TAISHO x ALICE episode 2 Review Summary

Beautiful art, excellent voice acting, and praised Gretel and Kaguya routes, though some find Gretel unappealing; too many bad endings mean a guide is needed for the happy path.

Kaguya's route is popular: Multiple clusters highlight Kaguya's route as well-crafted, emotionally moving, and a favorite among players. The story is praised for its tragedy, emotional depth, and strong pacing, making it the standout route for many reviewers.

Gretel's route is highly praised: Gretel's route is consistently described as well-designed, enjoyable, and emotionally engaging. Reviewers appreciate its dramatic beats, romantic elements, and the character development of Gretel himself.

Voice acting is excellent: The voice acting, particularly for the male leads, is widely praised as professional and fitting. Reviewers highlight the high quality of performances that enhance the story and emotional impact.

Story surpasses first episode: Many reviewers feel the second episode improves on the first, with a deeper script, richer character development, and a more engaging plot. The overall impression is that it stands as a worthy sequel.

Yandere characters are appealing: The yandere and possessive male characters, especially Gretel and Kaguya, are a major draw for fans of the trope. Reviewers find their obsessive yet vulnerable personalities endearing and entertaining.

Too many bad endings: Kaguya's route has an overwhelming number of bad endings (12-14), making it nearly impossible to reach a happy ending without a guide. The choices leading to good endings are unclear and require flawless decisions, frustrating players.

Guide required for happy ending: Achieving a happy ending without a guide is basically impossible because the route demands perfect choices and the logic is not transparent. Players feel forced to consult external guides to avoid constant bad endings.

Gretel route is unappealing: The Gretel route is criticized for toxic dynamics, cringe moments, and logical inconsistencies, leaving players confused about relationship development. It also feels too tame and lacks a real conflict point, making the struggles unjustified.

Difficult to play without guide: Choosing wrong options easily leads to bad endings, and one choice can lock players out of the happy ending. The gameplay is punishing and necessitates guides.

Bad endings involve self-harm: The bad endings involve the heroine stabbing herself, which players find absurd and unacceptable. This occur in both bad and true endings, making the experience distressing and nonsensical.

Visual novel otome with routes: The game is widely recognized as an otome visual novel with character routes and branching choices. It features multiple male love interests and a common prologue with distinct story paths.

Gretel and Kaguya routes: Episode 2 features two main routes: Gretel and Kaguya. Players can choose between these love interests, and each route provides a distinct story perspective.

Multiple endings require choices: The game offers multiple endings, including several bad endings and a happy ending for each route. Achieving the true or happy ending often requires specific or perfect choices, sometimes with a guide.

Each route has happy ending: Every character route includes a happy ending, along with multiple bad endings. Players can achieve a successful outcome for each love interest by making correct choices.

Gretel has dark themes: Gretel's route involves pseudo-incest and imprisonment, with the character being obsessed with the protagonist. These darker themes contrast with other routes and add complexity to the story.

Achievements are bugged: Players report that achievements fail to unlock correctly, which is a common frustration. The issue is noted in multiple clusters, indicating it affects several users.

Fullscreen mode unstable: The game performs more reliably in windowed mode, as fullscreen mode introduces stability issues. This is mentioned in one cluster, suggesting it's a noteworthy but less widespread problem.

Save data incompatibility: Save files are not compatible across different language modes, which can disrupt progress for players switching languages. This is a specific issue raised in the feedback.

Avoid if sensitive or triggered: Several reviewers caution against playing if you are easily triggered, have mental health issues, or dislike extreme content. They note the game includes heavy topics, self-sacrificing heroines, and questionable morality.

Recommended for yandere and dark themes: The game is frequently recommended to fans of yandere, possessive, twisted, and toxic love interests. Many reviewers specifically mention younger male leads and caging themes as appealing aspects.

Play all routes and endings: Reviewers suggest playing all bad endings and multiple routes to fully understand the story and heroine's issues. They recommend not skipping any route or episode.

High ratings from satisfied players: Several reviewers strongly recommend the game and give high scores like 8/10. They praise it as one of the top otome games and highly recommend the installment.

Recommend Kaguya and Gretel routes: Reviewers frequently recommend playing the Kaguya and Gretel routes specifically, often highlighting them as the main draw of the game. Some suggest starting with Gretel's route to gauge tolerance for the content.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 25.0h.

Session length: 3.0h.

The game starts with a potentially boring first episode and slog-like segments, but hooks players once the plot twists and character bond progression deepen.

Friction: boring first episode; slog to read; very long and repetitive stories.

Unlock drivers: twisted plot turns; plot twists and turns; character bond progression.

Dark Romance Connoisseur: Reads trigger warnings, engages with mature content, follows all routes deliberately. Motivation: Emotional catharsis through twisted romance and deep psychological themes. Stance: buy.

Series Devotee: Plays all routes sequentially, compares with previous episodes, uses guides selectively. Motivation: Nostalgia and series completion, seeing familiar characters recur. Stance: sale.

Trope-Focused Romantic: Focused on specific romantic dynamics, seeks intense sibling-like or obsessive pairings. Motivation: Experiencing niche romantic tropes such as incestuous undertones and possessive love. Stance: buy.

External guides: The dominant user complaint is the mandatory reliance on external guides to achieve good endings due to an abundance of bad endings and opaque progression mechanics. This falls under TIER 3 (The Student) as the barrier is learning system outcomes and hidden requirements.

Episode 2 differs from Episode 1: Reviewers consistently note a significant tonal and gameplay shift between Episode 1 and Episode 2, describing the sequel as feeling like a different game. The shift moves from light and cute to darker, more serious topics.

Story based on fairy tales: The narrative draws inspiration from classic fairy tales such as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Hansel and Gretel. Reviewers describe it as a fantasy fairy tale with tragic reality undertones.

Sequel compared favorably to predecessor: Many reviewers compare Episode 2 to the first episode, often finding the sequel better and more substantial. This comparison is a common theme across multiple reviews.

Contains sensitive content warnings: The game includes content warnings for mental illness, medication addiction, suicide, and attempted sexual assault. Reviewers mention triggering content such as rape, self-harm, and violence.

Episode features darker tonal shift: Episode 2 is described as darker and more absurd than Episode 1, with a clear tonal shift from light and cute to serious content. This darker direction is a notable aspect of the sequel.