Let's Find Out how deep this rabbit hole goes! Heart No Kuni No Alice ~Wonderful Wonder World~

My dear, loving BrokenForumers, please allow this fool to tell you all a story on this bright, golden, lamplight lit night. A rather boring story, truthfully, but I promise you all, it's quickly followed by a much more interesting one right after.

This happened a long, long time ago; back in... 2009, I believe. (As opposed to 1009 which was WAYYYYYY before my time.) (So not that long ago, really, but last week feels like eons ago to me, so don't question my warped sense of time.) I was busy minding my own business in the Indigo bookstore, browsing the manga shelf, when what should I happen to come across but the Alice In The Country Of Hearts series.

At this point in time, I had just recently read the eponymous novels, so I was on an Alice In Wonderland binge. For those interested, despite being an avid reader, I never really got the chance to read the book before then. It was also quite possible that the Disney movie had put me off the story due to the annoying crying-song-scene and the mildly terrifying (to me) chimney scene. But I digress. Not to mention the snazzy cover.



... That is considerably less snazzy in retrospect, actually. I am preeeeeetty sure that was not the cover of the volume I saw, but whatever.

Although this poster definitely caught my attention:



Ah, good times.

At any rate, the story was awesome. And then it got considerably less awesome as Blood kept fucking appearing, because for some odd reason, the mangaka decided he needed to become a huge tool in this adaptation.

I didn't know this at the time, unfortunately, and it has since coloured my opinion of the supposed "main" guy of the series. (Someone explain to me why Hatter/Alice is everyone's OTP. Outside of the Burton movie.) But that didn't prevent me from looking the series up on both Wikipedia and TV Tropes, and lo and behold, I discover this was originally a game.

But not just any kind of game, oh no.

For you see, my friends, this was my first time stumbling upon an otome game, or an otoge.

And from that point on, thanks to that discovery, I began walking a path from whence there is no return.

And I don't regret a single damn step.

But what has been the result of that adventure, you ask? Why, my borderline obsession with wanting to play this game, obviously.

And now, here today, for your glorious entertainment it really won't be that glorious, I'm sorry, I present to you the first otome game I ever encountered!



Have an OP:



At any rate, guys, I hope you enjoy the magnificent train wreck that will be this LP! There can only be pain and suffering from this point on. If you're not up for that, I suggest you take click the blue pill backspace button and bail out. Otherwise, be prepared for a lot of red pills.

And I do mean red. As in blood. Not Blood; blood.

Let me get a few potential trigger warnings out of the way: There is quite a bit of gun violence in this game. I've been spoiled with CGs, so I know for a fact the game makes frequent use of the gory discretion shot outside of blood spraying around when it happens, but the warning is more for the fact the inhabitants of Wonderland have a... Very apathetic and uncaring view towards life and death.

It's explained why, and I won't go into too much detail for spoilery reasons (and because my memory sucks), but just a heads up for those who are a bit more sensitive to that. I don't think it's too bad, though. Could be a lot worse. *pointed glance at the Sweet Pool LP*

Oh, uh, and another thing: I'm. Not exactly going in blind, but. I'm not going in with much knowledge, either. As I mentioned before, I read a couple of the volumes from the manga series and I went on a rabid search for CGs and videos for the game since I discovered it, not to mention I got spoiled about a couple of the mechanics and the non-standard game over bad endings, and, well, things here and there. But overall, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. I just have the general gist of things.

Not to mention the fact that the game is long at 300 turns. And I have no clue how long one turn is, to boot. Not to mention the game is harsh when it comes to gaining affection and the such (from what I was told), which I have NO CLUE what the Hell I'm doing in that regard since I suck at these games. So I have a guide I'll be translating to French on google translate to help me out because, surprisingly, Japanese-to-French translations are decent.

Odds are, I am going to fail. A lot. And come across surprises. A lot. But mostly I'll fail.

Oh, and despite the fact the game has a whooping 10 (technically 11) potential Love Interests with fully fleshed out paths each, I am not putting them up to vote.

I have decided to do you all a favour and go with Ace. Fatbird's grand daddy, if you will.

Also, I lied: He's not yandere, he's yangire, which is worse, if you ask me.

But before anyone kills me about the lack of choice: I may end up LPing a second route for this game, but don't count too much on that.

Anyway, I salute anyone who's willing to put up with me slodging painfully through the game anyway. Let the adventure begin!

original or remake, are you playing?
also: Cheshire? If not his route, befriend the kitty? Befriend the kitty please?

OMG OMG OMG OMGGMGMGMGMGGMFMGOAGMGMGOAMGFGaifh;u;vfj This is actually happening isn't it?!! Hahahahaha hahahahahahahahhah mwhahahahah!
Im so excited Ran this amazing I've always wanted to play this have you seen the movie and for the love of the gods please romance Boris as well, please, I mean just look at him.

Look at how fabulous he is!!!
EDIT: ninja'd by Petalite for cheshie love, which means that you have to include lots of him in this lp or else Ill kill you

GOD YES
ROMANCE THE CHESHIRE CAT
BORIS<3
YESYESYESYES

LET ME HUG YOU RAN
Did I mention I love this game

I too have read the manga series.

Because my Internet was being a dick for about three hours earlier on, I took the time to install the game and ATLAS. I'll admit I haven't yet adjusted things so that it's actually translating anything, but I hope to do that tomorrow. Or some time this weekend. Point is, everything seems to be in working order, at least!

All I know is that there are tears in my eyes from the fact I'm finally able to play this game. All my love. <3



... Lord almight, have mercy on my soul. Okay, time to guess the options! I assume the first one is play, and the second one is Load-- and clicking it confirms it.

... WHERE IS THE BACK BUTTON GODDAMN--

*closes game, restarts* Okay, third option. CGs. Must be the gallery.



Christ Almighty how many CGs does this game have 17 pages for the gallery I can't--

Lord, this game is going to give me a heart attack, isn't it?

Okay, okay, breathe. Fourth option.



OH, THERE'S THE DAMN BACK BUTTON!

... I'm assuming this is where they display the endings? *clicks Ace* Oh, no, it's individual CGs. Sweet! ... Great, now how do I get back-- *right clicks by accident, ends up at previous window* .........................................................



Okay, I see how it is.

Now to the before last window!



.......... AUUUUUUUGH Okay, that's it, I'm installing you completely tomorrow, ATLAS and whatever else translators I have. You win.

And the last option closes. Evidently.

*headdesk* I will start this officially tomorrow, promise.

I looking forward to seeing Ace. Good luck Randissimo.

Original! And if I ever do a second run, fuck yes I'm doing Boris.

Fuck yes it is, if it kills me. Which it probably will at this rate. *eyes threat*

AND I'VE SEEN MOST OF THE MOVIE, YES!

And as I said, I'll probably romance him during a second playthrough. Or if I take up the sequels once I'm done with this. We'll see. It depends on how long this game is, really.

Holy frick, all of the Boris lovers are jumping me.

I'LL DO HIS ROUTE EVENTUALLY, PROMISE! If not in this game, than in Clover or Joker!

The manga series (the first one) really isn't that good. I mean, the character derailment is terrible. And frustrating.

However, I found that some mangas written by QuinRose have made it overseas officially translated, so check those out if you get the chance! I'm not sure how good they are, but hey, it's better than nothing!

... And here I thought Meine Liebe was a pain to play without being able to read~
Never played the games or read the manga, so I have no idea what this entails, but that cat looks really, really awesome and has far too many zippers so I think I will jump on the Cheshire bandwagon?
Can't stop staring at the zippers

Thank you, I'll need it. Why do I need to play his route to unlock Julius WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!

He has fantastic sense of style, yes. I want his boa. All those feathers.

//screams//

HEART NO KUNI NO ALICE YES YES ALL OF MY YES!!!!! I love you wholesomely ;w;

A;LSKDFJSDKFJDSKLFJSLD;FJ PETER PETER PETER~!

//WHEEZES DIES//

Yes, yes Donmai, join the us
we in fact do have glorious zippers and feathers
Not to mention pink and red look fabulous on us
We also have this cat

I believe it's around 250-300 turns, if you're doing the original version. A turn can be as long as you want it to be. A new turn is signaled by the actual turning of a clock. Then you just pick the place to visit and then chat with him. You have to do this a few times and sometimes at different times of the day to get a CG (if you have enough affection points. 1 visit = 1 affection points.) It's not really hard in terms of stat raising or anything like that. It's just very time-consuming and slow. There isn't a whole lot of interactivity.

The other games have 200 turns or so. I think they took the Julius restriction off in Anniversary.

You should try the PC version of Anniversary if you want to finish Ace's route in 200 turns and get more CGs :D I'm playing it along with a few other games right now.

But I think playing the original version is something every Kuni fan has to go through. If you get AGTH to work, you have (more of) my admiration. <3

Good luck~

................ RIGHT, DAMN, 180 WAS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT NOT TO GET A BAD END OR SOMETHING I don't know where I got 180 from sobs WHY IS THIS GAME SO LONG I have no regrets.

And I will, eventually! For now, I'm playing the original!

And I should be able to, I found a couple of good guides to setting it up!

And thank you. *bows*

Also, I just noticed, but Nightmare's chibi drawing in the "remembrance" section is literally just. Colours for what I assume represents chaos.

This intrigues me.

I may as well answer a question you posed. I don't know why so many people pair Alice x Mad Hatter (obviously outside Burton movie bruhaha).
Alice in the first Alice in Wonderland book is 7. Seven years old. Alice in second book is 7 and a half. No romances for Alice please. None. Zip.
These visual novel / manga shenanigans are in their own universe. One where Alice Liddell and Lorina Liddell live. Not the Caroll incarnations.

Yeah. I found a lot of fics pairing up Aged-Up!Alice with the Hatter from the Disney movie and had this "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" reaction.

Sense. There is none. Whatsoever.

Really? I wish my French was much better than it is. I've learned it for nearly a decade now and still, I suck at speaking it; I've never practiced speaking it, I guess. I'm always so scared that people will laugh if I do. I was thinking of maybe going to Montreal or Quebec City, but then I heard that people will switch to English if they can tell you're not a fluent francophone. ; _;

I've always wondered why the international students, ESL students were so afraid to speak English. Now I know.

Anyway, time to research what to drink at a pub. I've never been in one before...I wonder what it's like...probably not like the bars in otome games/anime. I've never had anything alcoholic, so...I don't know what I'm going to order for my first drink ever. Beer is the only drink name I recognize (and red wine), but do cocktails/daiquiris/martinis (I don't know the difference but they sound different >_>) have higher alcoholic content? I have no clue what vodka, tonic, gin, vermouth are, but they also seem to be related to the art of drinking.

Top to bottom:
- Skip read text automatically
- Text speed
- Automatic text configuration
- Font selection
- Sound playback
- Volume control
- MIDI output port selection
- Fullscreen
- Display mode

:D

Anyway, this looks really interesting, looking forward to more!

I have no idea what's going on with this game, but I feel like this is the time to reveal to you all that I am an Alice's Adventures in Wonderland fanatic. (Proof: referring to it by the correct title.) The Annotated Alice? Read all 3 editions. Lewis Carrol myth? BS, and I can cite my sources why. Wasp in a Wig? Been there, done that.

Because of this, I am very, very picky about my AAIW adaptations so I'll just be sitting here judging you all silently I mean I am excited about this LP. Haha.

:D

I wish I had your fluency in Japanese. It could have helped me figure out what was happening in R18 Otome game Bad Ends and I could have avoided so many mindscars.

~ Playing an R18 OG~
Me: Oh, the music's happy. This is good. Look, the guy's smiling at Protag, he must be telling her how much he likes her or random things about himself. What a wonderful-
Scene changes
Me: Shit! WTF?! Why's Protag suddenly tied up and why's he-Oh no, nononono... MY EYES!!
Game Ends
Me: Well, it's probably just this game that's this unpredictable, right? Ok, onto the next one. /has not learned a thing.

Rinse and repeat.

This series is my obsession. (*does not know Japanese, has played THREE of the games with AGTH/Atlas--heart, clover and joker--and is going back for Anniversary because WHY NOT*)

I fucking LOVE ALICE.

Um.

So if you need any help flailing? Or with the game system? Because it's weird? Hit me up. (*looks around shiftily*)

Ok

I love you. I've waited my whole life for you. I'm delurking. Take all my likes you goddess.

I'm not as fluent as I would like to be - on average, I check jisho.org about 2-3 times per text box. I had to go on a radical hunt for some of that screen too. XD Believe you me, when the kanji density gets to a certain point, the scale tips from play to work veeeery quickly.

And is it bad of me to laugh at your experience? Because I totally did. D:

I... This... FUCK YES! I tried to play... one of them, and failed miserable because I had no idea how to work the game. Back then I didn't know what ATLAS was (and I still kinda don't). Ummm... I don't remember all the characters though :( I vote for the shota character though! >D

There is a shota route, right?

Alice in Wonderlaaaaand~
I was in the chorus for that in a musical adaption at our local theater company. I was a meerkat, an oyster, card, and a juror. My favourite was the juror because I got to wear a dress and pull disgruntled facial expressions.
Really looking forward to this lp.

omg Randissimo, are you psychic?

I was screenshotting my game to put together an LP of this XD (except mine are from the Anniversary version)

I missed the announcement of this because I'm on vacation but:

RANDISSIMO. All the squeeing in the world cannot express my joy at an LP of this. We need to build a shrine for you. I haven't played it yet because all those downloads sca--ooh, pretty fish hi--red me off. I think I shall try again soon. I also read--FIIIISSSH SO MANY FIIISHYS, I should head to snorkel soon--the manga which was excellent except why did the author choose Blood? I wanted Julius or Boris (well, that feels weird actually typing out since I have a friend named Boris) so bad.

Welcome! Take a seat on this comfy couch here and please don't mind me as I cautiously stare at your avatar behind this fortress!

What's there be cautious about~ Just a friendly bear. Name's Dr Bear. I have a PeD. *leers at you with black, souless eyes*

I vote Julius! I couldn't play the game, and for weeks after I weeped and went to read the manga instead (I was going for Blood but Julius is just o-bby) Can't wait to see Alice in action *bounces up and down*

The nurses in the pediatrician department tell me stories. Least of which involve mysterious moaning noises in the playroom at the dead of night.

Hohoho...let's just say i'm a big, cuddly bear.

Do tell, who exactly were those nurses? I need to...Ah...clear up some misunderstandings. Put an end to such rumours.

Yay, thanks so much for picking my favorite guy :D.
I haven't finished Alice manga yet just because i know she won't end up with him -.-

Tweedleshotas or bust.

But we have kitties and box forts and music and Zenya! I thought you loved us! ;_;

Anyway! I've stumbled upon art from this game before, mostly of the White Rabbit. I have to ask, based on the art I've seen, are all the guys some form of yandere or did I just keep finding art of the more violent scenes from the game? Don't get me wrong, it's very nice art, I'm just curious.

Good luck on your lp, Ranissimo! I know how exciting it can be to finally be able to play a game you have been obsessed with for years. I'm rooting for you!

I've always been intrigued by the games made by quinrose.
Sadly, my japanese still isn't good enough to play an entire game.
Anyway, I'll be following this. :)

Regarding the Alice and Hatter thing, I have no idea how it even started but I imagine adaptions such as this didn't help.
I think a lot of it have to do with the fact that most people today are used to having some sort of romance in their media. So when they find something that doesn't contain a romance they invent one. Since Alice is the main character they'll pair her up with however they find the most interesting, and in most cases that seems to be the hatter. That still doesn't explain why people insist on doing this regardless of the main characters age though... I've got no idea, people are weird.

Yeah, the Québécois in big cities tend to lack patience unless you ask them to speak French with you anyway to practise. Except if you're from Ontario, because then, even if you're fluent, some dickweeds will switch to English because they're fucking jerks and saw you had an Ontario license plate. The thing with Montréal is that it's becoming very anglophone, so that may also have something to do with it. I'm French-Canadian myself, so I try to read things in French as much as possible since I live in an English province. XD;; If you'd like, I can practise some French with you, or I can suggest good reading material. (Try to watch the French dubs of anime of possible: They tend to be pretty good!)

And I have no idea about alcohol, I don't drink. XD;

Tewi, I love you.

NARCOLEPSY-SENSEI, YOU HAVE RETURNED! <3

And any advice on what the settings should be would be great, please and thank you!

I have, I have! :D AND I MISSED YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH.

So...most assuredly skip read text. There is SO MUCH TEXT in this game, and a good portion of it is the same from playthrough to playthrough (the explanations, the prologue stuff, ect). Also, keep in mind that the agth thread that translates the text in the game is NOT the same thread that translates the choices. So when you get to the choice box, you have to go hunt the thread that tells you what your options are.

Also, if you don't know already, there's an "upgrade" for atlas called "Translation Aggregator" that gives you several Engrish versions instead of just the one, you can download it here: http://www.hongfire.com/forum/showthread.php/94395-Translation-Aggregator-v0-4-9

(And if anyone wants my fangirlish assessment of the characters, personalities, spoilers, ect., feel free to ask/p.m. me so we don't end up taking over the thread)