This was a really good one but the gameplay is really rough around the edges. The music and visuals are incredible, the character portraits in particular stand out. Some of the backgrounds clash a little with the character sprites, however, and some assets felt like they may be unfinished. The writing is good and relatively free of errors, though it  was hard to tell where the story was going from the demo jam version and I had to play the full version to find out. The usage of becoming a magician as a metaphor for LGBT+ identity was interesting, and reminded me of another game in the jam, A Turbulent Tenkajin Tale.

My biggest criticism would be the gameplay. It just wasn't very engaging for me. A big part of the problem was that the engine was not made for being an action RPG. I felt the combat would have been better if it was turn-based. Each character only having one attack turned the combat into repetitive button mashing, and dodging enemy attacks was janky with how the engine worked. The characters were also not well-balanced; I ended up only using Nitori once I got her because her attack was the fastest and was ranged. Marisa felt the least usable because it was hard to hit enemies up close without also being hit. Alice was like Nitori with a slower attack.

Overall, this game had some of the better writing of the jam and amazing visuals and music, but was held back by the gameplay.

I'm still midway on the playthrough, and my attention span has been terrible. But this games is very whimsy and I love it!  It went from searching stuff to a beat em up up to a pretty intense fight with mama Reimu

Favorite parts: The art in general, the maps, the character sprites and artwork are just magnanimously beautiful, the little voices, even Coco Reimu full dialogues here and there add some much character which bring so much life to the game.

PLEASE LEAVE REIMU ALONE, SHE NEEDS A BREAK

This game is really digging at something. From the version I played, I could tell the devs were not quite there. But I also see why they are so passionate to complete it. The art is all handcrafted from the world map to the unique, expressive character portraits. Everything evokes a dream-like, surreal mood, which ends up being quite appropriate. The audio helped too, though I found myself fiddling with the volume knobs frequently to get a good balance. The combat is there, though it felt like I needed to cheese the bosses with so little options.

At first the story is muddy and seems to be a set up for some Marisa and Alice shenanigans. But then the LGBTQ connection squeaks in and when it hits, it hits hard. Spoiler to say, but the kind of rejection Marisa faces from the people are who supposed to love most would make even the Grinch's cold heart thaw. That scene is so intense the resolution of the story doesn't truly feel like it has addressed it. But then again, sometimes those issues are never resolved. We pick ourselves back up, find a new family who accepts us, and make our own way. A powerful message.

Promising demo even if rough around the edges.
There's few to see so far but the mix of adventure and action sounds fun. I certainly didn't expect what looked like an adventure game to turn into a Beat 'em Up of all things lol. (Handbag attack!!)

One thing I wonder is if the big leaf decorations hiding the Village's "battle arena" is intended to hinder the view. It gets in the way if your character goes too far to the side but you can just get off the side anyway (so I guess I don't mind but it's still kinda odd? idk)

Also wondering if it has RPG elements. Like, the whole equipment menu is available and Marisa and Alice leveled up when the arena was cleared, but I can't tell if it'll be in the full game or if residual RPG Maker things.