One of my most cherished visual novels that I ever had the pleasure to read is definitely Sumaga and Sumaga Special from Nitroplus. These were released in 2008 and 2009, back when visual novels were still a very popular medium in Japan and never got a translation in english.

The story follows the adventures of the protagonist, known by many different names such as Unkoman, Ozaki, Yuuma and more due to his complete memory loss. He wakes up falling from the sky with no idea who he is. As he panics and curses the world, a flying girl dressed in witch like clothing approaches him and asks if he is one of the Zodiacs.

This is his first encounter with Spica, one of the three remaining witches (along with Mira and Garnet) who are tasked with defending the city from the invading Zodiacs, giant beings intent on destroying everything. The city is isolated from the outside by a mysterious barrier that wipes the memories of anyone who crosses it, leaving the inhabitants completely on their own.

Spica fails to decide whether to save him or not, and the two die together in that very first scene. Unkoman then wakes up in a strange room facing a gigantic TV. On it appears a small girl who calls herself God. She offers him a chance to be reborn and redo things. He accepts and returns to the world to change his fate.

There are rules, of course. He only regains his memories at specific points, so he has very little time to act. He can only rewind to the last moment he lost consciousness, which usually means no more than a day, sometimes even less.

The story unfolds as a multi route mystery, with Unkoman progressing through each heroine’s route in order: Spica, Garnet, and finally Mira. Each route solves a different problem, reveals new truths about the world, and pushes the larger mystery forward. There are also several side routes for other heroines that expand the lore even more, and finally a true route where all the remaining mysteries are resolved.

The world itself is full of factions that sometimes cooperate and sometimes clash. The witches are led by Arided, a former witch who also hosts Unkoman in her home. The military is commanded by Oki Kiki, the student council president of the academy. The newspaper club is run by Kusakabe Amaho (the one from the video). And then there are individuals who know far more than they should, like the mysterious Sakusa Akimi, always seen carrying his guitar.

Suspicion becomes a big theme because everyone seems to be hiding something. Arided in particular always feels like she knows more than she reveals. Repeated questions come up: What exactly are the Zodiacs? Why can only witches fight them? Why do the Zodiacs target the Carl Zeiss Observatory, and why does that always lead to the world ending? What is the Grenzen barrier, and why does it erase the memories of anyone who crosses it?

Spoilers from here on.

Piece by piece, the truth finally comes out, and the revelations come fast. First, we learn that the city and all events within it are influenced by the witch who is currently the focus of The Almagest, a mysterious book that narrates the story of the world from the witch’s point of view. The unconscious beliefs of the witch determine the rules of the world. Even the idea that a witch must sacrifice herself whenever a special Zodiac appears comes from their subconscious belief that this is how things must work.

We learn that Arided lost most of her witch power years ago because she had become disillusioned with this small closed world and wanted out.

Then comes the truly wild twist. All the routes, all the events, everything, are creations born from the imagination of a real world high school girl. Facing certain death from an approaching meteor, she prays for the moment never to come, freezing time and generating a world where that moment can be avoided again and again in an endless cycle.

The world cannot be happy because the girl does not believe happiness is possible. The witches are fragments of her heart and wishes. The protagonist is based on the boy she loved in the real world, the one she planned to confess to at the observatory on the day the meteor struck.

In the final route, all witches from all routes, even those who disappeared before the story begun, unite. Guided by Unkoman, they break through into the real world, destroy the meteor, and save the girl, giving her a true happy ending. The parallel worlds are freed as well and can finally move forward, though still governed by some lingering rules.

Sumaga Special, the fandisk, focuses on witches who did not appear in the main story. In this world they are the primary witches, and a secret involving the world’s foundations needs Unkoman’s help to solve. The dynamic between the two main girls is very yuri and honestly, I love it as you can see from the various pictures I used of them!

The rest of the fandisk content is full of the usual chaotic fun: cute scenes, silly scenes, some ecchi scenes, and all sorts of absurd moments that match the charm of the original. Naked Apron Spica and Garnet was dangerously good.

By the way, extremely nice note is the high profile seiyuu that they used in this production. Garnet is Kadowaki Mai (Illya from Fate Stay Night), Amaho is Sakakibara Yui, Unkoman is Abe Atsushi (Hakuno from Fate Extra) and many many others.

I really recommend giving Sumaga a try if you can. It is a unique experience that is absolutely worth the 100 or so hours needed to complete both games.