Blurb from the publisher: Magical Fury is a dark magical girl RPG, inspired by anime series like Madoka Magica, Sailor Moon, and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Your characters start out as normal girls who discover that they are reincarnated magical girls. They awaken to their powers under fire, and it will be up to you to decide where she goes with new her life from there.
The game uses a very simple variant of the Apocalypse World engine, aimed at fast and flavorful play that you can jump into on short notice or play in a more deliberate, long-term style. Battles come down to a handful of rolls, and throughout the emphasis is decidedly on the consequences of the course of action you choose.
The book also includes an appendix with 17 random tables to help you along with character creation and other things that pop up during play.
To play you will need some six-sided dice, character sheets, and something to write with.
What you get: a 35 page PDF, or a 6”x9” 42 page paperback
Mechanics: game is a Powered by the Apocalypse or *World game, using 2d6 with three results “poor/bad outcome, negligible outcome, good outcome” Rolling high is desirable. There are no stats, though there are three ‘stress’ tracks, magic, hope, and trauma which cause effects when they reach limit, and then reset.
Gameplay: The game plays exactly as it says, in play, I found that my actions often went wrong, or had unexpected and undesirable side effects, causing a spiraling effect of increased mayhem. Given that this game is about being dark magical girls with power that should not be unleashed carelessly, this fit the tone and mood of the game precisely. The mechanics were smooth and seamless for the combat/investigation arc we played through, and resolution of conflicts was done very rapidly. Even more rapidly than standard Apocolypse World.
The tables for name generation, costume color, theme and power set were all very useful as inspiration, but we found that there really wasn't much setting. The world and set pieces were expounded by the GM, the game itself only contained hints of the world, and suggestions.
The Strong points: The mechanics are strong and almost brutally direct for their intended purpose. They enforce a clear mood, and are easy to grasp and hang onto. They are quick to resolve, and move on to the next scene, while keeping the pressure on the PCs.
The Weak points: The lack of setting, as well as the fact that the mechanics are
highly dependent on GM interpretation could easily cripple a game. If you know the genre of dark magical girls, you should be able to work your way through the system and create the proper stories. If you're picking it up for the first time, the system will rely too heavily on your ability to explain what the results mean, without detailed suggestions on how to improvise the results.
Conclusion: A strong exceptionally rules light product for those who know what they're doing, that creates fast conflict resolutions and outcomes. Be ready to improvise though. Lacking in detail work, being mostly a high level solidly mechanically supported gloss of the genre, with a few tidbits of setting info and bullet point suggestions for what else the setting might include.
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