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Cipher Academy accredits itself to Monogatari creator NISIOISIN's distressingly hard to translate writing style. With recent news of even the translator pulling out of the series it's a telltale sign of how taxing an endeavor it is handling his intricate wordplay and algorithms.
いじめを避ける→EASY「イージー」めな暗号だ☆ (Bullying/Easy)
The usual Nisio pun
Senjougahara reference (Bakemonogatari)
Planning on eventually playing through all the English translated Madou Monogatari games. So likely do another one of these long threads when I do either the Genesis or SNES game, both of which really bend the standard formula in some new ways. Then the rest of the Game Gear ones
A few tips if you're playing a Madou Monogatari game for the first time. Because they are still old games with a few rough edges...
Having played both the Game Gear and PC-Engine "HD remix" of Madou Monogatari 1 which do I recommend? Honestly both! They each have enough unique content and ideas, even with those shared maps.
It's interesting how the cuteness = kiddy game perception is so genre dependent. Madou Monogatari and Puyo Puyo share the same cast and general art style. But you don't see folks assuming Puyo Puyo is just "Tetris for kids"
A disappointing thing I've come across while researching is folks in retro games being dismissive of the Madou Monogatari games as just being baby dungeon crawlers for young children. Which no. Not unless you want to give them nightmares.
Of course in true Madou Monogatari fashion it isn't completely hidden. The first of the three gems you must collect will slowly glow brighter as you fill the friendship meter. Here it is when I first picked it up vs at the end of the game with a full meter.
Finished Madou Monogatari 1 for PC-Engine! Really enjoying this series. Just solid fun, goofy dungeon crawlers.