WitchSpring3r Re:Fine Review

Release date: August 13, 2021

Series: WitchSpring

Developers: Kiwiwalks, IKINAGAMES

Publishers: Kiwiwalks, United Games Entertainment GmbH, ININ Games

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Genres: Role-playing video game, Adventure game

"Review Copy Provided By ININ Games"

Initially released in South Korea as a mobile game and now having a global release on the Nintendo Switch thanks to ININ Games; WitchSpring3r Re:Fine is looking to draw in a global audience looking for a new and unique form of RPG, but the question is does it really even qualify as an RPG worth your time or is it just another glorified mobile game ported to the Switch? Let’s find out.

STORY

WitchSpring3r Re:Fine follows the adventures of a white-haired witch named Eirudy that lives isolated from the rest of the world with her enchanted marionettes. One day she is confronted by soldiers and is introduced to a young man who changes her entire world

GAMEPLAY

As cute and charming as this game can be, I have to be honest in saying that I just couldn’t shake the feeling of the “this is just a mobile game” vibes it gives off and the fact it looks like a mobile title doesn’t at all help shake this feeling. You may also have noticed that the game has a “3” in the title which would have you assume that this is the 3rd entry in this franchise, however, this game is marketed as a standalone entry in the WitchSpring series meaning that you could easily hop into this entry without having played any of the other games.

The gameplay to me feels a lot like the old Rune Factory games and to an extent some of the Final Fantasy titles. The turnbased nature of the combat is very standard and should be easy enough for anyone to be able to dive into that is familiar with turn-based JRPGs.

There is crafting in the game which has you doing some material gathering similar to what you would do in the Atelier games.

Thankfully there’s no microtransactions so there’s that.

GRAPHICS

It’s a ported mobile game so don’t expect it to be a looker. The characters are all done in a chibi style that kinda harkens to the World of Final Fantasy look. That’s not to say that this looks terrible as this game, even in it’s simplistic graphics does have some charm to it. There are illustration stills which look majestic and are shown when there are story bits similar to how skits work in the Tales of series.

AUDIO

The game has multiple languages to chose from as far as it goes with the subtitles offering you English, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. The in-game dialogue can be toggled between Japanese or Korean.

DOWNSIDES

I’ve got two real issues with this game; the game is not that interesting due to the sluggish pacing and often uninteresting story bits and the font is way too small making it a struggle to read anything.

Maybe I was a bit harsh above, however, I think the reality is that this game (and by proxy this franchise) just isn’t for me. I found the pacing of the plot to be incredibly all over the place and more often than not it was slow and uninteresting. I found the main character to be generally unlikeable and not because she’s a terrible character but because I found nothing tangible about her that I could get behind allowing me to root for her. She was just……bland, vanilla even.

The worst part of this game is the fact that the text is so insanely hard to read making for a very uncomfortable experience that hurt my eyes.

THE WRAPUP

WitchSpring3r Re:Fine is not for me and I’m not really sure who it’s for to be honest. It’s incredibly average and just feels like a glossed up mobile game. I think some people may find some enjoyment in this title and may come to love Eirudy and the crew, however, I don’t think this will be a game that moves the needle enough to encourage Switch owners to purchase it. With mobile game chibi graphics, an unintuitive Magic Circle system for utilizing magic, a bland protagonist, and sluggish story that just feels ultimately uninteresting; WitchSpring3r Re:Fine is a hard sell even with the few charms the game has.