After its initial PC release a year ago, WitchSpring R hits consoles. Is this JRPG worth checking out? Or should it be banished for crimes of terrible witchcraft?
It’s A Wonderful Day For Pie
Developed by Kiwiwalks, (A three-person development team from South Korea), WitchSpring R is a remake of a mobile game of the same name. Released in 2020, the mobile version had its charms but now with its full console release, the developers have attempted to go bigger and better, with mixed results. The story centres around a ten year old witch named Pieberry, who lives alone in a small cottage in a secluded forest. Cut off from the world itself, the only life she has ever known is in the forest. This is because she is protected from it by her guardian who just happens to be a massive stone golem by the name of Balt. He has protected her from the villains of the game for years, the knights of the holy church who coincidentally hunt witches. This beginning helped me understand Pieberry’s feeling of loneliness, isolation and longing to explore, which all set up the main themes of the game. On a fateful day she discovers a black bird in her forest named Black Joe which propels Pieberry and the story away through the forest and beyond.
The aesthetic and charming nature of WitchSpring R fools you at first, but this story is unexpectedly mature and complex which I found fascinating. The theme I most resonated with in this tale is the reality of humanity itself. Its depiction of humanity as a power hungry force which will stop at nothing is far too similar to real life and thus it’s uncomfortable. The focus on the holy church is also excellently presented as the game touches on the theme of religion and how it can be all encompassing. The church views witches and other beings of magical power as demons and because the church says this, the knights blindly follow this. It’s a sobering tale of a world under a religious zealotry reign and one that has twists and turns along its roughly fifteen hour campaign. It is deep, thoughtful and impactful as Pieberry’s conversation and thoughts are displayed for the player to see. The story reaches a satisfactory conclusion to her tale and it’s a credit to the development team that they have successfully managed to alter my initial expectations of the game. They have created a strong mature tale wrapped inside a Disney like charm. Very impressive.
Turn-Based Tension
Gameplay in WitchSpring R is best described as deep and rewarding but not without its frustrations. The very first few moments of the game, when you can control Pieberry help show off the core gameplay loop. As you scour for items to craft, learn new spells to ward off enemies and train to gain attribute points, this game is a true old fashioned RPG. The crafting system is varied and complex, allowing you to create a variety of items from healing salves to magic buffs and even bombs! But it’s the training system that really caught my eye. The system allows you to focus on specific training modules to boost stats such as stamina, health and magic power. What makes this system so good is the mini games tied to each activity that are just a fun distraction to the main game. You can’t help but go back and do more. The system pairs well with the overall levelling structure and the battle system. I loved training so I could hone my skills and make Pieberry more and more powerful. And that’s a common theme in the gameplay- the rising power of Pieberry throughout the story.
The battle system gives and it takes away. I mean this in the sense that the experience points you earn through combat are scarce to say the least. This means every point you gain and where you place said point is impactful and stops the player feeling overpowered early on. The battle system becomes fleshed out the more you level up with abilities, unlocking summoning pets, more spells to cast and new abilities to master. Coupled with the battle system are weapon skill trees which allow you to cater your weapons’ abilities and stats to how you want to play.. As I mentioned, it has its frustrations as the sheer amount of menus and options in the game can be overwhelming for newcomers to JRPGs like myself. It’s daunting at first but I felt fulfilled and rewarded come games’ end.
These systems and functions all funnel into the combat which is a turn-based system. If you have played games like this before, the combat is pretty rudimentary and nothing that will stand out to you, but it does the job. You can use boosts, items, status effects and more. The usual suspects for turn-based combat are all here. Some abilities allow you to cast on multiple enemies which were my favourite moments. Other times, there were so many separate groups of enemies in one area, it felt like a true slog and slowed down the pacing of the story. If you are not into turn-based games this is very much not for you, but the system is serviceable and veterans of this gameplay style will feel right at home. Thankfully, no pets can be harmed in the combat!
A Mixed Bag Beyond The Forest
WitchSpring R is both beautiful and ugly at times in its presentation. You can certainly tell this game was once a mobile game as some environments look blocky and jagged. But that’s not the case all the time. Pieberry’s house looks wonderful and the majority of the areas hold up pretty well in this revamped version. There are different biomes on display from the beautiful forest, dark caves to soaring mountains and glistening oceans. The game has this subtle beauty to it but just small aspects such as trees and bushes look bad, making it hard to focus on the beauty. This is nit-picking as the majority of the game does look brilliant and should be commended due to the small size of the development team.
Pieberry herself looks wonderful and all the characters have been animated and created with care and love, all looking unique. Enemies look fantastic and the bigger creatures in the game become huge spectacles when they appear on screen. The animations for all the spells and combat moves also look impressive and you can see every hit, block and miss burst onto the screen during fights. With the game being told in Japanese or Korean through voiceover, there is a need for subtitles and thankfully these are wonderful with some minor hiccups through typos and grammatical errors. One of the worst parts of the game itself is its UI which can be utterly chaotic and can be a sheer eyesore. However, the presentation overall stays at a fairly consistent level.
What is unquestionably incredible are the music and sound design. When you are in your cottage or scouring for items, the soundtrack has this Disney-like feel to it. It is a charming and soothing theme that you can’t help but smile at whilst you wander the areas. Once combat begins, the tone of the score then shifts to a daunting brooding theme that creates tension whilst you plot your next turn. During the climatic boss battles, the score reminded me of classic Monster Hunter games mixed with a hint of Kingdom Hearts and I loved every second of this OST. Sound design is also particularly strong with every menu click pinging off the screen whilst popping potions or using fire and lightning spells sound powerful and impactful. Whilst presentation is a mixed bag, the sound design and score across the board are absolutely phenomenal.
Verdict
WitchSpring R is a thoughtful, deep and meaningful story which tells a tale of discovering oneself along with the perils of religion and bigotry. Pieberry is an engaging, thought-provoking protagonist who by journey’s end I had come to care for. Solid combat and great RPG mechanics and levelling systems helped keep me invested. It’s a shame that some areas felt too much of a slog at times and the sheer level of menus on offer can feel overwhelming. Visuals are mostly great and an absolutely stunning soundtrack and design help the game really feel unique. Charming is the word that just keeps coming to my mind when I think of this game. See you in the forest!
