There is a part of me that really enjoys seeing stats increase in games. Starting out weak and then training up a bunch to reach some faraway goal, going from zero to hero, or just ending up completely overpowered… I think there’s a lot of fun to be had in these types of management and raising games precisely because of said power fantasy, but also because of the journey to get there.
That being the case, I must admit that there is a subgenre of these management games that I didn’t have too much experience with: raising games. I was frankly pretty unaware of this subgenre for the longest time, despite having enjoyed Uma Musume so much in recent times, and so when offered an opportunity to review the recently released Magical Princess, based on MAGI Inc.’s board game series, I didn’t even know what awaited me…
Not gonna lie, no pitch or press release could have prepared me for the journey that this game took me on, forging an eternal bond with my lovely little daughter, making meaningful connections with other characters in the story, and exploring the many, many, many different endings that this game has to offer. Truly, Magical Princess has so much to offer, and even without having played any of the board games, I had an absolute blast with the lore, the characters, and the story.
Developer: Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc.
Publisher: MAGI Inc.
Genre: Fantasy, Raising/Management Game, Anime, VN
Release Date: April 28th, 2026
Reviewed on: PC
Available on: PC
Copy was provided by StridePR
Editor's Note: Despite the shared name, MagiWasTaken/Indiecator is not affiliated with MAGI Inc. in any way... but it's a pretty cool coincidence!
In Magical Princess, you step into the shoes of a single, widowed father as he brings up his only beloved daughter from early childhood all the way to graduation at the magical academy. With her whole life ahead of her, it is your responsibility to shape how she grows up and matures. There are a lot of different paths to take for her, after all, so it’s your input as a player and father that guides her or has her stray from the right path altogether.
Life at the magical academy isn’t easy, as each class you take increases your stress level and each action depletes energy. As such, it’s also important for you to talk to your daughter, lift her mood with a trip from time to time, and go on outings. The resources of gold, energy, stress, and morality don’t just stand alone, though, resulting in a pretty interesting gameplay loop of finding the best possible routine for what you want to accomplish. If your daughter’s morality falls below a certain threshold, for instance, she won’t talk to you anymore due to her rebellious streak, which in turn robs you of a way to reduce stress, which can then cripple your energy and hamper your daughter’s stat growth… As such, balancing all of these stats is incredibly important, adding complexity to the systems at hand.
Besides these resources, you also manage four parameters, each with their own respective four sub-stats: Stamina, Intelligence, Charm, and Sensibility. These not only shape what kind of path your daughter takes after graduation but also how she performs in combat. Stamina mainly governs how well she can take hits and her physical prowess. If you want her to become a legendary sword fighter, it’s a great idea to focus on these. Intelligence, consequently, affects magic resistance and her attack potential with magic. Charm and Sensibility, however, buff up your allies, affect your luck stat, and bring other boons to your builds.
The turn-based battles might seem very simple to most people, but I personally enjoyed the layered systems and complexity the game has to offer. Magic, for instance, requires an incantation to be cast before you get to unleash your AoE attacks and the like, delaying when the attack actually happens. Similarly, the “arts” or skills that archers and swordfighters get to use have a cooldown period after their use but happen instantly. Buffing up your party with Haste allows you to recover faster and act more often, while spells and various elemental attacks permit you to dish out good damage if you have a good type matchup against enemies.
Personally speaking, I enjoyed having my daughter diligently study at the magical academy, deciphering ancient tomes afterwards in the library, and I tried to always keep just enough energy for the month to go on adventures in the local monster-infested forests. Similarly, when I aimed to become an expert fighter, I trained with the local knights after my classes were done, helped on the farm, and hunted monsters so that I could then cook up food that permanently buffs my stats. There are a lot of different paths to take in the game, and I loved the agency the game gives you.
What makes Magical Princess stand out, though, isn’t its intertwined gameplay loop, setting, or combat, but rather the lovable characters you meet along the way. Throughout your playthrough(s), you’ll encounter a bunch of different characters that you can befriend and even romance, each with their own circumstances and personalities.
Fran, for instance, is a female spellsword who grew up among men and hence never experienced “girlhood,” since she always looked up to her older brothers and tried to prove herself through strength and combat prowess. Through her interactions with us, she not only gets to experience that side of herself but also opens up about and eventually overcomes the very fears that prevented her from growing up.
Other characters you encounter include, but aren’t limited to, the tiny genius named Noah, the ever-hungry Crois, and the incredibly adorable and at times scary Chocolat, who each have their own cool stories to unlock and experience.
To me at least, the romance aspect of the game is very well done and reminded me quite a bit of the otomege and galge I’ve played growing up. You go on cute little outings with your friends, gift them a plethora of items (and if you do opt for an artist build, you can even paint them a fair few pictures, which I find adorable!), go on dates, and just have a good time.
The writing does, at times, get repetitive, but luckily you can skip any seen text once you’ve done at least one playthrough. Similarly, a fair bit of dialogue houses typos and odd phrasing, raising eyebrows for me along the way, but it’s not that immersion-breaking, honestly.
My first playthrough of the game lasted about fourteen hours, roughly, but the game doesn’t just end there. It’s not like you’ve seen everything just yet, of course, and there are a fair few mysteries that were left unanswered at the end of said playthrough.
Magical Princess, as such, employs a New Game+ system where you start fresh but carry over elements from your prior playthrough, “looping” as a result and earning the right to explore new storylines, get more insights into specific scenes, and also use your prior playthrough’s “renown” to unlock starting boosts, like a lot of cash, some very strong equipment, bonus affinity with certain characters, and more.
This basically makes achievement-hunting fairly straightforward while also allowing you to experience the story through a whole new lens due to the many new storylines that the NG+ mechanics bring.
All in all, I think Magical Princess is a fantastic entry into the raising/management game genre, particularly due to its focus on memorable and fun characters, as well as the whole slew of cool combat mechanics and ways to boost your daughter’s stats. The translation is a bit iffy at times, and some of the base dialogue can get repetitive, but overall, I’d highly recommend this game to anyone looking to forge a memorable bond with their child, without the very costly and time-consuming task of actually having one in real life.
Verdict: Ever wanted to have a daughter but like... not in real life? Look no further than Magical Princess, a raising sim that works as a great entry into the genre while still offering meaningful agency and a fair few surprises to veterans as well. Its adorable characters, the beautiful art, and the sheer amount of effort and creativity poured into the aesthetics, setting, and story are a sight to behold. 9/10 breadrolls.
This post was originally published on Indiecator.
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