Magical Vacation

Magical Vacation
Developer(s)	Brownie Brown
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Nobuyuki Inoue
Producer(s)	Shinichi Kameoka Takashi Kawaguchi Shigeru Miyamoto Kenji Miki
Artist(s)	Shinichi Kameoka Kouji Tsuda
Writer(s)	Nobuyuki Inoue
Composer(s)	Tsukasa Masuko
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release	JP: December 7, 2001
Genre(s)	Role-playing video game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Magical Vacation is a 2001 role-playing video game developed by Brownie Brown and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance only in Japan on December 7, 2001, and was later re-released in the same region in 2006. Japanese singer, model, and actress Mika Nakashima was featured in the television commercials for Magical Vacation. The game received an unfinished English language fan translation in 2016.

A sequel was produced for the Nintendo DS in 2006, titled Magical Vacation: Itsutsu no Hoshi ga Narabu Toki. It was released in North America and Europe as Magical Starsign.

Gameplay

The game is a standard RPG adventure game, where the player interacts with the overworld to progress the story while battling against enemies in a turn-based battle system. There are 16 different elements in the game, each of which is stronger than another specific element, and weaker against another. Exceptions to this rule are: the love element (not stronger or weaker than any of the other elements), the dark element (stronger than all other elements except for love and light), and the light element (no weakness).

Spirit combos

The player can increase the power of attacks by borrowing power from elemental spirits in a process called Seirei Combo (精霊コンボ, spirit combo). To use a spirit combo, the player must summon an elemental spirit, and use magic of the same element in the following turns to release vast amounts of damage. Attack power is doubled per spirit present, meaning 2 spirits would create 4 times as much damage, and 3 spirits would create 8 times as much. The maximum combo (7 spirits) yields 128 times as much damage. The power of basic magic can surpass that of advanced magic if the player uses this combo. Certain special rules apply to its use: for instance, the enemy can summon spirits of a stronger element to eliminate the combo's effectiveness (having one fire elemental spirit will eliminate the effect of one wind elemental spirit), and spirits can be extracted from the field using certain spells. The combo also applies for bombs which contain the magic power of an element. The maximum number of spirits that can be summoned is 7 (regardless of how many spirits were present at the start of the battle), and spirits must be re-summoned per combo use.

Amigo system

Screenshot of the turn-based battle system.

This system allows the player to interact with the Game Boy Advance's multiplayer link. The first option, Let's Amigo (レッツアミーゴ), allows players to exchange main characters to acquire new spells. For instance, exchanging between a wind elemental main character and a sound elemental one will allow the wind elemental character to learn a sound elemental spell, and vice versa. Magic learned in this way can be strengthened with experience like all other spells from the beginning of the game. Each player can also receive "special" spell data, which can be equipped to allied characters, but equipped spells will not strengthen with experience. Exchanging a certain number of times will give the main character a new spell or change their element. Love magic is acquired if the player exchanges with 5 players of the same element. Exchanging 100 times will change the main character's element to the dark element and change their appearance to the dark costume. Learning all of the spells in the game and fulfilling the two prior requirements will give the main character light magic, change their element to the light element, and change them into the light costume.

The second option, Let's Onsen (レッツおんせん, let's go to the hot springs) becomes available if the player has gone to the hot spring in the Plane of Light at least once during the game. Using the other player's hot spring will increase the main character's powers (different types of hot springs improve different status points; using the same hot spring repeatedly decreases the probability of powering up). After a certain number of uses, the player may be offered a choice to upgrade their hot spring. The level of upgrade is dependent on the player's rank, which is influenced by their in-game actions and win/loss ratio in battles.

The third option, Let's Taisen (レッツたいせん, let's battle), is the multiplayer battle mode. A multiplayer battle is conducted in the same way as regular battles in the story mode, but winning a certain number of battles or maintaining a certain winning percentage awards the main character a special title that boosts their abilities. 3 elemental spirits (chosen randomly) also appear at the beginning of every multiplayer turn.

Nintendo organized two events in 2002 to gather Magical Vacation players together to make the Amigo system more accessible. The first event was held on January 26 in Osaka, and the second event was held the following day in Tokyo. These events allowed players who only had access to one game cartridge to quickly gain power-ups for their characters.

Setting

Plot

Once upon a time, war erupted for three days in the magic kingdom Kovomaka. This war was kept a secret from ordinary citizens, but one man began to travel all around the country in preparation for the next battle, and several years later, the game's main character entered the magic school Will-o'-Wisp at the invitation of the school's principal. The main character possessed the ability to see and interact with spirits since youth, and was ostracized because of this ability.

The students of Will-o'-Wisp Academy are sent away to a summer school called Valencia Beach, despite warnings that several students from the school had gone missing on the beach in the past. At nighttime, strange monsters called the enigma appear on the beach, abducting the students and sending them to another world. The hero must find the missing students, while also uncovering the mysteries of the enigma and the war that occurred in the kingdom.

World map

The game map is divided into four planes of existence, which can be traversed using a magic bus. The first plane, the Plane of Material, is the player's original world, which houses Will-o'-Wisp Academy and Valencia Beach. The second is the Plane of Light, where puppets, love ambassadors, and dwarves live. The Palace of Light and other ruins are located at the center area, along with a hot springs. The third is the Plane of Darkness, where all sorts of habitats, including a forest, iceberg, desert, and volcano, are located in close proximity. The wolks and nyamnelt species make their homes in this plane, and many enigma monsters live in Enigma Forest. The entrance to the secret dungeon, Garam Masala, is also located within this plane. The final plane is the Plane of Death, which provides a stark contrast to the other environments with its darkened sky and charred ground. Dying in this plane means perfect disappearance of the physical and spiritual self. Even so, several species live in this plane, and the deepest area contains the cave of resurrection. Other worlds are mentioned, such as the planes of Water, Fire, and Wind, but do not appear in the game itself.

Characters

Will-o'-Wisp classmates

Hero/Heroine (Human, age 14)

The player's character has no default name, and the player may choose the character's gender and element as well. The character cannot start out with the light, dark, or love elements, but can learn spells of other elements or change elements using the Amigo system. The main character's appearance changes when they acquire the light or dark elements.

Kirsche Pintail (キルシュ・ピンテール, Human, age 15, male, Fire element)

Kirsche prefers sports over academics, though he excels at neither. He has been friends with Arancia since childhood, and never seems to give up even if he loses. He is infatuated with Candy Mintblue, and his magic retrieves gummy worms from MP recovery pots.

Arancia Scorenote (アランシア・スコアノート, Human, age 15, female, Sound element)

Arancia is a gifted musician who can play a multitude of musical instruments, including the piano, harp, strings, percussion, and woodwinds. Her natural talent comes from her musical family, and she can master any instrument almost instantly, but her music seems to lack emotion and expression, and often causes listeners to lose interest and doze off. She is less than thrilled about Kirsche's affection for Candy Mintblue. Her magic allows the player to discover gold or silver coins from chests.

Ganache Nighthawk (ガナッシュ・ナイトホーク, Human, age 15, male, Dark element)

Ganache is a cool and withdrawn student who was born into a family that bears the dark element. He believes that he and his sister, Vanilla, are different from others, and begins to pursue the enigma after his sister's disappearance three years ago (he explains that his intention was to merge with the enigma in order to save his sister). He prefers to be alone, and only associates with users of dark magic. His hobby is playing the harmonica near the river, and his dark magic makes him a powerful character in battle. His feelings towards Candy Mintblue begin to shift as the story progresses.

Cassis Lumberyard (カシス・ランバーヤード, Human, age 16, male, Blade element)

Cassis is a nihilistic boy who seems to have underground connections. He lost his father at a young age, but is unaware of the cause of his death. His hobby is collecting knives, and he is a proficient cook. He continuously courts his classmate, Blueberry Lakeside, but is rejected every time. His magic allows the player to retain gummy frogs even when a blade spirit joins.

Cidre Rainbow (シードル・レインボウ, Human, age 14, male, Beauty element)

Cidre is an artist and art critic whose precocious talent allowed him to open his own exhibition at age 10, but he has recently lacked a theme that he can be passionate enough to depict. He acts as a tutor to his cousin, Souffle, and his magic prevents birds from blocking the player's path. As the story progresses, it is revealed that his mother met a dark fate.

Blueberry Lakeside (ブルーベリー・レイクサイド, Human, age 15, female, Water element)

Blueberry is a calm and collected girl who comes from an aristocratic family in the service of the king, with ancestry tied to the Plane of Water. She is a tremendously hard worker, and is continuously at the top of her class as a result, but her frail body prevents her from strenuous activities. She is best friends with Lemon Airsupply, who saved her from bullies during childhood. She seems unsure how to react to Cassis Lumberyard's affection. Her magic allows her to translate "aquarim", the language of the water people.

Lemon Airsupply (レモン・エアサプライ, Nyamnelt, age 16, female, Thunder element)

Lemon is an active, boyish girl who hails from a family of martial artists, but an accident during childhood prevented her from joining the rest of the family, so she began training at Will-o'-Wisp Academy. She cannot bear to watch bullying, and is fond of Blueberry Lakeside. Her magic prevents piranhas from extorting money from the player.

Olive Tearclown (オリーブ・ティアクラウン, Human, age 11, female, Beast element)

Olive is a shy, gentle girl who likes animals. She had the ability to read minds from youth, but a certain event caused her to fear looking into people's minds. She thinks of Ganache Nighthawk as a brother, and her ability to read minds allows her to understand him better than the other students. Her magic prevents monsters from jumping out of gummy worm holes.

Cabernet Cheaptrick (カベルネ・チープトリック, Puppet, age 13, male, Poison element)

Cabernet is a mischievous and pessimistic boy who was taught magic by a frog. The frog lives in Cabernet's head, and prevents him from picking up gummy frogs. He used to bully Blueberry Lakeside, but stopped after being reprimanded by Lemon Airsupply. He has knowledge of the hidden past between his deceased older brother, Chardonnay, and Ganache's sister, Vanilla. His magic makes gummy frogs run away, but also allows the player to reach paths blocks by the gummies.

Pistachio Maplewood (ピスタチオ・メイプルウッド, Wolks, age 12, male, Wood element)

Pistachio is a kind but cowardly boy who is one of the least skilled magic users at Will-o'-Wisp. His grades are terrible, and he is bordering on failing. He wears a pair of pants on his head instead of a hat, and likes to read manga. His magic lets him pick up extra gummy frogs when drinking from HP pots.

Peche Farmer (ぺシュ・ファーマー, Love ambassador, age 15, female, Love element)

Peche is a diligent and emotional girl who loves to look after others. Her personality fits the mold of class president. Her magic sometimes retrieves coins from gummy worm holes.

Sesame Ashpot (セサミ・アッシュポット, Human, age 10, male, Bug element)

Sesame loves bugs, and houses a number of them in his house as pets. He always keeps bugs in his pocket, and is rather introverted and timid. He looks up to Kirsche Pintail, and likes to follow him around. His magic warns the player if chests house monsters instead of items.

Café au Lait Rustynail (カフェオレ・ラスティネイル, Ancient robot, age 12,000, male, Ancient element)

Café au Lait is a robot that the Will-o'-Wisp Academy principal bought for cheap at an antique store. His machinery is quite rare and valuable, but he is disassembled and operated on several times throughout the course of the game. Café au Lait's personality is designed to be cool and nihilistic, and a character very similar to Café au Lait makes an appearance in the game's sequel as well. His magic helps motivate dwarves scattered around the world, which unlocks the secret dungeon.

Chocolat Cracks (ショコラ・クラックス, Mudman, age unknown, male, Stone element)

Chocolat was buried in the ground near the school for a long time before being dug up one day by the students. He talks like a small child, and likes to play with small animals. His magic allows the player to find gummy worms hidden underneath rocks.

Candy Mintblue (キャンディ・ミントブルー, Human, age 13, female, Wind element)

Candy is a talkative, active girl who is attracted to Ganache Nighthawk. Her affection for Ganache plays a strong role in her actions during the later parts of the game. Though she exhibits a carefree personality, she actually despises herself for lacking courage. She rivals Blueberry Lakeside in school smarts, and her hobby is collecting handkerchiefs. She is utterly oblivious of Kirsche Pintail's infatuation with her. Her magic allows the player to remove bomb pots without using a gummy frog.

Other important characters from the Will-o'-Wisp magic school include the main character's teacher, Miss Madeleine (マドレーヌ先生), who seems to be an ordinary teacher but is actually a powerful magician. The school's principal, Gran Dragée (グラン・ドラジェ) (called Biscotti in the sequel) is a legendary magician who gathered the magic school students together from all around the kingdom after the war. Balsamic (バルサミコ) is the driver of the Mabasu (魔バス, magic bus), which can take the player into different areas of the map. Vanilla Nighthawk (ヴァニラ・ナイトホーク) is Ganache's older sister, who disappeared after merging with an enigma in her mad search for power. She is held captive in Chiboust Castle. Chardonnay Cheaptrick (シャルドネ・チープトリック) is Cabernet's older brother, who was a soldier in the Kovomaka army. He died while searching for Vanilla a year before the start of the story.

Species

Wolks (ヴォークス)

These dog-like creatures are faithful to their village leader, and live according to strict rules and practices. Legend says they first came from the Plane of Wood.

Nyamnelt (ニャムネルト)

Known as felins in the sequel. These cat-like creatures originally came from the Plane of Wind. They are brave and resourceful, having survived in the harsh environment of the Plane of Darkness. They can provide useful information concerning other species.

Puppet (パペット)

This species bears resemblance to dolls. Puppets from the Plane of Light can never age, but Cabernet is one of the puppets that does age.

Love ambassador (愛の大使)

This species is highly sensitive to anything concerning love, and can use magic to dispel curses. Females of this species are beautiful, but all of the males are rather ugly.

Mudman (マッドマン)

Mudmen are made of earth and mud. Their bodies are very tough, but they melt at high temperatures. They have very esoteric views on life, and are said to possess magic jewels hidden within their bodies.

Pots (ツボ)

Known as potfolk in the sequel. These creatures are located all around the map. The most prevalent are the HP and MP pots, which restore health and magic respectively. Another type, bomber pots, disintegrate when given gummy frogs.

Java sparrow (文鳥)

These birds are present in many parts of the game. The black-feathered sparrows in the Plane of Darkness cannot be moved, so the player must have Cider whistle in a certain way to move them.

Dodo (どーどー)

Once regular creatures, they were turned into dodos by the enigmas' curse. It takes 1000 years for them to return to their original forms, though there is a special way for spirits to break the curse. Dodo blood is famous for its curing properties, which causes them to be hunted quite often.

Konnyaku-sama (こんにゃく様)

Known as traveling putties in the sequel. These creatures are konnyaku that can speak and move. They are in danger of becoming extinct, and the remaining ones travel around the world in search for konnyaku potatoes, which can increase their numbers.

Water people (ウォーターピープル)

These are creatures made up of water. They originally came from the Plane of Water, but were sent to the Plane of Darkness following an enigma invasion. They speak a unique language called aquarim, which can only be translated if Blueberry is in the party.

Piranha (ピラニア)

These creatures appear in many of the dungeons, and demand money when the player comes into contact with them. Refusing to pay increases the amount of money that they demand, but having Lemon on the team will void their demands. The player does not have to pay if the amount of money they demand is more than the player currently has. If given a certain amount of money, they will drop coins used for befriending spirits.

Ancient robot (古代機会)

These are robots built over 12000 years ago, and can be found at the Benakoncha Ruins in the Plane of Light. Their speech is displayed in a unique katakana font.

Star (星)

Magicians who do not wish to reincarnate may be reborn as stars. They retain all memories of their past lives, and ascend to the afterlife in Rakyuo, a mystical cavern in the Plane of Death.

Gummy frog (カエルグミ)

There are three types of gummy frogs (red, blue, and green), and they can be used as items to restore health, but they cannot be caught while the player is traveling with Cabernet, and certain spirits will not join if the player catches too many of them.

Gummy worm (ミミズグミ)

There are two types of gummy worms (red and yellow), and they can be used as items to restore magic power, but they tend to run away into the ground when the player approaches, and going after them causes an enemy to appear. Traveling with Olive allows the player to catch the worms without fighting enemies.

Dwarf (ドワーフ)

These bearded creatures are superb craftsmen. They are familiar with the mechanics of ancient robots, and will sometimes create robots themselves. The dwarf capital Gearava Village in the Plane of Light, where the factory tower Kido Monga is located.

Pippurusu (ピップルス)

Most of these mouse-like creatures live in the La Roche Tower in the Plane of Light. Some of them exhibit yakuza-like personalities, and will begin a fight just by being spoken to.

Treeman (ツリーマン)

These plant-like creatures live at a marsh in the Plane of Darkness. Some of them seem to be acquaintances of Miss Madeleine.

Brownie (ブラウニー)

This species claims to have created the universe. Their beards cause them to resemble dwarves, but brownies are extremely lazy, and their souls will sometimes leave their bodies while they are asleep.

Pyrite (パイライト)

These creatures are directly modeled after the pyrite mineral. Their speech is displayed in hiragana.

Spirits

There are 16 different types of spirits (精霊), and up to 7 of one type can be recruited. These spirits can be summoned during battle to perform combos, and some spirits must be recruited in order to proceed through certain dungeons. In order to recruit spirits, the player must speak with each spirit symbol, and fulfill their demands. The requirements for recruiting new spirits become tougher to meet as the game progresses. Some spirits have special additional requirements, making it difficult to recruit all of the spirits available in the game.

One spirit of the element the player chooses for the main character at the beginning of the game will appear in the first half of the game. The requirement to recruit that spirit is one green Gummi Frog, regardless of the type of spirit. As a result, the seventh spirit of the player's original element will not appear. In the Remitz Palace, several spirits can be recruited by chasing Dodo towards the Love Ambassadors. No items are required to recruit the spirits in this scenario, but the room with the Dodo cannot be entered unless the player has at least one spirit of the kind depicted on the room's door.

Lux (ルクス)

The spirit of light appears in dungeons and inns, where the player must remain at the appearance points for about 40 seconds in order to recruit the spirit. Though no special item is required to recruit Lux, the spirit despises Nirva, the spirit of darkness, and Lux encountered later on in the game will refuse to join if a certain number of Nirva have already been recruited. The Lux in the secret dungeon only available to players bearing the light element will join only if no more than one Nirva has been recruited.

Nirva (ニルヴァ)

The spirit of darkness must be recruited by beating them in battle. The spirit's symbol (a human skull) will not appear unless the player has caught a certain number of gummy frogs, and the minimum requirement for recruiting the Nirva in the deepest part of the secret dungeon of darkness is to catch over 1000 gummi frogs. The dungeon cannot be entered if the player possesses the light element.

Wish (ウィッシュ)

The spirit of love has no item requirements to recruit, but catching over a certain number of gummy frogs causes them to disappear. This requirement becomes harder to meet for Wish encountered towards the end of the game, and the final one cannot be recruited if the player has bought gummy frogs at shops. 4 of these spirits join during specific events, and skipping the event or making a wrong choice during the event will cause the spirit to disappear forever. The spirit's symbol is a heart sign.

Toast (トースト)

The only requirement for recruiting the spirit of fire is to pay them a certain number of Mirori silver coins, but the spirit in Zundoko Hole will disappear if the player calls the other dwarves to continue digging. The spirit's symbol is a candle.

Humming (ハミング)

The spirit of sound is recruited by paying a certain number of Harmonic gold coins. Having Arancia on the team, along with the small ocarina item will lower the amount of coins demanded. The spirit's symbol is a musical note.

Air (エア)

The spirit of wind is recruited by paying a certain number of Rasimov gold coins, but the final spirit must be recruited in a special way. The spirit's symbol is a feather.

Slash (スラッシュ)

The blade spirit is recruited by paying a certain number of Camti gold coins. The player must dispose of all gummy frogs before paying the spirit to join, but Cassis will retrieve all of the frogs afterwards. The spirit's symbol is a sword.

Powder (パウダー)

The spirit of beauty is prideful, and will only join when paid a certain number of Ganick gold coins and if the player has below a certain number of gummy worms in their inventory. If the player catches more than a certain number of worms while a beauty spirit is on the team, it will cause the spirit to demand that all of the worms be thrown away. Ignoring this demand will cause one beauty spirit to leave the team. The spirit's symbol is a mirror.

Flow (フロー)

The spirit of water is difficult to find, and will join when paid a certain number of Crescent silver coins. Its symbol is a puddle.

Tesla (テスラ)

The spirit of thunder has a habit of saying the same word over and over again, and is recruited by paying a certain number of Helion gold coins. Its symbol is a light-bulb.

Growl (ガル)

The beast spirit is recruited by giving them a certain number of Mahina tails. Its symbol is a footprint.

Boo (ブー)

The spirit of poison is a bit mean-spirited, and is recruited by giving up a certain number of Shibina tails. Its symbol is a bottle.

Stick (スティック)

The spirit of wood is recruited by giving up a certain number of pine cones. The wood spirits encountered later in the game will only join if a certain number of pinecones have been picked up. Its symbol is a tree branch.

Buzz (バズ)

The insect spirit is recruited by giving up a certain number of yellow gummy worms, and can only be found using the magnifying glass item. Its symbol is a procession of small bugs.

Clock (クロック)

The ancient spirit speaks like an elderly person, and is recruited by paying a certain number of Alti silver coins. One of the spirits has a special requirement to recruit. Its symbol is a gear.

Flint (フリント)

The stone spirit is recruited by giving up a certain number of blue gummy frogs, but the spirits will not appear unless the player has caught a certain number of gummy worms, not including worms caught with Chocolat or Kirche's special abilities.

Enigma

The enigma are the mysterious creatures that ambush the player at Valencia Beach. They abduct the students of Will-o'-Wisp because they can increase their own power by fusing with other creatures that have strong magical powers, namely the students. Enigma are resurrected unless they are killed in the Plane of Death, and all of them wield dark elemental magic. 1 in 5 graduates of the magic school are said to be afflicted by enigma, and they plan to gradually take control of Kovomaka Kingdom. Magic power itself was passed on to Gran Dragée by the enigma, and encounters with them are inevitable for those who practice magic.

Piskapook (ピスカプーク)

This type is the most numerous and lowest ranking of the enigma. Most of their missions involve assaulting magicians to merge with. They are not very strong, and some of the classmates are able to fend them off on their own. They mostly function as generic enemies that are repeatedly killed off by the classmates and Miss Madeleine.

Vulcaneira (ヴァルカネイラ)

This type of enigma is similar to Piskapook except for the horns growing on its body. Vulcaneira has transformation abilities, and lure the classmates into a trap by transforming into Arancia. Kirche and the real Arancia reveal its true identity, and it is killed by Ganache after attempting to merge with Kirche.

Dab Hasnel (ダブハスネル)

These enigma resemble bugs, and tend to attack in groups. In their first appearance, three of them attack the main character at once, though the player only ends up fighting one of them. They merge with the dwarves afterwards, and two of them are defeated during the battle in the dwarf mountain. The final one is vanquished by Miss Madeleine after abducting Chocolat.

Rad Hasnel (ラドハスネル)

Rad Hasnel is a variation of Dab Hasnel, which attempts to merge with Sesame in the Plane of Darkness, but Sesame refuses to give in, and the enigma is defeated by the classmates.

Equillekrew (エキウロクリュ)

This enigma assassinated the prior enigma king, Kelrendu, to become leader of the enigma. He merges with Candy, whose mind was clouded with jealousy towards Olive and Ganache, and heads towards the Plane of Death with Ganache, but disintegrates after Olive convinces Candy to liberate her own magic.

Kelrendu (ケルレンドゥ)

The final boss of the game is the former enigma king, who was discredited after being defeated by Gran Dragée in a war. He is assassinated by Equillekrew during the game, and resurrects himself at the Moginasu Magic Cave of the Plane of Death to gain power. He then attempts to merge with Ganache, but his plan is foiled by the classmates. He controls 4 magic hands, which each possess a different element, and assumes a balloon-like form before returning to his true devilish appearance.

Yuveck (ユゥヴェック)

The enigma king before Kelrendu. Long ago, he agreed to merge with Gran Dragée, and the two used their combined powers to bring magic into the Plane of Material. When Kelrendu took control of the enigma in Yuveck's absence, Gran Dragée used Yuveck to ward them off, hence why Kelrendu began reincarnating to become stronger.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Famitsu	35 of 40
Portable Review	42 of 50

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 35 out of 40.

External links

Official

• Official website (Japanese) (translated using Excite.Co.Jp)
• Official Nintendo Online Magazine website for Magical Vacation and Tomato Adventure (Japanese) (translated using Excite.Co.Jp)
• Magical Vacation at GameFAQs
• Interview with the game's director