WitchSpring R is the revival of the first entry of the long-running mobile game series WitchSpring by Kiwiwalks Co., LTD. Funnily enough, I never heard of this game series before, so when I checked out the Play Store and saw that the original game has tons of positive ratings, it got me curious.
Some feedback stated that you get more than what you paid for, considering how affordable the game is. So it’s nice to know that the console port WitchSpring R for the Nintendo Switch is a solid JRPG, considering its origin as a mobile game.
The Forest Witch of the Forest
As the title suggests, you take on the role of a young witch named Pieberry. Abandoned by her parents in the forest to tend on her own, she must leave her quiet forest home to seek a Pie with a familiar taste. But she must traverse the comforts of her home with caution, as the palace has a decree to hunt all witches.
Making this particular pie run deadly, she must evade detection by the palace warriors, but it seems that this supposed simple errand will lead to more discovery and growth for Pieberry.
The premise is as simple as it sounds, accompanied by a cutesy anime aesthetic. This is probably what made WitchSpring R attract a niche audience. Particularly, the humor and the dialogue can be campy at times. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea but if you are fine with its pacing, the story frolics between lighthearted and serious moments. Heck, I even felt bad for Pieberry at the very beginning of the narrative.
What I like about this is that it all fits, as if it tries to present itself as an innocent-looking story but suggests things are not all bright. This kind of art style in JRPGs is what I missed the most, considering I think I’ll never get over Gungnir. But I can’t compare Gungnir’s story to WitchSpring R; that game is just tragic from the beginning till the end. Maybe the fairest comparison I can make is with Atelier Escha and Logy, but WitchSpring R tells you that this Witch is cheerful despite how the world treats her.
Anyway, if you like story suggestions through the game’s environment this game has it! Questions like; those huge ruins? Who built it? A huge dragon skull; did it die, or did someone kill it? Who knows. As the world opens up to you, these kinds of questions will pop up.
Although not as effective as other games, the details scattered around are enough to set the mood that this fantasy world is filled with mysteries ready to be discovered despite the danger.
Pretty typical of a JRPG, but the tools that you will use to explore the land are what made the journey worthwhile.
Behold the Witch’s cauldron!
In your typical JRPG loop, early on you’ll be stuck between gathering materials and hunting small critters for ingredients. But thankfully Pieberry can handle her own in combat.
As a Witch, Pieberry knows a few basic spells, but as a lone mage, she taught herself how to get her own hands dirty. What I mean is this witch switches between spells and physical attacks. What’s more, the game will introduce you to Pets that you can recruit as your companion to lend you a hand in battle or let them stay in your home to guard your garden.
Basically, Pieberry can run out of mana, but she will never run out of options to settle a fight. You just have to balance your turns to deal enough damage to be victorious.
You can grind for experience points but the Training system is what I think is the most rewarding when you reach the end game. You can skip it at your own risk but it might bite you if faced with a difficult foe. So, preparing which pets to bring and having the right build is crucial to make your life easier. There’s also this feeling of satisfaction to see how far Pieberry has become, as if the devs want you to feel that you raised her like a daughter.
Another thing that you wouldn’t want to neglect is the crafting. With tons of materials to collect so you can strengthen Pieberry’s accessories, it all feels so rewarding. The blacksmithing can benefit from some QOL enhancements as it feels a bit slow; you can compare it to the first iteration of Dragon Quest 11 forging. But maybe at this point, I was just too lazy to do a separate crafting.
Thankfully, you can train, craft, and fight at your leisure, as despite the time limit, you can organize your expeditions at your own pace. So you’re never pressured to do anything stressful. Plus the game puts you on a soft lock depending on your story progression, so unless you decide to move on to the story, that’s the only time you unlock better rewards.
The sound of a bright day
What is even more delightful is the game’s music, heck even the title screen’s BGM is so relaxing that I can watch Pieberry chill at the top of the roof. I was sure that the title screen is a full recreation of the mobile version, but unfortunately I can’t access the mobile version at the play store to confirm it again. But if this were the case, it was endearing for them to recreate that part.
The combat theme is good and the music never felt repetitive while gathering materials. Not only they did do a wonderful job composing the game’s BGM, but you can also praise the voice-acting in this game. Each VA gave their best to give life to the character, particularly Karin Takahashi did a good job expressing Pieberry’s cheerful demeanor.
But if you’re looking for an English dub, unfortunately, the game only has two voice options (Japanese, and Korean). So if you love your game in English audio you won’t find it here.
The Big Bad
Well, I couldn’t mark down anything that’s entirely bad about this game. All I could remember is that some dialogue bubbles in handheld mode are smaller. So you’ll need to press A to continue their dialogue, breaking your immersion. But this isn’t a big issue.
For anything technical, the game runs normally in both docked and handheld mode, but I recommend playing the game in docked mode to appreciate the game’s visuals.
I haven’t encountered any bugs during my playthrough, but I read that sometimes on a few occasions, Pieberry’s sprite will disappear. Although I never experienced this kind of issue, so I’m not sure about that part.
What I’m sure is if you’re the impatient type who wants to jump right into the action, you’ll find the first chapters of the game to be jarring. Early on, the game will hold your hand to show how things work. All I could say in this part is progression is rewarding, especially if you follow the narrative.
Verdict 8/10
For someone who’s not familiar with the mobile game WitchSpring, I have to admit that I had a blast with WitchSpring R. Both the narrative and its visuals helped tell a wonderful story about a lonesome witch who just wants to enjoy the simple things. While the gameplay didn’t deliver any groundbreaking innovations to the table, it was never boring.
The only boring part you could take from it is the grind that you must do to enhance Pieberry’s abilities, including the gathering. But even that part, they turned it into a mini-game, so you’ll be more glad to challenge yourself to get a better result. You can even challenge the NG+ for stronger enemies and new items. Exploration is also deeply rewarded so if you missed any items you can give it another go.
In all, WitchSpring R is a sweet and enjoyable RPG, the typical RPG loop is ever-present but never jarring. It instead focuses more on fun which is amplified by its wonderful BGM. It also has a strong narrative that follows a bright protagonist, sending you good vibes despite some rather cruel story elements. I recommend this hidden gem for Nintendo Switch owners looking for a new RPG to play.