LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA: CHAMBER OF TIME
A nice enough time
As a spin-off from an anime series, this thankfully captures a lot of the show’s charming spirit, and all the best bits are where it feels closest to the show. Set within the grounds of Luna Nova Magical Academy at the beginning of the summer holiday, Akko1 and her friends discover a hidden chamber housing a mysterious clock in the school library. After messing around with it for a while, she sends the whole day into a time loop that only they can notice – with the day’s events repeating over and over (and over).
The only way to fix the magical timepiece is to journey out to dungeons accessed by using special keys. Naturally, this takes the form of Golden Axe-styled beat-’em-up action, where three of the seven witches go from screen to screen taking out enemies and bosses, using a mixture of light to heavy attacks, and up to six spells. 2 It’s fun when it keeps it simple, but when it tries to deviate it can often lead to awkwardly designed and frustrating situations.
Far more engaging is exploring and running around the school where you find the keys to progress the story. As well as main quests, there’s a heap of side events that capture the spirit of the anime. Frequently you’ll use magic to fix problems, or amass knowledge due to the time loop that allows you to solve others. But when dashing about doing fetch quests is way more fun than the beat-’em-up parts, it might be a bit lacking. However, fans of the show won’t want to miss the chance to bask in the wonder of Luna Nova. Oscar Taylor-Kent