Magical Starsign

"These six academy classmates are about to set off on an adventure unlike any seen on their world...or any other."

Magical Starsign, known in Japan as "Magical Vacation: Itsutsu no Hoshi ga Narabu Toki" (translates to "Magical Vacation: When the Five Stars Align"), is a role-playing game (RPG) developed by Brownie Brown (now 1-UP Studio). It was first released for the Nintendo DS on June 22, 2006 in Japan. It is the sequel to Magical Vacation, and the second game in the Magical Vacation series.

Plot
Magical Starsign takes place after the events of Magical Vacation. The game starts as Miss Madeleine is sent off to search for Master Kale by Principal Biscotti, but goes missing three months later. Her students, specifically Lassi, become worried about their missing teacher. After hijacking Will-o'-Wisp Academy's hidden rockets, the group sets out across the Baklava Solar System on an adventure far beyond the scope of a rescue mission, across several elemental planets. The player and their friends encounter many strange civilizations, meet many characters, fight threatening battles, and explore many dungeons in an attempt to bring Madeleine home.

Gameplay
This game utilizes a lot of functions of the Nintendo DS hardware, including the touch screen. Players can use the touch screen to navigate the world and interact with the environment, and the top screen is used to display information like the map, time, and planetary orbit.

When starting a new save file, the player can choose their gender (male or female), and their preferred element (light or dark) as well as change their name and the names of other party members. Light magic gameplay is significantly easier than dark magic, as there are more enemies aligned with dark in the game versus light. Aside from this and some minor changes to characters, learned spells, and dialogue, light and dark magic gameplay is relatively the same and there are no advantages/disadvantages to either element.

Battle System
The combat system is turn-based, and focuses primarily on the use of magic attacks. All characters are associated with a particular element/planet, and this can influence a battle depending on how a player utilizes their strengths and weaknesses.

The game has several different mechanics that influence combat, including an affinity system, buffs and debuffs, planetary orbit, and rows.



Rows also influence magic. Magic from the back row is weaker, but it can hit all enemies. In addition, melee can not be used if a character is in the back row, or on a character who is in the back row. The only way a back row enemy can be hit is if they are attacked with magic. Back row buff spells like Minty Freshness and healing spells like Healing Wing will also affect all party members in the same way.

Additionally, there are some other uses for the touch screen in battle. When a member of the player's party is casting, they can be quickly tapped right before executing a spell to perform what is called a "spellstrike", and when they are being attacked, they can be quickly tapped to perform a "reflex guard".

Astrolog
The planetary orbit system, also known as the astrolog, is also a key feature. When a planet is in their line of orbit, every character of that element is powered up until the planet exits that area. Light magic is powerful in the daytime, and dark magic is powerful at night time.

Each planet has a different orbit, going slower or faster depending on how far they are from the sun. The planets and day/night cycle out in real time, so it can be important to plan battles at specific times to ensure an advantage. The player can view the astrolog at any time in and out of battle, and it's a very useful tool.

The alignment of planets from furthest to closest to the sun are as follows: Erd, Cassia, Puffoon, Gren, and Razen. In the middle is the sun or the moon depending on the time.

The player can also try and align the 5 planets in a straight line from the sun to unleash a very powerful spell. The AI can also try and do this if they see the alignment as well.

Amigo Mode
If the player wants to take a break from the main storyline and have some fun with another person(s) who owns the game, they can activate the local multiplayer mode known as Amigo Mode. This feature is local only, and does not take advantage of the Nintendo WiFi Connection service.

Participants of Amigo Mode (up to six) can explore a dungeon where they work together to defeat monsters and rush to collect as much treasure as possible. When time is over, the player with the most points wins. EXP and treasure collected in this game mode is transferred over to the main game, and many items found here are unobtainable otherwise.

Tag Mode
In Tag Mode, players connect via local connection to exchange player data and items. Up to 100 people can be recorded on a player's list, and items collected via this mode can vary depending on progress in the main game, and the protagonist's element. In addition, players who use the tag mode function frequently will often receive Egg Characters, special characters that can join your party in the main game and battle with you. These characters only level through tag mode and do not gain experience like other characters. The player can swap out members of their party at any time after successfully visiting the incubation room in Neumann, after your egg character has hatched.

Development
Magical Starsign was met with multiple obstacles in development, including the studio's concurrent work on Mother 3, that had recently restarted development. The game was intended to show the capabilities of the Nintendo DS hardware by utilizing top and bottom screens for different things, and the touch screen in combat. Eventually, the game was released in Japan on June 22nd, 2006.

When the game was localized, many character and item names were changed. Some naming differences between regions include planets, like Cassia being named Rig Maha in the Japanese version, and characters like Lassi being named Jasmine. The majority of names being based on food is a constant between regions, however. The various races in the game are named after a specific food groups. For instance, the Spiny Moles are named after various cheeses.

Reception
Magical Starsign received positive to mixed reviews from critics. The game scored an average of 69% on MetaCritic based on 26 reviews. Conversely, the user score is generally favorable, scoring 8.1 based on 20 ratings. IGN gave the game a 7.5/10, giving praise for its nostalgic feel and classic RPG style. Eurogamer gave the game an 8/10, calling it a "fortuitous alignment of DS and RPG."

Legacy
Characters from Magical Starsign appear in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mokka, a Traveling Putty, and a Pyrite appear as trophies. Additionally, the male protagonist, Mokka, a Traveling Putty, an HP Pot, and a Sparrow appear as stickers. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mokka returns as a spirit.