You have been invited to attend a magical school. You can make new friends, learn spells, face exams, run for class office, and try to find a date for the May Day Ball.
Very Positive
1,019 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣤⡶⢶⣦⡀
⠀⠀⠀⣴⡿⠟⠷⠆⣠⠋⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿
⠀⠀⠀⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⡿
⠀⠀⠀⠹⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣾⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣿⣷⣦⣀⣠⣾⡿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠻⢿⡿⠟
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡟⠀⠀⠀⢠⠏⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣤⣤⣤⣀⡀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡟⢦⡀⠇⠀⠀⣀⠞⠀⠀⠘⡀⢀⡠⠚⣉⠤⠂⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⢦⡀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠉⠒⠊⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⢧⠔⣉⠤⠒⠒⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠹⣆
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⠀⠀⣤⠶⠶⢶⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⡆
⠀⣀⠤⠒⠒⢺⠒⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠤⠊⠀⢸⠀⡿⠀⡀⠀⣀⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇
⠈⠀⠀⣠⠴⠚⢯⡀⠐⠒⠚⠉⠀⢶⠂⠀⣀⠜⠀⢿⡀⠉⠚⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠟
⠀⠠⠊⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠂⣴⠒⠒⣲⢔⠉⠉⣹⣞⣉⣈⠿⢦⣀⣀⣀⣠⡴⠟⠁
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠉⠀⠉⠉⠉
Truth be told you shouldn't expect much from this game, the romances are lacklure and so is the overall lore. The writing is good but again nothing spectacular. Play this game with the mindset of that it was made in 2012
first played this when I was 13 and I can still remember how much I liked Damien- replaying this so much older and I still think the dialogue for his route is SO GOOD. the angst... olivia wilde nod. overall, I think this dating sim holds up fairly well! it's fun and the mechanics of choosing classes for the week/exams aren't too hard.
This game sadly feels like a demo/intro to what the full game should be.
The story just abruptly ends after the first year. You don't get to fully explore some of the relationships in the game or see much of the world that it takes place in. For the route I picked you don't even get to be in a relationship with them until the very last scene of the game. There's no overarching plot or conflict you face besides passing the tests. By the end of the game it feels like things were just getting started.
You're not really challenged with the magic system you're given or get to use the majority of the spells you learn. For every test you can easily brute force your way through them with just the most basic spells you learn.
Also, the autosave just randomly stops at some points which is very annoying
There's so much potential here that I hope gets utilized in the sequel, but for this title alone I wouldn't recommend spending your time with it.
It's a good one to start with since the other hall is expensive and never on sale. Wish there was a little more customization. I love all the references obvi to harry potter but there's some star wars reference too plus i got to mention some of my kinks like being punished and student teacher relationship. It does have some politcal stuff in it so be for warned. Also has a website to keep track of ur character and save stuff. Great art as well I like the style. Check out my screenshots of the game.
containts depictions of abuse and grooming of underaged main character. i dont recomend it for young players. please add warnings of adult content.
This game is pretty fun, I mean it had me up until 5am when I could barely keep my eyes open because I wanted to keep playing. I really like the stats aspect, reminds me of 'Long Live the Queen' in that way. So, you select what classes to take daily which is really fun, and the characters are unique. The character customisation is also a fun addition. I honestly wish it was made for older people and set with older characters so the choices could be a bit more insane though.
Bon jeu mais j'aime pas le labyrinteh, je ne trouve jamais comment en sortir et je me fais sans cesse renvoyer.
I like when this kind of game gives you lots of choices and character customization. The character writting is also good
That stupid blue thing called me ugly, talentless and wished death on me, grrrr ༽◺_◿༼
[spoiler] But yes, I do agree that marrying your professor who is twice your age and is named Hieronymous is totally cool... Will do that again when the opportunity presents itself [/spoiler]
the game has a morally black demon man simp and an old man btw
too short but good story
this game feels so nostalgic despite having not played it before. it's comforting.
Magical Diary: Horse Hall is a visual novel with RPG elements where you play as a new student at a magic school. You get to choose your character's name and appearance, then play through your character's freshman year and decide which skills and relationships to develop.
You decide your character's schedule for the week, choosing either classes or other activities to raise your magic skill, smarts, strength, or decrease your stress. Your magic skills allow you to unlock spells, your strength and smarts determine your mana pool and health, and your stress affects your chances for success in class. Between classes, you'll experience different events and make choices that affect the way your story proceeds.
Several times during the game, you'll have to take an exam, where you'll go to a dungeon and use your abilities to escape. You won't be given any information on what to do for the dungeons beforehand, so the first time around there's a chance you'll fail some of them, either by not knowing useful spells or by wasting mana or running out of health. You only get some demerits for failing an exam, so it isn't a big deal if you aren't able to pass all of them at first. There are multiple ways to solve each dungeon, so you aren't locked in to studying one particular set of spells if you want to pass all of them. It was fun figuring out different ways to get through each dungeon, although none of the puzzles were very difficult to figure out.
There are six different character routes you can get during the game, five major and one minor. Three of them are pretty easy to get, you just have to make a point of talking to the character and being nice to them, but the other three are more finicky and require a more specific set of conditions. Most of the routes either have romantic or platonic variations, although they aren't hugely different either way. I generally liked all of the routes, although there were definitely some I liked more than others.
To see all the story options in the game, you have to play through it multiple times. I enjoyed playing through all the routes and making different choices each time. It never felt too repetitive, as you can skip through all the dialogue you've seen before, and there were new things to discover even after multiple playthroughs. For example, you can get special conversations by taking particular classes on certain days. Going for all of the achievements is a pretty good way to get most of the major endings, and it was fun trying to figure out how to get some of the more difficult ones.
The characters and the world they lived in were very interesting to get to know. Certain aspects of the school and a couple of the characters seemed to be taking a bit of inspiration from Harry Potter, but the world and the story were pretty different and unique. The main characters were multifaceted and it was fun getting to know the different sides of their personalities. I did feel like there were a few story threads related to some of the side characters that were introduced but not fully developed or that didn't end in a satisfying way.
Overall, Magical Diary: Horse Hall is a cute visual novel/RPG. I enjoyed the story and characters, and it was fun playing through it to get all the details. I wish some of the side characters had been more fleshed out here, but some of them did end up getting more details in the sequel. 9/10
很早以前就买了。很有意思的乙女向小品，有出乎意料残酷的地方。
i honestly grabbed this on a whim because steam made me laugh so hard i almost cried - it suggested that this game is somehow similar to skyrim.
thanks for the giggles steam, you'll always be the best to me.
Tl;Dr: local degenerate plays a magical high school game because reminiscing on previous high school experiences just wasn't enough pain stress to wake me up in the morning.
Kendim hariç bu oyunu oynayan hiçbi Türk görmedim daha önce
Zaten böyle ucube ve niş şeyleri anca ben bulurum abi, neyse bilmeyenleriniz için anlatayım çerezlik ve zaman zaman da cringe anlar içeren bi visual novel
2020'den beridir severek oynuyorum ara sıra dönüp bi replay atıyorum Snape çakması hoca için ve developerı desteklemek adına aldım babayyyy
I realized that I never wrote a review for this game. 8 to 10 some years later this game still holds up so well! It's like a safe book you can return to. Wonderful for a lazy evening.
So, yeah... I'm so normal about this game
Good Harry Potter type, anime, visual novel game
On my first play through I sold my soul, got my roommates bra stolen, ran for student body president, and got temp. blinded by ghosts/spirits? 10/10 would recommend.
I really enjoyed this game, and I can't wait to get all the achievements.
Ich will nicht zu viel von dem Spiel wegnehmen da ich persönlich denke, das man am besten blind reingeht aber: Lasst euch nicht vom Stil abschrecken, man lernt die Charaktere zu lieben und es hatte so einige Überraschungen auf Lager
A decent visual novel dating sim placed in a magical school.
...Yet another girlie falls for the "Wanted to date a handsome demon, ended up married to my teacher and alone at prom" (It's me I'm girlie)
The story is intriguing, but some aspects could be more developed, some characters could be more involved and have a deeper history. I love the multiple endings and ways of getting achievements. All in all, I would recommend as a simple, fun VN to pass the time.
while it was by no means my first visual novel, it was near and dear to my heart ever since i first played it years and years ago
revisiting it and seeing all the stuff i missed out on back then was fun
this one is the GOAT for ppl like me who got it off a sketchy website in 2011. i still really like it so i bought it so i could replay it whenever i wanted to :)
i'm also glad wolf hall is a different game because the style of this game is so iconic to it that if they'd replaced it i would've never bought it. they're pure early 2010's anime couture instead of generic 2020's isekai harem raggery. this artstyle built a generation. do not Disrespect It. (also it's just a very lively style that feels very nostalgic and close to home for me, regardless of bug eyes)
the game is actually a little bit worse off than i remembered. there were a few scenes that felt awkward, and the actual gameplay was kinda stressful (given i was used to just plugging in the cheat codes) because you really have to hunker down and perfect that school schedule on TOP of playing the story, which kinda takes away from being immersed (at least for me).
still a quirky little game and i'm glad it's real and not something i had a fever dream about when i was 12
A cute and charming game i really hope they continue the game after wolf hall.I love this game.I hope next hall that comes will explore more of the magic world and the academy ground.
This game helped me realize that I could love abusive people but I couldn't expect them to change or treat me right.
It changed my life dramatically for the better and I'll always have a place in my heart for this series because of that.
Thank you Hanako Games.
Had so much fun playing this ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡ reminds me of cute knight
Suddenly...Im addicted to this game
I would give the developer detention and 10 demerits.
I found it entertaining but!... I hope there will be more years to play thrue :)
Не везет мне с Hanako Games. Их игры для меня вроде и неплохи, но всегда чего-то не хватает, чтобы я поставил положительный отзыв.
Так же и тут... кто-то в английских ревью говорил, что это лайтовая версия Гарри Поттера, и в целом так оно и есть. Правда я думал что лайтовая означает меня эпическая и более slice-of-life-овая. Нет... Это означает просто скучная.
Я прошел только половину или чуть меньше 1 прохождения, и к сожалению игра почти не смогла зацепить.
1 - Нет ощущения магии. Я будто читаю про обычную школьную жизнь с немного безумными студентами. А эти 70 заклинаний... какая от них польза. На экзамене пару штук применишь и все...
2 - Любовные интересы. Ну я вообще пришел сюда за Юри-контентом, но увы - обе доступные девушки (наши сожители по комнате) крайне скучны и жизненны. Своей посредственностью они отлично вписываются в эту столь же посредственно магическую школу. С одной стороны это более реалистично, но в данном случае реалистичность - просто неинтересна. Ах, и да, обоих наделили сомнительной внешностью... Автор был впереди современных трэндов уже 10 лет назад. Браво.
Так что романсить пришлось Дэмиена, потому что он: 1) Самый женственный (по внешности). 2) Демон с крылышками 3) Таинственное прошлое... Единственный персонаж что напоминание нам о том, что мы в школе магии, а не высшей химии...
// Из хорошего могу только сказать, что игра хорошо похранилась. Не смотря на возраст, играется отлично хоть и сейчас.
Got expelled for trying to study all five schools of magic so I couldn't pass exams :<
I love this dating sim very much. It's not too long and has a fun story to follow along with.
Adorable. I played a demo a long while back, and it was discounted enough for me to finally snag it in Steam Winter Sale 2023. The mage training and spell learning are meaningful (though only applied a handful of times in a single playthrough, my one ask would be for a procedurally generated endgame dungeon to keep playing around with our characters in postgame.)
Art is exactly as depicted, the system for being a mage-school sim is really simplistic, but in a good way, so that it doesn't get in the way of the story or bog things down, while also giving you access to random events, and choices that make playthrus unique.
It's just... good. If you can afford it, snag it at full price, if you can only afford it on sale, snag it on sale. Don't skip this one if you like feelgood fluffy reads, or angsty teen reads.
This is one of my favorite visual novels of all time! I loved the amount of content in the game and how many paths there were to follow-- enough to not get bored after a long while of playing-- and especially appreciated the amount of representation in the game considering when it was released. There's a lot of diversity, even including a romanceable asexual character, which hit especially close to home for me as an asexual who still enjoys romantic relationships. I thought each romance track had something unique and fun to offer, and I enjoyed all of them (although I definitely have a personal favorite.) I highly recommend this game!!
I like it.
actually so cute and the routes r fun
2/10
Cute, very colourful and a nice change from all the death and destruction of my other RPGs. The music can start to grate but the game is perfectly playable silent.
Very cute little visual novel!
I was, of course, most interested in the professor, and his route was surprisingly well handled.
I'm not as interested in the other characters, but since i find the world fascinating, i might just try other routes to learn more.
https://youtu.be/T_qHE7vGjCg
Some of the best parts are buried under some of the far weaker ones providing an unbalanced structure to navigate and an overall lacking end result.
If you're into RPG elements + visual novel, seriously, get this game <3
Hmm... I'm a little bit annoyed... won't tell you why, it's a spoiler! But anger aside, the game is very nice, and it is re-playable if you want to get all the achievements and find out things about all the characters/events.
It's a very good story, but my own personal demons haunt me... if you know what I mean...
I just couldn't get into it the RPG is boring and annoying.
I think this game is probably marvelous for the right person, and it almost was for me? But a few things hit hard in the wrong way that made it a rough experience.
I think my main frustration was that, while the academics and exams feel very high-agency, the story felt weirdly passive, despite the many paths? And it landed me in a real nasty classic trauma-trigger scenario, without any real means of escape.
For one, it's hard to figure out how to *choose* to spend time with someone or look into something: people mostly just find you after school and offer you scenes, or they don't. And I felt like the game often asked me to make pretty big choices about who to trust and align myself with, without very much opportunity to ask questions or look into things.
I guess in part I'm feeling pretty burned, having played just one run but with a *real* bad ending—and in most of the poor choices I had been sitting there like "well both of these options are not what I would do, but in the absence of info, I guess I'll lean this way, and hope that there are some follow-up prompts as the conversation continues?" And nope, there were not, and idk I just took it pretty hard to be punished quite so harshly for it.
And like… idk, maybe this is me saying that this genre isn't really for me? Maybe passive protagonists are par for the course, and maybe I'm not cut out for this if I'm gonna take a single bad ending so personally?
But idk, I feel like I really do need to walk away from this game after just one run… it really was just *that* rough for me to experience such a stereotypically-traumatizing situation without the basic tools to navigate it well. I wasn't prepared for it, and I don't really trust the authors with a second go at it, when it comes to my own needs in a story. They seem quite good at what they do, but gosh we really didn't mesh well, unfortunately.
Vague outline of the rough storyline, for people with abuse triggers: [spoiler]There's a character who grooms you with the intent to severely harm you, with textbook manipulation and like… whew it's immersive and effective. And the lack of agency in the game ends up hurting with like… you're repeatedly asked to either take a big swing yes to trust them, or a big swing no to cut them off, without really any hard info to go on or any way to proactively learn more. So I ended up like… in a place where just cutting them off would have betrayed my values, but leaning into trusting them was punished *very* harshly, and… whew what an ugly situation to roleplay myself into without warning. [/spoiler]
I... honestly rather want to recommend this, but ultimately can't because, well...
I was largely on the Sebastian Romance route, and was honestly role-playing perhaps a little too intensely, and, well, towards the end of that line, most of the characters are intensely verbally aggressive, and your clearly becoming more distant from your relatives as time goes on, so when I got to the bit where he Very Clearly said 'this is why I almost killed people, stop obsessing over a dieing man', I was feeling a little suicidal from the game's events, and figured this meant quite suicidal in character, and so offered to die.
Honestly, I don't really consider that an issue. My issue is that, having of done and accidentally survived that, I didn't get any option to tell anyone that yes, I did that expecting to die. Not even when I'm clearly IC still in too much shock to be lieing, from aforementioned failed suicide attempt.
Pretty cute, but also pretty short, most of your playtime in this game will be trying out other paths as there are a surprising number of things to bump into that you might miss if you're not on the right romance path, didn't make the right early decision or have the "wrong" stats.
The writing's solid and charming and the dungeons are really interesting. It feels like the game ends before they really hit their stride, but the developer clearly had some pretty cool ideas about puzzle dungeons and interacting with them through magic, with multiple solutions to most puzzles.
The art style does magically propel your brain back about two decades to DeviantArt, but I found that nostalgic rather than offputting.
10/10, hope Damion stubs all his toes and dies painfully. Minnie the real MVP
It was on sale for less than $5. I'm glad I bought it. It's like a more anime Harry Potter.
This is everything I wanted from a dating sim, and I didn't even know I wanted a dating sim
---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10
Started game, got detention five times before Christmas and expelled from the school. 10/10
"Magical Diary: Horse Hall" - це інтерактивна візуальна новела, розроблена Hanako Games. Вона була випущена в 2011 році і надає можливість гравцеві стати студентом магічної школи і пройти через різні пригоди.
Однією з найбільш помітних особливостей гри є її унікальна атмосфера і стиль малювання, що сприяють зануренню в гру. Вона також має різноманітну музику і звукові ефекти, які допомагають підкреслити настрій.
"Magical Diary: Horse Hall" фокусується на інтеракції з персонажами та виконанні завдань, що вимагають різноманітних навичок і здібностей. Гравці можуть змінювати хід подій, залежно від своїх виборів, що можуть впливати на головну історію, персонажів та кінцевий результат.
Гра містить багато варіантів розвитку подій, які можуть сприяти підвищенню рівня головного героя і розблокуванню нових можливостей. Ігровий процес також містить елементи романтики, які можуть бути розблоковані залежно від виборів гравця.
Загалом, "Magical Diary: Horse Hall" є добре створеною грою з великою кількістю варіантів розвитку історії. Вона має унікальну атмосферу та стиль малювання, що відрізняють її від інших ігор жанру. Це може зацікавити любителів інтерактивних візуальних новел і магічних історій.
Simulátor školy, balící simulátor, RPG a krokový dungeon. To vše v jednom balení. Pokud máte rádi ty první dvě, tak nutnost. Jinak doporučuji.
damien >:(
████████████████████████████████████████
████████████████████████████████████████
██████▀░░░░░░░░▀████████▀▀░░░░░░░▀██████
████▀░░░░░░░░░░░░▀████▀░░░░░░░░░░░░▀████
██▀░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▀▀░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▀██
██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▄▄░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██
██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█░█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██
██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▄▀░█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██
██░░░░░░░░░░████▄▄▄▀░░▀▀▀▀▄░░░░░░░░░░░██
██▄░░░░░░░░░████░░░░░░░░░░█░░░░░░░░░░▄██
████▄░░░░░░░████░░░░░░░░░░█░░░░░░░░▄████
██████▄░░░░░████▄▄▄░░░░░░░█░░░░░░▄██████
████████▄░░░▀▀▀▀░░░▀▀▀▀▀▀▀░░░░░▄████████
██████████▄░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▄██████████
████████████▄░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▄████████████
██████████████▄░░░░░░░░░░▄██████████████
████████████████▄░░░░░░▄████████████████
██████████████████▄▄▄▄██████████████████
████████████████████████████████████████
████████████████████████████████████████
This was one of the first visual novels that I've played and it's hard to find others of such quality. The writing, characters and gameplay are all above average and I am replaying this one before playing Wolf Hall :)
If you want a cute, fun otome dating sim, this is certainly one. I played this back in the day and reran through a few romances recently to remind myself of the adventures and honestly? I'm still pleased. It's one of those very early era Original English Otome VNs, back when none were getting officially translated and brought over on consoles or PC, and at its heart is the same kind of vibe that early Harry Potter novels had for many HP fans. ...And honestly, being able to romance the grumbly teacher was a plus for me. LOL.
If you don't like stat-raising sims, you probably won't like this. But this is a very well done one with many enjoyable plotlines to follow.
Una historia con una trama sencilla pero cool que te termina atrapando por sus personajes y desarrollo.
Pretty nice experience.
All the pancakes for Donald.
ok
If my kid turns out to be a daughter, I will send her to this school. Professors occasionally spank naughty girls here on their, you know where. Application period for wife is now open and will be scrutinized through a series of casual dates. Feel free to reach out for the Husband's bio-data.
God!! I really miss school.
[h1] Got Spanked By The Professor! [/h1]
Thank you for Adrian first of all for gifting this wonderful game to me.
You follow this girl whom like Harry Potter get chosen to go to this magical school and you study, date different creatures, you can become a star student or a rebellious delinquent. Unique to this game you can take exams, use real spells learnt from studies, send valentines to your teacher, get married, give a student council speech and honestly your magical journey is yours to shape!
This is the second title I am playing from Hanako Games, and if I am correct Horse hall is one of their oldest games. Yet, however very epic and unique. Very fun cute Otome game which is LGBTQ friendly. Mind you the game is an obvious rip off from Hogwarts.
[b] Story [/b]
The story is pretty interesting but shaped around the characters, it has its own universe since its a school. The VN has many wtf unpredictable plot twists which makes you want to play more and more. I was practically giggling so much in the Professor’s route. So many variations by decision making which I liked a lot. There are 6 main romance routes and two which I personally enjoyed. However, the routes feel very very unfinished and I wished i could see them through to the end. I also wished they were more school years to finish because it was so ridiculosly fun.
The VN is very light hearted and comical and for a dark route I only saw Damien’s but its not too much. This does not mean the characters does not have depth and personality, they have their own issues but not too deep. So many people can safely play it and enjoy because of that. It’s LGBTQ friendly and that’s another plus point for the visual novel. You learn a lot about this magical world, the do’s and don’ts, the weird witchy customs. I like how black magic is not considered dark in this VN and looks at it in a different perspective.
[b] Gameplay [/b]
Basically its a time management visual novel and you need to raise your magical subject skills in order to pass exams. I liked how they let us DO the exams which are practical, and there are so many possibilities that you could solve each exam like a puzzle with many solutions. Of course you can fail them too and earn detentions. There are 5 main magic skills, strength, smart, cute and weird stats you can raise. All are important and some character routes requires a decent amount of weirdness to unlock special scenes. Do the exams really good and you can earn Merits and be a teacher’s pet and send them a valentine. There is an inventory where you can buy items with your allowance from the mall which gives stats boosts. You can wear clothes and customize them, and you can customize the facial features etc of your character right from the start like in the Sims. You can be a studious little nymph and study in the library all day or Be a naughty girl and get yourself expelled as well so tread carefully.
Apart from the classes and going to the gym, the mall has restaurants, game arcade, magical shop etc. Your allowance is just $5 a week so, spend it wisely. Routes-wise, I found no trouble in completing the routes but I found Virginia’s and Big Steves routes to be a little difficult and was redoing them a bit too much. That’s because other stats affect the progress of these routes. I think in the brother version of the same game, you can take other side characters for the ball but you cannot in this one which is a disappointment.
[b] Characters [/b]
Here comes the interesting part of the franchise, the options you get to romance. I get to have a forbidden relationship with my teacher and I liked it so much. Its so teasing and fun, i can't believe I'm telling that. But to be honest it really is. Most characters are inspired from the Harry Potter franchise. Like Hogwarts, the students are sorted into houses based on their personality and you are in the horse hall. I also liked Big Steves really weird route, I mean i didn't even know this character existed. So many characters with their own story and personality and you can explore much of them up to an extent. There isnt much character development because these are kids and it's a school, it's more like you discover interesting things about them like a hidden object game. Yes but each have their own unique struggles but they are not super deep or super dark, or the routes are left unfinished for us to figure out. That's the biggest disappointment here. Some themes include, mostly child neglect and abandonment and mildly difficult problems of the characters.
[b] Art and Sound [/b]
Overall I think the character art is great, didn't like it from the store page when I first saw it. but it's decent anime cuteness/hotness. I think the brother version of the game (Wolf hall) has more polished artwork and menus. The music is okay nothing fancy, its light hearted and can be dark when needed. The characters are not voiced but I think the game has so many elements that it's not even needed as a plus point.
[b] Achievements [/b]
If you want to find everything in the game definitely try to get every achievement. The stat raising part of the VN is not that difficult and can be done leisurely which I really appreciated. However, some achievements need specific requirements to meet and that can be very difficult because there are so much branching and scenarios. Ngl I used a guide even to figure out which characters I need to romance so many character potentials, and i would have attempted to be student president (but you can't be in this game) I wonder though what is the point of including that if that’s the case. Certain achievements are difficult to get, some are: “Divorced” and “Summer school” The weird and cute stat raising achievements can be tough as well but not impossible.
[b] Recommendations[/b]
Could have included club meetings and doing part time work as activities.
[b] Overall [/b]
A cutesy, entertaining and magical visual novel with unfinished teasing routes. Nevertheless, the presence of extra creative elements in game play and story would definitely distract you from it. Would have loved if it is longer. Price point wise I think its a bit expensive so better to buy it on sale.
It makes me feel real self-conscious as a man to play a game titled "Magical Diary" that features stars so prominently, but it's actually really well written.
fun storybased game!
╰( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )つ──☆*:・ﾟ
is gud
Interesting game
Love this game!
Admittedly some of the characters I was most interested in dating were not available paths, though I very much enjoyed Ellen and Donald's routes. I'll consider buying wolf Hall purely for more content, though I generally only play dating sims where I get to play as my gender, for such an enjoyable experience I'm willing to make an exception! ^-^
If I had one critique though, and it's quite a major one, there is just not enough content :(. It's over so quick, not much time to really develop the relationship much, the exams are overly simple, most spells are kind of a waste. Honestly the game should've probably been quite a bit longer. I would love you'd eventually add DLC that adds more years with new more complicated exams and more relationship development, though considering how long this game has been out that's probably unlikely to occur.
Hieronymous Grabiner，我恨你像块木头。( ˇωˇ)
Fun game,, lots to work out and get right.
Games to complete. Spell types to get right.
I wish there were more date options though.
I did Virginia 1st and she was only a fiend as I needed Higher on a stat, no-one 2nd time as the one I tried for was not an option but got a kiss from Pastel, she is cute but not an option either. 3rd was Virginia, A Romance, there is similar stuff to the 1st playthrough though there are some differences and options and so on and ends up cute.
Try it. It is a fun game.
The game could have been interesting if it was longer; it was too short so there was barely any story to it and barely any gameplay either.
8/10 Fairly entertaining. Already have reached a couple of endings that I will want to replay again.
Surprisingly addictive visual novel with some gameplay elements. When you graduate (ending ) the game gives you a funny prediction of your future life based on an assessment of your playing style and relationships.
I had seen this game as a kid because I really was into Cute Knight (which I still play). Then I saw it was on Steam! I didn't have great expectations since it didn't seem something I'd like nowadays, but I found it enjoyable until the end. :)
I played this game religiously when I was but a wee lass and now as an adult- I can admit; I still enjoy the game. I looked into playing wolf house but there is just something irreplaceable about this game. If you like time management dating sims, you'll love this game, point-blank.
Magical Diary: Horse Hall is a cute visual novel game with a fun art style and interesting story line. This is a dating sim with well rounded characters that aren't overly sexualized. There aren't enough games like this on steam. Magical Diary: Horse Hall doesn't have voice acting and I managed to complete all routes in just under 23 hours. Players looking for an extended game experience, voice acting or adult scenes may want to choose a different game. I enjoyed this game though and think a lot of other VN fans will too.
Didn't love the dungeons, but everything else was nice. The characters felt distinct, their conversations felt believable, and the setting was fleshed out enough that I felt quite immersed in the world.
Nice little witchy dating sim.
They allow disruptive, destructive and unfaithful behavior due to their
overinflated egos and vanity. This is a place that is living in the past
and failing to measure up to what is promised in so many ways -
intentionally. They excel at segregating, demeaning and belittling
students in order to make them understand they are not worthy. The
simple things that you teach your child, truth, faith, honesty, courtesy
are rejected and discouraged. Run.
Oh man, I haven't had a chance to play this game since I was procrastinating back in high school classes, but I still recall how awesome it was.
This is a lovely take on a VN with a game feel included, heavily story driven, but with nice dungeon/spellcasting elements. I love that you work on the stats, spellbook, equipment, and they do have an impact on the storyline. Characters in the story are well defined, quite different, and with really nice background stories and history. Highly recommended!
This was one of the first otome games I played, and to this day it is still one I hold dear to me. Even though it is rather old and in some ways outdated, it is still fun and has a great vibe to it. If you want to feel nostalgic for old Nintendo DS sort of games, play this. It's a great time.
Yeah this game is cute and funny and fun and has magic and dungeons. You can choose if you want to date and what you want to learn, and what group you want to join. If you like the pictures and reviews on the store page you will like this game.
This is kind of like Blood Code. Its much easier than Long Live the Queen. Easier and way less dark than Amnesia: Memories.
Fun game!
A super fun dating sim with different paths and tons of replayability!
I recommend it in every way, but if not for the love, at least for the magic. ✨
Les choix sont vraiment décisifs et les possibilités multiples.
Ended up playing this much longer than expected and really enjoyed it.
I loved the game when it was first published and it still holds up years later!
I want that twink obliterated.
This game is great, really great
I saw this in recommendations, and I passed on it because the art looked cheap and it looked like a flash game, the price was a bit steep.
I was very wrong to pass on it, in game the art is nice, and although it's repeating locales and characters it's quite high quality in full resolution and has a unique flair that makes it feel like it's own world.
The gameplay for those who don't know the style of game , is reading text with choices and mini puzzle sections, much like a pen and paper choose your own adventure book, and without spoiling anything if you've read those books, the feel is 100% there in this game more so than I expected due to the school setting.
All there is to say about it really is that it's a great fantasy themed choose your own adventure game. I played it many times partially to get all the endings and partly because it's just a fun chill game to play in an evening
If you're put off by the price for the length of the game, get it on sale, but I've played 16 hours of it all together which is respectable
体积不大但内容充足的文字恋爱养成游戏，剧情轻松无黑深残成分，有女主的魔法能力与角色好感两条养成主线。
魔法能力的养成轻松简单，而各个角色好感度受较多隐藏元素左右，不依靠攻略不熟悉恋爱养成游戏的玩家很容易走错路线，同时游戏没有汉化，所以贴上http://spikycaterpillar.com/magical_diary/guide.html英文攻略。
最最最最棒的闪光点当然是两条舍友线，很甜。
推荐。
I still haven't had the chance to play the far more recent sequel yet, but Magical Diary: Horse Hall remains my favorite English VN to this day.
The characters have depth and personality, and the story presents a world that seems at once familiar with a very obvious nod to the world of Harry Potter but ready to show its claws as a completely unique beast with strong integrity and intriguing worldbuilding that strays far from what might seem like a parody or cheap reference on the surface. It deals well with choice and consequence, and does an excellent at times presenting consequences for different types of choices.
Horse Hall has both less visual and mechanical polish than several of the developer's other titles like fairly well-known Long Live the Queen, but I really think this is pinnacle of their skill from what I've played in their library of products thus far. My greatest critique is that I really wish there was more -- I don't think the VN understays its welcome, I simply enjoyed it that much.
I love this game. Story rich and relaxing to play.
Expensive for how short it is, and sub par compared to lots of other dating sims. The puzzles are fine, but there are a lot of creative solutions that you might think up but are not allowed to do. The game has a super slow pace and seems like it is building up to new stuff when the next year comes, but that is an entirely different game that you have to buy.
The worst part by far is that for all of the female romance options, they are a) essentially cardboard and not interesting to talk to and b)they both tell you they are not interested in girls and don't want to date you, despite them being the only female dating options. That is the kind of stuff that tells you these gay romance options are meant for straight people to enjoy, and actual lesbians aren't welcome.
There are a lot of dating sims out there, and a lot of them are good. This is not even close, don't ever buy.
