[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s_Tale_-_Cover_Art_1836.jpg]]

''A Witch's Tale'' is an [[RolePlayingGame RPG]] video game developed by Hitmaker and published by Creator/NipponIchi for the Nintendo DS in 2009. The game revolves around a feisty witch-in-training, Liddell, who aspires to be the greatest witch in the world. After entering a mysterious castle and opening a TomeOfEldritchLore, Liddell releases the Eld Witch, an evil being who was [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] by Queen Alice thousands of years ago.

The castle's owner, the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent narcoleptic, tomato-eating vampire Loue]], tells her that she must take responsibility for her actions and work to save the lands she put in peril. While at first resistant, Liddell agrees, and they go to save the land's princesses.

[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused]] with the 2010 DS game ''VideoGame/WitchsWish'', a much lighter game that also features a witch-in-training and GeometricMagic.
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!!This game provides examples of:
* AfterTheEnd: Florin is completely different from how it was after dark magic wiped out the race that used to live there. [[spoiler: You get to see what Florin was like in the past in the NewGamePlus.]]
* AliceAllusion: The game has characters from ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'', including the Cheshire Cat, Jabberwock, Mad Hatter, March Hare, White Rabbit, and Dormouse. The main character, Liddell, takes her name from the last name of the real Alice, and her doll Dayna takes her name from Alice's cat Dinah.
* AllJustADream:
** [[spoiler: The entire first playthrough is this, brought on by Queen Alice to test Liddell. The NewGamePlus is the real adventure, and contains story elements not seen in the first one.]]
** [[spoiler: The second playthrough is also this, but it's a 'real' dream]].
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The Japanese box art has Liddell looking mischievous and more on the adorable side of her BadassAdorable persona while the American art leans more towards the badass side.
* AutoRevive: Loue's tomatoes will automatically revive Liddell if she falls, replenish her magic and HP, and hit the enemy with a powerful attack.
* BackstoryHorror: ''Every kingdom'' has this.
** Rem Sacchras was created by Queen Alice to make a seventh kingdom in order to complete the seal on the Eld Witch. But the land was ruled by evil, and to appease the evil being, she chose to sacrifice the younger twin princess from Rem Boreas, and the younger sister's bitterness towards being sacrificed manifested in poison.
** The Eld Witch's daughters wreaked havoc on Rem Boreas, killing the Ice Queen's two daughters in the process. It's treated as a legend, but the shadow blocking the way to the Shadow Lands in Shadow Town speaks of her home freezing over and how the Ice Rune killed her and her sister.
** The Eld Witch ruined Florin, which was then occupied by the Winged. She killed all of the peaceful Winged and burned their wings off, and Rapunzel's diary describes the pain she felt when it happened.
** Oceria was originally a surface kingdom, but got submerged when the Eld Witch's third daughter grew jealous of its magic, and Aquell was forced to become a mermaid to defend the land.
** In Al'Sahra, the Eld Witch's daughters cursed the land to burn forever. The Eld Witch killed Princess Shahrazad the day after she was crowned, and Lyra is tormented with nightmares of what happened.
** Artis fought in the war without magic at all, using machines. They were all turned into scrap, including Dorothy's dear friends.
* BadassAdorable: Liddell and the princesses are adorable and can kick butt.
* BadassCape: Loue, especially in [=CG=]s and [[spoiler:in the boss fight against him]].
* BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad: Liddell leans more on the mischievous side, thinking torture instruments are awesome, romance is hackneyed, and that ancient, destructive magic is just what she needs to be a great witch. She ''does'' like sweets, though.
* BigBad: The Eld Witch is the source of the evils plaguing the lands.
* BlushSticker: Almost every character has blush stickers except for the Eld Witch and the Cheshire Cat.
* BrickJoke: Babayaga hitting Liddell on the head at the very beginning of the game turns out to be part of the ending.
* CantDropTheHero: Justified in that Liddell is the one magically controlling her dolls.
* CatGirl: The aptly-named Kitty.
* CatsAreMean: The Cheshire Cat is pretty insensitive to Liddell, not caring when she cries. In the unlockable Blackjack mini-game, he will tease you. A lot.
* CatsHateWater: Averted, as the Cheshire Cat meets you above and below the ocean. He has no problem teleporting you underwater, either.
* CharacterDevelopment: Liddell starts out selfish and uncaring, only wanting to fix what she started because she'd become more powerful. As the game goes on, she starts to genuinely care about the consequences of her actions and grows determined to stop the Eld Witch because it's the right thing to do.
* CherryBlossoms: Florin is filled with these; there's even a FetchQuest where you help two souls in different gardens reunite. When you first see a particular sakura tree, the Mad Hatter talks about their connection to death.
* CheshireCatGrin: The Cheshire Cat is in this mode almost all the time.
* TheChosenOne: Liddell was chosen to wield the ancient magic. Loue mentions that the same thing happened with Alice 1,000 years ago. [[spoiler: Liddell is also chosen to ''become'' Alice if the current one dies]].
* ClingyJealousGirl: Aquell is this towards Liddell, believing Loue is hers.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The CPU always knows exactly what your total is in the Blackjack game.
* CoolOldLady: Babayaga helps Liddell out, gives her advice, and sells potions and items.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The shading on the American box art makes Liddell look like she has brown hair. She's a blonde.
* CrapsaccharineWorld: Rem Sacchras is a candy-coated world made of sweets, and its ruler is equally sweet, but its backstory involved sacrificing a girl to create it, which manifested in poison.
* CuteWitch: Liddell and the princesses are adorable and kick butt with their magical abilities.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Dorothy doesn't trust ''anyone'' at first, but gradually warms up to Liddell.
* EarlyGameHell: Just gaining your first level will be extremely difficult, since enemies give you very low EXP and can hit fairly hard, especially in the Candy Maze. You also have only 100 MP when the Ancient Rune magic costs 99 MP.
* EasyLevelsHardBosses: Regular battles can actually be challenging if the player doesn't spam Liddell's Ancient Magic. The bosses, however, are designed with this in mind and are a lot harder.
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Pretty much wherever you touch with the stylus, sparkles appear.
* FaceHeelTurn:
** [[spoiler:Loue undergoes this temporarily when you fight him for his doll.]]
** In the NewGamePlus, [[spoiler:Anne grows up to become the Eld Witch]].
* FairyTaleMotifs: Aside from familiar ones, like Snow White and Hansel and Gretel, it also has references to ''Literature/TheSnowQueen'', ''[[Literature/ArabianNights A Thousand And One Nights]]'' and ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. Princess Kaguya is also a reference to Kaguya-hime, a princess in Japanese folklore who came from the moon.
* FashionableAsymmetry: Liddell wears one striped stocking and one purple one with holes in it.
* GainaxEnding: Both playthroughs have one.
** The first playthrough ends with [[spoiler:the Eld Witch killing Alice. After her defeat, Loue and the Wonderland inhabitants try to force Liddell to become their new Queen. The screen goes red, and then Liddell wakes up--the entire playthrough was a dream when Baba Yaga hit her on the head, but it's later revealed it was a test from Queen Alice]].
** The second playthrough ends with [[spoiler:Liddell killing the Eld Witch, who is revealed to have been Anne and transforms into her as she dies. Liddell begs her to live, but it's too late, and she dissolves into ashes. Liddell works her way through the maze and is told that death isn't always the end. Then she meets the six princesses, who tell her that this was all a dream Queen Alice created on Liddell's side of reality, and it's time for her to wake up. They hope to meet Liddell in real life and bid her farewell. Liddell wakes up in her room and can't remember her dream, but she has Anne's bracelet with her. Loue is seen on the rooftop above her]].
* GenderBlenderName: Princess Hansel has a masculine name, but is a girl.
* GeniusLoci: The Demon's Mouth Inn is alive, and swallows Liddell to restore her health.
* GeometricMagic: Runes are drawn on the touch screen to cast powerful magic.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Liddell wanted to find a powerful spellbook to become a great witch. She found the spell but also unsealed the Eld Witch.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Alice did what needed to be done to stop the Eld Witch, including sacrificing a princess to create the seal and denying the Eld Witch's daughters reincarnations.
* TheGoomba: Slip Cranes are very easy to kill even if you have no magic.
* GreenEyedMonster: The Eld Witch and her daughters were jealous of the surface world, which led them to invade it.
* GreenThumb: Kaguya's doll ability is to cast a powerful Biota spell.
* TheGrimReaper: Death appears in preset treasure chests and breakable obstacles as a bonus boss where he must be killed quickly or he'll kill the entire party.
* GuideDangIt:
** Finding all the cards can take quite a while. [[spoiler: You can't get them all until the NewGamePlus]].
** It's quite hard to find your way around and get the required items for each world, so the whole game can qualify for this.
* AnIcePerson: Hansel's doll ability is to cast a powerful Frei spell.
* KilledOffForReal: This can happen to any of Liddell's dolls if she runs out of the Rainbow Yarn items needed to repair them if they run out of HP.
* LegacyCharacter: Seen in the first playthrough's ending. [[spoiler:Liddell is forced to become the new Alice after the current one is killed... whether she wants to or not]].
* LevelAte: The kingdom of Rem Sacchras is made of sweets.
* LevelUpFillUp: The biggest incentive to just spam Liddell's Ancient Magic on everything. More often than not, she'll gain a level before fully running out of MP.
* LimitBreak: Every 10 or so battles are a "BURST!" battle wherein the critical hit rate for all party members massively increases and the team earns 2x the experience after winning.
* MakingASplash: Aquell's doll ability is to cast a powerful Supra spell.
* MetalSlime: The card monsters have low HP, but max defense and a very high chance to run away. Luckily, if you fail to defeat them you can leave the room and come back.
* MindScrew: Both endings are very confusing and dreamlike, as befits the Wonderland theme.
* MoodWhiplash: At the end of the first playthrough, we get a scary scene, and then not two seconds later, the peppy end credits music.
* MrExposition: The Wonderland characters. Lampshaded by the Dormouse, who asks if it's Exposition Day.
* NeverSayDie: Defeated monsters are crushed into bits instead of dying, including bosses.
* NewGamePlus: Unlike some cases, it is actually incorporated into the plot. [[spoiler: It's the ''real'' adventure]], and contains story elements not seen in the first run.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The game starts off with Liddell unsealing the Eld Witch, leading to the rest of the adventure.
* OptionalBoss: [[spoiler:You can fight Loue for his doll just before going to Lenore]].
* OrWasItADream: [[spoiler:The second playthrough ends with Liddell waking up from a dream, but she still has Anne's necklace]].
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Rather than feast on blood, Loue eats tomatoes.
* OxygenatedUnderwaterBubbles: When Liddell is under the sea, she'll constantly take minor damage and lose air until she finds air bubbles.
* ParentalAbandonment: Poor [[spoiler: Liddell]] was abandoned by her mother at the school at a young age.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: One of the cards can only be obtained in a one-shot area available in the NewGamePlus, so missing out on it there means it's gone for good.
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Gretel wears pink while Hansel wears blue. Otherwise, the two girls dress quite similarly.
* PlayingWithFire: Lyra's doll ability is to cast a powerful Volc spell.
* PointOfNoReturn: Entering the final world after obtaining the six sigils. Loue explicitly warns about this.
* PoisonousPerson: Gretel's doll ability is to cast a powerful Vile spell.
* PosthumousCharacter:
** Princess Rapunzel, who was the first princess of Florin, is only seen posthumously.
** Alice killed the Eld Witch's daughters and denied them reincarnation rights. In the NewGamePlus you can fight their hateful shadows.
* PrincessesRule: Each of the lands [[spoiler: except for Queen Alice's]] is ruled by a Princess.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Eld Witch and the Cheshire Cat all have red eyes, and the Eld Witch is the game's BigBad while the Cat is a nasty TricksterMentor.
* SaveThePrincess: Liddell must save all six princesses before she can meet Queen Alice.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Eld Witch was sealed in an ancient tome before Liddell let her out.
* SequelHook: After the second playthrough, we see Loue watching Liddell from a rooftop as he contemplates her future.
* ShockAndAwe: Dorothy's doll ability is to cast a powerful Thun spell.
* ShoutOut:
** To ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'', ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', to name a few.
** The art style is based on ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Hansel's kingdom is a snow-bound land. It has sections where you move the stylus and go flying in one direction, and must navigate icicle mazes.
* StockControlSettings: Averted, as the entire game is played using the touchscreen, despite the existence of {{Platform/SNES}}-style buttons on the DS.
* SwallowedWhole: The Demon's Mouth Inn is alive, and swallows Liddell to restore her health. (It warns her that it might accidentally digest her.)
* TearsOfBlood: The White Rabbit cries perpetual tears of blood.
* TomboyishName: Hansel is a girl in spite of her name traditionally being a boy's.
* TomeOfEldritchLore: Liddell wanted to find a powerful spellbook to become a great witch. She found the spell but also unsealed the Eld Witch.
* TooKinkyToTorture: Liddell sees a torture room early on and admires it.
* {{Tsundere}}: Liddell has elements of this towards Loue, as she berates him for patting her on the head but secretly likes it.
* UniversallyBelovedLeader: Queen Alice is adored and revered by all of her subjects, especially Liddell.
* VegetarianVampire: Loue eats tomatoes, not blood.
* WasOnceAMan: Aquell was once human, but Alice needed her power and turned her into a mermaid in exchange for Oceria helping in the war.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Justified since the dolls can't move without Liddell powering them.
* WinterRoyalLady: Hansel is dressed in a fur coat, and is the ruler of the ice kingdom.
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