Past the recognizable first-party titles likeSuper Mario OdysseyandKirby and the Forgotten Land, the Nintendo Switch eShop is filled with a plethora of unique and eclectic games appealing to a wide variety of different niches. Fromextreme sports like Byteparrot’sSlopecrashersto visually distinctive and thought-provoking experiences likeThe Artful Escape, the eShop contains plenty of hidden gems lying in wait beyond the big-name releases. Now, a recent release from developer Prototype,Taisho x Alice All in One, looks to bring a new spin to a handful of classic fairy tales.
Taisho x Aliceis a trilogy of visual novels first released on Steam that takes players into a worldinspired by the classicAlice in Wonderlandstories, but presenting them with an “otome”-style twist bringing in characters like Cinderella and Gretel from other fairy tales with many of the characters seeing gender swaps. While the visual novels had previously been exclusive to Steam since their 2019 release, Prototype recently releasedAll in Oneas a compilation of the three titles. However, fans are noticing a strange quirk with the release requiring fans to pay extra for the game’s English translation.
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Fans first noticed the strange exclusion followingTaisho x Alice’s release yesterday with the base game bafflingly not includingthe English-language translationpacked in.Taisho x Alice’s Switch eShop page lists the base game at $53.99 with the English text released as a separate add-on for $4.99. However, also listed when searching forTaisho x Alicein the eShop is a bundle containing both the game and the English text add-on priced only $1 more than the game’s base price at $54.99. The separate DLC also notably does not include English voiceover, only adding the text translation.
While the inclusion ofTaisho x Alice’s English translation as a paid add-on is unusual, options for multiple languages being offered as separate downloads from the main game are far from abnormal as many games localized from Japan often feature separate voiceovers as DLC. Following thehighly-anticipated release ofPersona 5in 2017, the game’s Japanese voice-over was not included with the base game, however it was offered as a free Day 1 download through the PlayStation Store.
The Switch eShop has become a popular home for many of the gaming world’s biggest indie developers with many iconic indie titles being featured within the online platform.Nintendo’s Indie World programregularly puts independent developers and games at the forefront, and everything from niche titles to popular games likeHadesandDoki Doki LiteratureClubhave been featured on the console.Taisho x Alicewill look to bring a unique visual novel spin to the classic fairy tales with its release on the eShop.
Taisho x Alice All in Oneis available now for Nintendo Switch.
