Magical Vacation

Magical Vacation (マジカルバケーション, Majikaru Bakēshon) is a self-proclaimed "connection role-playing game" developed by Brownie Brown (now 1-UP Studio) as their first original game. It was released for the Game Boy Advance on December 7, 2001 in Japan, and has never been released outside of the country. It is the first game in the Magical Vacation duology and the prequel to Magical Starsign on the DS. The game was also ported to the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2015, but still remained Japan-exclusive.

The story follows a group of 16 students who attend Will-o'-Wisp Academy; a school where youths are trained to master their magical talents. Over the summer, they are sent out to Valencia Beach Seaside School with their teacher chaperone, Miss Madeleine. Players take on the role of a silent protagonist, whose gender and element are chosen at the start of the game. 13 of the 16 elements are available to begin with, while the remaining 3 (Love, Darkness, and Light) are unlocked through multiplayer functionality.

Magical Vacation features extremely detailed environments and unique character designs from Shinichi Kameoka, whose previous works include various titles in the Mana/Seiken Densetsu series and SaGa Frontier. The game's soundtrack was written by early Megami Tensei series composer Tsukasa Masuko.

Setting
Magical Vacation's plot and setting exhibit fantasy traits from other games in the classic RPG genre. The world of Kovomaka is made up of infinite elemental planes known as Realms, all of which occupy the same space in different dimensions. Each Realm is drastically different from one another, as their landscapes are reflective of the element or concept they represent. The only way to shift between Realms is by slipping through a natural disturbance in reality, using Realm-shifting technology, or by mastering Warp Magic. Will-o'-Wisp Academy is in the Material Realm.

Backstory


Long ago, a destructive war broke out in the Kingdom of Kovomaka. Countless swordsmen and wizards were killed, and the nation was dealt a heavy blow. To cover up the events of the war, a lie was spread amongst the townspeople, and they were told that thousands of soldiers had died as a result of an experiment gone awry. The battle lasted for 3 days and a long peace followed, but a man named Biscotti chose to keep a watchful eye.

A few years after the war, the protagonist is introduced. Raised in a village on the kingdom's edge, they were born with the ability to communicate with elemental spirits hiding inside artifacts of nature. Unfortunately, others did not see their power as a blessing and became fearful of what it could bring. The townspeople called the child a misfit and had them exiled from the village.

Shortly after their exultation, the child encountered Principal Biscotti and was asked if they liked spirits, to which a multitude of them appeared behind the great wizard. Thrilled to meet someone who could also see spirits, the child answered yes. Biscotti then invited them to enroll in his school of magic with the promise of meeting even more spirits, and the two departed for Will-o'-Wisp Academy.

Prologue: Camp
One summer afternoon in present time, the protagonist and their classmate Pistachio Maplewood are alone in the school's Zen Room. Pistachio worryingly kicks at a Magic Doll named Calamari, but he is interrupted when Kirsche Pintail and Sesame Ashpot run inside. The boys tell their friends that Balsamico's Magic Bus has arrived on campus and will be departing for the campgrounds soon. Pistachio is not as enthusiastic, whimpering about the likeliness of him getting held back a grade if he attends the Seaside School. Kirsche tries motivating the young canin, then a group of girls enters the room; Blueberry Lakeside, Lemon Airsupply, and Candy Mintblue.

Candy attempts to lift Pistachio's hopes up, telling him to train non-stop at camp until he can defeat Ganache in a duel. Each student in the Zen Room makes their own resolutions for the Seaside School, and Candy reveals that her goal is to ask out a mystery boy, causing Kirsche's heartbeat to spike. The Wind mage misunderstands the boy's excitement and assumes he wants to ask Arancia Scorenote out, as they have been friends since childhood. Overwhelmed with frustration, Kirsche leaves for the bus in a huff and Sesame follows.

The protagonist walks out into the academy's entrance hall, seeing Peche Farmer run back and forth in a panic as she tries to find all the students. As Peche tells her classmate of the Magic Bus' brilliance, Latte Rustynail bursts out of the Music Room upstairs, running down to the kids and whirling around like a propeller. When the Envoy of Love asks what happened, Latte says the students upstairs were telling scary stories, then he bolts outside. Mildly irritated, Peche instructs the protagonist to go to the Music Room while she rounds up those waiting in the Zen Room.

In the east wing, the protagonist sees Principal Biscotti talking to Miss Madeleine. The topic of their conversation is not very clear, but Madeleine appears to be worrisome about her ability to take care of the 16 students. Biscotti assures the young teacher that she is capable, but their discussion is cut short when the protagonist enters the room. Madeleine politely asks her pupil to get on the bus, and Biscotti prays that the kids' summer is filled with everlasting joy.

The protagonist then walks into a study hall in the west wing where Cabernet Cheaptrick sits alone. He reflects on the words of his deceased brother, Chardonnay, who tragically died in a war 1 year ago. Cabernet recalls something which was told to him by Chardonnay; a warning that Valencia Beach hid a dark secret. Resuming Peche's request, the protagonist enters the Music Room upstairs and finds most of the remaining students. Among them are Cassis Lumberyard, Cider Rainbow, Olive Tearclown, and Arancia Scorenote. Cider argues with Cassis about the alleged disappearances of students at Valencia Beach, some of whom returned to the academy and threatened to cause chaos. While Cassis is in full belief of these allegations, Cider denies their legitimacy, saying the academy would not allow annual trips to Valencia Beach if they put students in danger.

When Cider asks his classmate for an example of a student who disappeared at camp, Olive timidly budges in by bringing up Ganache Nighthawk's sister, a girl named Vanilla. 3 years ago, she was one of many students who vanished at camp, then briefly returned to the academy before running away, never to be seen again. Cider thinks Vanilla's departure and Valencia Beach are unrelated, to which Cassis scoffs at his lack of imagination, and Olive breaks up the boys' bickering. Curious of Vanilla's story, Cider wonders if the students can convince Ganache to provide his account on what happened, but Cassis feels that he may not be willing to reveal details about his family. Arancia, calmly playing the harp, is impartial to either opinion.

The group of students join up with the protagonist and head downstairs to the west wing, spotting Cabernet still sulking at his desk. Cassis asks the lonely puppet if he is thinking about his brother, to which Cabernet recounts one of the last times Chardonnay and Vanilla were together as a couple.

In a flashback sequence, Chardonnay follows Vanilla through the west wing study hall, while Cabernet watches from a distance. Chardonnay asks Vanilla to reveal where she has been, and also says her behavior is making people worried. Vanilla vehemently rejects the idea of anybody feeling concern towards her, then Chardonnay wonders if his father said something bad about their relationship. The young Dark mage exclaims that she could feel his hatred, as well as the hatred of everyone she has ever known. The puppet promises to protect his girlfriend from any threat, be it a person or the entire world, but Vanilla says her power is her way of coping with the onslaught of hate. She bids the Cheaptrick brothers farewell and leaves the room, causing Chardonnay to break down in tears. Cabernet tells his brother to leave her be, except Chardonnay knows that something seriously bad happened to Vanilla at Valencia Beach. The flashback ends when both puppets flee the classroom and go after the disturbed girl.

Arancia notices tears falling down Cabernet's face, but he plays it off by saying a spec of dust flew into his eye. Cassis convinces his classmate that he can find inner peace at the beach, so the Poison-elemental puppet tags along with the rest of the kids. With no one else to look for, the protagonist leads their friends out of the school and onto the Magic Bus. Instead of finding their teacher on board, Principal Biscotti spooks the kids by showing up out of nowhere. He declares that the Seaside School vacation is a test of endurance, and anyone who returns to the academy will face immediate expulsion, even if Miss Madeleine wishes for them to leave camp. As he delivers his speech, Madeleine slowly makes her way to the Magic Bus as she struggles to push Chocolat Cracks, the half-ton mudman, on board. Biscotti asks the students to keep his lecture a secret from their teacher, then he joyfully skips out of the bus.

Perplexed by the strange headmaster, Madeleine hands her students their own Magic Notebooks; special journals which automatically record important information. She begins taking attendance once all the notebooks are distributed, and Candy announces that Ganache is not present. Olive volunteers to find him and rushes out of the bus, as does Candy, but Madeleine only allows the former girl to find the missing student. Not too far from the academy, Olive finds Ganache sitting alone with his harmonica, perched against the trunk of a riverside tree. His music echoes through the forest, eyes closed as he plays a song of melancholy. Ganache abruptly stops when he hears Olive shout "So you were here!", and believes it to be the voice of Vanilla. This misunderstanding sets off his paranoia, and he turns around to see the 11-year-old Beast mage instead of his sister.

Battle system
The combat of Magical Vacation is turn-based and relies on exploiting enemies' elemental weaknesses. The game also features a unique Spirit Combo system, which multiplies the strength of magic attacks if enough spirits of the same element have been summoned.

Commercials


Gameplay of Magical Vacation was first revealed for the Game Boy Advance on August 23rd, 2001 at a Nintendo Space World event. It was presented in a 30-second-long trailer with the planned release date being December 7th. Journalists were quick to praise its detailed environments and visual homages to 16-bit console RPGs, as well as its Mana series heritage. Hopeful for an overseas release, they assumed the game would not leave Japan until 2002, but their anticipation was in vain.

The first commercials to advertise Magical Vacation featured Japanese singer, model, and actress Mika Nakashima. In the commercials, Nakashima runs to the shore of a beach at sunset and cries out a promise to save her friends, followed by the slogan, "The mightiest weapon of all... is Friendship".

Public events


Two events were held shortly after Magical Vacation's release in Japan. They would act as large get-togethers for owners of the game, who could meet up and use the Let's Amigo feature to unlock special content in their own copies of Magical Vacation. Casual fans, superfans, cosplayers and Brownie Brown staff alike appeared for both venues.

The first venue was held in Osaka on January 26th, 2002, with around 300 participating players. The second one took place in Tokyo on January 27th, 2002, with a much higher turnout of around 900 players.

Reception
Famitsu magazine gave Magical Vacation a score of 35/40 on release.

Sword of Mana


Sword of Mana is a 2003 action RPG developed by Square Enix and Brownie Brown for the Game Boy Advance, and is the fifth release in the Seiken Densetsu series. Shinichi Kameoka was involved with this game as its character designer. In the heroine's route, she visits a boy in the town of Topple and offers to help him find his book. By retrieving the lost book and returning it to the boy, he will reveal that it is titled Magical Vacation.

"Wow! Thanks a lot! Sweet! My book! It's a weird story called "Magical Vacation." Kids at a magic school do all sorts of stuff! They beat up enemies with fire, lightning, poison and stuff! Bam! Pow! BOOM! Giant acorns!"

Super Smash Bros.
Characters from Magical Vacation appear in the Super Smash Bros. series as collectibles. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Latte (as Mokka), a traveling putty, and a pyrite appear as trophies. Additionally, the male and female heroes, Kirsche (spelt as Kirsh), an HP pot, Mokka, a sparrow, and a traveling putty can be collected as stat-buffing stickers.

Egglia: Legend of the Redcap


Egglia: Legend of the Redcap is a role-playing simulation game developed by Brownies for iOS and Android devices. It was released in Japan on April 30th, 2017, but its servers were shut down on August 30th, 2018, with the game subsequently being retitled to Egglia: Offline. In February of 2022, Brownies released an enhanced port of the game for the Nintendo Switch, dubbing it Egglia Rebirth.

Many elements of Egglia can be considered direct callbacks to Magical Vacation, and even Shinichi Kameoka's history with game production as a whole. Some notable examples of these callbacks include, but are not limited to; a baby Pooka Enigma, a wolks with pants for a hat, and recruitable elemental spirits.