Farmagia

Farmagia
Developer(s)	Marvelous
Publisher(s)	JP: Marvelous NA: Marvelous USA[1] EU: Marvelous Europe
Director(s)	Hiromi Sakamoto
Producer(s)	Tsuyoshi Nagano Toru Mase Kenichiro Tsukuda
Designer(s)	Norikazu Miwa
Programmer(s)	Yoshiyuki Takahashi
Artist(s)	Hiro Mashima
Writer(s)	Hiromi Sakamoto Makoto Sato
Composer(s)	Tetsuya Kobayashi Shioto Hamasaki
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 5 Steam
Release	WW: November 1, 2024
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, farm life sim
Mode(s)	Single-player

Farmagia (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese action role-playing video game developed and published by Marvelous, with character designs by Hiro Mashima. It was released worldwide for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam on November 1, 2024.^[2] An anime television series adaptation produced by Bridge is scheduled to premiere in January 2025.

Top: Ten sows a seed that will grow into a "Fang" monster.
Bottom: Leii commands the party's monsters to attack an enemy.

Farmagia is a single-player action role-playing game and farm life sim in which the player grows monsters from seeds acquired from dungeons called mazes.^[3][4] On the player's farm, actions such as tilling and watering cost stamina called Farmagia Points (FP), which is replenished upon completing a maze.^[4] Fertilizers are purchased from the game's magic shop to improve monster growth and shorten the number of in-game days until harvest.^[5]

The player grows two types of monsters on the farm: Battle Buddies, which are used to battle enemies encountered in mazes; and Research Buddies, which award points used to purchase additional skills and benefits in farming and battle.^[6] Additionally, Agri-Buddies are crafted from the game's magic shop to perform farming actions without consuming FP or resources.^[4] Once harvested, Battle Buddies are trained on the player's ranch to boost their individual stats. The effectiveness of training depends on the monsters' motivation, which decreases with every stat increase, and is recovered by feeding the monsters with treats.^[7]

In mazes, the player controls a team of four characters with up to forty to sixty Battle Buddies divided among four different units: close-range attackers, long-range attackers, buffing and debuffing support units, and formation units focused on healing and protection.^[4][7] Each unit is assigned to a button that prompts them to attack a targeted enemy, decreasing their health and stamina.^[7] Besides attack and defense, Battle Buddies are used to perform Unite Blitzes, which combine one unit into a stronger United Buddy; Legion Attacks, during which all of the player's monsters attack a target simultaneously when its stamina is depleted; and Fusion Summons, which combine all units into a Fusion Buddy that damages all enemies on the battlefield.^[4] Additionally, player characters and monsters receive temporary benefits by equipping Fairy Skills, which are acquired from fairies found in fairy pods or purchased from the shopkeeper Charlot, and are reset after the player exits a maze.^[8]

The game's story is divided into twelve chapters, featuring 2D visual novel-style cutscenes.^[4][9] As the player progresses through the story, they form pacts with Elemental Spirits that unlock access to more Fusion Buddies. The game also features in an affection system in which the player upgrades their Fusion Buddies by deepening their relationships with a certain Elemental Spirit.^[3][4]

Farmagia is set in Felicidad, a fictional land in the underworld where its human-like denizens magically farm and grow monsters to use in battle and society, with these farmers known as Farmagia. Denizens live atop continent-sized monsters that serve as Felicidad's landmasses, with the town of Centvelt on the "continent" Avrion serving as the game's central hub.^[4] The continents are protected by the six Elemental Spirits, who strengthen any Farmagia with whom they form a pact.^[4]

The game's player characters are a party of Farmagia named Ten and his childhood friends from Centvelt's orphanage: Arche, a cheerful yet sickly girl; Leii, Ten's self-conscious best friend; Chica, Arche's pacifistic friend; Emero, an older brother figure to Chica; and Anzar, the group's admired senior member. Lookie-Loo, a fairy who lacks conventional Fairy Skills, is also part of the group. They are guided by Nares, Avrion's noble-minded ruling general, and Dentro, the orphanage's elderly caretaker.

The primary antagonists are Nares' fellow generals from the Oración Seis, who govern the other continents on behalf of Felicidad's ruler, the Magus Diluculum. The group's leader is Glaza, a tyrannical archmage who rules the continent of Nadeset'sya. The other generals are Manas, a mad scientist who rules Perfectus; Corpus, the brutish yet honorable ruler of Rahatluk; L'Oreille, the treacherous ruler of Sonrisa; and Lisan, a bewitching newcomer to the group who controls no continent.

Following the Magus Diluculum's death, the Oración Seis general Glaza establishes an oppressive regime over Felicidad as its new Magus, while Nares leads Avrion in rebellion against him. Ten battles Glaza's legion when they invade Centvelt, but is defeated by their masked commander, Zanas. Nares rescues Ten and accepts him into Avrion's army alongside Leii, Arche, Chica, and Anzar. After Ten's party drives Zanas's forces out of Avrion, Nares entrusts them with liberating the other continents by securing their Elemental Spirits' shrines and eliminating their ruling Oración generals. They also reunite with their missing friend Emero, now a soldier of Perfectus, who defects to Avrion after learning that Manas has been turning his subjects into mindless demi-beasts in experiments to create the Hyperion, the ultimate Farmagia.

After killing Manas and Corpus, Ten's party learns that Glaza has blackmailed Arche into deciphering Diluculum's grimoire, which contains knowledge of the Harvest Festival, a spell that reaps the souls of every denizen and monster on a continent. During the party's operation on Sonrisa, L'Oreille murders Lisan and betrays Glaza in an alliance with Zanas, leaving Glaza to be killed by the party. In the process, Zanas is unmasked as Anzar, whom the party learns has been secretly working against Glaza and L'Oreille for his friends' protection. L'Oreille performs the Harvest Festival on Nadeset'sya and absorbs all its souls before being killed by Ten's party, ending the war.

In the aftermath, Diluculum reveals himself to have faked his own death and consumed the Oración Seis' souls to restore his youth. Abducting Nares and resurrecting the other generals, Diluculum transforms all but his knowing servant L'Oreille into demi-beasts and sends them to rampage across Felicidad, forcing Ten's party to kill them while he prepares the Grand Harvest Festival, which would reap all souls in Felicidad. Through clairvoyant dreams experienced by Arche, the party learns that the archangels Diluculum and Eleonora created Felicidad and its denizens alongside Dentro—their seraph friend—after a failed uprising against God, who would consume human souls to amass power; when God afflicted Eleonora with a curse that rapidly aged her to death, Diluculum consumed her soul to keep her vital connection to the Elemental Spirits intact, which also passed her curse onto him. Driven mad with grief, Diluculum intends to strengthen himself with Felicidad's souls to kill God.

Diluculum successfully casts the Grand Harvest Festival after Dentro allows him to absorb his soul. Ten survives the spell by drawing strength from his friends, which transforms him into the Hyperion; meanwhile, Diluculum's strength quickly deteriorates due to him consuming Dentro's soul, unaware that Dentro's old age was a slowed effect of God's curse. Ten revives his friends, and together they defeat Diluculum and restore Felicidad along with the souls lost in the Grand Harvest Festival. Ten and his friends then become Felicidad's new leaders, returning the land to prosperity. Meanwhile, God's cherub messenger Chariel—the true identity of Lisan and the shopkeeper Charlot—chooses not to report Ten's transformation to God out of fondness for Ten's party, sparing Felicidad from God's interference.

The game was announced at the Marvelous Game Showcase in May 2023 under the title Project Magia, with Hiro Mashima designing the characters and monsters.^[2][10] The current title was revealed at the following showcase in May 2024 along with the game's release year and opening sequence.^[11] The game's theme song is "dis-dystopia", an image song performed by Ayane Sakura and Inori Minase as the characters Arche and Chica, respectively.^[11]

Farmagia was released worldwide on November 1, 2024, published by Marvelous for the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.^[2] Following the game's launch, Marvelous released weekly "buddy skins" for in-game monsters as free downloadable content throughout November 2024.^[12]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

The Nintendo Switch version of Farmagia launched at #8 on Japanese charts, selling 4,296 physical copies within its first three days of release, making it the only new release to chart in the top ten games sold that week.^[15]

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[13] Reviewing the Switch version, Paulo Kawanishi of Nintendo Life praised the character designs, writing, and technical performance. However, he criticized the farming aspect of the game, noting the lack of diversity regarding the designs of its dungeons, monsters, and the farm itself.^[4] Leigh Price of Siliconera considered the game to be mediocre, calling its farming and training aspects "undercooked", but enjoyed the story and sidequests for their character writing.^[7]

Farmagia
Anime television series
Directed by	Shinji Ishihira (chief) Toshihiko Sano
Written by	Toshizo Nemoto
Music by	Shūhei Mutsuki
Studio	Bridge
Licensed by	Crunchyroll (streaming) SA/SEA: Medialink
Original network	Tokyo MX, MBS, BS11
Original run	January 10, 2025 – scheduled
Anime and manga portal

An anime adaptation was announced on June 20, 2024.^[16] The television series is animated by Bridge and directed by Toshihiko Sano, with Shinji Ishihira serving as chief director, Toshizo Nemoto handling the series composition, Toshiomi Iizumi designing the characters, and Shūhei Mutsuki composing the music. The Japanese voice cast reprises their roles from the game. It is scheduled to premiere on January 10, 2025, on Tokyo MX and other channels.^[17] The anime's opening theme is "Life is Beautiful" performed by Asian Kung-Fu Generation,^[16][17] while the ending theme is "miss-dystopia" performed by Sokoninaru.^[18] Crunchyroll will stream the series.^[19] Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia and Oceania for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel and other streaming platforms.^[20]

• Official game website (in Japanese)
• Official game website (in English)
• Official anime website (in Japanese)