Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch from Aksys Games, KEMCO, and Fragaria brings us a heartwarming visual novel experience on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch review!

 

Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch from Aksys Games, KEMCO, and Fragaria brings us a heartwarming visual novel experience on Nintendo Switch. For this new adventure, you’ll be playing as Hikaru, a young boy who sees his whole world turned upside down when he ends up having to live on a small, remote island where he doesn’t really know anyone. It’s at this mysterious location that you’ll meet someone who finds herself in a similar situation. The twist? She just happens to be a witch!

Haven’t played a visual novel before? Visual novels are games that do the genre’s name justice. You’ll be taking on interactive experiences in which you’ll be reading a ton of text as the story unravels. Some visual novel games feature voice acting – as is the case for Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch’s Japanese voice acting – which is an expensive element for games of this type. They vary in length, with some being a bite-sized journey of around 2-3 hours, while others can throw a novel-sized adventure your way that could take 50+ hours to complete. Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch falls around the middle, so you should expect to spend around 25-30 hours on this journey.

 

One day, Hikaru is handed a boarding pass by his aunt… which is definitely weird since it was a one-way ticket to Naha. What guardian would give their child such a thing? It’s then he finally heard the news: “Starting tomorrow, you’re living with your grandpa.” His aunt’s family was moving abroad, so there was no other choice. This is how Hikaru ended up leaving Tokyo for Okinawa. After landing from his plane ride, Hikaru takes two ferries toward his final destination – and ate an onigiri along the way.

Life on the titular Toyotoki Island, where his grandfather lives, is certainly very different from living in the big city. How will Hikaru be able to keep up with his Leap Comics? Once he makes it to Toyotoki Island, things aren’t so bright. The first thing he sees is a group of older men spreading out a banner that says: “Out with the Outsiders! Toyotoki Island Seniors Association.” The good news is that you’re quickly saved from them by a girl who seemingly pops out of nowhere. After she tells them you’re a friend of her family, they immediately change their attitude.

Her name is Akari Akatsumi. It seems your grandfather and her father were good friends, and you actually met many years ago when you were younger. Could this be the start of a blooming Summer romance? After helping you find your grandfather’s house in the middle of town – which took roughly 15 minutes of walking – she kindly asks that you show a token of gratitude for your help. Hint: she’s asking that you pay her with some Japanese Yen. I guess that’s the romance dying! After giving her 1,000 Yen, you go to your grandpa, who you haven’t seen in a long time.

Or at least, that’s what you thought would happen. After ringing the doorbell several times and getting no answer, you walk around, hoping your grandpa will return. When night strikes, you ask a neighbor if they’ve seen him. It turns out that your grandpa left the island around six months ago to go live abroad! Why would your aunt send you to Toyotoki if that was the case? With no place to stay, you wander onto a field where you find a small, tiny hut. You think kids built it, but after crawling in l, you learn that it belongs to… a witch! She’s the one who built it. What will happen next with Lilun Jaminthida and Hikaru? You’ll have to play this one to find out!

Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch is a heartwarming visual novel. For this new adventure, you’ll be playing as Hikaru, a young boy who sees his whole world turned upside down when he ends up having to live on a small, remote island where he doesn’t really know anyone. It’s at this mysterious location that you’ll meet someone who finds herself in a similar situation. The twist? She just happens to be a witch! While the game does feature voice acting, do know that it’s only available in Japanese. Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch is out on Nintendo Switch with a $49.99 price tag.

Disclaimer
This Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Aksys Games.