In the name of the Moo— wait, wrong magical girl
Magical Angel Fairy Heart's review
Developer: Umai Neko
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Reviewed version: Final
Censored: No, except for the DLSite version
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows
Language: English (Steam only), Japanese, German (Steam only), Simplified Chinese (Steam only)
Like most people who lived in the 90s, I'm a big fan of beat 'em up, so I couldn't pass up the chance to give Magical Angel Fairy Heart a try. As is common in the genre, it has a generic and paper-thin plot whose purpose is to explain why you're kicking the ass of whatever poor sod gets in your way instead of telling a deep, thought-provoking story.
Visually speaking, the game is a feast for the eyes. Everything looks vivid, and the sprites are really well drawn. Furthermore, the animation is top-notch. Everything is very fluid; the sprites' movements, the defeat scenes, and that little "Stage Clear" animation that looks so good it might as well be made by an actual studio.
Gameplay-wise it adds some RPG-like mechanics that spice things up. You fight your enemies using any of your different attacks or spend MP using your special moves or your trusty laser gun. You also gain experience and money every time you beat them, and leveling up rewards you with stat points. Money can be used to buy HP and MP potions, increase how many of them you can carry, and get extra stat points (you will need them, believe me).
On another note, the enemies' behavior is slightly different. Aside from hitting you, they will sometimes knock you down and then screw you silly until you run out of HP if you don't get up on time. Some of them will even throw you down right away if you get too close.
Sadly, the game is not precisely flawless. For starters, you can't reconfigure the controls, and there's no way to know the protagonist's moves without checking the Community Hub. Moreover, it has some bugs that range from innocuous to annoying. Sometimes, the animation of some attacks doesn't play properly, and one type of enemy tends to get stuck next to you. At worst, some defeat scenes don't get unlocked in the gallery, which is very annoying if you're a completionist or you're just here for the "plot".
Verdict: Entertaining, but it could be better with some tweaks
Magical Angel Fairy Heart is a fun game if you're willing to overlook its issues, even if you're not into the lewder parts of the game. After all, its gameplay is good enough to be enjoyable, and its art sure is nice to look at.