TAISHO X ALICE ALL IN ONE
Yurika Arisu walks alone in a dark and empty place, not remembering who she is or how she got here; she then meets Alice, a strange and frankly rude boy who also can't remember anything past his name. Together they walk through the darkness until they find a crystal mirror. Upon touching it, Yurika is transported to the topsy-turvy Looking-Glass World. The world is different, yet familiar, and all the men she meets are gender-bent versions of fairytale characters many know and love. Each time she touches the mirror, the world changes, as well as the people and their relationships with one another. Why is she here, and why is the world ever-changing?
Taisho x Alice All in One originally was packaged as a PC game that was released as 4 separate games. You're supposed to play them in order so that you can slowly understand the world and the plot of the game. Due to some shenanigans with the original Episode One localization into English, it seemed that the other three parts were never going to be released to the English-speaking world. Luckily, they allowed a new team to take on the localization and re-localized Episode One, and then later localized the other three episodes over a few years. The Switch port was an unusual surprise; you can only buy the physical game as a Japanese copy, but they've added an English DLC through the Nintendo store that translates the game, giving you the option to play in English or Japanese.
This is a pretty divisive game in the otome world, one because of the flub that was the original localization, then the game has some severely triggering topics that came out of seemingly nowhere, and Yurika is a very different MC than most, that threw a lot of people off. I didn't find the triggering topics to be as bad as stuff that came out of, say, Piofiore, but I will say their handling of them can be...questionable. A lot of people also have issues with the way the game is paced. Since the All in One version forces you to play in a specific order, you'll find that it starts slow, then rapidly snowballs starting in Episode Two. A lot of people struggled to get through Episode One, and then the bizarre shift in tone and mood threw people off. I didn't find Episode One to be as boring as people say, but I can understand why people feel that way. It's certainly more low-stakes than the other three episodes. I sort of liked that we got to dip our toes in the Looking-Glass World before going off the deep end, but if you can't stand slightly inconsequential plotlines, you'll probably agonize over it until Episode Two.
Despite all its flaws, I did enjoy Taisho x Alice. I liked how it went from silly low-stakes plots to "Whoa...wait a minute" to "WHOA, WAIT A MINUTE" to "WHAT?!" I loved that it took me on a wild ride that I didn't expect at all. I think if you go in understanding that episodes one through three are imperative to building up to the epilogue -- and that the pacing is a necessary part of that build-up -- you'll find this game enjoyable, assuming you can handle some triggering topics. The biggest triggering topic is something I can't even discuss without giving away the entire plot; even just vaguely writing it out here will give it away. It's a bit of a Doki Doki Literature Club vibe in that you can only truly enjoy the game if you don't read any spoilers. If you're worried, please feel free to DM me and I can give either a vague warning, or a more thorough one depending on what you want. Aside from the Epilogue, the other 6 routes are shorter than an average otoge route (in my opinion). I'd say an entire episode is about the length of a normal route, so since there are two LI's per episode, they come out to approximately half as long as what I'm used to spending on an LI. It does lead to the stories not being as deep as they could be, which I think is another reason people are sometimes turned off this game -- once again, this is barring the Epilogue.
As heartbreaking as it is to say, there's genuinely only one woman here with a sprite. Snow White's mother is the ONLY woman who gets any respect around here, although to be fair there aren't any other female characters that are important enough to need a sprite. There isn't much I can say about her without giving away major plot spoilers, but I will say she's a treat.
Taisho x Alice All in One railroads you into following a specific order. If you play the PC version you can technically go in whatever order you want since it exists as 4 separate games, but on the Switch, each episode is locked behind the previous one. Episodes one through three each feature two of the LI's. You can play those in any order other than Wizard being locked behind Snow White in Episode Three. This is because Wizard is the route where you REALLY understand what the hell is happening before you finally get to dive into the Epilogue where it all comes together. In Episodes One and Two, you can play them in whatever order you want. I've listed them below in the order I played them; other than Alice as he's the "true route."
Alice
Alice is the star of the Epilogue. It feels like he only exists in the other routes to throw every insult in the book at Yurika -- who takes it goodnaturedly -- but he's quite the mysterious character compared to the others. It feels like he knows more than he lets on, about both Yurika and the Looking-Glass World. You have to jump through 6 hoops -- or crystals, I suppose -- before you can uncover the story of this strange and angry little man.
So Alice's route is the route with the truly insane plot. I enjoyed it because I just couldn't believe what was happening. The Epilogue is where every piece of information you picked up in the other 6 routes finally coalesces into a coherent story. I really can't say much without spoiling it, but I did like his route, although the conclusion in the "true" or "good" ending was...eh. Not a huge fan of the implications, but I don't think it could technically end any other way -- although it's also NOT realistic at all.
Alice's route is all plot. There's so little romance here other than little bits and bobs occasionally. A significant portion of it also technically exists as a flashback, which is necessary for the story to make sense. Yurika is a prevalent character throughout the majority of it, but the plot is significantly more important than any budding romance between the two. I will say that the overall story is quite romantic -- a love conquers all type of beat -- but you won't get a lot of cutesy stuff that you get in some of the other routes.
Cinderella
Cinderella is the richest man in town and flaunts his wealth daily. He buys foods and items in excess and is certainly a big believer in retail therapy. He's a playboy as well, and a pretty big asshole to most people. His two younger brothers -- Gretel and Snow White -- help him run a small café in town. A café that absolutely no one comes to eat at, might I add. He's betrothed to Yurika, who decides she wants to spy on him to see if he would make a good husband.
Unpopular opinion, but Cinderella was my favorite of all the guys. A lot of people think his route is the most boring and vanilla of them all, which I would agree with, but I just really liked him for some reason. He's not a tsundere in the typical sense since you can immediately see his soft side. He's loud and brash, but it's funny instead of headache-inducing. I truthfully liked his plot the most out of all the guys -- even if it is "vanilla" -- and I also enjoyed the relationships with the other characters the most in his route. I think the way his relationship builds with Yurika is sweet.
Cinderella's route is about equal parts romance and plot. It leans more plot-heavy towards the end, but I thought the ending was quite cute. His route is 100% the most normal and will probably feel the most slice-of-life-ish in comparison to the other routes. If you want something easy, then Cinderella is here with open arms.
Red
Red is a police officer who comes to Yurika's aid after it seems that someone is planning on hurting her, based on the strange threats she's started receiving. He wears a red riding hood wherever he goes and refuses to take it off. He wears two of them at the same time in case something happens to the first. He appears stoic and keeps his distance from everyone, although he refuses to leave Yurika's side -- except for when she's in school -- as his primary job is to protect her until her aggressor backs off.
Red's route was okay. I preferred him when he was the cool, stoic, kuudere type, but you quickly discover he's a blushy mess who can't be around women. His route had its funny moments due to that, but it started to get tiresome after a while. Yurika is very aggressive in his route -- actually, that's sort of her whole MO throughout all the routes -- and sometimes I wanted to shake her and tell her to lay off the poor man before she gave him a heart attack. Red's route was more underwhelming to me than Cinderella's, although he has a more "action-packed" route...sorta. Overall Red and Cinderella have the two "lazy" routes as far as intensity goes, and I understand why it turns people off the game as a whole.
Red is similar to Cinderella in that his route is about equal parts romance and plot. Yurika has to work hard to win over Red, but she does so with such ferocity that I'm scared for the guy. I think he and Cinderella are good starters for this game, not just because they have the "vanilla" plots, but also because they're the most balanced.
Gretel
Gretel is Yurika's adoptive brother. He's studious and works hard in school; he hopes to join Yurika at her college in the coming year. He's also a sweet/sugar addict and can't get enough of candy and cookies; he's a great baker because of it. Gretel does seem to have a mean streak, and can't help bullying his adoptive sister whenever he gets the chance. Since their parents don't live with them because of work, the pair have to mostly fend for themselves.
Oh boy, I hated Gretel's route. Not only is he the resident yandere -- a trope I cannot stand -- he's also a pseudoincest route. Even if they're only adoptive siblings, it grosses me out that they're capable of seeing each other that way. Gretel was adopted as an older child so they didn't TECHNICALLY grow up together, but it still freaks me out. You also open up to Yurika being locked in a small cottage with a massive birdcage in the middle. Yippee. A cage yandere, how original. I didn't find any parts of his route redeeming, other than I thought we got a very interesting piece of background information on Yurika that I did enjoy.
Gretel -- in my opinion -- leans much more plot-heavy than romance-focused, but I guess if you're a yandere enjoyer, then maybe he'll feel more romantic to you. I just don't jive with the whole "keeping you locked away from everyone" thing, so it doesn't feel romantic at all to me. As I said, you get a very interesting lore bit on Yurika in his route, so it wasn't a complete bust...I guess.
Kaguya
Kaguya is a friendly, easygoing guy who always has a smile on his face. He's very handsome and has no trouble picking up women, to the point that he seems to be dating multiple women at once. He has weird manners and a strange way of speaking -- this is them localizing a Kansai-ben accent into a bastardization of a Cockney British accent. After getting publicly broken up with at the café Yurika works with, he starts going out with her -- just because. Yurika begs Cinderella -- the café owner -- to let Kaguya work for him, which is unhappily agrees to. He thinks the guy is a freak, and his opinion of him only gets worse when it becomes clear that he has some sort of memory loss problem, which is what's leading to all his seemingly poor life choices.
II enjoyed Kaguya's route, but I really couldn't tell you how much of that was just because Cinderella was back and I got to see him again. Kaguya starts out feeling a lot lower stakes than Gretel's route, but the very last portion of his route suddenly throws you against a wall with triggering topics and an insane tonal shift. I will spoil this trigger as -- even though it's a spoiler -- it's not world-ending to know it before playing. Kaguya's route deals with suicide and suicidal ideation, so if that's something that will mess with your mental homeostasis, then you'll want to skip through his route if you want to continue.
Kaguya's route is decently romantic. Yurika and Kaguya ended up immediately dating, so it sped up the process quite a bit. They have a lot of cute moments together in the first 3/4ths of his route. The ending on his route becomes a complete plot dump, but the conclusion is...romantic, I guess. If you're into self-sacrifice. I didn't think it was the worst ending I've seen by any means, but I will say that I don't think it's how I would personally handle trying to stop a suicidal person from hurting themselves.
Snow White
Snow White is a stoic and silent type with a somewhat icy exterior. His demeanor and face are princely, and he lives in a large mansion hidden away in the forest. Yurika becomes obsessed with Snow White -- he's HER prince, after all -- and wants to break through his cool personality. She meets his mother by chance, which does NOT make him happy at all. He wants to keep his life in the mansion separate from the time he spends down at the lake with Yurika. Curiously, he doesn't seem to ever eat.
Snow White's route was a trip. His route is the one where you go WAIT...and if you haven't already began to piece together the greater story, it starts falling into place with him. I thought his story was very engaging; I was on the edge of my seat once the plot started to unravel. It's also definitely the most trippy out of all the routes, and it was the route that made me go "Is any of this real?" While he's not my favorite LI (Cinderella will always hold that title in the TaiAli world) he's my favorite route, aside from the Epilogue.
Snow White's route is all plot babyyy. His personality doesn't allow for a great deal of romance, and while there are hints of it here and there, it's very much meant to be the route where you start figuring out what's happening. Because of that, it doesn't get nearly as much romance as the other routes offer. I feel a little bad for him because of it, but his plot was so engaging I didn't even think of the lack of romance until later.
Wizard
Wizard is a strange man who has shown up in every route thus far, but unlike the other LI's, he seems to have greater plot knowledge than the rest. He's enigmatic and has either been "friend or foe" throughout each route, depending on the decisions Yurika has made. He's strange, and cryptic, and is forcing Yurika to figure out what the REAL story is here, in all the routes and including his own.
This route is the climax. Every weird plot thread that was dropped, the plot holes, the things that just made zero sense, NOW they make sense. Wizard's route was a treat! Everything finally came together -- or at least, as together as it could come until you learned more in the Epilogue -- and the revelations made in his route are earth-shattering if you didn't manage to put anything together yet, or if you only had the vaguest idea as to what was going on. I thought it was delightful, although I think a lot of people don't love his route because he's less of a LI and more of a plot dump device.
Zero romance here. Less romance than in Snow White's route. It's ALL plot dump, other than an extremely bittersweet moment at the very end. There is nothing I can say about his route at all without giving out massive spoilers, so you'll just have to trust me that it's worth working your wait through everything else to get to Wizard's climatic route.
Yurika Arisu
Yurika's backstory changes in each route -- as does all of their backstories, truthfully -- but what's the same in every route is that Yurika is an absolute menace. She's the driving force of the story at all times, and she doesn't take no for an answer. She's always the one actively chasing the LI's, even if they're running away from her. She's bullheaded, sassy, intelligent, aggressive, and downright manipulative. She also has a very bizarre quirk where she speaks random Japanese phrases (which are then translated into English in parentheses) which was a localization in which she does the opposite, and speaks random English phrases. Yurika is extremely assertive and will do WHATEVER she wants to get these men. I respect her deeply for it, go get 'em, girl.
I like Yurika a lot. I'd say she's a very divisive MC -- just like this entire game tends to be -- simply because she's the exact opposite of nearly every other popular mainstream otoge. Her only "typical" MC trait would be that she's an excellent cook; otherwise, she's a menace to society and doesn't act at all like the more demure and kind MC's that are more palpable for a general audience -- not that there is anything wrong with those MC's, as all women are queens. Throughout the game, you'll conclude that Yurika is a complete psychopath most of the time. Well, well, by the time Wizard's route rolls around, and then the Epilogue, you finally understand why she is the way she is. If you like the unusual and non-typical heroine, then I believe you'll like Yurika. If you prefer a more relaxed MC, then I think you'll find her insufferable. Even I sometimes thought she was insufferable in her relentless pursuit of each LI. She's fun, though, and very different.
Despite this game being so divisive in the community, I enjoyed it. The questionable dealing with certain triggering topics aside, I think it was a fun ride. It starts as a slow burn before quickly picking up and snowballing into a bizarre plot that you couldn't have possibly pegged as to where this story was going from the beginning. It's one of those games that's worth playing through a second time so that you can pick up on all the Easter eggs that are dropped throughout each route. Because of the triggering topics that come up, I don't think this game is going to always be a fan favorite. If you're someone who can weather almost all triggers, then it's a great game. If you tend to be "easily triggered" then I do think you should skip this one, or at least do more research on the most prevalent triggers. Triggering topics aside, this game isn't for everyone. I think you need to be able to truly devote yourself to attempting to keep track of multiple bizarre plots while you wait for the overarching plot to finally reveal itself. That being said, I do think this game is good overall, despite its flaws.
