WitchSpring (마녀의샘) is an Eastern RPG series by Korean game publisher and developer KiwiWalks and directed by its CEO, Suyoung Jang. Originally began as a Mobile Phone Game series but has also grown to include releases on both consoles and PCs.
Once humanity worshiped the gods who lived alongside them and were generous enough to provide them with miracles. However, their reverence gradually shifted into a lust for the power they covet and in finding out the deities drew their magic from the Springs they turned on those they once called gods. Humans soon emerged victorious, killing the Temple Lords governing the Springs and demonizing the rest as witches to the populace at large. Witch hunts sprang afterward, and the unlucky deities were often hunted down and killed though several managed to escape such a fate.
The protagonists are among these witches who are trying to make their way in a world that despises them.
Games in the series include:
- WitchSpring is the first entry in the series which released on July 12, 2015, for Korea and on October 16 later that year. It follows the story of Pieberry as she hunts for ingredients and trains to become stronger so she won't live in fear of humans. As she continues venturing outside she comes across the ruins of a temple and finds herself drawn further in. After making contact with the Spring and conversing with its slumbering deity she finds herself on a journey to revive the other Springs across the continent of Vavelia.
- WitchSpring R is a remaster of the first game featuring not only updated gameplay and visuals but also a complete expansion of the story to tie it in with the world established by its sequels. The PC version was released on September 26, 2023 while versions for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 came out in August 29, 2024.
- WitchSpring2 is the second game in the series and was released on June 30, 2016, in Korea and on October 21 later that year globally. It is a P.O.V. Sequel following the perspective of Luna whose peaceful life in Vavelia Village is turned upside down by the witch hunts. The game not only further expands upon the setting which future entries would continue to build upon but also sheds light on what caused her to be so cold and bitter in the first place.
- WitchSpring3 is the third game in the series and was released in Korea and globally on October 27, 2017. Rather than Vavelia, the story takes place in the continent of Derkarr where the Springs save for two have dried up which left a sizeable chunk of the land as a desert. The plot follows Eirudy who longs to make friends and whose lonely life in the Misty Forest changes after a chance meeting with a boy named Adrian. Adrian seeks a way to revive his ill mother and Eirudy's decision to help him spells change for not only her life but also the continent of Derkarr.
- WitchSpring3 [Re:Fine] - The Story of Eirudy is an Updated Re-release of the game for the Switch and was released on December 12, 2020 with the PC port releasing later on November 2, 2021.
- WitchSpring4 is the fourth game in the series and was released in Korea and globally on December 19, 2019. This game takes place in yet another continent, Ürphea, and stars Moccamori, an orphaned girl saved by the deity Agamo who empowers Moccamori and makes her his successor. After conquering Ürphea for herself, her mission of collecting enough magic power to revive Agamo goes well until she meets a mysterious young deity named Ida and loses all of the accumulated magic. While on her journey to build back her power, she also has to contend with the other villages who oppose her rule.
Tropes that apply to this series:
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In General
- Cutting Off the Branches:
- Out of the nine different endings of the first game, WitchSpring2 closely follows the ending of "A Peaceful Day".
- Eirudy's appearance in WitchSpring4 alone would mean she followed either the Light or True paths. Luna also mentions wanting to see Robyn making her decision to not Mercy Kill his corrupted self canon.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- The original WitchSpring takes place in the span of a hundred days with each action continuing the day and the ending depending on what Pieberry does or does not do in that time frame. Later entries including R do away with this game mechanic.
- Training in the first and second games either cost HP or MP. Beginning with 3 they now run on a separate timer.
- Instant Runes: The style of magic in the games. Magical circles are also one of the many things the protagonists can craft either by making new spells or support circles that enhance their effects. WitchSpring4 is the sole exception to magic mediums which instead imbue spells with elemental effects with the main and secondary circles being built in. Functionally, however, it is still an example of this trope.
- Mage Species: The Deities have a natural capacity to wield magic. Pure-blooded ones can do so without issue while it can depend for half-blooded deities. For example, Luna and Moccamori can wield magic just as well as any pure-blooded ones while the most Hector can do is detect magic from nearby.
- Pre-existing Encounters: All enemies are visible and for most of them upon entering their threat range you are given the choice to either engage or retreat.
- Rabbit Magician: While deities aren't rabbits one of their most prominent traits is their rabbit ears and they have the ability to wield magic while humans generally could not.
- Resting Recovery: Sleeping in your bed resets your health and magic back to full. In most games you can also craft a sleeping bag to do so outside of your home and save your progress.
- Sinister Minister: Pope Celvis of Vavelia, one of the co-conspirators of humanity's dethroning of the deities.
- Summon Magic: A recurring element to the series is the ability to summon familiars to assist the protagonists in some way though the familiars in question differ between games. The first two games as well as R had Pieberry and Luna use pets, 3 had Eirudy's dolls, and 4 had Moccamori's minions.
- Villain of Another Story: Pope Celvis and Jude receive minor appearances/mentions in WitchSpring3 and WitchSpring4.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: Regardless of the familiars you summon or who accompanies you in story battles, you lose the battle if your health is depleted to zero. And enemies will often, if not always exclusively target you.
- Witch Hunt: After the deaths of the Vavelian Temple Lords and by order of the Pope the deities humans once revered are to be hunted down as witches. The hunts are over by the end of the third game and in the fourth they've been ended early by Moccamori taking over the continent for herself. WitchSpring R would add on that they were specifically were started to hunt for the Child of Prophecy aka Pieberry to aid in the Pope's own plans.
WitchSpring
- Blob Monster: Near Pieberry's house is the Pudding Cave inhabited by slimes composed of delicious pudding.
- Child Mage: While Pieberry's exact age isn't stated in-game her age before receiving Elysion's blessing designer notes state that she is 10 years old.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Messing with the power of Dark Magic Stones ends up corrupting the Pope which in turn leads to him being purified by the Spring behind him, killing him instantly.
- Forced Transformation: Black Joe's true form is a Giant Flyer rather than the round, ugly bird he goes by. It's a result of being put under a spell by Elysion. In the endings where the Temple Lords come back and stop Jude's rampage she admits she's unable to dispel it from him.
- Given Name Reveal:
- The name "Pieberry" was one she gave herself over her love of pie and berries. Elysion, her mother, reveals to her that her actual name is Lucia.
- Before his Forced Transformation, Black Joe was called Ark.
- Multiple Endings: Sports the most of the games thus far totaling in at nine though only two of them grants access to the post-game.
- Pathetically Weak: Alfredo dreams of being a knight of fame and glory but is incredibly weak as Pieberry in the beginning defeats him with little difficulty.
- Playing with Fire: Pieberry's favored magic is fire due to how common and accessible it is compared to the ice and lightning spells which can only be obtained by one spellbook. In the case of the latter, it's only obtainable very late into the game.
- Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Pieberry becomes older after receiving Elysion's blessing and is given a newer portrait to reflect this.
- Robe and Wizard Hat: Pieberry and Luna’s clothing are both evocative of classic witches. Notably, this is a style unique to them and is something no other deity in the series shares.
- Solitary Sorceress: Fitting for the bitter and reclusive Luna she makes her home in the Icy Field. When Pieberry meets her there for the first time she immediately attacks her though they end up making up after Pieberry defends her from a corrupted yeti.
WitchSpring2
- Ascended Extra:
- By virtue of being a P.O.V. Sequel, this game is one for Luna as her role in Vavelia's conflict is greatly expanded upon. She even gets to escape from her cell on her own and participate in the battles against the Pope and Jude alongside Pieberry and Justice.
- Michelle was a minor character encountered at the near end of the game and a reason for Luna being so distrustful of people. Here, her relationship with Luna and its subsequent fall is shown in detail. She even gets a proper portrait this time around.
- Foregone Conclusion: As she mentioned briefly in the first game, Luna's relationship with Michelle is guaranteed to sour when early on the latter sells her friend out to the Palace Knights. Likewise, her being thrown into the dungeon to have her magic harnessed is also a certainty.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Luna turns out to have already met Pieberry when she was brought to her by Aimhard back when she was still called Lucia. She doesn't put two and two together until seeing her in prison at the end of the game.
- Giant Spider: Nessie the Sea Monster, contrary to its name, is a spider large enough to walk across the sea and attacks Sofia's ship as it passes by.
- Lunacy: Luna's Moonstone allows her attacks to be 30% more effective at night.
- Ms. Fanservice: Ludina, the Ice Witch and mother of Luna, is a beautiful woman whose looks is accentuated by a blue, revealing dress.
- Old Master: Luna comes across an old dwarf living in a Kentz Mountain cave for fifty years after lost the way to his village in a shipwreck (which isn't actually that far, much to his dismay). He can teach her to use follow up strikes for each successive melee attack she does with the number increasing with each lesson. Finishing it will not only grant her the ability to attack up to six times but also Burning Heart.
- P.O.V. Sequel: The game serves as one for Luna.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Michelle selling Luna out to the Palace Knights at the beginning of the game inevitably bites her as seen in the previous entry.
WitchSpring3
- Affectionate Nickname: Eirudy often calls Adrian "Adri" even when they're merely acquainted with one another in the beginning.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Once Eirudy bests her with Bernick, Velita had no trouble dropping to her hands and knees to beg to let her go despite having arrived at her own home with warriors prior.
- Archnemesis Dad: Regal, Adrian's father. Not only is he cold and uncaring towards the other villages of Derkarr but is also distant towards his son and dying wife though he wasn't always like that and did genuinely try to save her. He is also complicit in humanity turning against the deities.
- Artificial Human: Eirudy. Well, not a human, but a deity. She was made by putting a deity's soul into a Doll's body. However, for all intents and purposes, now she's just a deity.
- The Atoner: Johannes in the post-game. He realizes that his actions were evil, and seeks to atone for them.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Adrian comes to help save Eirudy when the original path in Lehert Mine collapses.
- After being lured to Shubeth Village and imprisoned in Shubeth by Regal, Adrian comes to free her and Johannes from their cells in the Light Path.
- Eillen, Lukas, Pieberry, and Luna come help deal with the remaining Ancient Dragons following Regal's defeat.
- Dead All Along: Turns out, Eirudy's grandmother died long ago; now she's a human soul in a Doll's body. She finally moves on during the post-game.
- Draconic Humanoid: Monnet is an Ancient Dragon, but her current appearance is that of a dark woman in armor. Her human appearance can be chalked up to her father, Jude, getting together with her human mother.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Monnet is this to Lord Regal, if only because he holds the Dragon's Nest as leverage. She conspires with the heroes in order to take it back and take revenge on him for forcing the Ancient Dragons to do his bidding. And she makes good on her promise by not only fatally wounding him but poisoning him as well to ensure he wouldn't be saved. She also tries to kill Johannes for swiping the Dragon's Nest during the assault on Shubeth as well though she's fended off by Judith.
- Emotionless Girl: Eirudy starts off as one owing to her sheltered life in the Misty Forest and her original nature as a doll. She slowly grows out of this as the story progresses.
- If Only You Knew: In the beginning of the game Eirudy snarks that her grandmother might be a doll due to her poor hearing. As revealed in the post-game her grandmother is dead but had her soul transferred into a doll to remain in the living world.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Zig-Zagged. At the very end of the Light/True Paths Johannes awaits his judgment from Monnet before cutting away with the implication she'll kill him which will serve as his comeuppance for stealing the Dragon's Nest from under her nose as well as tricking Eilleen and Eirudy into going inside the Springs. Fulfilling Judith's quest will have her show up to drive off Monnet. The post-game then reveals that his manipulations cost him his position in the Royal Palace.
- Love Redeems: Her love for Adrian was what partly helped Eirudy a Heel–Face Turn in the True path, breaking her hesitation on whether humans are worth trusting after her betrayal in Lehert. Subverted hard in the Dark path, however.
- Marionette Master: Replacing the Pets of the first two games are Dolls which Eirudy can animate and enhance by injecting them with Vitality. Most of her Dolls are already available in the Marionette Chamber while others are acquired in the world or by progressing the story.
- Only in It for the Money: Velita’s motivation, what with being a mercenary from Vavelia and all. While she was hired to watch over Adrian her orders shift to accompanying Shubethian Warriors to Lehert and detaining Adrian. On the Dark and True Paths she also follows Eirudy right to her doorstep. And in the Light and True Paths she also ends up rooting for Adrian's revolution to succeed and asks him to hire her again.Adrian: Well, she's a mercenary so she's always been neutral.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo: [Re:Fine] includes an inversion by including an additional scene of Moccamori, the next game's protagonist, talking to Shubethian warriors brought before her lobby.
- Rescue Romance: Eirudy meets Adrian for the first time after saving him from a boar that she was incidentally hunting and from then on has saved his life on multiple occasions. Adrian also reciprocating the gesture on multiple occasions most notably in the Light path where he breaks her out of prison after being captured by Regal or helping her see the error of her ways in the True path.
- Til Murder Do Us Part: Armed with the knowledge that the Dragon's Nest sucks in nearby vitality, Adrian assumed his father was attempting this on Esther when he gifted her the Dragon's Nest. He's wrong, Regal genuinely wanted to save her illness and was convinced by Jude that leaving the Dragon's Nest with her would help with that while also keeping the thing that controls dragons safe with her. Regal only realizes Jude tricked him before his death.
- Vampiric Draining: The Dragon's Nest has the property to drain the vitality of nearby living beings which was the actual source for Esther's declining health. Regal wasn't aware of this when Jude suggested him to leave it with and instead told him it would have the opposite effect.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Johannes reveals themselves to be one at the end, being the one responsible for pushing Eilleen and coaxing Eirudy into the Springs in an attempt to revive them. They do so having grown up in the poverty of Lehert and seeing firsthand the suffering wrought by the encroaching desert.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Hector disappears at the end of his questline on the Light route and his absence remains unexplained. Not the case with the Dark and True routes where he's cut down by Eirudy after trying to avenge his juniors.
WitchSpring4
- Actually, I Am Him: Ida turns out to be the actual Agamo, the primal deity of Ürphea. The Agamo that Moccamori served through most of the game is Adlai, another deity fragmented from himself who took up his name.
- Always Identical Twins: Averted. Ethan’s brother once bore a resemblance to him but Uris hardly looks like him in the present. This is justified by him having to survive in Kabanes wild and Mariena’s doing a poor job of healing his face. In the post-game he gets it fixed to the point that Moccamori was confused as to why Ethan looked older until he explains himself.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite the fact Ethan built up years worth of resentment towards his brother thanks to her mother focusing on him and neglecting his own existence he was genuinely distraught at Uris' willingness to sacrifice himself if it meant bringing back Mariena and begged Moccamori to not do it.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Part of what motivates Moccamori to recuperate her strength was to get back at Ida for humiliating her at multiple points throughout the story. In the post-game she ends up being forced to face his shadow, Deep Dark Ida, and ends up killing him in combat with Ida following shortly after. By this point, however, she had long since abandoned her hatred towards him and is saddened by the act especially since Ida wanted such a thing to occur thanks to his guilt towards creating the Shadow World in the first place.
- Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: Following Adlai's revival in Moccamori's body, he consumes the magic of Varon causing him to drop dead on the spot. It is subverted later when he is brought back to defend the Ancient Land against Moccamori but is double-subverted when he is once again slain and has his soul sealed in Adlai's soul stone. He remains absent from Moccamori's list of Minions from here on
- Break the Haughty: Moccamori endures several through the course of the story from being bested by other deities, falling into the traps of her enemies, and being turned into an ugly bird. Still, Moccamori never lets it beat her down for long and all the hardships help shape her into a better person by the end of her story.
- Driven by Envy: Cecilia's motivation for conspiraing against Moccamori. While they didn't start out this way, they grew dissatisfied with how she handled things and how she had it easy with being Agamo's chosen while they had to pick after her shortcomings.
- Fake Defector: In Chapter 3, Cecilia seemingly convinces Ethan to go along with her plans of deposing Moccamori after exposing that she was likely the one to have killed his missing brother. After kicking Moccamori out of the sap trap, he strikes Cecilia and reiterates that he grew to resent his brother and knew not to trust her as he’s familiar with backstabbers like her back in Vavelia.
- Forced Transformation: Moccamori gets turned into an ugly bird by Laura so that she can see things from the perspective of those weaker than her. Unlike with Black Joe, she turns back quickly after calming down. It's confirmed that Laura was the one who created the ugly bird magic in the first place, something that was mentioned by Black Joe himself in the previous entry's post-game.
- Forgotten First Meeting: The boy who discovered Moccamori and her parents and was thought to have been killed when she awakened Agamo’s power was Uris all along, one of her most persistent threats to her rule.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Thanks to Ida, Pieberry, Luna, and Eirudy all help Moccamori confront the Final Boss.
- Iron Butt-Monkey: Libro frequently is on the receiving end of Moccamori’s ire. This becomes pivotal when confronting Cecilia during her betrayal as no amount of damage she inflicts on him compares to what Moccamori does on a daily basis.
- The Maze: To find her way enter Varnado Garden and into Mirac's Spring, Moccamori must traverse through the Fairy's Maze and find the exit that teleports her to the garden's entrance. The maze is covered in a magic fog and transport magic is unable to work within the maze. Its sole inhabitant is the Maze Wanderer, a black-hearted deity who desired the garden's power for themselves but lost their body sometime in the past and is unable to leave for that reason. Thus, they attack Moccamori to steal her body for themself.
- Me's a Crowd: Defeating Moccamori's Shadow nets you the ability to summon three different versions of her in battle corresponding to her three different phases. As they're counted as separate Minions there's noting stopping you from using the other slots to summon another version of her if not all three of them.
- Pride Before a Fall: The game begins with Moccamori losing all of Agamo's accumulated magic power while defending herself from Ida and Uverstan, forcing her to start from scratch and train to get back to where she was before.
- Prefers the Illusion: Varon's motivation for opposing Moccamori is that he gets to see his home of Varnado pure once more within Adlai's dream and enjoy the sights with his lost friends. Even if it was false, he preferred it over the reality laid before him, and its strong enough to oppose Moccamori forcing her to cut down one of her first Minions and seal him back in Adlai's Soul Stone. Tragically, it revealed in the post-game that the Purity Flower Varon planted in an attempt to purify Varnado has begun to bore fruit, and given enough time it could realize his dream. Moccamori points this out to his Shadow and promises to make that dream into reality before continuing her journey through the Shadow World.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon waking from his near-fatal poisoning, Justice proceeds to use the magic Pieberry gifted him in her sacrifice to hunt down Moccamori and wrecks her castle in the process. Eirudy, Black Joe, and Luna arrive not too long after him and agree to taking revenge on Moccamori.
- Suddenly Speaking: Exceedrox, previously nothing more than a raging monster, gains the ability to speak in the post-game. He explains that he's connected to Moccamori's power and grew in powerful as she got stronger throughout her journey.
- Undying Loyalty: Libro is this amongst Moccamori's minions who have more selfish motivations to following her and is one of the original minions who don't betray her at all. At one point he flatly states he sees her as a friend through thick and thin, Agamo's power or not. A while it's revealed he ended up becoming her minion because she saved him, the post-game it's revealed by his shadow self reveals that he's just sincerely glad to have someone who appreciates his commitment after he was kicked out of Vavelia despite all the handwork and loyalty he put into serving the Pope.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Moccamori fits this. Having been suddenly granted the power of Agamo's magic, virtually nothing on Ürphea was able to compete with her. Thus, when depowered by Ida during the beginning of the game she's shocked at the prospect of having to train for the first time. Libro helps elaborates this later on by comparing Moccamori and Mariena in the context of expertise in fire magic. While the former surpasses the latter in sheer power, Mariena still has her beat in control over the element as while Mariena can carefully shape metal with it, Moccamori could only melt it into slag. It's also downplayed in that she still puts in the effort to train and learn magic for the rest of the game and is explicitly stated to favor lightning magic not unlike Pieberry and Luna's specialty in fire and ice, respectively.
WitchSpring R
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- Luna appears much earlier than either the first and second games. In the first game, Pieberry met Luna when she stumbles upon her house in the Icy Fields. In the second game, she meets Luna in a temple after being knocked into her by Justice.
- Livya and Kate are no longer characters exclusive to the post-game and are interweaved into the game's plotline. The former's corruption by Dark Magic Stones and the latter return as a vengeful wraith is adjusted to being made into becoming apart of the Pope's Executors.
- Adaptation Origin Connection: In ''WitchSpring2, Berto was the closest thing to being Luna's nemesis being Robin's direct superior who led her torture session following her capture at the hands of Crown and being the one directly responsible for Robin's corruption through Dark Magic Stones. Pieberry otherwise was never hinted to meet him at all. Here, his antagonism is directed towards Pieberry and is encountered much earlier though he is only involved Aimhard's temple plotline before being killed by Anna. His role as torturer is instead given to a nameless subordinate itching for revenge against Pieberry whom Robin disposes of similar to Berto (though unlike him, the attempt stuck). Robin still gets corrupted for his treachery.
- Adapted Out: Panda Kum and Alflady were introduced in the first and second games respectively but remain absent in the game.
- Advertised Extra: Ethan is among the prominently advertised characters and receives not only his own dialgoue illustration but also a place on the Evolving Title Screen and "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue. His role in the story, however, is minimal and only amounts to how he leaves for Ürphea which leads up to his role in the fourth game.
- Age Lift: Since the beginning of the series the Pope is an elderly man. R depicts him as a far younger man instead.
- Ascended Extra: Livya and Kate have more prominence in the main story as opposed to being relegated to post-game events.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Kate may look like any other villager in Lalaque but she claims to be a plant for the Pope to sniff out deities. Her introduction has her use a Wounded Gazelle Gambit on Pieberry to pit her against the Flying Squirrel Bandits. She ditches the sheep's clothing entirely upon being turned into the Curse Executor.
- Dead All Along: Anna has in fact been dead since the Spring Wars, what Pieberry meets and befriends is her ghost using Aimhard's power to stay behind in the living world for her daughter's sake.
- Dies Differently in the Adaptation:
- Berto in the second game perished during the final moments of the game after a Dual Boss consisting of himself and a corrupted Robyn. Here, Berto meets his end in Aimhard's temple as he and his men fall to a vengeful Anna binds their souls, sending them careening into the Shadow World.
- In the first two games Kate's ghost is defeated by either Pieberry or Luna in the post-game. Here, Livya recovers from the Pope's mind control and is one to deal the final blow to her just as she traps the party in restraint magic in the endgame.
- In the original games the Pope perished from being corrupted by the Dark Magic Stones before being purified by the Spring. In R, Jude runs his sword through his body instead. However, the Pope uses his last remaining strength to use restraint magic on him and gives an opening for Verstein to return the favor while also pinning him down so he can't escape Piebarry and Luna's attack.
- Disappears into Light: After Anna unleashes Aimhard's power, she holds on just long enough to say goodbye to Pieberry before she vanishes into motes of light leaving no body behind since she's been Dead All Along.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Teen Pieberry is quite open about using every opportunity she can to ogle Justice when he's a prisoner at the Death Squad's HQ.
- Fake Danger Gambit: The Golden Nuuk that "ate" Black Joe earlier was actually an untransformed Black Joe trying to coax Pieberry out of her house during the fallout of Anna's death.
- Guide Dang It!: A number of side quests require you to use a specific item in your inventory at a specific location, something the game never bothers to explain to you since most quests involving items just have you use them or hand them over via dialogue.
- Especially egregious in the case of Eison, the game's one and only aquatic mount and the only way to traverse water and reach several otherwise unobtainable items, pets and sidequests. You need to stand in front of it and use an Aged Lalaque Berry from your inventory, something that anywhere else has Pieberry eating it to gain +1 max MP. The only hint is in the berry's description, which you might never know about unless you obsessively check everything you pick up...
- Another example is Nekomis' cave in the Snow Field, which is hidden behind the only locked door in the game that isn't opened by interacting with it and picking the right key from your inventory. Instead you once again have to use the key from your inventory while standing in the right spot.
- Harmless Freezing: In Snow Field Entrance, Pieberry comes across Robin who is trapped in a block of ice. After freeing him with her fire magic (and almost accidentally roasting him in the process), Robin reveals that Luna was the one who froze him which was her way of lashing out at her friends' perceived betrayal. The harmless part is deliberate as she can be plenty deadly with ice magic when necessary and mourned having to put down his corrupted self during the finale.
- Heroic BSoD: Anna's sacrifice to dispose of Berto leaves Pieberry despondent. She's too distraught to eat anything, let alone leave the confines of her bed, and is totally dismissive of Black Joe's presence. It takes Black Joe's distress from being seemingly eaten by a Nuuk to get her to leave her house. Afterwards, she yells at Black Joe for almost getting himself killed.
- Loophole Abuse: Ralph points out that he's not actually breaking any laws when trading with Pieberry because nobody bothered to write such a law - witches are treated as monsters rather than people, after all.
- More than Mind Control: As a stark contrast to Miro and Livya, Kate retained her personality despite being tortured in the process of being turned into an Executor and her loyalty to the Pope is of her own volition. If anything, being turned into an Executor brought the worst of her into full-force.
- My Death Is Just the Beginning: As it turns out, the Temple Lords allowed Jude to betray and seemingly destroy them because a world without "gods" would create the conditions for humans and their own deity descendants to discover something they themselves had never figured out how to do...a way to purify Dark Magic.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Pieberry's idea for her first "disguise" to sneak into Lalaque Village is simply putting on a knight's helmet. Said helmet doesn't even fully hide her ears. Needless to say, she gets busted quickly once Justice sees her. She thankfully uses a much better one later on that allows to freely enter and explore human settlements as she pleases.
- Reforged into a Minion: After Livya's meeting with the Pope and she is tortured and transformed into the Hunt Executor when the Pope notes that she and her men couldn't have possibly stopped Kate and her demons by themselves.
- Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Anna is hit with this despite being the person whom Pieberry quest for pie of her dreams leads to while also being a Red Herring as Pieberry's mother. She later goes on to sacrifice herself for Pieberry, and her late daughter is later revealed to be the identity behind the Scythe Executor. Interestingly, while she is left out of promotional material the same can not be said for Verstein, Reina, and Airene, all of whom have a place on the game's website but have their names and description obscured by question marks. They are apart of the Death Squad, a legion of humans who are against the Pope's authority and serve as major allies in the latter half of the story.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Livya gets off easy in R compared to her original appearances. In the first and second games, she's relegated to an optional post-game encounter where Pieberry/Luna is forced to fight her due to being corrupted by Dark Magic Stones in an experiment. Her defeat leads to her solemnly saying goodbye to Justice before passing on. Here, while her experimentation and transformation into an Executor comes to pass in the main story she also gets cured of her condition by the story's end.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: Following Anna's death, Pieberry refuses to eat anything Black Joe gives her even as entire days pass.
- Tragic Keepsake: Pieberry keeps Aimhard's necklace after Anna passes away. Wearing it around her neck turns out to be a good thing as during the final battle the last parts of Anna's soul gets to meet with Miro which breaks the Pope's brainwashing.
- Trailers Always Spoil:
- Generally promotional material for the game does not shy away from showing Pieberry's older form after receiving Elysion's blessing.
- The third trailer shows Jude's dragon form, the Final Boss of the game, on a rampage following his defeat.
- The trailer for the game's release brazenly show the first appearance of Kate's Curse Executor form.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Kate's Establishing Character Moment is pleading for Pieberry to go rescue her non-existent brother from the Flying Squirrel Bandits in the hope's of getting rid of both. When that fails, she decides to blow up the cave with a gunpowder stockpile.