Madou Monogatari 1 (PC-98) (June 2023)

Intro

"I'll be back before you know it!"

Arle Nadja, a 6-year-old magic student, embarks on her Magic Kindergarten Graduation Test. The goal is simple; enter the magic tower and return with 3 magic orbs. However, illusion monsters and traps await. Muster your courage, and conquer the tower!

Madou Monogatari has been released and remade on several other systems, but the PC-98 edition holds a weird place where they abandoned the trademark cuteness of Puyo Puyo and other Madou Monogatari releases in favor of a dark, realistic depiction of the monsters in the mazes. They went back to the cute style after these ones, but the experimental nature of these is still worth experiencing!

The patch has been tested on a PC-9821 AP2. If your system can run the Japanese version of the game, then this version should work as well. If you run into any issues, please let us know!

For emulating, we recommend Neko Project with save state support enabled. You can save anywhere in the base game, but you have to insert a data floppy to save, then reinsert the game floppy every time. Save stating instead makes things a bit easier. We do recommend saving manually now and then just in case! If we release an updated patch, you'll need to make a manual save before switching over.

Enabling save states in Neko Project: https://gang-fight.com/projects/98faq/#saveStay

Running the Game

Insert Madou Monogatari 1 System Disc into FFD #1.
Insert Madou Monogatari 1 Sampling Disc into FFD #2.

Requirements

HDM/FDI Image of Madou Monogatari 1 System Disc (others might work, but have been untested)

Patching

Extract this archive to a folder.
Place the Madou Monogatari 1 System Disc into the root directory of the folder in step 1.
Double-click to run Pachy98.exe.
Pachy98 should auto-detect the system disc and ask if you wish to patch this disc. Enter Y to confirm.
If no errors have occurred, the patched system disc would have been created in the root directory of the folder in step 1.
Enjoy

MD5 Checksum

Original HDM System Disc: e386962e19990c670cdd41be577807e7
Original FDI System Disc: bfd363f20cdfe987db160492c341e434

Known Issues

The save game screen shows unused slots as データなし, which we haven't been able to locate. This poses no issue with gameplay.

Controls

Movement - Arrow keys
Confirm/select - Space bar
Cancel/return - Enter key/escape key

Tips

The game does NOT use numbers for health and damage! Instead, values are described via words, such as "I'm still doing great!" or "Oh god my vision's fading..."
At the start, turn left to find a merchant at the end of the hall for some initial items.
Always buy the Skillful Algae, Swift Algae, and Eyeball Grass from the merchants! They have a limited supply and permanently increase your stats.
Some enemies are weak to Fire, whereas others are weaker to Ice Storm. For instance, Puyos will freeze when hit by Ice Storm, then break when hit by Ice Storm again. Try different combinations and see what sticks!
The Magic Books can be found in chests or by beating enemies, so avoid buying them unless you really want them earlier!