Underneath its charming exterior, WitchSpring R is a JRPG…it’s just not evident of that classification until the 20th hour. At that point, it doesn’t matter what genre it is, only that it keeps you fully engaged. From the lack of necessary grinding, hidden depth within its crafting system, and piecemeal sidequests, there’s quite a bit of unique things to do in WitchSpring R on Pieberry’s quest for pie. Thankfully, that charm persists until the very end.
WitchSpring’s first title came out in 2015 – nearly a decade ago – on mobile devices in Korea. Its remaster made its way stateside in 2018. By then, two other WitchSpring titles had been subsequently released, all of which had garnered an avid but niche fanbase of mobile players. All of which took place in the same universe, involving a growing cast of characters, and increasingly serious themes about fleeing persecution and finding home. It wasn’t until 2020 when WitchSpring 3 Re:Fine (a remaster of the third installment) was released on console and PC, a first for the series.
I don’t expect you to know of WitchSpring’s origins, nor do I expect you to have innate knowledge of the series now that we’re well over halfway through 2024. Admittedly, I didn’t know of WitchSpring’s existence until a few weeks ago when I was sent a copy of WitchSpring R for the PS5 for this here review. Folks, we’ve been missing out on an awesome IP from KIWIWALKS.
WitchSpring R is a remaster of the original WitchSpring, albeit heavily updated, modified, and thoroughly realized for players. Its PC port came out last year on Steam. If you were to check its Steam reviews from players like yourself, you would see just over 4,500 players with an Overwhelmingly Positive impression of the game.
What do I know, though? Players can be wrong sometimes…right?
WitchSpring R starts out as most JRPGs do. You’re introduced to a main protagonist, you’re tasked with some lightly monotonous tasks, and then you battle woodland creatures. Here, you’re placed in Pieberry’s shoes – an overwhelmingly charming and happy-go-lucky witch who lives alone in the woods. Here life is spent dreaming about pie and berries – her two favorite things. As a young witch, I had to go out into the woods and forage for supplies to make a fireball spell to cast.
Ugh, I thought, I really don’t want to spend 20 hours farming for things just to make potions.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to. The game peeled away bits and pieces of the typical grind that primarily served to inflate playtime. It did so within the first hour.
When I think of a JRPG, “the grind” comes to mind. Repetitious turn-based battles that yield a handful of points that, upon reaching a specific threshold, grants me additional power in drips and drops. Party management and theorycrafting character builds also come to mind, adding depth to otherwise monotonous tasks. Some JRPGs feature random encounters while others show enemies in the overworld to drive home the notion of danger being a norm, not the exception. Good JRPGs mask monotony well by thoughtfully inserting emotional cutscenes, compelling storylines, and sidequests. The best JRPGs reward players with feelings of extreme power for those willing to make an extreme investment.
One thing is almost always clear, though: JRPGs demand an excruciating amount of time to get the “most” out of it.
Not WitchSpring R…at least not to the same extent of other JRPGs. Take its combat, for instance. I could see enemies in the overworld – no random encounters. After beating most enemies once, I was informed upon walking up to the enemy that I would gain no combat experience. I didn’t have to fight enemies over and over again for small stat boosts. All I had to do was simply…go home and “train” in some minigames once I had beaten enough enemies.
The combat system was pretty straightforward, far from innovative, but simple enough to sit through. It was comprised of turn-based battles where I can use melee attacks with my staff or magic spells (of my own creation) that could target single enemies or raze through a group. If I defeated an enemy with a melee attack, I could attack once more with magic or physical strength. After enough turns had passed, I could summon a bow and arrow that could pierce enemies and chunk a good portion of their health without eating up a turn.
This is all to say that the gameplay loop is pretty standard for a JRPG, albeit without the fluff. The only learning curve is knowing when to return home to participate in the “training” sessions and/or evolve my weapons. The home menu feels the most like it was made for a mobile UI despite the game being revamped for console, but you’re not in Pieberry’s home enough to feel like it’s obfuscating important tasks.
There’s also the pet catching aspect, which is something that adds some nice depth. Pieberry functions similarly to a blue mage in the sense that she can “mind control” a few select enemies that can accompany her on her journey. I was able to ride a boar and a rocky wolf in the overworld, speeding me up as I went from room to room. Another pet, a floating seed spirit, would refill some of my MP every time it attacked an enemy in-battle. There are around 20 pets to tame, but several of them are optional. I didn’t need to seek out pets to get through the story, but it was nice to change up my battle patterns with a little friend who would help me clear enemies slightly faster.
Once I got to a certain point where I had to retrace my steps and do some light (yes, light) farming for crafting materials, WitchSpring R surprised me with the ability to clear enemies in a single turn. I didn’t even have to start a battle. Upon walking up to a group of enemies, a window popped up that gave me the option to start a normal battle or a Quick Hunt, which would cast a spell in a single sweep (if I had the MP) without needing to get into battle.
WitchSpring R respected my time in ways most JRPGs fail to accomplish. I didn’t have to grind to get ahead to the next miniboss or the boss battle. Some enemies were not meant to be fought when I first saw them, giving me the opportunity to return to the earlier rooms and slay the gigantic golems off the beaten path in a cave. When it came time for me to level up, I could play a cute mini game, refill my potions, and continue on the story. Heck, I could teleport home and back at just about any point.
It was refreshing to have my time respected in this fashion. I could use my time in ways that I wanted to. For the most part, I could explore rooms once and then send Black Joe, her talking fat black bird of a companion, off to gather additional materials without me needing to actually go to those locations. It only asked for me to keep going, learn more about Pieberry, and see her grow as a witch. That, my dear reader, is a great use of my time.
The 20th hour of WitchSpring R snuck up on me. I know I had spent some time in-game, but I didn’t expect it to have come so soon. I loved having freedom to build my character, her weapons, and her stats and seeing those customizations manifest in battle. It felt even better to travel just about anywhere, only being barred by Black Joe who reminded me of specific places being off limits for now.
You’ve probably reached the end of this review and thought, “Okay, Will, I get you like it, but tell me about the story! How did you like the art? The music?” On the matter of the game’s art direction and OST, it is fully engaged with a persistent whimsy despite Pieberry’s journey evolving beyond a simple quest for pie. Her interactions with Black Joe offer brevity during the tender moments where you cannot help but feel your heartstrings pulled one-by-one as you realize each character’s role in the grand scheme of magic being sapped away from the world. From the chipper home tune to the upbeat romp song that plays as Pieberry walks through the forest, one thing is clear: WitchSpring R is the personification of charming magic.
For those unfamiliar with JRPGs, WitchSpring R is the quickest recommendation I can make. It has the skeleton of a JRPG gameplay loop with a good amount of depth. If the loop piques your interest, then it’s a great stepping stone for other JRPGs that have been released over the past few decades. If you’re a JRPG fan, though, WitchSpring R is a fantastically polished and FUN game that will end sooner than you expect. It might be too easy for most JRPG superfans, but that’s all the more reason to get to the end.
Underneath its charming exterior, WitchSpring R is a JRPG…it’s just not evident of that classification until the 20th hour. At that point, it doesn’t matter what genre it is, only that it keeps you fully engaged. From the lack of necessary grinding, hidden depth within its crafting system, and piecemeal sidequests, there’s quite a bit of unique things to do in WitchSpring R on Pieberry’s quest for pie. Thankfully, that charm persists until the very end.
