK THROUGH!". It's as if the game is rallying you to push to the top.
  • "Fiend Empire" from ARS. It's the very first tune you hear when you start wandering in the forest as a very young Arle, and has only ever been given three additional renditions from Final Test (which is of questionable quality), Waku Puyo Dungeon, and a Tanaka Katsumi Greatest Hits rearrange.
  • "Zako Battle" from Saturn Madou is a fiery battle tune as you engage and take on your foes. This is the normal battle theme, by the way.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The infamous Schezo beheading scene from the PC-98 port of Madou Monogatari II. The scene never explains how Schezo's head just manages to fight on its own, serves no other purpose but to extend the fight in a bizarre, creepy manner and is not present in any of the other ports, making for a nasty surprise for anybody who played the other versions before this one. No subsequent games ever bring this up either, especially when the series went for a Lighter and Softer approach that would make referencing this really difficult.
• Broken Base:
  • Much like the western Puyo Puyo fandom, the age gaps between certain characters are a hot-button debate for shipping purposes, usually in reference to Arle/Schezo and Arle/Dark Prince. Things become even murkier if you take into account the Shin Madou Monogatari timeline and ensuing Cosmic Retcon, as this event ended up creating a whole new reality where everybody is an ageless replica of the original cast (save for Dark Prince).
  • There's a camp that believes that there is essentially no central Madou canon, with works like the Shin Madou Monogatari continuity and the Kadokawa novel trilogy existing within their own separate timelines that have no bearing on the franchise as a whole. There's no definitive answer on which version of the respective games are the canon one, either.
• Common Knowledge: Shin Madou Monogatari and its accompanying Madou Monogatari Chronology is a hotbed for misinformation.
  • Neither the novels nor the Chronology are undisputed canon to begin with, as noted on the Trivia page.
  • Not only was Doppelganger Arle's backstory as the other half of Arle's soul not present in Shin Madou or the Chronology, it was never anything more than a potential plot point for Pocket Puyo Puyo~n that didn't make it into the final game. The culprit appears to be a translation of the Chronology that was posted on a roleplaying message board that incorporated this info without disclaimer; as this message board post is the most commonly-referenced source for the Chronology, it quickly spread like wildfire. For that matter, the scenario writer for Pocket Puyo Puyo~n had nothing to do with the console version and explicitly stated such in their blog post discussing the potential plot point, meaning that even if it were canon, it would just create more Continuity Snarl.
  • Schezo being 180 years old is exclusive to Shin Madou; even then, he is not "mentally" 180 as he was placed in stasis at some point. The only known instance of Schezo's age being given beyond that is in Madou Monogatari ARS, a prequel; everything else lists his age as "unknown".
  • Ragnus plays a major part in Shin Madou and even receives his own spinoff, but he definitely didn't debut there given that the first volume released two full years after Puyo Puyo Sun.
• Crowning Moment of Awesome: In Madou Monogatari II, Arle, despite being a 16-year-old, was able to survive against life-and-death situations such as taking down an extremely powerful dark mage (Schezo) who threatened to drain all of her magic, and take down Dark Prince Satan, the demon king by herself! Oh, and in the Game Gear version, Arle wasn't even at her full power when she defeated Schezo.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Witch, whom started life as just a common Mook, soared in popularity, to the point of gaining spotlight in the DiscStation games. She's the protagonist of Comet Summoner, has her own scenario in PuyoLimpics and the deutragonist of Tower of the Magician, a game specifically made to not have Arle in it (and shared with Schezo, who is also a beloved character). Her popularity carries over to the Puyo Puyo series, with her extended absence being met with lament and criticism.
  • Camus and Lala have a notable following, even getting quite a bit of love among western fans as well. The former being a protective mentor to Arle, and the latter being an entertaining Unknown Rival.
  • Rune Lord, The Count, and Dark Matter are popular villains in the series. Rune Lord is responsible for the backstory behind Schezo, turning him into the dark mage he is now. If counting Shin Madou Monogatari Gaiden, he also gave Ragnus a hell of a time. The Count, meanwhile, is Rulue's personal enemy for capturing her, and is also an enemy in Rulue's Spring Break, specfically in the "Gather the Five Sacred Treasures" route of the game. Dark Matter, lastly, is a horrifying-looking evil mage that battles Schezo, but then possesses Wish to fight again, using his old rival mage's powers against him.
  • Wish and Tenori Zoh also stand out as popular and retain a fanbase even long since Puyo Puyo and Madou Monogatari have been split in ownership. Wish is Witch's grandmother, whom only gets alluded to in off-handed comments in Puyo Puyo, while Tenori Zoh is Schezo's animal companion and answer to Arle's Carbuncle.
• Evil Is Cool: Both Schezo and Satan in Madou Monogatari II, particularly the former for the Surprisingly Creepy Moment of the PC-98 version's fight.
• Fandom-Specific Plot: No thanks to all the potentially disturbing content found, the series is a huge source of Dark Fics. Those almost always star Schezo dealing with or succumbing further to the corruption of the Rune Lord, and often feature Arle as a Hero Antagonist. And, well, let's just say things tend to get real ugly for both characters...
• Fanfic Fuel: To those that appreciate the Madou Monogatari Chronology, the myriad of unreleased media is effectively free game to explore uncharted territory and write what happened within those stories.
• Fan Nickname:
  • "Madoh Monogatari" for the SEGA Saturn installment of Madou Monogatari. Once it was pointed out that all of the early Madou Monogatari names were romanized with the "Madoh" spelling, the nicknames changed to "Madou Monogatari Saturn", "Madou Monogatari SS", and/or "Saturn Madou".
  • "Madou Monogatari: Genesis" for the Mega Drive version of Madou Monogatari I, despite the game being Japan-exclusive and thus not releasing for the North American "Sega Genesis".
  • "Madou Monogatari: The Final Test" for Madou Monogatari: Chaotic Final Exam. "Final Exam" is also used as shorthand, which is slightly more accurate.
• First Installment Wins:
  • The vast majority of the characters carried over into Puyo Puyo come from 1-2-3, and the majority of those originating in the original MSX2 version of the game as opposed to the ports. There are a grand total of six (out of close to fifty) characters to grace a traditional Puyo Puyo game that debuted in a Madou Monogatari game other than 1-2-3^note Kikimora hails from Michikusa Ibun, Archan, Kodomo Dragon and Honey Bee are from Bayoeen Wars, and Succubus and Doppelganger Schezo are from A-R-S, with Sega giving Demiserf a nod in Puyo Puyo!! Quest to add one more.
  • Going even further, Madou Monogatari I received more remakes than II and III, being the only game of the trilogy to be ported to the Mega Drive and PC-Engine CD, while A was the only one of the A-R-S entries to receive a port at all.
• Just Here for Godzilla: When fans refer to Shin Madou Monogatari, they are almost certainly referring to the Madou Monogatari Chronology, an appendix in one volume of the eight-volume series. Beyond the timeline, Shin Madou is every bit as obscure as the other Compile-era light novels.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Being the predecessor of Puyo Puyo old ships die hard.
  • Arle, being the heroine and the face of the series, naturally falls under this, with her pairing choices going from childhood encounters in Camus, Lala or Devil, to Foe Yay Shipping with Schezo, Dark Prince, Witch, Rulue, and even Doppelganger Arle.
  • Schezo, with his "I want you!" line being rife with subtext, is practically the king of ships in the Madou games. Of the most notable pairings, he is paired with Arle, Rulue, Witch, Dark Prince, Serilly, Ragnus, Succubus, Incubus, Rune Lord, and Doppelganger Schezo.
  • Despite only making sparse appearances, Doppelganger Arle has found herself paired up with Arle, Dark Prince, Doppelganger Schezo, Schezo, Rulue. Rather impressive, for someone who lacks any on-screen interactions with anyone besides Arle, in all games she appears in.
• Memetic Badass: Arle. She has beaten up an Owlbear in Madou Monogatari A when she was only 4 years old, climbed up a monster infested tower and successfully beats Mamono/Fudoushi to pass her exam at only 6 years old in Madou Monogatari 1, rips out (not opens) doors and chucks them into space in Puyo Puyo BOX, she battles against Satan himself on a daily basis, can easily beat dozens of opponents and in some cases even mocks them.
• Memetic Mutation: Schezo being decapitated in Madou Monogatari II. ^ExplanationA gruesome image of Schezo without his head, found in PC-98 Madou Monogatari II, which became the Signature Scene of the whole series in the Western fandom due to its sheer contrast with the rest of Puyo.
• Moral Event Horizon: Schezo's first big role as the Big Bad has him kidnap a 16-year-old, with intent of stealing her power and killing her, or worse. Not even getting decapitated stops him from trying to kill her one last time. Every appearance Schezo has made since then portrays him as a lot more honorable, to the point where his Puyo Puyo incarnation doesn't even resemble the monster he was back then. That said, we learn he became the way he is because he's under the influence of Runelord, who corrupted Schezo as a teenager. Runelord is undead after Ragnus killed him, but not before Runelord killed Ragnus' girlfriend and cursed him. That, along with everthing Schezo did under his control, is essentially one big leap over the MEH for Runelord.
• Narm: The PC-98 version of Madou Monogatari 1-2-3, while boasting slightly more traditional monster design and pushing itself as a Darker and Edgier version of the trilogy, still uses goofy voice acting fit for the Super-Deformed MSX2 version.
• Never Live It Down: Dark moments in the PC-98 ports of the original Madou Monogatari trilogy define the entire Madou Monogatari series as far as the majority of the English fanbase is concerned. In particular, it's not a stretch to say that the battle with Schezo's decapitated head in its version of Madou Monogatari II is the most iconic moment in the series for said fanbase. This is despite the mostly-Lighter and Softer Madou Monogatari I receiving the most remakes and reimaginings, as well as the early Puyo Puyo games revisiting the Super-Deformed style of the MSX game.
• Newer Than They Think: Shin Madou Monogatari, famous for its Canon Welding Chronology, started in late 1998 (after the final console Madou Monogatari game) and ended in 2001 (after Compile was done with both Madou Monogatari and Puyo Puyo). At least part of the confusion stems from Common Knowledge that Ragnus debuted in Shin Madou, despite Puyo Puyo Sun hitting arcades in 1996.
• Nightmare Fuel: A surprising amount, which is on its own page.
• Rated M for Money: Kazunari Yonemitsu, the man behind Madou Monogatari, has mentioned that the PC-98 version of 1-2-3 had edgier character designs and scenarios because he thought that PC-98 gamers would prefer that to the super-deformed designs of the original MSX2 version.
• Scrappy Mechanic: The lack-of concrete information on any stats barring how much gold you have, while interesting, is a double-edged sword. Since everything is extremely vague due to the lack of numbers, it's easy to underestimate or overestimate how strong your character is and unintentionally lose more health then expected. Hope you're good at reading facial language and paying attention.
• Signature Scene: The battle against Schezo in the PC98 version of Madou Monogatari II is this for the Madou series. It receives a lot of fan art from Japanese fans and is the first taste of Madou Monogatari that many western fans tend to get, thanks to just how infamous it is.
• Tearjerker: A major plot point in Madou Monogatari: Chaotic Final Exam, is when Schezo, later Arle and Rulue, have a Hopeless Boss Fight against Phantom God. Arle is severely injured, Rulue is seriously hurt too, and Schezo is barely active enough to try and save at least Arle from certain death. Schezo ends up taking the brunt of Phantom God's magic, and is the last thing Arle sees before ending up in another labyrinth. While Arle managed to escape her fate, Rulue presumably didn't, and Schezo was presumed dead. Though she has Carbuncle, never has she felt so alone without them. She does eventually reunite with Rulue, but for the time between then, her perkiness is completely absent.
• Vindicated by History: When the English fanbase first discovered the Shin Madou Monogatari timeline, it was laughed off as ridiculous and was completely forgotten. Come the latter 2010s, lore fans rediscovered it and made it one of the most infamous pieces of Compile-era lore. That being said, the Western fanbase discovering that the Japanese fanbase generally doesn't treat the books as canon has put a damper on this trope.