Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch (Switch)

So, me and visual novels... We aren't that familiar. Despite a great many anime shows hailing from this very Japanese style of gaming experience, I've never really felt much pull to the static storybook aspect of the genre. That's not to say I don't see the merit in it - after all if my office says anything it's that Fate Stay Night has made a massive impact on my love of story and characters. But as a whole? No, not my thing.

So that bodes well doesn't it? Why then did I find the idea of Tales from Toyotoki so interesting? Well, for one, I like the idea of the ordinary meeting the fantastic, mixed with an isolated setting and a coming of age story. The game was also nominated for the INDIE Live Expo Awards for Local Cultural Representation, so I was hoping for something that held insight into remote Japanese life.

Our story starts with a young lad named Hikaru being sent off to the remote Japanese island of Toyotoki by his Aunt as she takes her family overseas and dumps him with his Grandfather. Upon arrival he finds the old man long gone, a group of oddball locals (the elders seem pretty anti-outsider to say the least!) and funds in short supply. His fortunes change when he has a chance meeting with a young witch named Lilun who finds herself in a similar situation - lost, alone and ignorant of the local customs. With fate throwing them together, can they survive the island locals (which includes a young girl who charges for directions, a pervert and a clumsy saleswoman. Navigating life can be tricky when you're starting from the bottom.

Graphically, the game has its ups and downs. I like the rougher look of the characters, their sketchy appearance lends an air of poverty to the ambiance, but they're never less than attractive. The backgrounds however seem to be photographs with graphical filters applied - these are oftentimes pretty ugly and distracting, so that's a huge shame when half the game (visual) is nowhere near as compelling as the other (novel).

Many backgrounds appear to be heavily edited photos

For a visual novel newbie like me, it has the advantage that your choices don't affect the ending, so you can safely explore the story and make the choices that most interest you instead of worrying about which branch you may have inadvertently wandered off to. As such I enjoyed the experience more than I might have otherwise (I don't really have time for multiple replays with minor differences) though VN afficionados may feel short changed by the lack of variety.

Another surprise was how much of a back seat Hikaru and Lilun take in their own story. It seems that their primary purpose is to facilitate the stories of the NPC's in the game rather than explore the far more interesting lore surrounding Lilun's people or Hikaru's budding feelings for the otherworldly girl. 

You'll find yourself spending a lot of time in the first chapter with Akari, the young girl who gives you directions in return for money - you'll walk her bizarre dog (it requires lewd commands when taking it for a stroll) and taking part in a rap battle between Akari and her blonde rival Kiriko. Some island backstory is added along with introductions to other characters, but it's far from the strongest start unfortunately, as it seems very disconnected tonally from what came before. 

Chapter two gives us a new character, Tsumugi, who's the only adult character in the central line up and, for me at least, the most compelling. While her arc gives us little of importance to the two main characters, she's relatable and actually quite entertaining, so while I wasn't entirely satisfied at being waylaid once again, it did feel like it had its own value within the story and was worth reading through. 

There's a lot to do before you'll see the romance blossom

By the time we're through these opening salvos, the story settles into the mystery of the island, Lilun's history and the romantic elements. This is far more satisfying but you do have to go through a fair bit of narrative before arriving at the really good stuff. There's very few bad elements in the final story (and I don't want to give any spoilers as that's pretty much the main draw here) but suffice to say there's lots of major details enhanced by thoughtful little ones that breathe much needed life and legitimacy to the characters and their environments.

Overall, the story is satisfying, enjoyable and unique enough to allow you as the reader to sit back and just enjoy the ride, safe that your choices won't derail things. Fans of the genre should enjoy the story, even if veterans may feel boxed in by the lack of story branches, which essentially makes the game far less re-playable than might be expected.

Extras:

Feels like quite some time since I've written an "Extras" section, but the game actually has quite a bit of supplementary material, which is very welcome here. There's a some extra lore to expand the story beyond the main novel, and even some after story elements to discover as well in the "Append" section. 

The gallery is also a pleasant surprise, in that it doesn't just show of the art and design development, but also contains notes from the illustrator, director and voice actors (all translated). It really adds a lot of value to the package.