WitchSpring is a series of mobile phone RPGs from Korea.  And now one of the entries is on Nintendo Switch, which is why we’re starting with WitchSpring3.  But you really don’t need knowledge of the previous games to enjoy this one, unless you just want to know more about the lore of everything in it.  Anyway, in this game you play as Eirudy, a witch girl who lives in a monster-filled misty forest excluded from humans (but her grandmother lives nearby).  One day while running an errand to collect materials for her magic, Eirudy bumps into a human fugitive who is trying to avoid soldiers like she does.  Together they have lots of adventures, and you can use your witch magic for good or evil in this highly customizable turn-based RPG.  It kind of reminds me of a cross between Secret of Mana and those Atelier so-and-so RPGs.

Before you even leave your house, there is tons of stuff for you to do.  As a witch, Eirudy specializes in bringing dolls to life.  She has tons of dolls in her basement she can do that with, but you’ll need a special kind of energy to do so, so you won’t be able to unlock new dolls very often.  You can use dolls in battle to automatically do things like heal you or attack monsters.  On the first floor you can do things like craft magic spells and upgrade them, as well as make tools, weapons, and potions with materials you find in the wild.  You can also save your game and rest as well as train.  Speaking of which, you don’t automatically gain levels and stats as you play in this one.  When a certain amount of time passes, you can choose to train for five in-game days and choose which training regiments to do to increase your stats.  You can do exercises to make your witch all strong and buff (which is what I did), or have her read and study to learn new magic spells.

When you are ready to venture outside you’ll view the action in a top down perspective.  Collect items and defeat small critters by walking up to them.  Bigger monsters will have a ring around them, and when you enter that ring, you can see how strong they are.  Which is nice so you know who you are ready to fight.  When in battle, you’ll play out your actions in turn-based fashion.  If you get defeated, you’ll just warp back to your house with little penalty.  As you play, you’ll uncover goals which you can view in your diary.  While the game initially does a good job easing you into all its features, the goals were ultimately what gave me problems with the game.  Usually when you complete a goal, you’re given a new one soon after.  But sometimes I think you have to wait a few in-game days or maybe level up enough?  I wasn’t really sure so after wandering around for a while, I kind of lost interest and patience.  But even so, I did like the art style and addicting gameplay, so if this one sounds fun to you, you may want to check it out.

Kid Factor:

WitchSpring3 is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence, Language, and Mild Suggestive Themes.  You can attack monsters with swords and magic, but defeated enemies just fall over and disappear.  I didn’t notice too much bad language in the text, and sometimes the characters have slightly suggestive interactions that come off as more campy than anything.  But because of the high level of reading required, I’d say this one’s best for older kid gamers.

Tags: Game Reviews