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NIS Spins a Witch's Tale
Product: Witch's Tale
Company: NIS America
Date: 06/10/2009
Avaliable On:

A Witch’s Tale is an action RPG that should appeal to both NIS fans and people who can’t get enough of Tim Burton. Local legend states that every 1000 years, a tribe of witches emerge from the underworld and cause chaos in the usually peaceful surface world. The last time witches threatened to take over, a young woman named Alice used her own brand of magic to drive the witches back to their lair where she sealed them away. While the surface world celebrates Alice as a hero, the Witch Queen is rightly ticked and spends her days plotting to retake the world.

The E3 show floor isn’t the best place to get up-close and personal with RPGs, but from the little I was able to play, I was able to get a good feel for the story and the general gameplay. Playing as Liddel, a young witch, you traverse a Halloween-themed underworld in search of a route to the surface.

Gameplay takes place on the DS’s touch screen. You move Liddel around levels by dragging the stylus on the touch screen or tapping an area. You can also cast Liddel’s spells by drawing runes on the touch screen. Although A Witch’s Tale is primarily an Action RPG, it shares adventure game elements as well. In the section I played, Liddel was trapped in what looked like the basement of a crypt. Certain parts of the area featured a white spark; tapping these elements brought up a short dialogue with a slightly offbeat description.

As I searched the area, I discovered a coffin containing a sleeping vampire. Although Liddel found the vampire attractive, she thought it best to get out of the room. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get out the way she came, but she was able to find a worn-down door. At this point, I had to search the room for a way to bust the door down without waking the vampire. I was eventually able to open the door by… well, why spoil it?

A Witch’s Tale also features a special card-collecting side game with unlock special “Black Jack” battles. These battles allow you to take on friends and win special spoils.

Look for A Witch’s Tale this Halloween.

Starscream aka Ricky Tucker

GameVortex PSIllustrated