Mayonaka Fantajī

Mayonaka Fantajī
Hiakemirian Constructed Language written version of the title.
Genre(s)	Turn-based Roleplaying Game, Fighting Game (Spinoffs)
Developer(s)	Kankuto Shūdaki, Team Mayonaka
Creator(s)	Matsui Ren
Platform(s)	Dejāzu-87 Kankuto KGK Kankuto Dejikonsōru HAOPMU PCs
First release	Mayonaka Fantajī ~ 101 Curse-Body Febuary 5th, 1992
Latest release	Mayonaka Fantajī ~ Dream of an Enduring World August 8th, 2034

Mayonaka Fantajī, also known simply as Matajī, is a Turn-based Roleplaying Game video game series, created by Kankuto Shūdaki's Team Mayonaka, a group founded by Matsui Ren, who also independently created the first game in the series as a side-project during her work on the early works of the Konsāti franchise. The Mayonaka franchise has, as of 2034, produced over 20 mainline games, 15 spinoffs, and has inspired a number of other franchises through both the games themselves and the large media presence they possess through both officially-licensed Meiroku and through the Nuiikon produced by Kaneko-Dezusu.

The games have hopped consistently from platform-to-platform, with the first six main series games being limited to the Dejāzu-87, the following four being limited to the Kankuto KGK, the next 3 being limited to the Kankuto KGK and the Kankuto Dejikonsōru, and all games since the 13th being open to any HAOPMU-using personal computer. The first game, Mayonaka Fantajī ~ 101 Curse-Body would be released in early 1992, with its sequels continuing to utilize the Dejāzu-87 until the release of the KGK in 2006, which allowed for the series to be moved to Kankuto platforms exclusively as a means to attract attention, with the series returning to distribution on personal computers in 2018. Spinoff games have used various platforms, with lesser restrictions to being played on third-party platforms.

Mayonaka is set in Tōkuretachi, an island landmass sealed from the rest of the planet by a colossal "curtain" of storms which have prevented contact with the outside since the beginning of recorded civilization. This grand isolation has allowed for supernatural creatures to take a role in the development of civilization - without the presence of industrial concentration of humans - and the rationalizations of society which doomed the supernatural outside of the Curtain, the supernatural has continued to exist and flourish. This isolation is broken one day, as the protagonist of the franchise, Iriguchi Akeru - an outsider aviator who hoped to breach the Curtain by flying above such washes up alongside the wreckage of her plane (an early biplane) on the coasts of Tōkuretachi, having had 101 curses forced into her flesh as a result of the unnatural breaching of Tōkuretachi's laws she engaged in. She is later joined by the supernatural Magician, Myōjō Tenbō, and another outsider, the shrine-maiden descendent Okura Ai.

Mayonaka is a notable Kāichrén cultural work, with the numerous fan-made Meiroku, artistic works, fan games, and memetic creations relating to the franchise giving it a notable space in the cultural sphere of Neo-Korea, with numerous other franchises taking some level of inspiration from the series. Unofficial works are often allowed to be displayed and distributed at major Kankuto-headed events.

Games

Dejāzu-87 Games

The first game in the franchise, Mayonaka Fantajī ~ 101 Curse-Body, was designed as a side project during Matsui Ren's work on the Konsāti franchise, which she found overly-stagnant design and concept wise. In an attempt to create an argument for altering the series, she decided to work on a "test-RPG" with new mechanics. This would take up much of her spare time - as she had to draw every character, compose all of the music utilized, and write the story for the game while also working on the game she wished to replace. This would lead to her finally having a working demo in 1992, after 3 years of work starting in 1989. 101 Curse-Body and the games following it were programmed on the Dejāzu-87.

Mayonaka Fantajī ~ 101 Curse-Body:
The 1st game in the series, being released on the 5th of February, 1992. It features the first appearance of the main protagonist of the series, the ex-aviator turned vessel for 101 curses Iriguchi Akeru. After washing up on the shores of the mythical Tōkuretachi alongside her broken biplane, she is forced to seek out the great sage of the land, Mukei Musō, in order to have the curses sealed before they kill her. While searching for the sage, she is forced to travel across the majority of the island - becoming involved in the lives of a number of indiviudals as she gradually begins to question what she will do after the curses are sealed. Following a number of clashes with individuals in the service of Mukei across these regions, including a battle with her future rival / romantic interest Myōjō Tenbō, she finally finds Mukei - who agrees to seal the curses after allowing herself to be beaten by Akeru, in exchange for Akeru agreeing to never leave Tōkuretachi. This game lacks the "programmable RPG" aspects of the franchise which would become its hallmark, instead taking a conventional approach for combat and interaction with the world.

Mayonaka Fantajī ~ Wiley and Irritating Charming Magician!
The second game in the series, produced rapidly following the development of 101 Curse-Body due to the latter's success and general popularity, with WICM being released on the 3rd of January, 1994. The game is set immediately after the events of 101 Curse-Body, and re-introduces Myōjō Tenbō, a magician and supernatural being who, along with Akeru, has been called upon by Mukei Musō to investigate strange disappearances in the human settlements of Tōkuretachi. Following a series of reluctant investigations (carried out through beating potential culprits), it is discovered that the source is a snake-spirit, who is attempting to become a sage through the forcible capture of humans to utilize as worshippers and sacrifices. Following the duo beating the spirit and forcing her to swear to stop her kidnappings, they are called once again by Mukei - who reveals a new system of dueling she is going to introduce, in order to prevent the more violent aspects of the duo's journey from repeating themselves. The duo then have a practice-battle utilizing the new system, which acts as forshadowing for gameplay changes to occur in the third game. While the gameplay remains broadly similar to 101 Curse-Body, the mechanics of combat itself are expanded greatly - while it is not yet the system the franchise is famous for, instead of relying on stats attached to armor for the purposes of defense or dodging, the game instead carries out that aspect of combat through a grid system - where projectiles come from the top of the grid, and the player controls a hitbox shaped like the character they chose in order to dodge whatever the attack itself is. The ability to select characters is also new, with Akeru having the ability to sacrifice her health in order to deal more damage, while Tenbō plays normally in comparison, although she has a greater capacity to use normal skills. This is also the first game to have variable difficulty settings, with "Easy", "Normal", and "Magician (Hard)" modes. It would start a series tradition of naming the third difficulty setting differently.

Mayonaka Fantajī ~ Newly-Forged Imaginary System
The third game in the series, released in September 8th of 1995, NFIS would introduce the "Programmable RPG" system the franchise is now notable for. Again set shortly after the end of WICM, the game covers the implementation of the Dream-Card system, which promises to reduce the risk of death or harm in the ritualized duels popular within Tōkuretachi. Through the inscribing of Mana into small cards, it allows one to store techniques within such - which are then altered by the cards themselves to possess an arbitrary "value" which prevents the strongest skills from being used constantly. The crux of the game's plot is Mukei once again relying on the duo of Akeru and Tenbō to enforce the utilization of Dream-Cards through beating their opponents utilizing them - with this starting through the crushing of the "Strongest Fairy" Kokoro Hyōshi, and eventually ending in the forcible implementation of the System in the Lower Depths - a part of Tōkuretachi seperate from the rest and only accessible via the Great Stairs, where one of its few major urban settlements - Genshtoi, powered by a nuclear reactor stolen from the outside world, rests. After defeating the head of the Genshtoi Reactor, the incarnate spirit of nuclear energy Ōkī Piāo, the duo are able to finally settle down for a bit - with Akeru being forced to live with Tenbō by Mukei due to a supposed "lack of available housing". As mentioned, this was the game to introduce the "Programmable RPG" system - where a player could design a series of Dream-Cards which are randomly drawn throughout the course of gameplay. These cards have costs assigned to them based on how effective they are, with the Mana used to pay for such being gathered over the course of combat, or - in the case of Akeru, gathered exclusively through sacrificing health. Akeru's constant drain of life is compensated by her having "Curse-Cards", which allow her to inflict additional effects, add more projectiles to her cards, or cause additional damage. The dodging mechanic is mostly unchanged from the previous games, aside from incorporating the ability to jump in order to dodge projectiles and the ability for projectiles to appear from any part of the box. What is more unique is that opposing characters now also use the dodging mechanic to interact with the player's cards, with the AI for this being surprisingly advanced for the time.

Mayonaka Fantajī ~ Can't I Catch a Break For Once?!?!
The fourth game in the series, released on March 3rd, 1996 - it would introduce no major gameplay changes, and was generally regarded as a less-serious, more worldbuilding focused game in the franchise, establishing the precedent of personal-scale issues being given full games instead of always focusing on the resolving of major incidents. The game covers Akeru traveling over Tōkuretachi - on paper looking for a place to finally have a house constructed, but in practice attempting to self-reflect on her journey so far after falling into a slight depression after the ends of NFIS. After a series of trips across the island, even including a trip to the Lower Depths (where she finds herself engaging in a series of drinking competitions with the denizens of the region, which she somehow wins handily to the surprise of all involved), she finally returns to where her plane crashed. While comphrending the shore, and implicitly the concept of returning home, Mukei appears before her. Following a conversation in which Mukei shows Akeru empathy for the first recorded time in the franchise - commiserating on "missing" the outside world despite finding Tōkuretachi a better fit, the two duel before Akeru finishes her trip - chosing to move on from the past by having her home built near the interior of the islands, in an abandoned shrine.

Other Media

Print Media

• Dreaming in Pseudo-Paradise
  • A series of short stories taking place between the time-skip which occurred between the Dejāzu-87 era and the KGK era. Also includes a flashback to ancient history, where it is revealed that there used to be a family of notable shrine maidens in Tōkuretachi, who mysteriously disappeared one day. Over time, the memory of the shrine family was forgotten by all but the Great Sage, Mukei Musō - who at the end of the story, addresses the "audience" of the short stories directly - revealing that she was speaking to a character in-universe the entire time. This character is revealed to be Okura Ai - the third protagonist of the series, who was first introduced within the games immediately after this story was published. Drawn by Sakaguchi Kiyomi and published by Kankuto Tayori on May 3rd, 2007, a year after the first KGK game was released and six days before the next KGK game was released.

• Through the Looking Glass
  • A series of short stories about the "Occult Research Club" - a group of three girls located in an unspecified portion of the Outside, one of whom has the ability to see visions of what is occurring in Tōkuretachi. She reiterates these stories to her friends, who draw and, later, program them into short video games - before eventually drifting apart as they grow older. The one who had experienced visions finds herself in a severe enough depression that she attempts to throw herself into the Curtain during a routine voyage passing such - only to pass through unharmed to her own shock. The girl is unable to find any of the sites where her visions took place, however - and eventually tries to leave, only to realize she has become one of the individuals from her vision, more specifically Mukei Musō. The panels of the Meiroku then break - before Mukei awakens in the present, unable to remember what she was dreaming of. Drawn by the Yasuhime Circle, and distributed by Kankuto Tayori on August 12th, 2009.

Gameplay

The gameplay is fundamentally focused upon two systems - the Dream-Card system, where players are allowed to create their own cards for utilization in gameplay, and the Dodge-Card system, where the player takes control of a hitbox shaped like the character they are currently playing in order to avoid Dream-Cards used against them. These two systems have been iterated on over time - but the fundamental gameplay loop has remained the same excluding the case of spinoff games. This ability to program and design the abilities your character uses is what has allowed the game to carve out a niche in the general RPG genre for Programmable RPGs which incorporate similar features, and it has been one of the key means by which the game remains fresh across so many utilizations of the system. The player usually has two resource bars, "Mana" (or "Curses" for Akeru in most incarnations) and "Health", the former controlling the ability to use Dream Cards and building up over time (or with a sacrifice of health for Akeru), and the latter being unable to be fully depleted at risk of losing the combat encounter.

There are also "Bomb" cards - non-replenishable emergency resources which allow the player to cancel the effects of one Dream-Card utilized against them, allowing them to avoid an attack they have severe trouble with or skip certain slower cards for speedrun purposes. These cards can be invoked during the dodge phase exclusively, and do not count against the usually present limit of Dream-Cards the player is allowed to have at any one time.

Plot

Backstory

The main thrust of the story is in relation to dealing with the regular "incidents" which take place in Tōkuretachi - these can comprise large-scale effects which would cause an actual risk to either the secrecy or independence of Tōkuretachi, or it could cover personal-scale irritations which are solved by the Dream-Card system due to the regularization of magical duels across Tōkuretachi. Tōkuretachi's independence from the world is a regular focus - as the great Curtain which protects / isolates it from the outside is fundamentally based on the exploitation of natural phenomena by the Great Sages, as time advances it becomes more and more of a risk that it is circumvented, as Akeru nearly did with her biplane.

It is later revealed that this isolation is crucial to maintaining the very existence of the Curtain - as it relies on the fact that it is perceived as impassible to function as a barrier. In pursuit of the defense of this phantasmal world, it becomes more and more necessary for the Great Sages to intervene in Tōkuretachi in the modern era - with their intervention reaching its moral lowmark when they attempt to commandeer a nuclear submarine as a means of preventing the world from advancing further towards the future - and the destruction of Tōkuretachi inherent to such. They are stopped by Akeru - who convinces them to instead work to create a new means of isolating the land instead of destroying both its future and the future of the world as a whole.