Fairy Tale Spotlight: Hanaby the Witch

[Some minor spoilers ahead.]

Hanaby the Witch is the sequel to the game I recently reviewed called Ameagari no Hanaby, created by developer Enigmatic Network. After experiencing all the wonderful, and sometimes surprising, things in the first game, I was ready for more.

Hanaby, now considered very much an adult retro squirrel, sets off on a new adventure to take a job where she will present a pyrotechnics show to please the masses. This story goes from very simple to very strange almost immediately.

Her new journey almost entirely leaves reality and travels into a bunch of magical realms, starting with one that seemed heavily inspired by Alice and Wonderland--a theme which continues on and off throughout the game. There were some notable differences though. Just hear me out:

1. Alice was a squirrel.

2. The white rabbit was actually a black rabbit with an afro.

3. The Cheshire cat seemed to be more interested in forcing Hanaby to play Boolean logic puzzles.

So that last one was a bit annoying. I am not a fan of Boolean logic puzzles. I don't even want to explain how they work because they make my brain hurt. The good news is that they only appear in the second and last stage of the game, so if you are worried about them, they won't mess you up too bad.

The story of Alice and the Black Rabbit (whose name was Bob) was probably the most enjoyable couple I have ever seen in a game. Bob expected Alice to never be late for his tea parties which would somehow devolve into a D&D game of some sort. There was a long cut-scene where they rambled on and on about the story of their most recent games, and I liked every single moment of it.

I mean... yeah, there was a story behind this game... and it was good. But I don't really want to spoil any of it. Just know that there was a black afro bunny named Bob who aggressively forced Alice into tea party/D&D games. That's amazing. I am so happy I found this game. I honestly could have never predicted that's where it was going with the two. In actuality, I thought he was her pimp!

Hanaby the Witch is a much harder game than Ameagari no Hanaby, but it was never too hard for me. The firework-based combat was still clever and fun. The music by artist AAAA was still a blast. I have recently bought both soundtracks for myself. They are wonderful!

There was no level that even remotely resembled X-rated Xanadu from the first game, and I guess that's fine. That pretty much means that this game is 100% family friendly, were Ameagari no Hanaby was like 90% family friendly. I wasn't really upset over the loss of a wildly out of place adult themed level. I already liked the characters, the story, and black afro bunny Bob. There was plenty here to adore.

I entirely recommend Hanaby the Witch, especially if you felt the first game was not challenging enough. This game will give you a run for your money but will never feel unfair at any time. Most of the really difficult parts only took me a few tries to figure out. I never got real stuck anywhere. This is a wonderful series, and I hope to see a new one in the future!

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