Magical Diary: Horse Hall

A guilty pleasure. This game exceeded my expectations. Part character raising sim, part dating game, and part Harry Potter, it may not seem too original at first, but it makes for a unique and engaging playthrough (or two or three.)

The first thing that hit me was the art style. It's not my absolute favorite, but it works and it grew on me. The music gets the job done, and the writing is purposeful and competent.

Moreso than some games I've played over the years, this one manages to gel the story with the character growing and RPG elements very well. As a magic student, you can choose which 'colors' of magic to study day to day, developing specialties with things like force generation (pushing and pulling, up to explosions) or subtler effects like illusions.

These abiltiies get put to the test in exams that you'll take throughout your school year. These are turn-based, dungeon crawler-style puzzles. Some of them involve battle, but often there are better ways to solve the problems than just blowing things up. The cool part about this is that depending on your spell specialties, the puzzles can be solved a number of ways, so on a replay, you may find yourself challenged to find a completely different solution than before. I would have enjoyed even more of these sequences, but they manage to stay fresh and novel.

Another cool, if underused element is the ability to occasionally use your spells in story sequences. These mostly just lead to mini side events, rather than really branching the plot. There would be some potential to offer unique events and endings based on which spells you've mastered, but maybe this would have derailed the player's freedom too much.

The setting is not so majestic or rich as Hogwarts, and is treated as a fairly normal private school, outside of the magic. Some elements feel like homages (if we're feeling kind) to Harry Potter, like a Snape-like, strict and surly professor, but he does have his own character and storyline and isn't simply a ripoff. Also, you can date him, kind of. It's not too weird.

If you like games like this, and don't need traditional, beautiful anime art to pull you in, this is definitelly worth a look. I wound up replaying it a few times to explore the various paths (like dating the evil kid, running for student council, getting sent to every detention, etc..)

My only regret was that I couldn't date Minnie.

I think this is a cute game, it has a lot of things that I really like and some things that were a bit weird. I liked the customization and was really happy with most of the game play. Replay vaules is medium, especially if your going for the trophies. The one thing that I would have changed is a bit more interaction with a magical world or more diverse classes.

Its a fun short little game. It is a bit repative on the magic exams. They are not too difficult to pass. I replayed it five times for five different endings. I don't know if there is more. I enjoyed where you could pick and choose your classes. That did make a difference in your exam results based on what spells you knew.

A nice little VN with, depending on your reading speed, 5-6 hours of playthrough. Replayability is only very limited and you might squeeze out a few hours more by doing some different routes and trying new magic to solve the dungeon puzzles. Overall not worth the full price, but a nice buy on a discount if you are into magic themed VNs.

I was pleasantly surprised by magical diary when I boguht it has a variety of options and character customization I didn't expect. I would recommend picking this up especially at the low price tag

If you are a fan of Harry Potter but are sorely disappointed by the lack of magical school roleplaying games, rejoice! This game delivers! You are able to choose which branch of spells you'd like to specialize in, giving you different ways to tackle each challenge. If the art style is the only thing making you hesitate, be assured that the story and fun elements more than make up for any initial unease. As far as visual novels go, this is one of my absolute favourites. Damien's route is perfection~

I Don't know what in the world possessed me to buy this game

That being said i think that the writing while sometimes lacking was none the less entertaining

the magic mechanics are actually one of my favorite systems yet which is weird given that it's more visual novel than game

the magic ,in my first play through atlease, was only used for exams really.

Over all my only Complaints about the game are that the game is not as long as i would have liked with my first run only taking 3 hours , then the fact that at serveral points i felt that my magic could have been useful but remained unused.

what would give this game every thing i would want for it would be extra years so that i have more time to get invested in diffrent stories because other wise it kind of has a "pick which run you want" vibe

When I first got this game I encountered a bug that would soft lock the game on the title page. I accadetally found a work around for it with me being farly miffed at the stiuation. As soon as I played it I fell in love. I have probally put over a hundered hours before I got the actual fix for the bug, and steam started to count my play time. My only problem with the game is that the dungons could habe been ilistrated /animated better or have done somthing different. Like the final exam is by far the best dungon in the game and it is the least animated. And donald is best husbando don't @ me

I'll give this game an 8/10. One not being too fond of the artstyle, and two the gameplay can be a bit confusing at first considering it takes a lot of trial and error to understand the mechanics. Once you get the hang of everything the game can be quite fun.

I got this on sale and thought "why not?" and I'm glad I did, it's a fun game. It's sorta like Princess Maker meets Harry Potter. Anyway, the storyline and character can go in a lot of different directions and building relationships feels natural and not like I need to check a walkthrough every 2 minutes. I also appreciate the message they had about consent (especially since a lot of dating sims have serious creep vibes) and mentioning ungendered pronouns, plus you can date other girls or just make friends. I wish you could continue on past freshman year, but oh well. At least you get a cute end card with your character showing your stats and comments from other characters.

This game is a ton of fun! You can get through most things without staring at a walkthrough which I love but there are still some twists and turns both expected and unexpected. I haven't even played all the endings yet but I am still extremely satisfied with this game. Definitely worth picking up!

This is the best otome game I have ever played, honestly!! It is cute, but you can build your character so it won't necessarily be the "danzel in distress" they usually make the female character like, a lot of fun paths, the dungeons make it different too.

Super super worthy!

I played this game a while ago. I was hoping for a lot, but this game isn't what I hoped for almost at all. It creates a good mood at first, but it feels too fast and loose for me past the start. It feels like I was being railroaded too much. A lot of times it had the very annoying flaw in visual novels where you start doing unintended things or are only given unnatural choices. The events didn't feel magical enough despite all classes being about magic. You can barely learn about anyone but you are encouraged to date just about anyone you have a close quarters encounter with.

As for spell learning and classes, it is really hard to do anything unless you find out some secrets. Getting enough money for it to make a difference is almost impossible. I focused on getting money the whole time and could barely get enough for the second most expensive item (maybe even lower than that) right before the end. The threat of failing classes is too high and you always feel shakey about trying to excel at any subject because the exams are so unexpected and you don't really know what you are capable of before or after exams. Having only three exams just doesn't feel right, just like having you try to master things in a single year. I also don't like how Long Live the Queen and this game force you to use schedules for a weak instead of picking each day independently because I usually feel like I can't measure my options effectively. In the real world, it would be more obvious how good things will be so taking away our advantages in the digital world is unfair. I'm pretty sure no school works like this in the first place unless you are home schooled like Long Live the Queen anyways, but that game gave you more options with only a few seemingly mandatory options.

This game encourages losing control I guess. It seems like you are supposed to be tricked out of a relationship with your roommate but it also feels that going other directions would have encouraged me to not stick with that person as well. A lot of school events try to have you meet new people who are always introduced romantically. It makes things awkward and then it also pushes you away from past characters you turned down if you change your mind. It's really the reverse of Long Live the Queen for the most part and I was hoping to find something to help me adapt more in that game considering it is so dense. In Long Live the Queen, you are supposed to fail, in this game/visual novel/sim, you are not meant to fail outside of exams (which is really ridiculous so I replayed using saves a lot) although you can actually do retakes for those if I am not mistaken, but that makes it harder to learn a more detailed game. This game became more simply partly because of that. It is a more fair game than Long Live the Queen, but it is also just throwing you around constantly

I am not usually concerned about art in games/visual novels, but the main character's art is so awkward and bizarre that it really detracts from the game a little. The fact that I can pick customizations and feel like nothing has changed is annoying.

Overall, I feel like I got what I paid for, but only because I bought this game on sale. It should be a lot cheaper because then I could at least recommend new people to it since everyone online seems to be almost as poor as I am.

Interesting combination of VN and dungeon crawler (with more focus on the VN part). While I personally could have done without the dungeon crawling, the VN elements were good and does add some replayability to try to solve dungeons using different stats/skills. Overall a fun game to play (and some salve in the wound of never getting a Hogwarts letter).

It starts off pretty good and then the story just goes downhill. I feel like it's not worth it considering the price. However, if there's ever a sale, feel free to buy it and try it yourself. Personally, it's just not my cup of tea.

A fun and creative visual novel that isn't afraid to be a bit silly. It's like being in a wild off-the-rails harry potter fanfic but as a video game.
needless to say, this was my favorite vn when i was a young teen.

a genuinely enjoyable & replayable ride. would recommend.

I discovered this game in the summer of 2011. Skyrim hadn't yet become my favorite obsession, and I was enjoying playing a genre that was then new to me: Dating Sims. Stat raisers. I leaned a little more heavily upon otome than I should have (grad school was a lonely, lonely time), but right after playing Remember Me and the incredibly quirky but deeply satisfying Lucky Rabbit Reflex!, I found Magical Diary.

Of course, the first thing one naturally thinks is...Harry Potter knockoff. Yes, it is. It's also brilliant, consuming, challenging, suspenseful, and unputdownable.

The characters are unique and so vividly presented that you won't think twice about falling in love with them. The dialogue options are among the best and most clever I've seen. Storylines twist and then twist back again. Professors teach every color of magic...and sex ed. They send you to detention for sleeping in and skipping class too much. They're a little surprised, but give you that spanking you ask for anyway (just that once, and it's not an obvious option).

Customize the base character - hair and skin color, face, and body type - to become Mary Sue (default name, pick your own). At this point, the game starts to fade away, and you genuinely slip into the shoes of a novice witch navigating the tenuous waters of a magical high school. Take exams and choose spell options to pass or fail them. Reap the rewards or detentions. Run for class office or be the class delinquent. Stiff your friends. Go dark. Romance everyone, regardless of gender, race, political affiliation...or age...or species. Marry nobility or elope with a demon lord. Go to the dance alone. Meet a bunny-wielding weirdo. Go to the mall. Eat. Shop.

This game is perfection. All these years later, I'm still a huge fan and play it from time to time, sometimes with cheats for the full replays, sometimes a straight play with no hacks, but always with great love and appreciation for this rich and masterful gem. I cannot wait for the sequel!

This game is OK. The basic mechanics are solid and the school story line works, but the romantic options are fairly poor and some of the romance twists are frankly bizarre.

A delightful visual novel with some RPG elements and tons of choices.

Magical Diary: Horse Halls has you beginning magical school as someone who just learned about magic and that they've got it. It does feel a lot like Harry Potter the visual novel, if Harry was female and had a lot of romance options.

As a student, you get to make lots of choices. This could be what to do with your time - such as which of the five schools of magic you will study - or it could be who you want to romance. There are lots of smaller interesting choices, such as running for class office, joining a secret society, etc. You plan your schedule every week, and encounter events as they appear.

The magic you learn may give you additional options during events, and will be the key for solving the game's tests - where you're thrown into a first-person dungeon and must use your magical prowess and smarts to get out again. The tests are the game at some of its most creative, as your school of magic absolutely influences your approach - red magic may have to brute force its way out by burning everything down with fire, while a sufficiently capable blue magic could just teleport herself out of the dungeon.

When you're not learning magic, you may chose to be out romancing people. Your romance options are pretty vast. You may romance girls, boys, professors, demons... You have some options.

What most surprised me is how much branching there is in the game. One playthrough saw me join a secret society, another saw me run for class office and get elected, a third had me making out with a fairy, and a fourth had me expelled from the school. The game absolutely warrants multiple playthroughs, and even playing it four times I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of what content is hidden away in the game.

Very "meh" sort of visual novel. Full of bland backgrounds, forgettable music, and somewhat ugly character sprites. The plot is lackluster (proceed through the school year at a magical academy), and although there are some creepy elements that could have been expanded upon, they aren't. Worst of all, the characters are completely uninspiring. I found myself caring about exactly one person, and I got that person's ending. The rest of the cast is so uninteresting, and indeed unappealing, that I see no reason play again and seek their routes. There are some stat-leveling mechanics which result in a lot of busywork (you have to pick out your schedule every week for the entire school year!), which are then used in short "dungeons" (simple puzzle-solving sequences). I cannot recommend this game.

To start it of: Yes, the art style is exactly the way it appears. That was not a problem for me (I think it’s charming actually, and fits the quirky mood of the game perfectly) but if it is game changer for you… well then it might not be the game for you.

The same goes for the stats raising aspect of it. It is to my mind far less rigid than in some other games (*cough* like ‘Love live the Queen’ *cough*) but if stats raising takes the fun out of it for you then move along.

To everyone else I highly recommend this game. It is funny, bright and light hearted and then every once in a while you take a dialogue option you didn’t take before and get some bits of surprisingly well thought-out and sensible world-building information.

You are playing a female character that you can customize to an extent and go to a magic school with an interesting system of magic, spanning five disciplines, each equalling one class. In addition there is sport and studying. The gameplay lets you decide on one of these seven options per day during the week and another set of options on the weekend. Depending on those actions and prior actions you might meet certain characters or not, which is pretty standard for most otome/dating sim games.

The nice thing about Magical Diary is that it does not appear forced. There is precisely one route where you have to be at certain places on certain days and do specific things to get a chance, the rest just happens as it happens quite naturally on its own. That is not to say that it won’t surprise you (because chances are it will), but I have not experienced the frustration of trying over and over again only to get a ‘wrong answer, try again’ ending every time for no apparent reason what so ever. If you make stupid choices you either get detention or weird points, if you are nasty to other characters chances are they won’t love you. Surprise.

The game not taking itself too seriously and making use of some nice tropes and clichés is just the cherry on top really.

All in all – I adore the game and can only recommend it.

It truly is a visual novel and it does so very well. The story is really broad and well-thought out. The only downside is that due to the big amount of text, it may be a little annoying to make different choices in your playthroughs since you only get options to do things after 5 mins worth of text. Nevertheless a beautifull piece of a game.

Pretty good. You get to decide what the main character looks like. Don't let the art dissuade you from playing it.

It doesn't have enough options for when you have super high stats though, with the levels of magic I had I should have been blasting shit to smithereens.

This is not a bad visual novel. I really think that the main character is a bit too passive, especially with some of the situations that arise in the game. No rational (maybe that's the key word) human being would process the logic of what has happened to her like she does. Despite that, it is only in minor points on a few different paths so the game was still enjoyable. I would wait for a sale though.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this game but it's surprisingly addicting! Each playthrough is a new experience. I'm very happy with this game. It surprised me to see this came out 2012 but very excited for the next one coming out this year (2019).

I avoided this game for a long time, because I was admittedly put off by the title and art. I absolutely should not have done that, because this game is the prime example of "don't judge a book by it's cover." Holy crap.

This game is so much fun and so satisfying. I'm hesitant to call it a Hogwarts dating sim, but at a very basic level it... sort of is. I'm a big fan of witchy and magical themes, and it delivered them well. There are enough stats to grind (that don't feel like too much of a slog) and enough events sprinkled in to keep things fun and fresh all throughout the game; there aren't too many lulls in the story which I find can be a big problem with other dating sims. The events also made me grow fond of the characters, even the ones I didn't end up romancing. On top of all that, I enjoyed the tests/puzzles, too! While they're kind of outdated mechanically, they remind me of the Windows '98 PC games of my childhood (in the best, most nostalgic way) and I loved having them as an addition.

If you still feel hesitant about getting the game, wait for it to go on sale and give it a shot. I was very, very pleasantly surprised by it. :)

Another great Hanako game. Does Harry Potter better than JK did. Decent time management, really good characters and a really friggin dark path if you go a certain way with an obvious character... I mean, you can even bang MDHH's Snape if you ever thought he was your cup of tea in the Harry Potter books but you could never achieve your fanfic dream......

I got Ellen's ending so far. No regrets. Will do another playthrough in the future. I enjoyed it.

Despite my current playtime, cleared a whole playthrough in offline mode during a lengthy traintrip just now. Took ~3 hours for anyone curious, but the game seems to have a lot of replayability in it. Fun, funny, and cute. Really liked it.

Edit: 4 hours? 5? Tbh not really sure now that l think about it, time flew by and l forgot to eat my packed lunch is all l can say.

Loved this game! It was a combo of romance, magical academy adventure, and puzzles that I've been searching for. There were so many different options and routes and so far I've only completed one, but it's the most fun I've had with an Otome game. I was very glad there was adventure built in as well.

Don't let the art style fool you! This game is oddly compelling and the numerous romance options and stories give this game awesome replayability. There are countless ways to play the same route. There are numerous ways to solve the same problem! Getting all the achievements for this game is actually easier than you think! I only wish that this game went through all four years of school freshman to senior, that would be intriguing and imagine all the ways to play! 10/10 I would recommend

They should let you keep your character and come out with year 2 through 4.

It was fine as a book... wish there had been more reason to improve your character, it was far far to easy.

Even though they had like 70 spells or whatever... I only had to use like 4 or 5 spells to beat the game easily. Kinda annoying pumping my character up only to not have to use any of my strongest spells.

I played this when it first came out and decided to rebuy it o steam to support the dev. I still love this game. I particularly love Grabiner. he's the best sort of character. He has a huge sense of responsibility, wants to do things right, is strict but competent, and it takes time for him to open up since he has been hurt. Think a really good ojisan character. He's one of my favourite characters, period.

this is a sort of stat raising visual novel hybrid set in a magical school. The customisable protagonist is an ordinary girl with a capacity for magic. The are lots of random events, the pacing is great and fun activities. Good characters - a fair variety to date. The game passes very fast.

Grabiner's route is worth every moment. I really just wanted to see them happy, it's very rewarding. Recommended if you like Harry Potter type of thing, and fun stat raising / vn / otome hybrids. You can decide quite a few things about how the protagonist behaves and it does make the game experience fairly unique to each player.

Enjoyable and stands the test of time well. I enjoyed it years ago and I still really like it.

Too many games treat choices in magic as if you want to kill with fire, ice, or lightning. I've been looking for a game that lets you advance by discovering other areas in magic, such as telepathy, teleportation and enchantment. This game allows you create different kinds of witches and the puzzles (exams) have different solutions. Between those, it is a school life sim when you deal with very basic friendships and time management. Not a long game, but enjoyable.

On the negative side, I didn't like that the results of the classes were random and so easily manipulated. Each class results in 0-3 points gained, and can be quickly reloaded. Why wouldn't I am for 3? Do I want more spells or don't I? I would have preferred less random distribution.

Understand this game is a visual novel with light puzzle elements (which I was willing to invest a few hours into after experiencing Danganronpa). Also worth mentioning is you must play female in this game. There is another version released recently which is a different telling of these events, but as a male character, so choose according to taste if you only want one.

A wonderful click and adventure game for ages 10+ i recommend it for parents and maybe some children as well.

I loved this game when i was 14, im now 23 and i still love it
Dont trust anyone
but demon boy do be kinda lookn slick tho

This was a really fun game to play! Despite the art style seeming a bit amateur, the story is well written with interesting choices. The world building is decent and leaves a lot to the imagination without going into too much detail in certain areas. I especially like that you can choose to break off most relationships if you want to. For example, you can end Damien's route prematurely or later on in the game, and you can tell Ellen that you'd rather stay friends.

What I would change about this game is making the dating routes a bit more obvious. While Damien's and Donald's are the easiest to follow, others require a few extra steps. To get to Ellen's you have to study a lot. For Virginia's you have to go to the gym often enough. I had to figure these out while grinding for the "Studious" and "I Love Being STRONG" achievements. It would have been nice if there was a clearer way to enter their romance routes without going through specific steps.

Besides this and the art style, I wouldn't change anything else about this game. I can't wait to start playing the new installment: Magical Diary: Wolf Hall!

I've completed one run through and I drank the stupid juice. Tasted great, 10/10 gonna replay a few times and be smarter in the future.

I got this game because somebody mentioned that it has the best attribute management system out there, and it's true. In general, as a learning tool for how to write otome games, this is a model case. The attribute management is interesting, but not too tight. The riddle solution options are varied and not restrictive, and the game choices are both natural and meaningful. Other than that, it's a very mediocre game. The graphics are freebie level and lower (both sprites and BG), the cast is limited (3 boy paths, 2 girl paths), the story is simplistic and on the short side, there is no voice acting, and so on. If you want to write your own game someday, this game is a must. Otherwise, I feel it's not worth the money, even at 50% discount.

i have now played this a fair be (more end 10 times complete a playthrough)
PROS : i like how the magic system work with have high skills in 2 of the 5 magic system make you able to have combien spells, i love the romance, in the game, also the story is pretty good, with good environment music, lovable characters.
CONS : The customisable of the character is low, there is no voice for character, there is a lack of adventure.
Conclusion : a Good Game with a solid story and great character with lots of Personality, there is not much combat/adventure, but the bit there is pretty good, gonna try the next Magical Diary Wolf Hall and see if they fix the small thing that i miss if not and still more of this, then it is still a good game

tl;dr Absolutely adorable, short-and-sweet game with great replayability.

Being honest, I did NOT expect to enjoy this game as much as I did. It has been a long time since I played a visual novel game (I think the last one I played was actually Long Live the Queen) so it was all the more refreshing and enjoyable to play such a sweet one.

A short and sweet game, I fangirled multiple times throughout my first playthrough. The Christmas event is literally the cutest s*@! ever. Getting to upload and see other players yearbook pages is such a good touch I almost wanted to say that my only complaint is how little of the world you get to explore but then I remembered that the point is to play through multiple times and discover all these little secrets that you cannot find in a single playthrough. It gives you something to look forward to.

That being said, I honestly hope we can see more of this world! There are a lot of little things that I would love to see expanded on. Such as Ellen and her curiosity of mixing magic and tech. But for now, I will just have to do more playthroughs and save up for Wolf Hall~

Came here after playing Wolf Hall. While I think Wolf Hall is overall a better VN, Horse Hall is still very good and a must play for fans of that game (and visual novel/otome fans in general!).

I feel like a lot of people have criticized the art, but I thought it was pretty cute. It reminds me of those dating sims from the early-mid 2000's. It's really nostalgic.

The story is nothing deep but it's not supposed to be. There's dramatic stuff now and then, but it's usually all pretty cute.

I'm glad to say Ellen is best girl in both games. Donald probably wins for best boy here.

Came for the classes stayed for my teacher, and I oop.

I enjoyed all the male routes, the classes, and the exams! So many ways to get through them. My two roommates are lowkey annoying but even so the interactions weren't too bad. I played this game a while ago and yet I always come back to relieve my favorite moments! Also, the fanfic on Ao3 is pretty great c:

Went into this thinking I'd be a Damien fan, came out of it a massive Donald fan and married to my teacher. Also, blue magic is OP.

I've had this game sitting in my library for about 3 years now and only recently sat down and played the game. And I've come to terms with a few things.

It's a visual novel, yeah, so I'm not expecting the highest bar of quality, but it's pleasant to find that it's very well done. It uses the Ren.Py engine so it holds up pretty well with only a handful of graphical errors here and there. The writing is good, great at times even, with me really enjoying a couple of the routes you can take. There are a few errors here and there but overall, it's fine.

The gameplay for 80% of the time is box standard. But that 20% extra bit makes it...very interesting. There's a great magic system for learning spells, but in all honesty you only need to use like 5 or 6 spells throughout the whole game while the rest of your spellbook gets filled with things you'll never use, making spell navigation a nightmare. Overall it's not bad, but it needs a lot of work.

The other big issue is the graphics. Now, I'm not expecting Mona Lisa tier graphics, but I won't be the first person to admit that most of the characters look ripped straight out of one of those "How To Draw Anime" books you'd find as a kid in one of those scholastic book fairs. The sequel seems to have fixed this but still, it's a bit of a bar to clear if you're used to other visual novels on Steam.

Finally, you're gender-locked into playing as a girl. Granted, that's not at all a real issue considering that most visual novels on Steam force you to play as a guy, but it's still a thing to make note of. The sequel does do the inverse of this, but still. Just throwing this out there at the end.

Overall it's really not that bad if you can get around the absurdly dated visuals that you'll be staring at constantly through your playthrough. I wouldn't pick it up unless it was on sale, but still grab it if you like visual novels that give you the option to play with stats.

So it's basically Harry Potter fanfiction but not - you can marry Snape and it's weirdly the best romance out of all of them. Also it has a sequel. ALSO IT HAS A SEQUEL?!?! Come on guys I don't need more games to play...

If you like magic, visual novels, and SO MANY CHOICES, this is the game for you!! I re-play this game time and time again just to reminisce. IT'S SO GOOD!

Magical Diary is a great combination of novel/dating sim/puzzle game.

The options for "good" endings on the romance paths are fairly straightforward. Getting all of the various max stat achievements takes multiple playthrough.

The dungeon exams are mini puzzle games, trying to determine which spell(s) will get the effect you need to pass the exam. There are multiple ways to solve the puzzles, although there are a few instances where you can end up in a dungeon without a spell that you'll need to succeed. If you take Potsdam's advise to ensure you have a little bit of each color you should be able to make it through, though!

I thoroughly enjoyed this game and exploring the different routes, each of which provided a variety of information about the world, and the characters, based on the route you are on.

i have played this several times over the years. I love it a lot. My favorite path is the forced marriage. I won't spoil it, but it is great! Enjoy!

At first I was kind of embarrased of having this in my library but....

Magical Diary is adorable.

When it comes to story, this game isn't original in the slightest, but that doesn't matter: It's riding on the wave of young adult fiction, namely Harry Potter's fantastical influence, but it does it well. Serious teen issues are generalized and explored in a way that's relateable. Characters fit stereotypes fairly stringently most of the game, but, depending how you play, they may be broken apart just past that surface level in a way that communicates social problems to youngsters.

It's nice for those reasons. It's nice for a lot of reasons, but it seems like the target audience is what will most likely get this game unfair negative attention (in addition to the really cheap-looking production values, even by visual novel standards).

Something this game does very well is CHOICE: The schedule of events and how differently the game can go based on what you do on certain days is mind-boggling. The sheer volume of stories that can *greatly* affect *your* life as a magic teenage girl is pretty incredible given the development cycle this game had.

A really fun take on the "dating sim with study schedules" subgenre. Having puzzling sections where your spells actually do things and you can try to solve problems creatively is a nice touch, and the characters seem intresting so far!

Create a male or female anime looking character and head off to a magic school like that famous kid from a series of books that have sold in the billions. You plan out your week. What magic will you study? Or will sleep in all week. Will you do homework, go to the gym, or head to the mall with friends? Every choice you make has an effect on your stats.

Occasionally your routine is broken up by tests where you get to use your magic, or school events where you can mingle with the other students. There are even chances for romance. But watch out, you can get expelled if you do too many things wrong.

The game involves time management and story choices that do have an effect on the outcome of your story. The magic combat involves old-style dungeons that those of us who gamed in the early 80s will recognize. There is no voice acting, limited animations, and lots of reading. Still, I liked it.

its just a good game i had fun playing and theres a shocking amount you can do its not too hard but can be challenging in some part or on some routes. All in all i would if your thinking about about it i would give it a go!

Expensive for how short it is, and sub par compared to lots of other dating sims. The puzzles are fine, but there are a lot of creative solutions that you might think up but are not allowed to do. The game has a super slow pace and seems like it is building up to new stuff when the next year comes, but that is an entirely different game that you have to buy.

The worst part by far is that for all of the female romance options, they are a) essentially cardboard and not interesting to talk to and b)they both tell you they are not interested in girls and don't want to date you, despite them being the only female dating options. That is the kind of stuff that tells you these gay romance options are meant for straight people to enjoy, and actual lesbians aren't welcome.

There are a lot of dating sims out there, and a lot of them are good. This is not even close, don't ever buy.

I still haven't had the chance to play the far more recent sequel yet, but Magical Diary: Horse Hall remains my favorite English VN to this day.

The characters have depth and personality, and the story presents a world that seems at once familiar with a very obvious nod to the world of Harry Potter but ready to show its claws as a completely unique beast with strong integrity and intriguing worldbuilding that strays far from what might seem like a parody or cheap reference on the surface. It deals well with choice and consequence, and does an excellent at times presenting consequences for different types of choices.

Horse Hall has both less visual and mechanical polish than several of the developer's other titles like fairly well-known Long Live the Queen, but I really think this is pinnacle of their skill from what I've played in their library of products thus far. My greatest critique is that I really wish there was more -- I don't think the VN understays its welcome, I simply enjoyed it that much.

A little too simple and short. When I thought it was still starting, it was already ending.

This game takes only ~5 hours to finish and this is a problem. Relationships develop too fast and you feel that more time was needed to better explore the characters and their stories. The dungeons/exams ended up being disappointing as well, with one reason being that there's just too few of them. The idea of intelligently using your different spells to overcome challenges your way (having different options to solve the problems depending on your skills - just like on Hanako Game's other game Long Live the Queen) is great, but there's barely enough dungeons/exams to explore the concept. With the large number of different spells available for you to do different things (from following scents to rewriting inscriptions), I was expecting that the game would feature different challenges and situations where the spells could be useful - but that was not the case for the vast majority of them. I lost interest on the game halfway through it, only to discover later on the internet that I was actually almost finishing it, with only 1 dungeon/exam left; which surprised me and made me decide to go back and finish it.

Unfortunately, I feel that this game needed double or triple the content to be recommendable. If the game comprised of the 3 graduation years instead of just 1, then maybe that would be ideal, as it would open space for better plot and character development, as well as more interesting and challenging dungeons/exams.

This game is great, really great

I saw this in recommendations, and I passed on it because the art looked cheap and it looked like a flash game, the price was a bit steep.
I was very wrong to pass on it, in game the art is nice, and although it's repeating locales and characters it's quite high quality in full resolution and has a unique flair that makes it feel like it's own world.

The gameplay for those who don't know the style of game , is reading text with choices and mini puzzle sections, much like a pen and paper choose your own adventure book, and without spoiling anything if you've read those books, the feel is 100% there in this game more so than I expected due to the school setting.

All there is to say about it really is that it's a great fantasy themed choose your own adventure game. I played it many times partially to get all the endings and partly because it's just a fun chill game to play in an evening

If you're put off by the price for the length of the game, get it on sale, but I've played 16 hours of it all together which is respectable

A super fun dating sim with different paths and tons of replayability!
I recommend it in every way, but if not for the love, at least for the magic. ✨

Yeah this game is cute and funny and fun and has magic and dungeons. You can choose if you want to date and what you want to learn, and what group you want to join. If you like the pictures and reviews on the store page you will like this game.

This is kind of like Blood Code. Its much easier than Long Live the Queen. Easier and way less dark than Amnesia: Memories.

It makes me feel real self-conscious as a man to play a game titled "Magical Diary" that features stars so prominently, but it's actually really well written.

If my kid turns out to be a daughter, I will send her to this school. Professors occasionally spank naughty girls here on their, you know where. Application period for wife is now open and will be scrutinized through a series of casual dates. Feel free to reach out for the Husband's bio-data.

God!! I really miss school.

This was one of the first otome games I played, and to this day it is still one I hold dear to me. Even though it is rather old and in some ways outdated, it is still fun and has a great vibe to it. If you want to feel nostalgic for old Nintendo DS sort of games, play this. It's a great time.

This is a lovely take on a VN with a game feel included, heavily story driven, but with nice dungeon/spellcasting elements. I love that you work on the stats, spellbook, equipment, and they do have an impact on the storyline. Characters in the story are well defined, quite different, and with really nice background stories and history. Highly recommended!

Oh man, I haven't played this game since I was procrastinating back in highschool, but I still recall how awesome it was. Especially loved the dungeon-navigation aspect. If you made that into a game all its own, I'd play it start-to-finish in an hour! Plus the characters are seriously likeable.

Damien can get lost tho, I'm still mad about that lmao!!

Magical Diary: Horse Hall is a cute visual novel game with a fun art style and interesting story line. This is a dating sim with well rounded characters that aren't overly sexualized. There aren't enough games like this on steam. Magical Diary: Horse Hall doesn't have voice acting and I managed to complete all routes in just under 23 hours. Players looking for an extended game experience, voice acting or adult scenes may want to choose a different game. I enjoyed this game though and think a lot of other VN fans will too.

I played this game religiously when I was but a wee lass and now as an adult- I can admit; I still enjoy the game. I looked into playing wolf house but there is just something irreplaceable about this game. If you like time management dating sims, you'll love this game, point-blank.

Surprisingly addictive visual novel with some gameplay elements. When you graduate (ending ) the game gives you a funny prediction of your future life based on an assessment of your playing style and relationships.

8/10 Fairly entertaining. Already have reached a couple of endings that I will want to replay again.

The game could have been interesting if it was longer; it was too short so there was barely any story to it and barely any gameplay either.

Fun game,, lots to work out and get right.
Games to complete. Spell types to get right.

I wish there were more date options though.

I did Virginia 1st and she was only a fiend as I needed Higher on a stat, no-one 2nd time as the one I tried for was not an option but got a kiss from Pastel, she is cute but not an option either. 3rd was Virginia, A Romance, there is similar stuff to the 1st playthrough though there are some differences and options and so on and ends up cute.

Try it. It is a fun game.

While an interesting concept, the execution is poor and lacking. It's a fun game to pass time, as well as a good game to have fun with friends, but it's clear that a lack of care and love was put into the production of the game, even if it makes the game somewhat endearing at points.

From an onlookers perspective, this is a fairly simple and fun dating game from the perspective of a young girl thrown into a world of magic, allowing both the player and character to find out about the way the world works. However, the farther you go, the worse the romance and world-building gets.

The magic system is good, I will give this game that much. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' magic. Simply depends on how the user chooses to use the magic to their advantage. I also appreciate the simple puzzle solving mechanics of the dungeons. A good thing to work through if you don't know what you're doing, and a quick chance at easy merits if you do.
Not to mention the questionable topics? I'm surprised this game has no age rating, considering it's a clear pg-13. Use of swear words, depictions of abusive relationships and illegal situations, as well as references towards sex on multiple occasions and questionable morals.

I also have to praise its encouragement of its LGBTQ+ audiences. Allowing same sex relationships, and allowing it exist very casually within its game, it's something I've always appreciated as a member myself. Even if it's not amazing, it's more than most media I've seen.

There are only two staff members ever mentioned in the entire school, Professor Grabiner and Professor Potsdam. Professor Grabiner is a typical strict teacher who's an obvious ripoff of Snape from Harry Potter, making Professor Potsdam the only respectable teacher of the two. However, it becomes very clear that she doesn't actually care about her job in the slightest. Encouraging dangerous relationships and situations, giving you an equivalent of a slap on the wrist for anything and everything.

I also have to criticize the character customization. How the hell are you supposed to make a good character with that. Whenever I play for myself I have to click random because it has the options of a picrew made in one sitting. The faces don't even fit on the faces, going at a completely different angle from the head itself, and the hair is questionable. I understand the aim for the Shoujo Anime genre look, very cartoony and bubbly, but if you compare it to other games made by Hanako games, it's obvious that they should've just let it go in favor of some other style. Wolf Hall alone has a much more bearable look, even if it's aiming for Shonen and not Shoujo. I cannot compare stories, of course, I haven't played that version before, but the uniform style, the faces, the very core of the aesthetic is much more appealing. Long Lives the Queen is also fairly appealing in its style, and it does follow the Shoujo look!

There isn't really incentive to do anything at all in the game. Not once have I done a run through a route and went 'Damn. I wish I had more merits so I could be appreciated at the end of the year!' not once. Not even romance. I do it for content because the game is horribly lacking in everything otherwise but I literally do not care for any of these characters. It's just sad.

You'd think because of the lack of content you'd do multiple years, no? DLC or something to see your romance grow over the rest of your highschool career. What do you do when your beloved senior graduates and you're a sophomore? What do you do with that teacher student relationship? Do you want a freshman for the hazing ceremony? Do you want to go to the harvest festival? None of it, you just be a freshman for about an hour and you're done.

Moving onto the romance routes,
Damien Route Spoilers
Firstly. What the absolute hell is this route? You have your typical bad boy character, whatever, a bit standoffish but a very much 'I can fix him' kind of appeal. He introduces you to his sob story life, he allows himself to become vulnerable and is open to Y/N for the first time in a while. Until he brings you into the gym. To which he attempts to kill you and you are very aware that this is probably the end of your run. Professor Potsdam saves you, and eventually Damien starts crying and begging you to come back. If you allow your almost murderer to hang out with you, you will become ostracized by your peers (And your roommates become incredibly disappointed that you are still in love with a person who repeatedly proved himself to be a bad person) and changed halls, both of which are for good reason. You get your kiss with him under moonlight, isn't that what you wanted?
Tl;dr Damien is an stereotypical bad-boy who attempts to kill you and, in the same way people are attracted to JD from Heaters, why this route is so loved and encouraged by the game is appalling.

Grabiner Route Spoilers
This route is just as bad if not worse than Damien's. Damien is a senior kissing on a freshman. Grabiner is a middle aged man who marries a freshman and eventually falls in love with her after trauma-dumping for half an hour.
Your first encounter with this man is bumping into him and having him yell at you for a hot minute and then giving you five demerits, which, if you want to romance him, you HAVE to find a way to get rid of before the elections for class roles begin, and then you have to win the elections, and THEN you have to do great at your job. And then you walk in on him getting his soul sucked out of his body by a demon, and, being a person with basic decency, you run in to help, which ends up with you marrying him and him hating your guts because of it.
You fall in love with him, the school finds out, you get ostracized by your peers (once again), and while you get trauma-dumped by him regardless of who you choose romance, it gets so much worse in his romance route. A 43 year old telling a 14 year old how his highschool sweetheart died in the middle of the kid trying to distribute 5 dollars into like 1000 envelopes. The entire time this is encouraged by the only other staff member Professor Potsdam.
Tl;dr: This route is a horrifically embarrassing depiction of a teacher student relationship (which is already incredibly gross because it's a literal pedophilic relationship) sprinkled in with a mans family and relationship issues, ultimately resulting in you throwing your life away.
Those two are the only ones that I think are even worth mentioning. Because of how horribly bad they are. However, in each of these romance routes there are flaws because Hanako games doesn't know how to write a healthy relationship.

Overall this game, while it has its appeals, is just not worth the money. Watch a playthrough or something, you get the same experience.

Love this game!

Admittedly some of the characters I was most interested in dating were not available paths, though I very much enjoyed Ellen and Donald's routes. I'll consider buying wolf Hall purely for more content, though I generally only play dating sims where I get to play as my gender, for such an enjoyable experience I'm willing to make an exception! ^-^

If I had one critique though, and it's quite a major one, there is just not enough content :(. It's over so quick, not much time to really develop the relationship much, the exams are overly simple, most spells are kind of a waste. Honestly the game should've probably been quite a bit longer. I would love you'd eventually add DLC that adds more years with new more complicated exams and more relationship development, though considering how long this game has been out that's probably unlikely to occur.