With Taisho x Alice episode 1 I already noticed that this series is not a regular otome game. Anyway, I'm excited to see that the series is keep getting localized, although the last two episodes are not confirmed yet. So to say, we have half of the game available, as of now, and I sincerely hope that this game gets all the support it deserves so the rest will get translated as well. Anyway, I'm in love with romance in general, and thus, I knew that the Taisho x Alice series is right up my ally. My only worry was whether the second episode keeps up its quality and luckily, I didn't get disappointed.

Feel free to check out my review for Taisho x Alice episode 1.


Taisho x Alice episode 2 has a similar opening like the previous entry where the heroine is wandering around in a world of darkness. You see, the issue here is that she does not recall any prior memories or even her own name. Anyway, she finally happens to meet another person in this empty world, although she only gets confused when he told her that her name is Arisu while his name is Alice. However, it kind of reassures her that both of them have matching names, and thus, they both walk together through the darkness until she happens to come across a mirror.


While I cannot judge the whole game, it does not matter whether the player decides to give the second entry a try first. The stories itself are completely independent, although the characters of the first episode are appearing here again. However, even in the previous entry, future love interests were showing up as well so it's more or less the same. But even with the appearance of other love interests, nothing of their routes get spoiled in another one, so the player doesn't have anything to worry about.

The only reference that is made in this game is in the prologue when Alice already knew Arisu's name but other than that, they have no connection to each other. I liked that it doesn't matter what route the player starts, so they can just go with the most appealing guy. On the other hand, the prologue does not show any character traits of the guys but only the appearance and we all know it's hard to judge a book by its cover.


This would perfectly describe my impression of the second episode. Fluffy scenes are available here, as well as dramatic ones, however, this game deals with much heavier themes and made me feel uncomfortable at times. Despite the graphics being colorful and sweet, I noticed quickly that the description of this series is rather blunt and does not have any filter at all. Anyway, it's refreshing, nonetheless, and I still got surprised at the sexual references of the characters and their reactions. It's as if it's no big deal which I am totally not used to from Japanese games.

However, Taisho x Alice episode 2 still is a lot like the first episode. The reason for that? — The fairytale theme! Even with different stories, they all are based on a popular fairytale but slightly adjusted, so they still tell their own story. However, whilst I am familiar with all fairytales so far, I have never heard of Kaguya before. I looked it up online to find more information about it but sadly, it still wasn't as enjoyable to me as the other routes. The issue here is that I have no clue what exactly got altered in this game and a summary can, unfortunately, not replace the real attachment to a fairytale.


In this specific case, I wish to address each main character separately as I feel like both routes are completely different from each other. As a piece of side information, Taisho x Alice episode 2 is about Kaguya and Gretel. However, it's possible to play one of the two routes as well should the player not enjoy one of them.

• Let's start with the heroine. I'll keep this brief as I already wrote about her in my review for the first episode, however, I loved her in this one as well. The reason for that is simple: Besides being a loveable character, she even has her own mind and is by no means a passive character. Sometimes her obsession with healing her crush might be a little bit over the top, however, I still prefer an active heroine any day.
  
  
• Next, we have Kaguya. This story is quite unusual as the heroine starts to date him right away after meeting him for the very first time. I enjoyed the story itself a lot, despite being not familiar with the fairytale. It's important to mention that Kaguya is quite the womanizer, however, he does fall for the heroine at first sight so I could forgive him. I mean, his past doesn't matter, right? Anyway, he stays mysterious regardless and I was constantly curious about his origins.
  
  
• Well, Gretel is more… Extreme. His story starts right away with the heroine being locked up, by no other than her own younger brother, Gretel. You could say he is the typical yandere. This route works with a lot of flashbacks about the past of Gretel, and Arisu and there are even a lot of POV changes so we get to experience what the deal is and the reasons for Gretel's behavior. Let's be honest here, obsessive actions are hard to justify so it helps that the reader gets to know his view.

In that regard, episode 2 works like the first one. There are multiple bad endings available and only one happy end. The issue is that one choice might lock the player out of the happy end but sometimes the bad end doesn't appear right away so it's tricky to reach the happy one. This specifically was the case for Kaguya's route. However, something I appreciated is that the branch takes place right after the prologue and the player can select whose route they want to start. This made each route completely different from each other, which was already the case in the first episode.


Graphic-wise, Taisho x Alice episode 2 is stunning just like in the previous entry with the characters having multiple facial expressions, poses, and even outfits. It was a joy to look at the pretty artwork and I couldn't help but admire the CGs. As a piece of side information, the characters are having multiple facial expressions in the CGs as well which made the whole game feel even livelier. I even wish there were more of them implemented in the game, but what can I do about it. Anyway, the voice-acting is high-quality and every character except for the heroine is voiced.


A technical issue that already appeared in Taisho x Alice episode 1 is that the achievements sometimes don't get unlocked. Whilst I was lucky and didn't occur that issue at all previously, it happened to me in episode 2. Even reloading and skipping through the text did not unlock the achievements for me. Fortunately, I do not really care about it, however, it might be important to those who are hunting for achievements.


Taisho x Alice episode 2 didn't let me down and delivered two excellent routes. Whilst I was already impressed with the first game this series definitely keeps up its quality so far. My favorite thing about this series is the fairytale theme and whilst it follows the same events, it still adds twists and turns to the plot so the whole playthrough was still entertaining to me without ever having the feeling that this game is repetitive. That being said, Taisho x Alice episode 2 is definitely a must-play for fans of this series but can be enjoyed by newcomers as well.

I finally finished TAISHO x ALICE episode 2.

First of all, I decided not to use the spoiler tag because I would have to tag most of my review. But be warned, I do consider most of it as SPOILER. Also, I feel it can strongly influence your opinion before you even have the chance to play the game.

You play Kaguya's and Gretel's routes and this game does have darker themes. Is that a good thing? Could have been.
After finishing episode 1 I was eager to play the 2nd game and started it on the next day. But damn, I had a really hard time.
I started with Kaguya's route because I liked his character better on the previous game and enjoyed it up until the end. MC's choice of actions to reach the happy ending felt absurd and not the least consistent with her personality since episode 1. The theme was progressing well and I was really interested in the story but her so called sacrifice killed me. As someone else stated: it was insulting at the very least. Also, Kaguya's reasoning in the end felt a little farfetched. I think they could have wrapped up his amnesia, cutting problems and dealing with reality issues in a much better way without dragging Yurika down. I really hated that ending.
But I hated Gretel's route even more from the beginning. It wasn't the possible incest that bothered me so much but that they changed the characters personalities, specially Yurika. On episode 1 she was strong and independent and on Gretel's route she's weak and submissive. Gretel is obnoxious, insistent and keeps "violating" her. Worse, she doesn't fight back and accepts everything he does. Even the choices made me angry.
Thinking about it now, I believe I couldn't be objective as to completely separate fantasy from reality and projected my personal feelings about Gretel's actions [and man like him in general] on this route. I have such a strong opinion about this kind of situations that it certainly influenced how I felt and read this story. Luckily, around half way trough, when they started talking about past events, it became easier to read and I could enjoy the route much more. The ending felt consistent with their "new" personalities and wasn't bad. I was satisfied with it.
It was a good thing I started with Kaguya's route. Had I started with Gretel's I believe I might have abandoned the game. That's how strong my hate was. Still glad I finished it.
Overall, the darker background stories were interesting. Too bad they were not thoroughly explored. Some things were left unanswered.
Episode 2 felt like a completely different game because of those changes and as you can see, I feel conflicted about it.
Will play episode 3 for sure, maybe just not right now. Need some time. Hope Yurika's personality shifts back to how it was in episode 1. Otherwise I'll have a hard time again. I wonder how the epilogue will be since Alice is still a pain in the a$$. That's a change in personality that would be greatly welcomed.
Achievemet problems still exist in the second episode. You might need to open and close the game a few times or even skip the game in another language. I had to open and close the game and beging the routes in all languages. Did that before skipping to see if it worked and save time and it did.

7/10

This series so far has been excellent and I’m really hoping and praying for an English release of EP3 & EP4/Epilogue!

What I like about the series as a whole:

- The MC (Yurika) is a BOSS ASS MOFO! Seriously, she’s one of the best otome protagonists I’ve seen in a long time. She’s clever, calculating, unafraid to call out LI’s on their BS, and best of all, proactive . She doesn’t stand around like an observer like most otome MCs do, she actually partakes and initiates action/events. And I love how there’s more to her than meets the eye: at first she just seems like an innocent, sweet, and ditzy girl, but it’s really only an act.
- The character art is gorgeous, ‘nuff said.
- The MC actually shows up in CGs + actually has her eyes visible in them, unlike most otomes.
- The MC actually appears in kiss CGs, and the kiss CGs aren’t lame closeups of the LI leaning into the camera.
- The writing + dialogue is witty, funny, and clever. There’s actual foreshadowing in routes instead of random heel turns, lots of symbolism and parallels to the fairy tale source material, etc. The banter the MC has with the LIs is fun and I found myself laughing out loud several times! And I absolutely love how they take a stereotypical trope for each LI and then flip it and or deconstruct it.
- Superb voice acting. I’ll get more specific when talking about the different LIs, but the fantastic VA work helps funny moments be funny, and emotional moments be emotional.
- God-tier English translation… definitely not the easiest game to translate but they did such an AMAZING job.
- Great OST. The menu music really gives off a lighthearted, fairy tale feeling that reminds me of the Kingdom Hearts series. I love the OP in particular and how different it is/how it changes from each episode.

What I’m not a fan of:

- ’Auto’ option is too slow IMO.
- Wish there was a ‘skip to choice’ option.
- Wish the MC was voiced, especially with how much personality she already has.
- Don’t like how the OP replays every time you get a bad ending (which will happen A LOT during EP2 during Kaguya’s route).
- Dislike Yurika’s obsession with “fixing” or “saving” each LI. Maybe it’ll get explained in EP4/Epilogue though.

Thoughts on the LI’s/Routes:

Cinderella (EP1):

- Oh look it’s the oresama route (I WAS RIGHT)
- A couple plot twists here that had me going damnnn
- I like how the other female characters in the route seemed human and weren’t your stereotypical evil ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that are solely there just to make the MC look good
- Cinderella probably has the best banter with the MC (besides Alice) IMO because they’re BOTH really sassy characters and can dish it right back at each other.
- Seiyuu did an awesome job here, Cinderella is just hilarious.
- I didn’t like how things got really wishy-washy in the end/things got muddled and confusing because they kept going back and forth on their feelings.
- Probably the least dark route of the four released so far.
- Yurika is a beast in this route!
- Kinda liked him more as a supporting character? Like I said, he has really good banter with the MC and as a result, he was more likeable when he played the friend role in Kaguya’s route (EP2).

Red Riding Hood (EP1):

- Oh look it’s the kuudure route (was kinda wrong)
- Has my favorite look out of all of the LIs
- Mmm dat gap moe tho...
- I swear I’m not a furry
- Favorite supporting cast by far! (real talk do you want the D LMAO)
- Route kinda gets dark in the end.
- Kinda disliked what Yurika did in the end but like I said, she’s a proactive protagonist.
- Honestly just a precious baby that needs to be hugged.

Kaguya (EP2):

- Oh look it’s the laid-back flirty dude (OOF)
- Yesss give me that delicious foreshadowing!
- Multiple plot twists had me going DAMNNN
- Romance felt more organic since they were already in a relationship from the beginning.
- Some decisions were kinda… weird tho? Like, yeah Imma just start dating this dude after knowing him for like 2 seconds lmao. Maybe it’s just the characters being quirky but yeah...
- SO MANY BAD ENDS… had to look for a guide ugh.
- Route gets REALLY DARK, I should have seen it coming from the cover art but oh god
- Didn’t like how one dimensional and stupid the other female characters were.
- Kaguya and Gretel probably have the most interesting personalities/psyches out of the four LIs.
- Idk he’s probably my favorite LI so far, my throat hurt so much near the end because I was on the verge of tears.
- Idk how to feel about some of Yurika’s decisions near the end… again, she’s a proactive MC which is nice, but really girl chilllll stop being so over the top

Gretel (EP2):

- Oh look it’s the yandere (LMAOOO)
- Idk man I usually don’t like yanderes but when it’s a otouto yandere it’s kinda???? i’m trash i know
- WHAT ARE YOU DOING STEPBRO intensifies
- Go to Horny Jail BONK
- THIS GOT DARK… I mean, birdcage DUH but DAMNNN IT GOT REAL DARK and spicyyy
- MMM DAT UNHINGED VOICE THO
- Couple plot twists yet again CAUGHT ME
- Route probably has the most CGs featuring the MC yess
- Got to delve deeper into Gretel’s psyche compared to most LIs since we got a lot of scenes in his POV… but I didn’t like how a lot of the scenes were basically repeating stuff.
- Why is his best CG locked to the bad ending lmao
- Severe lack of Alice :(

Overall, my favorites: Kaguya>Gretel>Red Riding Hood>Cinderella. I have a feeling Alice is gonna be my all-time favorite though.

Taisho and Alice episode 2 was definitely not what I expected. At first I was slightly disappointed to see settings different from the first part. I was eager to romance Kaguya as my servant. Alas... All relationships, connections between characters were changed. Welp, it was interesting to play anyway.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2544718513
The first part was called lighthearted by many reviewers, so I was astonished to see how much darker the second part is. I even checked the store page if there are any warnings. I didn't see any. But players should be warned, in my my opinion, that there are cases of suicide (in one walkthrough I came across 3 THREE successful attempts, isn't that a little too much for a romantic novel), rape, sexual harassment, self-harm, assault, drug addiction and drug abuse... And it's not just something vaguely mentioned, the description was so vivid I felt highly disturbed quite often. Right now my friend is put by her family into a special facility because of her alcohol addiction. So, I took those asylum scenes quite personally. The story made me so emotional as I didn't expect at all.

But at the same time it was quite hilarious. I laughed a lot. Especially thanks to Alice-boy. I was curious to see how my attitude had changed since my first acquaintance with him in the first part. The stories were still funny, romantic and pleasant to play despite all dramatic events. I started playing with Kaguya and I was struck by how many bad endings this route has. That became hilarious at some point. I even gave up and used a guide to get that so very challenging happy ending.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2544718347
As for MC, her type hasn't changed here. She's still on a mission to save those injured, lost, tainted souls. Though this time the task is so much more arduous.

The achievements are bugged here as well. When I finished the game I had only one ach for the introduction. Though this time I got them faster, I started a Japanese version, didn't use any guides, just chose the last options all the time, got my first bad ending, restarted the game in English and all the achievements just popped up. So it wasn't that strenuous as it was the previous time but I was still annoyed. It's so rewarding to get achievements when you have reached the necessary ending not after all those manipulations “rawr” I still don't get it why the issue isn't fixed.

So, it was an emotional, dark experience I definitely enjoyed. Japanese voice acting, translation, visuals, captivating plot were to my liking again. I'd recommend to play the game if you are not disturbed by all those topics mentioned above.

This is not the game for me. However, it may be the game for you if you are interested in psychological horror, traumatic relationships, and challenging stories. I'm giving this a thumbs up because the game is well-designed and well-written, and has lovely art and music. Please see my CAUTION before reading my pros and cons list.

CAUTION: This game (specifically Taisho x Alice *Episode II*) contains vivid descriptions of self-harm, suicide, violence, and addiction. It is very difficult to reach the Happy Ending for either of the two routes, because the line between love and insanity is drawn very fine in these stories. You have to choose perfectly all the way through or you will reach a bad ending. If you have played other otome games, then the best comparisons are the yandere routes in Amnesia (Toma) and Ozmafia (parts of the brothel route in particular), especially with respect to Gretel's route.

PROS:
- strong visuals and consistent, vivid storylines
- choices matter a lot
- the skip function is fast and works well
- can be played entirely by mouse; keyboard controls are standard (e.g., ESC for menu)
- if you enjoy tragic psychological stories with some potential for a positive ending, this is an excellent visual novel

CONS:
- no indicator for "correct" choices; while it's good to play without guidance, I would have preferred the option to know when a choice would keep me on the route to the happy ending [that said, there are user-written guides available now]
- no breaks from dramatic tension (this is a matter of preference - I prefer my suffering alleviated by the occasional ray of hope, or a genuinely kind/less traumatized character; these stories tended toward unremittingly dark, especially with Gretel's)
- as before, this game is not designed for a wide or full screen; it is most stable and the graphics are best when played in a smaller windowed mode (that said, for the most part the full screen mode worked without difficulty for me)

SUMMARY: Only buy and play this game if you know what you're getting into. There is very little in the way of the usual otome romance or romantic development. However, it is a well-written visual novel with strong characters. Choices do matter, and there are even some fairly complex bad endings. If this is the game for you, then it is worth the price.

The tone of this episode was vastly different from the first, and if you're sensitive to certain themes, I'd advise looking over the content warning, because it deals with some heavy topics and one character (a yandere that gives even a certain infamous Amnesia character a run for his money) you'll probably either love or hate. While said character wasn't my cup of tea, the writing, story and other characters were still enough to keep me reading, which I think speaks to the quality.

This was yet another flawless translation with a diverse and interesting cast. Arisu continues to be one of, if not my favorite, otome heroines. She's not your typical air-headed, helpless damsel in distress; she's smart, assertive and has agency.

Remember: Even if this batch isn't your favorite, if at all possible, it's very important to support this release if you want to see translations for Snow White, the wizard and Alice's routes!

TAISHO x ALICE continues on in episode 2 with the same heroine from the previous episode, just with two different "prince charming" for you to save this time. Please be advised that this episode deals with more mature themes than the last episode, including mental illness, self-harm, suicidal idealization, drug addiction and sexual assault.

The prologue is pretty much the exact same as the previous episode, which kinda made me wonder why it was even included. To me it seems silly to assume people would buy and play episode 2 before going to episode 1 first. My opinion of the boy, Alice, who you meet in the prologue, didn't really change, as he was as annoying and useless as in the previous episode. I kinda understood more why he was added though, as I was playing through the routes for the characters. He is there to be a common, combining factor between all of the characters, always giving advice when you least expect it.

This episode was definitely not what I expected. At first I was slightly disappointed to see settings different from the first part. I was eager to romance Kaguya as my trusted servant and friend, alas... almost all relationships, occupations and connections between characters were changed, I assume they chose to do it this way, since in the prologue you are entering a different realm, so making everything different, but still using the same characters, is easier.

If I were completely honest, I didn't enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed the first one. I was expecting to like this one more actually, since I read some things about it being darker than the previous episode, but I wasn't aware just how dark it was actually going to be. Then again, I think the biggest issue I had with both routes was that all of the plot points happened way too immediately with no character development or story build-up at all.

It also felt like the heroine wasn't herself in this episode, I think she acted way differently, which made choosing some choices a little bit difficult and often resulted in bad endings, as there were a lot more of them here. The devs were obviously gunning for the element of surprise in this episode, which usually works well for characters that are romancable, but when the surprises involve the heroine's personality, then it gets rather confusing. As the protagonist, shouldn't I be aware of my own personality?

Overall however, I still think this game is worth it, even though they changed a lot of things. The first episode was better, but this one was worth it as well. As I did in the episode 1 review, I still recommend you getting this game at a sale rather than at full price.

Taisho x Alice episode 2 was a wild ride from beginning to end. There's a huge difference in tone in this episode compared to the first one which is something that anyone interested in buying this game should be aware of. There IS a content warning in the steam product description so please take a look at that if that's something you're concerned about. However, despite the darker tone I still really enjoyed the game.

Much like episode 1 there are also only two routes in episode 2, this time featuring Kaguya and Gretel. Kaguya's route was very difficult for me to get the good ending for, resulting in me having to seek a guide in order to accomplish it. In addition, there are many choices throughout the course of his route which will directly lead to a bad end too. I feel like I really got to communicate with Mr. Wizard quite a bit in Kaguya's route haha. As a whole, I was very charmed by Kaguya and despite the difficulties I encountered it only served to fuel my determination to get his happy ending.

Gretel's route is a bit questionable for me. Although I was invested in his character I felt like I didn't really fall for him like I did with Kaguya. However I did like the mystery aspect of his route and how things were slowly uncovered to reveal the reasons behind his actions as well as the history between him and Arisu. Unlike Kaguya's route it was very easy for me to get Gretel's happy ending. From the choices it's pretty clear to see what's the best option and there aren't as much pitfalls that lead to bad ends.

Overall, the game is very entertaining and intriguing with story lines that I could have never predicted. It still retains a lot of the funny and humorous dialogue that episode 1 had as well. The MC was such a joy to follow and I loved the dialogue she had with everyone. If the darker tone and content warnings don't bother you I'd definitely recommend buying this game and trying it out for yourself. Like I said at the beginning of my review, this game is wild ride from beginning to end so you just strap on in and enjoy the ride!

How does Gretel not have Diabetes yet?

So we have two more boys now.

It's a ride.

Recommended supplemental reading material:
Kaguya:
-a hard surface to bang you head against after he runs away for the 8th time at a seemingly innocuous dialogue choice
-therapy

Gretel:
-a particular kind of beverage
-a large window that lets you see 1000 yards into the distance as you contemplate your life choices



Anyway please buy the game so they release part three and I can play my boy Snow White.