Wait a minute, this "Fairy Bell" is just a rip-off of the best Disney character: Ki from "Mars Needs Moms."
"Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" is a kinetic visual novel released in 2018 for Steam by developers, ALICE IN DISSONANCE. They also developed the "Fault" visual novels, such as "Fault - Milestone One."
"Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" is a spin-off of the "Fault" Series, however, you don't need prior knowledge of the "Fault" Series to enjoy "Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell." The only connection between the two seems to be the in-game language used sometimes, which the game translates so you aren't lost.
Review
"Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" is about Mhakna Gramura... Which I thought was a country name... I can't tell if that's a compliment or not. Anyway, Mhakna is an orphan who will be turned into an animal by the orphanage "caretaker" Tigrah Anne when she turns 10 unless she's adopted. Mhakna is nine years old.
Turning orphans into animals is not tight. Fortunately, Mhakna, and her best friend Sebia, wish for Fairy Bell to save them from Tigrah Anne. Being a fairy who helps children in need, Fairy Bell does just that, she takes away the two children to Enes Land where kids don't grow up and don't go hungry. They can get anything they want by wishing for it.
While it's a simple story concept, the plot is highly engaging. All the characters are interesting and loveable, especially Mhakna and Sebia. With each scene between the two, you feel the deep bond they have. It feels so genuine.
The characters also highlight Enes World. What the children wish for really shows what Fairy Bell's world is capable of. You truly can wish for anything, even Iron Maiden... Technically both meanings apply here.
The world also manages to give a certain vibe. I can't say what, but it becomes more noticeable the more you play until it's right in your face. It's rewarding to catch onto it ahead of time.
The storytelling is just beautiful, if this were a spoiler review, I'd gush so hard about the specific, but spoilers... And I refuse to talk about car parts in this review. Although, I will say that the story provides a whole buffet of emotions to the player and, in my experience, succeeds well with each one.
The presentation compliments the story excellently with gorgeous illustrations—the cute but pretty art style, the colouring, and with soul put into each illustration. It's all jaw dropping and consistently fantastic throughout the entire visual novel.
Backgrounds can also be moved a little by moving your cursor. It's not much, but it does add some neat interactivity.
The music itself is breathtaking, as in it mugged me out of my oxygen, please help. It's orchestral with a focus on the piano. Each song is pleasing to the ear and none of the tracks ever get old.
The artwork, music, and storytelling combined makes "Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" feel exactly like an old fairy tale picture book.
"Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" is around an hour or two, and lacks replay value, which is to be expected, it is a kinetic visual novel. However, there are a few achievements to slightly increase playtime. These include milestones such as pressing the J key... T-To switch languages? I guess pressing the J key is hard.
Although, it is a seriously cool way of switching the language of the game efficiently and quickly.
However, "Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" isn't perfect, but don't worry, my criticisms are extremely minor. They boil down to no artwork gallery; no dialogue log; and the most heartbreaking of them all, a grammar mistake.
Completely irredeemable...
While it's a shame there's no artwork gallery, it isn't the end of the world. The lack of a dialogue log is a little baffling though given most modern visual novels have that or a backwards function in case the reader accidentally skips some dialogue. It's just odd.
Overall (S)
"Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell" is short but is a masterpiece that can only be described as beautiful. The story is wonderful, the characters are amazing, the world is excellent, the message is enlightening, and the presentation is incredible.
I don't have a single major complaint with the visual novel, only a few minor problems such as no dialogue log, no artwork gallery, and one or two spelling/grammar mistakes. However, these are overshadowed by the mountain of positives.
Part of me is dying, not literally, to do a spoiler review of "Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell." However, I think this is one of those stories I can't add much to in terms of analysis or critique by going into spoilers since everything clear by the end.
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