It only took ten years, but now, we finally have the first official English TYPE-MOON visual novel in our hands. And it’s absolutely stunning. With some fantastic characters, brilliant writing, and the best visual novel presentation I have ever seen, Witch on the Holy Night is a must-read for anyone interested in the visual novel medium. Maybe they’ll get to Fate/Stay Night next time. But it won’t look as good as this.
We have been very satisfied with the experience we have had with Witch on the Holy Night, and we definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good supernatural story with a dose of mystery. Yes, in the end it's a game for a very specific niche of players, but it's a very good one: a must-play for anyone who wants to get into the wonderful world of visual novels.
The heaviest entry from TYPE-MOON yet. Even Tsukihime Remake hasn't been THAT good. All that comes from Monoji Tsukuri himself, it was his last work and he put all the efforts into it, directing everything with highest quality. I wouldn't even call it a visual novel, but a pure cinematic experience, served with class-ish melancholic & grand action soundtrack of Hideyuki ****. You'll never experience anything like this again in the nearest future. Slow start until Chapter 6, but every scene afterwards is very satisfying. Thank you, Kinoko Nasu, for delivering such a unique, a bit tragic and inspiring story about humanism, life and time. All time favourite VN for me since 2012.
If you’re going to get into Witch on the Holy Night, perhaps while waiting for someone to tie George R. R. Martin to a chair long enough to finish off their magnum opus, it’s going to be a commitment. 20+ hours of either nudging an analog stick to stop the system from going into screen saving mode or jamming A will get you a well-written story that sets up a lot of things for the future.
Despite a slow start, Witch on the Holy Night does earn its reading time. It takes well-established character paradigms and works them in fun ways. The limited animations punctuate and accent the words, creating vivid action scenes with color choices that pop. This is a title for kicking back and relaxing, as there isn’t anything happening on the gameplay front. As long as it’s understood that the first couple of hours need to be processed before it gets good, this is one of the better visual novels to come out in recent years. A patch fixing up the text is almost required, but a forgiving reader will find a lot to enjoy here. Witch on the Holy Night is mostly a tale of action, but it mixes in creepy shots and relatable humor, making for a fun, but flawed, romp.
Possibly one of the most anticipated visual novel localizations ever. Despite their immense popularity, Type-Moon seemed to be allergic to localize any of their works that was not a spin-off or anime. Many fans such as I had to settle for fan translations for visual novels as iconic as Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime. However, we finally have a localization for one of their visual novels, and it delivers.
Despite being a decade old, the animations and art of Mahoutsukai no Yoru definitely hold up and are only enhanced by modern resolutions and incredible voice acting. The soundtrack is arguably one of the best visual novel OSTs of all time, ranging from high octane battle songs, to bittersweet melancholic piano ballads, to relaxing slice-of-life tracks such as the main theme. Most of which is composed by the talented Hideyuki ****, best known for his work on Street Fighter IV and V.
The story and characters are incredibly complex and well-written in true Type-Moon fashion. The dynamics between the characters are both infectiously funny and also incredibly tense when needed. The story involves a lot of slice-of-life elements which really makes you grow attached to all the characters while introducing elements of mystery and world-building to build intrigue and suspense. I cannot get too much into the specifics because this story is best experienced with less information going in.
While some may be upset or put off that the first localization of a Type-Moon visual novel is of a title they have little to no knowledge of, it is important to note that the story of Mahoutsukai takes place before all other major Type-Moon stories, such as Kara no Kyoukai, Tsukihime, and Fate/Stay Night. This was technically the first story Kinoko Nasu has ever written, so it actually makes sense for it to be localized first.
I highly recommend this story to anyone since it requires no prior knowledge of any other Type-Moon stories. Others might be hesitant as most visual novels have multiple branching paths and routes such as Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime, but Mahoutsukai is far more accessible since it has a linear storyline and is far shorter than other Type-Moon visual novels.
This is not only a great introduction to the Nasuverse but also to the visual novel medium as a whole. Even if you are not into anime, I consider this as one of those stories that even those who dislike anime can enjoy as the story is pretty grounded and does not feature excessive amount of fanservice. Please support this game so we can have more localizations of the Nasuverse in the future!
Not only is this one of my favorite TM works to date, but it is the single most important Nasuverse work, as it is the beginning of it all. From Tsukihime, to Fate. This is the groundwork that Nasu and his team built upon.
From it's art direction to it's score and it's countless emotional beats. Mahotsukai no Yoru is a fantastic ride from start to finish. And now here for our viewing pleasure after an entire decade worth of waiting.
SummarySet in 1980s Japan, Witch on the Holy Night tells the story of fan-favorite TYPE-MOON character Aoko Aozaki as she attempts to navigate the complex world of magecraft while also dealing with the everyday struggles of life as a high school student! Players will experience the thrilling origin story of this much-beloved character, penned b...