Lovey-dovey romance awaits along the routes in the visual novel Magical Marriage Lunatics, with no bad ends to leave you in despair. Instead you’ll lead the protagonist, Yuta, to accepting one of his fantasy fiancées, or instead choose to find love with his childhood friend Yuna. What happens when a vampire, succubus, tenko, goddess, and a witch compete for a young man’s love? Play Moonstone’s Magical Marriage Lunatics to find out.
So how is Magical Marriage Lunatics? It’s a competent entry by an iconic company, and its only big surprise is that it doesn’t include a harem ending. It hits romantic and comedic notes well. A simple, but the funny gag is how each heroine builds a new house behind Yuta’s home, ascending up the hill that at the start of the game was empty of development, complete with artwork showing the newly terraced hill. The drama in some routes is heart-wrenching, at least for a moment as you’re caught up in the story. But it’s hard to believe, with the cute artwork, and the common humor, that the game will end badly, and in fact there are no bad routes. Having no bad routes isn’t necessarily bad itself, but it does make the conflicts that plague the heroines lose some impact.
The voice work in Magical Marriage Lunatics is good, with a few highlights from certain characters that rise to excellent. Julia’s shy nervousness, and Karin’s energetic simplicity stand out right away, but I can’t say whether it’s the voice actresses themselves who stand out, or if their characters had more personality for them to work with. The rest of the sound design is standard fare from Moonstone, meaning it’s lighthearted and mostly upbeat, but the dramatic moments have appropriate music that fits the mood as well.
The biggest draw of Magical Marriage Lunatics are the characters. Unlike similar games, like Princess X: My Fiancee is a Monster Girl?! (review), Magical Marriage Lunatics‘ characters are mostly human, and barely monster-girl at all. A few transformations happen, but for the most part, the girls hang out as 95% human, drawn in Moonstone’s classic cutesy style. For fans of the art who are drawn to monster girls, the game is probably worth buying just because it scratches those itches.
The story of the game is common visual novel fare. The girls show up to compete for Yuta’s love, they go to school, events happen to show off each heroine, and you make choices that get you onto the girls’ routes. Each girl then has her personal problems that Yuta must struggle through to find true happiness. As a result, the game does feel generic. I had to pick up from where I left off the day before a few times, not because I ran out of time to play or had other responsibilities, but because a segment was boring. The character routes are more interesting than the common route, if you’re willing to risk a bit of boredom to get there.
So let’s meet the characters:
First is Yuna, the childhood friend. She works at her family’s restaurant, drawing clients due to her looks and perky personality. She’s reliable, and has been in love with Yuta for a long time, assuming they’d just get together at some point because of a promise he made long ago. She’s understandably shocked as her rivals show up.
Then there’s Luci, the vampire. She’s confident Yuta will be hers. She’s always confident, lives an upper-class life, and has a tsundere side. She’s the first to build her home behind Yuta’s, and starts the trend for the other heroines to follow.
Julia the well-stacked klutz is the succubus heroine. She’s nervous, shy, and just generally anxious about most things, but especially her looks and body. Amazingly, for a succubus, she feels uncomfortable around men.
Karin is the tenko, who can turn into a small fox. Energetic, upfront, and honest, she doesn’t get why Yuta won’t just marry her immediately.
Yorihime the goddess is classic Japanese wife material. Elegant, kind, and looks impeccable in a kimono, she is still a powerful entity you’d be a fool to mess with. She’s the big-sister type in the game, entering school a year ahead of most of the heroines.
Luluna the witch is willing to fight directly for Yuta’s love. Unemotional and cold, she speaks truthfully, but doesn’t know how to express herself well, making her a classic kuudere. She enters school a year behind most of the characters, presumably why her bust size is slightly smaller.
If you aren’t curious to learn more about what happens to any of these girls, or their designs don’t pique your interest, the story won’t make up for that, and Magical Marriage Lunatics probably shouldn’t be high on your purchase list. The game is very vanilla, happy, and funny, but it doesn’t stand out in any area. It’s a good pick if you’re looking for a smile and don’t have another visual novel on your to-buy list.
