Protagonist (Magical Vacation)

The protagonist is the main character of Magical Vacation. They are semi-customizable, with the player choosing their gender, name, and elemental spirit at the beginning of the game. The hero is known as Mash, while the heroine is known as Mallow.

Party member
The protagonist is controlled by the player. Based on which gender is selected, their stat growth will change. The hero excels in HP and power; the heroine excels in MP, spirit, and agility.

At the start of the game, the protagonist can be assigned one of the following spirits: fire, wind, poison, beauty, blade, sound, stone, insect, wood, beast, water, thunder, or ancient. The love, light, and dark elements are unlocked through Link Mode. The chosen spirit does not affect the protagonist's stat growth.

Special power
The protagonist's special power allows them to interact with and befriend spirits.

Personality
The protagonist's personality is meant to be represented by the player, whose thoughts shape their role in the story. However, the protagonist is known for being very kind and loves making new friends.

Appearance
Mash is a young boy with curly brown hair and teal eyes. He sports a big cream-colored hat and robe, decorated with geometric patterns and blue hems. He also wears a red neckerchief, patterned cloth beneath his jacket, a striped rope belt, purple pants with red buttons, and brown boots.

Mallow is a posh girl with curly blonde hair and violet eyes. She wears a large pink patterned hat with a red neckerchief, pink robe, gold bangles, blue leggings, and a pair of brown boots.

Early life
The protagonist used to live in a village on the outskirts of Kovomaka Kingdom. Born with the power to see spirits hiding in nature, they were often spotted conversing with sticks and rocks on the wayside. However, the villagers ostracized them for this ability, growing fearful and calling them a fraud. One day, the protagonist was visited by Biscotti, a sorcerer known for bringing magic to the Kingdom. Several spirits appeared behind Biscotti, who invited the protagonist to enroll in Will-o'-Wisp Academy by promising they could meet even more spirits. On their way to Will-o'-Wisp, Biscotti told the protagonist how many of its graduates went on to serve Kovomaka Kingdom, but that was not his reason for teaching magic. Rather, he encouraged his pupils to learn everything there was to know about the world. That way, they could go anywhere their hearts desired.

Starting element
The protagonist became a lecturer of magic at Will-o'-Wisp Academy. Instead of teaching magic for combat, they taught magic for support, reforming Will-o'-Wisp into a school suitable for Ganache and Vanilla's new era of peace.

Dark magic
In search of more powerful enemies, the protagonist spent two decades traversing the continent, leaving their footprint and legacy in over thirty countries. In time, they mastered the technique of being able to freely shift between realms. Their journey spanned across twenty realms, beginning in the Fire Realm and ending in the Wind Realm, where they passed away at the age of 87. By that time, they had earned hundreds of titles across numerous nations. Many landmarks around the world were named after them, keeping their name alive even after death.

Light magic
The protagonist set out on a journey to find a cure to the dodos' curse and enigma fusion. They traveled across many realms, fought formidable foes, and helped villagers in need, acquiring lots of knowledge along the way. One day, Candy received the protagonist's magic notebook in the mail, which journaled everything they had learned on their adventures. The notebook contained heaps of information and was kept in the academy, where it became an essential source of knowledge for wizards all over Kovomaka Kingdom. And yet, no one knew what became of the protagonist.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl stickers
The hero appears in the game as sticker #624, while the heroine appears as sticker #625. They are simply called "Boy" and "Girl".

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit
The protagonists appear in the game as spirit no. 1176. In their spirit battle, they are portrayed by two Villagers on the Smashville stage.

Trivia

 * The names "Mash" and "Mallow" are derived from the word 'marshmallow', a confectionary made from sugar and gelatin.
 * Shinichi Kameoka refers to the protagonists as Mash and Mallow. This is also how they are named in gameplay screenshots featured in Magical Vacation Complete Guide.
 * When Magical Vacation was announced for the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console, gameplay featuring the heroine presented her as a wind mage with the name Magical written in hiragana.
 * According to Kameoka, the design bases for the protagonists were Daniel (Mark Lester) and Melody (Tracy Hyde) from the 1971 film Melody. Another character from the film, Tom (Jack Wild), was used as a basis for Brown in Brownies' EGGLIA series.
 * According to Magical Vacation rumors, the protagonist has parents who, unlike the villagers, believed they could see spirits.
 * During development, the game was planned to pair the protagonists up as a couple, whereby the heroine would be the hero's girlfriend and vice versa. The hero was a 15-year-old named Tackle, a kindhearted boy who struggled with expressing his emotions.
 * When naming the protagonist in the Japanese version, pressing Select displays the hiragana and katakana characters in the font used for Latte and the pyrites' dialogue.