/vr/ - Retro Games

Fire Woman Matoigumi is sort of a distant predecessor to Persona 3 in its combination of school life/dating sim aspects with turn-based RPG combat. You play as a male transfer student who gets beat up on his first day trying to stop a group of abusive ruffians. However this incident gets him the attention of the Matoigumi, three schoolgirls who use their magical fighting skills to protect the weak and vulnerable, and he is asked to join the group for his courage.

As a member of the Matoigumi, it's your job to wander around the school grounds after class checking if anyone is in trouble, and confronting bullies, stalkers, and ruffians in simplistic turn-based fights. The whole game is presented in a top-down 2D view with expressive sprites for the characters.

You improve your stats by joining various different clubs and after school activities, and there are 11 different date-able girls in school. The dating sim aspect of the game is pretty barebones, with few options beyond walking girls home from school, giving them presents on their birthday, and saving them from harrassment. Though you can romance multiple girls at once, you'll have to choose one to get her ending, accompanied by an FMV sequence. There's even a character called Otaku Joe who holds the stats on every girl and can tell you how much each of them likes you at the beginning of every month.

Though every aspect of this game is fairly shallow and simple, they combine to create an original and entertaining experience that would be more developed by games in the next generation. However, it is JP-only and there is no translation effort planned as far as I know.