User blog:Herald of meridian/Toaru Majutsu no Index: the Mobile MMO

So you're probably hearing some news about a new game based on the Toaru Majutsu no Index franchise. And no, this isn't about Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On or any game based in Japan. We're talking about Mófǎ Jìnshū Mùlù (《魔法禁书目录》), an Android-based MMO action RPG based on the Index LN series. It is the closest thing Index fans have to a sandbox game where you can explore various locations in Academy City, and its Closed Beta ended on January 2017.

A 15-minute video of in-game footage can be viewed below.

Based on the footage, the game allows players to play as Kamijou Touma or, based on other non-video footage of in-game combat, other characters ranging from Science-Side characters like Misaka Mikoto and Accelerator to Magic-Side characters like Index, Kanzaki Kaori and Stiyl Magnus. Each character has around seven actions (normal attacks, jumps and character-specific abilities), and has a combo-based combat system. Another thing to watch out for is the meticulous reproduction of key areas of Academy City, from Aleister's chamber inside the Windowless Building, the iron bridge where Touma and Mikoto first clashed, as well as Tokiwadai Middle School and the School Garden. There also seems to be a Story Mode.

From the footage alone, you can see that this is a very polished project, but there has been little to no reception from Japan's side regarding this game and not even Dengeki Bunko, the publisher of the light novel series, has said anything about the game. The game also has a limited range of assets, with most portraits of the characters taken from official media.

Currently, Mófǎ Jìnshū Mùlù seems to focus more on recreating the events depicted in the Index and Railgun anime. But, hopefully we'll see more things from farther into the light novel series. Regardless, it is quite interesting.