Okay, I’ll admit it. Alice is my favorite of the Shono titles,
which include L-Zone, Gadget, and Zeddas Servant of Sheol. It was
also his first, and the one that most closely resembling a straight adventure
game (Zeddas notwithstanding), but that isn’t to says the designers don’t
add their own twist to it, which is the signature of all the Shono titles. It
is also designed to be very different from the others, from an entirely unusual
style of graphics to the fact that the game has little story and maximum puzzle-solving.

The
game begins in a living room, which was modeled after the one in painter Kuniyoshi
Kaneko’s own house. From there you enter a museum and the world of Alice. There
is very little story here, but there is very much a purpose to the game that you
uncover as you explore, which is to find all of a deck of 53 cards and thus find
your way out of the museum. The game is very much designed to have the feel of
a modern-day Alice in Wonderland, which is one of the more unusual aspects
to the game. It also offers myriad images signifying this relationship, not the
least of which is the white rabbit and Alice herself. This is not to say that
this is a child’s game–it actually is not. There are a number of adult images
here, some a bit suggestive, which really work well for the piece; it’s just that
I wouldn’t hand it to a 10-year-old to play.

The style of graphics is one
of the more unusual of any adventure game I’ve seen, and this is where the game
becomes mesmerizing. It does not have the usual “look” of an adventure
game. There are many paintings and objects to look at. These are drawn in a very
stilted, stylized manner. The paintings, which cover the walls in each room, are
odd and sometimes disturbing.

The music is, for the most part, MIDI-style
synthesized Muzak. with a bit of classical piano thrown in for good measure. Despite
the fact that this sounds unpleasant, it’s not. There’s just something about it
that I love. This may be irrational on my part, but to me it just added flavor.

Finding
the cards is tricky. They are cleverly hidden, although some are easier to find
than others. The hiding of them seems to fall well in line with some of the more
abstract aspects of Lewis Carroll’s own Alice. There are twelve rooms to
explore, divided into four sections, one each for the four suits in a deck of
cards. Once found, some of the cards provide the player with clues to unlock the
secret of Alice.

Alice, which was a big release at the time
in Japan, also enjoys a wide and devoted fan base in the adventure gaming community.
There is an excellent site,
designed by Nigel Harris, that captures the devotion fans of this unusual title
have and features additional graphics, maps, and other goodies for the true Alicite.
I highly recommend giving it a look.

One last heads up: this game is extremely
rare and very hard to find for purchase. In fact, if you find it for sale anywhere,
please email me–there is always someone on a quest to find it that you can help.
Just like the truth, I know it’s out there.

I loved Alice myself,
just because it’s so durned different!

Final Grade: A

System
Requirements:

Mac:

System 7 or greater
256 colors
Power Mac or AV Mac for optimal sound

5 MB hard drive space

PC:
Windows 3.1
or greater
256 colors
5 MB hard drive space