The Witch's House MV - Pikasprey 

I always loved the ending, cuz through the whole game i thought it was strange that Viola always had a blank look on her face and never seemed distressed or scared. And then that ending explained it.

But can you beat Witch's House with only a Ditto?

Extra mode does have another scene. At the end of the true ending viola gets shot only once and noticeably it leaves only one crater in her head (normally its two). A bit later the cat appears and whisks viola away and then the scene ends. Which leads me to believe viola isnt dead if you remember the cat mentioned that once she and her magic dies he goes away as well considering the lack of the second gunshot and the fact that the cat is still there its more than likely the second shotgun blast killed viola while the 1st only incapacitated her. Im thinking a sequel might happen all things considered.

One small secret that I love in this game is the distractions in the 'don't get distracted' room. See, the puzzles in the game won't let you solve them until you look at their clue. So if you skip past the clue before the room, you CAN 'get distracted' and both read a secret diary entry and get an extra save with the cat. Supposedly you can save with this cat to get the 'no-save' ending but I have yet to try that myself. Still nifty though.

Gem Collecting is easily my favorite series of yours, glad to finally see it again.

The frog is one of the smartest things in this game since they allow you to pet it. I petted that frog a lot, I was so happy to see him and told that little frog it was gonna be me and him and that we'd escape together. Then in Extra mode after you have to relive the trauma and you just want to get things over with, the game says fuck you you have to actively drag this traumatized frog out his fucking hole to kill him. The only solace I have is distancing myself saying that it wasn't me who killed him, it was just an evil witch Ellen this whole time. Such ingenious game design in this one, one of my favorites and one of the best.

Oh, I was hoping you’d mention the novel! It’s one of my favorite reads, and has a lot of information that isn’t in the game. This was a really great video, thank you for making it! I’m definitely going to look into the MV version a bit more now. Also, spoilers for the no save run ahead, but: You’re automatically prompted to save right before the final chase scene in all runs, and if you look carefully, the location is listed as “my room” and “Viola’s” portrait is smiling very slightly, like she already knows she’s won.

i love how calm you sound on your yellow channel videos compared to how angry you get on the blue channel lmao. glad to see this made it on to this channel!

You might say "The game was rigged from the start"

Few other points that's only available in Extra mode (other than different puzzles, etc.): 1. The final chase sequence in the extra mode added pools of blood on some places that if Viola once stepped on it, Viola would automatically get slower, slow enough for the witch to caught her. 2. Once you've reached the final scene in the true ending, texts appeared, stating that it was the father who unable to recognize his own daughter that pushed Viola-in Ellen's body-over the edge of despair. And one of the diaries (I think) said that a witch would die once the witch despaired and/or the flower wilted. I can't tell if you know these already or not. So, correct me if I'm wrong and feel free to add more.

One of the things that makes this game work so well is how quick it moves. You die so much but it doesn't matter because there's no long game over scenes and lost progress. It's just bam, you die, and you can continue exactly from where you left off.

I... hate that I love this game. Because it's so unrewarding, so sad. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time I remember the endings. And yet, I wouldn't ever dare deny it's a very, VERY good horror game, maybe even a masterpiece (imho) The fact that it's all so hopeless, so nihilistic, is precisely what makes it good. It's what made stuff like Mad Father good, too. Humans love feeling bad.

10:43 - That smile haunts me. It's almost imperceptible; barely any different from her neutral face during the rest of the game (10:34).

Your monotone completes these videos in a way I couldn’t possibly describe accurately, and it’s why I’m subscribed.

1:55 You became a Viola-sandwich.

I played this game based on your recommendation and was not disappointed. I was slightly underwhelmed by the initial ending, but once I got the second ending and saw the twist I understood everything. And in that regard, the ending to this game is the perfect conclusion to the type of story it was trying to tell. The fact that it's so bitter and nihilistic will mean this game isn't for everyone, but not every story is meant for everyone in the first place so it doesn't mean much.

I read a comment (by Luna Talia) that said "The novel is just sad. It makes me think that the two of them are merely victims all along. Dang demon cat." Truthfully, ever since reading the novel, at 11:55 when he says, "Those were just the efforts of a dying girl trying to save herself," my thought is, "That statement applies to Ellen as much as Viola." Viola was trying to save herself…but so was Ellen. I don't think Ellen's backstory excuses what she did to Viola. But if there was ever a story where I could understand why the villain believed that she was justified, it's this one. Ellen's a victim too. Her parents failed her, and then the demon failed her. After that, everyone was going to fail her, no matter what they did. She never experienced real love or friendship, so she craved an unrealistic, idealized form of it. It was inevitable that everyone she met would fail to love her correctly, and thus invite her wrath. And after experiencing the kind of suffering, negligence, betrayal, and loneliness that she experienced, I can't confidently say that I wouldn't have done the same as she did. If all I wanted was love and a life without endless pain, and I'd been after that for centuries, and I knew that sacrificing a few dozen people was the only way to grant that wish, I might do it. Ellen's life was barely worth living in the end. I don't expect anyone to willingly live like that, or simply let themselves perish, even if the alternative is to hurt or kill other people. She was more or less a cornered animal, reduced to a state where she'd do whatever it took to save herself. I think Ellen truly believed that the world owed her love, owed her the life that her illness and her parents and the demon denied her. It's hard to blame her for feeling that way. She got dealt one of the worst hands imaginable, and it truly wasn't fair. Where she went wrong was in believing that her life and happiness were more important than other people's, and that hurting other people for her own ends was any more fair than the suffering she endured. But even that error in reasoning isn't fully her fault. She was seven years old. She may have acquired great knowledge over the centuries, but she was still a seven-year-old girl with a seven-year-old mind. She never stood a chance. Sometimes, after reading the novel, I'm inclined to see Ellen's victory as a happy ending. Even though her means were evil and unforgivable, I can't help but be relieved that she got what she wanted, and ended her suffering. Viola's suffering was brief; I like to think that the ghosts' suffering is over now; and in exchange, Ellen gets to have at least a little bit of happiness and love. …And if I thought that would be the end of it, that no one would have to suffer or die for her ever again, I could be happy for her, however grudgingly. But I don't think Ellen has the emotional capacity to live a normal life. As I said earlier, no one will ever be able to love her correctly. I'm convinced that her life with Viola's father will quickly turn sour, and end with either his death, or hers. If it's his, I'm worried what Ellen will do after that. Even without her magic, she's likely capable of great destruction. She might never stop carving a swathe of pain and death through every trace of humanity she meets, seeking but never finding the kind of love she wants, never once considering that she might be the problem.

The game's creator has a lengthy warning on their site that basically boils down to "do not bash ellen or create fanwork that undoes ellen's 'happy ending' in any way, shape or form". More JP players tend to respect that wish than not, but outside of Japan where people generally didn't go through that message to access the game it's been pretty much _lmao_ _game's_ _out_ _then_ _it's_ _out_ _bich_ Which is, I mean, hard to say was unexpected with that kind of ending. Even in JP there are plenty of fanart/fanfic/fan theory etc of Witch's House that would detract from the creator's warning, they're just kept out of sight of the creator in a don't ask don't tell fashion.

I see the Witch's House as the quintessential RPGmaker horror game. It set the bar massively high for other RPGmaker horror games to kick into outer space and it's honestly a personal favourite of mine.

I'm not a horror game person in the least bit, but I love watching your reviews. While I don't like playing horror games, I still think that tragic horror stories like these are fascinating. I watched this video like 5 hours ago and I still get chills from remembering the ending. The fact the true ending is what it is actually kinda leaves me feeling empty despite never playing it. I can definitely see why this game is a gem.

The ending still makes me so upset whenever I think about it 😩

I watched a let's play of the original and the ending punched me in the gut very hard, but I didn't know Ellen did that to her own body on purpose *shivers*

This new version definitely deserves way more recognition. This is really good remaster . I wish other games get this kind of treatment.

Ooh I love when he uploads, doesnt even matter what

The ending pissed me off so much, making me feel sooo bad for the real Viola. The dev is a genius bastard and i'm glad they made this game xd Also thanks for showing that alt ending where you wait RL time to unlock it, just goes to show that EVERY ending ends up with Viola suffering severe emotional and physical pain... :(

Rip frog, you were my only friend

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the game Mad Father.

When I first played this game, the ending threw me for a loop. As much as I feel bad for Viola, you realize she's just one of the many victims within the house. Everyone failed before her and now once again.

The fact that you've lost before even starting is kinda fucked up when it comes to a game Still a good ending tho

Hey man I love this channel, don’t ever feel bad for not posting Pokémon related stuff, you rock !

Honestly, I hate The Witch's House for that ending and the fact that you can't get a good one. It just makes me feel so sad and empty and dead inside - and I've never even played the game myself, just WATCHING that ending makes me feel depressed. It's powerful, certainly, and effective, but I still hate it for how painful it is. Anyway, good to see you again, Pik! It's always a good time when you make a video.

i just wanted to say pikasprey, you are by far one of my favorite youtubers. I love your writing, presentation, sense of humor, interests, its all just wonderful. Seeing you've uploaded is always one of the highlights of my day

I was waiting for this review The Witch's house is easily one of my favorite RPG horror games! 😆

Late to the party but ought to mention - the pseudo secret ending was only available through the normal route in the free version of the game. Normal mode back then seemed impossible to defeat. Now, it's changed to extra mode - beat extra mode without saving and you'll be able to see the cutscene at the end with the cat

Just to be clear on something with regards to the alternate ending, it's stated that in this universe, witches can only die once they've reached a certain level of despair. In the normal and true endings, this is reached when Viola's Dad shoots her not realizing that was actually his daughter, along with him calling her a monster and the knowledge that Ellen has gotten away with her plan. The shotgun blasts aren't what kill her, it's the despair. In the alternate ending, it's implied to be the realization that Ellen simply will not come back inside. Since the witch's power extends exactly as far as the boundaries of the house, so long as Ellen never steps foot inside, she's completely helpless to do anything to her, thus her plans are foiled before they could even take off and there's nothing she can do about it. The injuries don't kill her, it's the knowledge that Ellen's patience is stronger than Viola's will that forces her to succumb to her despair. The injuries Ellen inflicts to her body before the switch was mostly just to garner more sympathy and to ensure Viola would suffer as much as possible in her new body, as is evidenced by the supplementary material. A witch cannot die so long as they have even the slightest amount of hope left in them... Which does bring up the question of what happens when a witch's physical body is annihilated, but spirits clearly exist in this universe, so it's possible the witch's spirit would just need to find a new host, if not be able to simply recreate their body from nothing, but that's irrelevant. EDIT: Oh yikes, that's actually not entirely true. Information in The Diary Of Ellen as well as this game actually lead to the conclusion that it's the fading of the witch's magic that kills Viola in the "______" ending, NOT JUST the despair. (If it even played a role in her death at all!) While crossing the threshold of despair is established as a way to kill a witch here, the "pseudo-third ending" also reveals that the magic of the house (and thus the magic that's keeping Ellen's body alive) is running out. Simply waiting for an hour is long enough for it to run out and prevent the magic from keeping that body functioning any longer. ...Which doesn't seem to make too much sense? The normal endings have the game finish up at around nightime, apparently. The "______" ending finishes up, well, about an hour after the game starts? Meaning it's still daytime. Why would not moving an inch cause the magic to run out *faster?* Maybe the despair really DOES have a hand in killing Viola after all...?

Have you heard of End Roll? It's a really good phycological horror game.

God everytime I get the notification that he uploaded something I get cozy and watch it as soon as I can. He deserves more subs.

the new MV version looks really good!

sure the bad ending adds to the atmosphere and stuffs, but it is extreamly disturbing being the true ending. idk, i might be too fradgile for these kinds of stories i almost cried when i killed toriel after she spared me and that was when i was 17 (im still 17)

You know a game’s story is good if pikasprey summarizing it makes you sad

I'll always have a spot in my heart for this game

Damnit Pikasprey. Now I gotta go watch ManlyBadassHero play Pocket Mirror again. "OH BOY!"

I don't know if you saw it but during one section of the game (at least in the original) where it's completely dark and have to follow a path (in both ways), if you open up the menu, you can see a twisted portrait of "viola". Look if it's still there too. (You were there at 14:00)

I LOVE the true ending of this game, it's one of my favorite game endings, if not THE favorite. Hard to tell. I didn't know about this remaster, nor about the novel and manga. Thanks for showing me this, Pikasprey! I surely will look for it.

Pre-Internet, I remember completing Silent Hill 1. Being unaware of the multiple endings the game had, I got "the bad one" IE Harry actually died in the car crash and the entire game was in his head. It wasn't until Silent Hill 3, years later, I actually realised that ending wasn't the actual one. Darker endings in Horror, are what separates it from other genres, which is a good thing.

Wow, you finally talk about the Witch's House. I really liked horror RPG's back in the day.

My heart flutters every time you post a new vid

It's so entertaining to watch these RPG horror games It's nice aesthetic and sounds make it feel like your reading a scary visual novel

Another Gem Collecting! This is my favorite of your series, Pika

I love the direction you're heading in. I love RPG horrors.

ugh why did you remind me of this. I managed to get over the trauma of this after like a year...now it's back

Every time I see a new video from you, my day is brightened up.

6:06 that's..kind of mess up since we are controling a little girl and stuff 10:27 ...never mind, let's make her suffer

Thank you for covering this game it's probably the only horror game I played through just to see all the endings now I've gotta replay it for the remaster.

Nice to see your take on this game! I felt frustrated with the true ending, but I do agree with you that it's what makes this game so good. The plot twist is completely unexpected, and the way it's delivered to us is something I wish more games could be able of doing. I can usually catch irregularities during plotlines that point towards a plot twist so I'm never surprised, and this game was the first to really catch me completely surprised when I realized what really had happened. The new version has seen so much improvement, too, it's nice seeing something getting well-deserved attention and care even after it's been around for a while.

Thank you for reviewing one of my favorite games of all time!

Ah yes, ... The glorious times of indie-horror-RU-vid. I wished it would return. It was the time where I first subbed to someone. Back when Markiplier was a medium-small channel. I miss these times.

Well, I still wished that there's an alternate ending if players do the no save run in Extra mode. Like if they really did it, then there's the reward for them..

oh my goooood i didnt even know this was remade!!!!

That was a really nice video! I actually had no idea it got a remake! I used to watch Pewdiepie play it and really loved it (especially the brilliant ending) and love to see it get more attention :D

Oh boy. [SPOILERS AHEAD] I'm super late to this video, so it might get buried, but to all the folks wishing there was a good ending: 1.) They are exactly the type of people the game creator was targeting with laser focus. People who believed in the best, most optimistic view possible. Keep note of this, as it's important! 2.) The ending was the perfect way to end the game because it accomplishes the goal it set out on 100%. Hopelessness, betrayal, and futility. 3.) The game flat out tells you through the ENTIRE game that this ending was going to happen. From the very second you set foot in the house. I want you guys to remember a death trap in this game. ANY death trap. Got one in your mind? Okay. I can assure you the trap involves one or more of the following: malice, betrayal, and useless hospitality. Some puzzles involve you being mean and killing/destroying things simply because it's stopping you to get what you want. Others involve about either lying to someone/something or dying due to someone deceiving YOU. And the rest involve you doing the "nice thing" and IMMEDIATELY getting punished for it. And what's worse and great is that the game, early on, tells you these things in explicit detail from how the game will go from start, middle, and ending. Don't believe me? Well. You may remember a certain book from the library in this game from early on. (I've time stamped it here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u6Qh6qo998M.html ) but I'll transcribe it for you guys: "A Funny Story" Once upon a time, there was a rich man pulling along a cart full of treasure. His cart broke down in the middle of the woods, but then a hunter and his dog came along. The rich man pleaded to the hunter to keep a close eye on his cart, to which the hunter agreed. The rich man went to get a new cart. Meanwhile, the hunter kept watch. Night soon fell, and the hunter grew worried for his elderly mother still at home. So the hunter told the dog to watch the cart and went home to check on his mother. When the man returned, he saw the dog on guard, so he gave the dog a reward for his master, a silver coin, to carry in his mouth. The dog ran all the way home and brought his master the coin. But the hunter flew into a rage. "I told you to watch the cart, and what did you do? You stole from it!" So the master killed the dog. At which point the chair next to you HOWLS with laughter; a sudden, loud, shameless laugh which cuts the silence. The chair wasn't meant to be a scare. It was laughing at YOU, the player, over getting japed by the game's creator. He's laughing about how you are so BLISSFULLY unaware that the story is all about not only Viola in-universe, but you, the player. Allow me to outline it, roughly. A nice man with something desirable gets stuck in the woods. | Viola (and her desirable vitality) visits the witch in the woods. | You, playing the game, start in the goods, playing a game which you hope is fun (or a desirable experience). The hunter promises to the rich man he'll do him a favor and watch over his desirable treasure. | Viola agrees to let the witch "borrow" her body for "a little bit". | The player is told the objective to "win" is to escape the woods + the witch's house. The dog does his duty and is given a reward to give his master. | Viola and the witch go with the process of swapping bodies, giving the witch something for her ails. | The player sees the non-knife ending after doing their job ("beating" the game). Due to a misunderstanding, the dog is shot and killed for doing his job and having a reward. | Viola is fooled and becomes stuck in the witch's mutilated, bleeding body, set to die for daring to help someone out. Because, like point #1, she was optimistic about how things would work out. | The player goes through the extra effort of getting the "good" ending, which ends up biting the player as their efforts only get them a WORSE ending. One that punishes them for getting the first ending. While you may find those parallels unconvincing, think about the game as a whole. The themes of "A Funny Story", and the True Ending in general, are all about being lethally punished for doing what you were supposed to do. Every last puzzle, every last character, every last decision, every last ROOM, all revolve around: malice to others (the witch to Viola, and the player to the game), betrayal (the witch doesn't give her body back, the game with its worse True Ending), and useless hospitality (Viola is now dead for her generosity, the player for taking the time and effort to beat the game). And that book is something you can find within 10-15 minutes of the game. You had the chance to back out, but you went through thinking and hoping for the best, but you got shot in the face. And still you hope for the best like Viola trying to get her body back in boh ending sequences? Well. We saw how that went. tl;dr: Ignore the navel gazing about how "games don't need a happy ending" and know that every last thing in the game from the very beginning was telling you how it was going to end. But you never listened. And if you still want a happy ending, then the game has already beaten you.

I watched the entire series when Markiplier played the original. I think he should check out the remastered version and someone needs to tell him about the manga and novel!

The thing I liked about RPG maker horror games like this one is how there was an actual story with the horror. Other than silent hill, you'd be hard pressed to find remotely popular horror games with a genuinely good story at the time. I almost never touch horror since I'm a bit of a pussy and I don't really like the thrill of being scared, but when you give me genuine intrigue I'm more than willing to play your game. Less gross out horror is better too imo.

In the Mv version you have to do the extra difficulty to get the life cat ending

So you could say the good ending is letting viola catch you...?

How did you know I was using the internet?

love how this channel's balances itself with gem collecting and pokemon, love the content tho.

Mad Father is actually pretty interesting when you realize its connection to Misao, particularly the definitive edition. Alfred Drevis becomes the mad scientist monster from Misao, and a clone of Aya becomes “Library”. If you try to name her Aya in the Definitive Edition, she even remarks how “only father can call her that”. And Ogre is just… Ogre.

Thank you so much for introducing me to this game. What a delightful, frightening little masterpiece.

The ending of this game is just wow. Mostly when you are playing a game you feel like a hero like you are standing against immeasurable odds and wanting the main character to overcome said odds. Their victory is a sign of accomplishment and you feel accomplished by having them succeed. Here though. Well what exactly do you accomplish? Well you just ruined an innocent girl's life and sent her spirit to hell when she just wanted her body back. Sure there may be some tragic undertones to our main character as to why she did the whole body swap spell in the first place (sickness and abuse). It kind of sheds light on how nasty we could be when stripped to our basic instinct and how crazy we are to willingly place someone else under the rug if it means our own survival. So while at the same time this main character can garner some degree of sympathy it also garners some hatred as well because let's face it. The way she boasted her victory in her victim's face was kind uncalled for and very mean.

Wow, no one told me the game even got a novel and a manga! Sadly in my case I think I was spoiled about the ending, and thats pretty much the entire plot of the game so that part was ruined for me and it didnt blow my mind. But I did enjoy the gameplay part of it a lot, though the game was way too short compared to other good horror rpg maker games like Corpse Party and Ib.

It's so funny/entertaining to me to watch these vids where you seem very objective and stoic, then I watch your let's plays and you're so worked up and salty.

The novel is just sad. It makes me think that the two of them are merely victims all along. Dang demon cat.

Ib got me into RPG horror

This is literally a series of rpgmaker maker games and I like it.

How tf am I just hearing about this remake? Either way, I'm so happy this a thing!

Pikasprey Nostalgia Moment Video For Today

I remember the Witch's House. While I haven't played the game myself because when it comes to horror games I'm a huge baby, I was able to see the feel of it because of watching Tobuscus. Seeing the Witch's House MV gave me a sense of nostalgia because of this, and makes me want to get it, but I wouldn't be able to buy the MV version because of my money situation. I can't give the game a proper rating due to not playing it myself, but I from others experience and what I've seen I would give the original The Witch's House a 7/10 while the Witch's House MV would get an 8/10.

This is actually one of my favorite games of all time

Another Pikasprey video!? Thank you and I love your channel!

Always knew MV to mean "mac version" in regard to RPG maker, so seeing this for the first time threw me for a loop lol

Dunno if you have, but uninstall it, and reinstall it. Go to the hall where you "Don't veer off" or "get distracted", but do NOT read the note that tells you this. Now, you can, as long as never read that note, wander around, save your game, check the cat, and read the books. For a bit more lore.

I remember watching markiplier playing this a few years ago but I barely remember any of it. I'll have to play the remakes of some of these games, and I already did with mad father a while ago.

the reason u couldnt get the cat alive at the end may have been reading the 'dont get distracted' sign as u need to ignore it as the distraction room has a small room to the right u can access with a diary entry that u have to read as with the others iirc.

Man why'd you have to remind me of this :,(

It’s always a good day when you upload

1:58 I'm always ready

Please make more gem collecting videos, these are great, could you also do a video about Ib, Mad Farher, Crooked Man, Corpse Party and/or Ao Oni?

16:38 someday pocket mirror, someday...

2 years and we still haven't gotten the thing he promised WHO CARES AT LEAST WE HAV DIS

woa, this went under my radar! thanks for reviewing this :)

I hate how I spoiled the true ending for myself when playing this game. I thought that I wasn't going to be able to get the knife during the chase sequence because this was my first horror game and I was quite jumpy with the traps and such, so when I got the "good" ending, I left it at that to go read the game's TV Tropes page. I kept seeing things about Ellen being in Viola's body...

If anyone is interested in reading the novel, it's worth it your time. The person who tranlated both the original game and MV, vgperson, also translated the novel. It goes more in depth into the Ellen's backstory and has some cool call backs to some of the game's deaths. Like the game's true ending, it is quite sad and explains why the witch did that to Viola.

I love that this game just completely fucks you over with expectations. Just saying to the player, "There is no happy ending, there is no way to save viola, You. Couldn't. Stop. This. You were just along for the ride."

seeing Viola's head getting ripped off and eaten by a huge spider freaks me the hell out so damn much. Everything else I can stomach no problem but that one specific death just makes me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Oh god Witch’s house, mad father and Ib all gave me nightmares back in 2012. Sad how easily they were forgotten. They’re such amazing games.

The remake looks amazing how have I never seen this

If fummy made the game's flagging system like they did in the original, more than likely the game registered that you still had saves on file even though you were on a new start to the game. The only way to get the no save ending would be to basically clear out all the save files and do a fresh install of the game in order to overwrite the file where the flags are saved. (but this is months after the fact so someone may have already said as much)

isn't this the plot of a dbz episode in namek with the ginyu force

holy shit that secret ending is crazy