Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven is the newest game by the creators of Rune Factory. However, this game is very different. There's a quaint hometown and there's cute girls...but there is also bowling!

Lord of Magna is a strategy RPG with a cute aesthetic. The backdrops are bright and colorful, the characters are tiny 3D chibis and the music is pretty good. So good in fact that boxed copies of the game contain a bonus CD containing the soundtrack! You play as a young innkeeper who desperately needs to keep his inn out of the red, so you have to gather crystals at a nearby cave sell and pay your bills. One day, an earthquake hits and as a result, the cave is contains new crystals ripe for excavation. While spelunking, you come across a young woman encased in a crystal. As monsters appear, the woman breaks free from the crystal and destroys these monsters. As the story goes on, you'll meet more of these mysterious girls and do battle alongside them. You'll also get to develop relationships with them through Heart Events, with more intimate bonds yielding more specials you can use in battle.

Like I've mentioned earlier, Lord of Magna is a strategy RPG. Much of the action takes place in maps filled with monsters. To combat these monsters, you'll have to go bowling. Lord of Magna's battle system is similar to Fire Emblem: a turn-based war between your crew versus the enemy, with most conditions for winning being defeating the enemy. Unlike Fire Emblem, which is played on grids, there's a much more fluid range of movement. And instead of seeing a neat little cutscene of your ladies duking it out, you try to line up your hits in a way so your target launches it into the mob behind it, creating a domino effect. The more mobs you bowl over, the more crystals you get. Which in turn, allows you to get more items for future battles. 

My biggest issue with Lord of Magna is the pacing. Battles aside, much of the game is story-driven, with much of the time spent on dialogue at the inn. Prepare yourself for a lot of talk! The first hour of Lord of Magna was one of the slowest I've dealt with in any game. 

Overall, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven is cute, charming and features an original and fun battle system. The only problem is the lengthy conversations. But if you're into talking to cute anime girls in video games, you'll be in heaven! Maiden Heaven, in fact. 

Hint: There's multiple endings in Lord of Magna. Whichever one you'll end up with all depends on how well you treat your favorite maiden.

by Ray n.