I'm kinda sitting on the fence about this one. There's definitely a lot about it to like, but there are also some major flaws that really bring it down.
For the most part, the graphics are fantastic. The pixel art is super nice, the characters have great poses and the environments pack tons of detail into the limited space. The lighting and reflection effects add to it, too. And, of course, the transformation sequence the icing on the cake. But- of course there's a but, there's always a but- the blurry font with the weird question mark and some questionable keming were a bit of a letdown.
The music was good. Not standout, but pretty good, fit the game well and did the job. Some of the tracks sounded a bit familiar, but that's neither a good nor bad thing.
I wish the game had more quality of life and UI polish in general. The most annoying thing was the unclear distinction between scrolling and advancing text, and I think I missed some important dialogue (including where to go after meeting the other magical girl) because of it. There were also some parts that really needed instructions that didn't seem to have any- being thrown into the first battle was a shock.
I'm really not a fan of the battles. Strict 4-direction movement seems pretty questionable for a bullet hell, and although I got used to it later I never liked it. The animated backgrounds with tons of lines make it painful and confusing to look at, and the second battle is especially bad because the enemy also has a blur/double effect. I'm not a fan of bullet hells in general, though, and they tend to hurt my eyes anyway, so I'm probably not the best judge here. In short- I didn't like the gameplay, and I didn't think it was a good bullet hell, but I'm far, far from an authority on the matter.
I did find it entertaining that Mahouki's attack has the same rhythm as the Halo 4 battle rifle.
The narrative is where the game excels and also where it falls the hardest.
I like the story. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't played, but I did like the twist. I'm sure it's been done before, but it's mostly new to me, and it's an interesting concept to explore.
Unfortunately, the writing really brings the game down. For the most part, it's at least understandable, although there are some parts that are complete non sequiturs and a few more that you really have to think about to understand. Because of the awkward dialogue, the emotional beats fail to land, and if there were any jokes they were lost in translation. The initial conversation with the other magical girl was particularly awkward- it sounded like two maybe-enemies being passive-aggressive toward each other.
I don't want to be too harsh, because I can barely write one language and I'm sure the Spanish version is better. But at the end of the day it just didn't click for me.
I do wish the choice at the end was left up to the player, but the game still works without it.
I think a proofreading pass by a fluent English speaker would really benefit the storytelling. Ironing out some of the polish issues and tweaking the combat would help as well. As it stands it's a great concept but the actual execution is a mixed bag.