Arle Nadja

Overview

Arle is the protagonist of the Madou Monogatari series of RPGs, along with the early titles of the Puyo Puyo series. She is a sorceress who primarily wields elemental magic. Her main enemy is Satan, though she has several other rivals such as Rulue and Schezo Wegey. She is a minor character in Puyo Pop Fever and Fever 2, but plays a major role in Puyo Puyo 7's story.

Her first name is taken from the classical play L'Arlésienne ("The Girl From Arles") while her last name is taken from the protagonist of the novel Nadja.

One of Arle's unique quirks is that she refers to herself using male pronouns in the Japanese-language games. This is a common anime trait used by tomboy characters.

Madou Monogatari

Arle embarks on her first adventure in the A Chapter of Madou Monogatari ARS at only four years old.

In Madou Monogatari I, a six-year-old Arle ventures into a dangerous tower in order to collect three spheres and pass her Madou Kindergarten exam. A sixteen-year-old Arle stars in Madou Monogatari II; she is kidnapped by Schezo and, after defeating him, encounters Satan. At the end of the game, she meets Carbuncle, who decides to follow her. In Madou Monogatari III, Rulue learns that Satan has declared Arle to be his fiance. In an effort to keep Satan for herself, Rulue sends her servant Minotauros to eliminate Arle. In the Saturn Madou Monogatari, she and Lagnus the Brave fight against dimension-traveling plant monsters.

She primarily attacks using the spells "Fire" and "Ice Storm." She eventually learns several support spells, such as the damage-doubling "Diacute" and enemy-confusing "Brain Damned."

Puyo Puyo

Arle is the sole player character of the arcade Puyo Puyo and Puyo Puyo Tsu. In the former, she learns the spell "Owanimo," which generates power when four creatures of the same color are matched together. She plans to use this spell to defeat Satan, but must first battle twelve other opponents. In Puyo Puyo Tsu, she makes her way to the top of a Puyo Puyo challenge tower; at the top of the tower, she learns that Satan plans to force her into a honeymoon. Arle serves as a narrator of sorts in these games: when she starts building a chain of cleared Puyo, she will begin casting spells; likewise, she implies that she is injured by an opponent that is building chains.

In Puyo Puyo Sun, she and Schezo travel to Satan's fortress in order to return the sun to its natural state. In Puyo Puyo~n, Carbuncle goes missing during a Puyo Circus, which prompts her (and other characters) to go on a quest to find him.

She somehow ends up in Amitie's universe in Puyo Pop Fever and Fever 2. She and Carbuncle are the only Madou Monogatari characters in these games; as a reference to this, Arle's "dropset" consists entirely of regular pairs of Puyo.

In Puyo Puyo 7, she falls into yet another alternate universe. She teaches Ringo Andou how to play Puyo Puyo, but is soon after possessed by an unknown entity. In the game's climax, she, Ringo, and Amitie team up to prevent the multiverse from being destroyed.

Her attacks are Fire, Ice Storm, Diacute, and Bayoeen in the arcade Puyo Puyo. Puyo Puyo Tsu adds Brain Damned and Jugem before Bayoeen, while the Fever series uses Thunder and Heaven's Ray. These are all spells that Arle uses in the Madou Monogatari series, and later games in the series go so far as the reproduce the stuttering audio effect that is caused by Diacute in Madou 1-2-3. (For example, Brain Damned becomes B-B-Brain Damned.)

Her 15th and 20th Anniversary theme is based on the BGM that plays during early battles in the first Puyo Puyo game.