Twisted Wonderland

is a Japanese mobile game created by Aniplex and Walt Disney Japan. Yana Toboso, creator of ''Black Butler'', is in charge of the original plan, main script, and character designs, which are inspired by Disney villains from various franchises. An official English localization was released on January 20, 2022, in the United States and Canada.

Gameplay

The genre of ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland'' is described as a "Villains Academy ADV (adventure game)". It is described to have a "basic gameplay system" consisting of three main elements: Lessons, Stories, and Tests.

''Twisted-Wonderland'' operates a gacha game model that allows players to obtain random new characters by spending the in-game currency of Magic Gems. The characters players obtain can be leveled by having them attend "Lessons". Players can test the strength of their characters through tests (available daily) or exams (available periodically). Players place their characters in battle to score points depending on their team's strength. Players then achieve a rank depending on their point score, with higher ranks giving higher rewards.

A new system function was introduced to the Japanese version of the game on May 30, 2022, called the Guest Room. It allows players to freely customize and enjoy the "Guest Room" of the Ramshackle dorm while inviting their favorite characters to visit.

Plot

Yuu, whose name can also be chosen by the player, is summoned to another world by a magic mirror and arrives at a magical school, Night Raven College. The school's headmaster takes in the main character. Yuu becomes acquainted with the school's top students, each in seven different dormitories (each based on a different Disney villain), while searching for a way home.

Prologue: Welcome to the Villains' world

The player is summoned to another world by a magic mirror and arrives at the magic training school, Night Raven College. The player has no recollection of how they were summoned there and is unable to be sent back to their original world. Through the antics of a fire-breathing magic cat monster named Grim, the player receives a small demonstration of the abilities some people in this new world possess.

Due to having nowhere else to go, the player is forced to stay at Night Raven College and act as an errand boy until the head of the school, Headmaster Crowley, can find a way to send them home. Headmaster Crowley graciously allows them to live in the haunted and run-down dormitory on the edge of campus, now called the Ramshackle Dorm.

Grim and the player encounter troublemakers, Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade, break an expensive magical chandelier during a fight, resulting in them being told to leave the school. However, they are told that if they go on a quest to retrieve a replacement magic source for the chandelier in order to fix their mistake, their ban would be rescinded. They visit an abandoned mine to find one and are attacked by a monster covered in an ink-like substance called "Overblot".

The four fight the monster, and the player discovers that they are able to get normally uncooperative students to work together. As these talents would be of a huge help to Night Raven College, filled with headstrong students unwilling to work in teams, Crowley asks the player to become a joint-student of the school, sharing their enrolment spot with Grim.

Book 1: The Rose-Red Tyrant

On the night that the player and Grim are admitted to the school, Ace arrives with a magic-sealing collar on his neck, asking to stay the night. When asked about the situation, Ace replies that he angered his Housewarden, Riddle Rosehearts, by eating tarts that were meant for an unknown event, and that as punishment, he was collared. He complains about the long list of rules they must follow in his dorm, most of which seem to be unreasonable. He promises to apologize to his Housewarden the next day and heads to the Heartslabyul dormitory.

They help a senior, Cater, paint some white roses red to match the rules of the dorm. He reveals that since they haven't come with an apology tart, a rule they were unaware of, they're still not allowed back in the dorm. They encounter other issues as Ace gets himself in trouble with Riddle once again during lunch and is now stuck with the collar for a longer period. They receive help from another member of the dorm, Trey, a childhood friend of Riddle's and a talented baker. He helps them bake a chestnut apology tart.

The player, Grim, Ace, Deuce, Cater and Trey all help taking the large tart to Riddle, and it's revealed that the party the original tarts Ace ate were meant for was the now-happening unbirthday Party. They present the tart to Riddle, who angrily declares that they've broken rule 562 of the dorm - "never bring a chestnut tart to an unbirthday party." Riddle then collars Deuce and Grim as well, and they are once again thrown out of the dorm. Ace decides to challenge Riddle for the position of dorm leader, and loses. Riddle's excessive use of magic-blocking collars then causes several of his dorm members to speak out against his harsh punishments.

Out of frustration of people not following the rules of his dorm, Riddle uses too much magic and becomes an Overblot monster, like the one the player encountered in the mines during the prologue. Crowley explains that this is what happens to mages when they use too much magic and the leftover waste product, blot, gathers in excess, and the player character has to defeat Riddle before he destroys the dorm.

Riddle apologizes for being so uptight about the rules, and admits he doesn't really want to follow them himself. They throw a second unbirthday party at Ace's request, and the player, Grim and the Heartslabyul students paint the rest of the white roses red together, and Riddle decides not to follow all of the dorm's rules as rigidly as he has been previously.

Book 2: The Usurper from the Wilds

The player learns that a televised inter-dorm tournament for the sport of "Magical Shift" (renamed to "Spelldrive" in the English version) will be held at the school. Grim wishes to participate, but the sport requires a team of seven and Ramshackle's dorm only has three. A series of mysterious 'accidents' causing injuries to exceptional players at the sport, including Trey and a near-miss on Riddle, cause the two, along with Ace, Deuce and Cater, to investigate.

They visit Savanaclaw dorm to warn Jack Howl, a skilled Magical Shift player, that he may be a target for an 'accident,' but he refuses help and the group is forced into a round of the sport by the Housewarden, Leona Kingscholar, which they lose. That night, Jack realises it's Leona and Ruggie causing the accidents using Ruggie's ability to force people to mirror his own actions. He criticises Leona for his dishonesty. Meanwhile, the player meets a Diasomnia student with horns outside Ramshackle, who leaves without introducing himself. Grim names him 'Hornton.' The next day, the group realises that the injuries are caused by Ruggie's magic. Jack joins the group in confronting him, deciding he wants to help.

At the tournament, Ruggie causes a stampede using his ability in an attempt to remove Malleus Draconia, the Diasomnia Housewarden and the most skilled player in Night Raven, from the competition. However, he is caught out using a trick from Cater and the pre-warned Diasomnia students. Leona gives up and refuses to play for his dorm, claiming that him playing is useless if Malleus is involved, as they're bound to lose anyway. Continued taunting of his weak will causes Leona to overblot, and the player and the Heartslabyul students work together to defeat him.

The tournament goes ahead, with all of the dorms insisting that Savanaclaw still be allowed to participate despite their cheating so they can try and get revenge through the game. The player, Grim, Ace, Deuce, Jack and the Ramshackle dorm ghosts all play a special exhibition match against Savanaclaw. The tournament is ultimately won by Diasomnia, and the Savanaclaw students resolve to try harder and play fairly next year.

Book 3: The Merchant from the Depths

End-of-term exam scores are announced, with the player and Jack skeptical of how the trio of Grim, Ace, and Deuce all got decent results despite their laziness. At that moment, sea anemones spring out from the top of the three's heads, as well as from other students around, and everyone is dragged away. Following the three, the player and Jack arrive at the Octavinelle Dormitory. It's revealed that all of them have made magically binding deals with Azul Ashengrotto, the Housewarden, for extremely useful revision guides with the condition that if they failed to get above a certain rank in the school-wide results using them, then they would be forced to work for free in the dorm's café, Monstro Lounge. The player signs a contract of their own with Azul to free their friends in exchange for a picture of Prince Riel from the museum in the Coral Sea, and is forced to offer Ramshackle dorm as collateral. This leaves them homeless, and they are taken in by Savanaclaw, who in turn help them defeat Azul.

Book 4: Schemer of the Scalding Sands

As the holidays begin, the students of Night Raven College are returning home for the winter break. With no place to return to, the player and Grim remain at the school where Crowley asks them to watch over the school's heating system. One day, attracted by the delicious smell coming from the school's kitchen, the player finds Jamil, the Vice-Warden of the Scarabia dormitory, cooking. Jamil tells the player and Grim that the Scarabia dormitory received bad results on the final exams and thus, was remaining at school during the holidays to study. Jamil invites the player to come to Scarabia, where they are met with tensions between the Housewarden and Vice-Warden.

Book 5: A Beautiful Tyrant

The new semester has begun and the player, who has gotten used to their daily life, is surprised that the National Arcane Academy Culture Fair is happening at the school. Students were encouraged to audition for the fair's main event, the "Vocal & Dance Championship", and Ace, Deuce, and Grim were determined to be chosen with the aim of the grand prize. They were taught how to dance by Kalim and Jamil, and passed the audition held at Pomefiore. Together with Vil and the others, they partake intensive training to win the championship.

Book 6: Keeper of the Underworld

The player is attacked by Grim, who suddenly went out of control, and consults with Ace and Deuce to look for him together. A few days later, the members who participated in the VDC are gathered by Vil at Ramshackle dorm. Vil apologizes to Ace and the others for what happened at VDC and compensates them. Meanwhile, a mysterious armed group invades the school and kidnaps Vil, Jamil, Riddle, Leona, Azul, Crowley, and Grim. It turns out that the armed group is a special magical security force called "Charon" owned by the mysterious non-governmental organization "STYX", and Idia, who was the heir to the Shroud family, is the acting director of STYX.

Book 7: Ruler of the Abyss

It's time for the third years to decide their final path. This choosing ceremony has led the third years to find out that Lilia is dropping from Night Raven College due to his lack of magic. This truth leaves Malleus devastated. Even so, Lilia proposes that he shall have a leaving party to cheer everyone up before he goes.

The player has had dreams of the strange person known as Mickey. They convey this information to their first year friends, Ortho Shroud joining the group as of recent events. Ortho is able to decipher the possibility of Mickey's appearance in the mirror of the player's room and they gain a lead on the matter. They decide to try catching Mickey and plan it out later at night. While this interaction takes place, Malleus unconsciously uses his magic while speaking with Lilia about his leaving party.

Development

Aniplex announced they were producing the game in collaboration with Walt Disney Japan at Anime Japan 2019. Yana Toboso, the creator of ''Black Butler'', was credited for the concept, scenario, and character designs.

''Disney Twisted-Wonderland'' was officially released for play on Android and iOS in Japan on March 18, 2020. The game's opening movie is animated by Troyca and the theme song, "Piece of my world", was performed by Night Ravens.

Other media

Manga

A manga adaptation, titled ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Comic: Episode of Heartslabyul'', written by Wakana Hazuki and illustrated by Sumire Kowono, was serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly G Fantasy'' magazine from March 18, 2021, to October 18, 2022. It was collected in four ''tankōbon'' volumes from September 2021 to December 2022. The manga is licensed in English by Viz Media.

A second manga adaptation, titled ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Comic: Episode of Savanaclaw'', written and illustrated by Suzuka Oda, began serialization in the same magazine on December 18, 2022.

A third manga adaptation, titled ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Comic: Episode of Octavinelle'', again written by Hazuki and illustrated by Kowono, began serialization in ''Monthly G Fantasy'' on August 18, 2023.

A fourth manga adaptation, titled ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Comic: Episode of Scarabia'', written and illustrated by Magiko! began serialization in the same magazine on December 18, 2024.

''Episode of Heartslabyul''

''Episode of Savanaclaw''

''Episode of Octavinelle''

''Episode of Scarabia''

Novel

The first novel adaptation, , written by Jun Hioki, was released on March 18, 2022. The novel is also licensed in English by Viz Media.

The second adaptation, ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland Episode 2: Kōya no gyaku-sha'' (The Usurper from the Wilds) also written by Jun Hioki, was released on August 25, 2023.

Anime

In October 2021, an anime adaptation was announced. The original net animation (ONA) series, titled ''Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation'', will be produced by Yumeta Company and Graphinica and directed by Shin Katagai, with Takahiro Natori serving as chief director and overseeing series scripts, Yoichi Kato writing the scripts, Hanaka Nakano and Akane Satō designing the characters, and Takumi Ozawa returning from the game to compose the music. It will consist of three seasons adapting the manga series and streaming on Disney+, with the first one premiering in October 2025. The opening theme song is "Piece of my world" performed by Night Ravens, previously featured as the theme song for the game.

Reception

Approximately 1 million users downloaded the game upon release.

See also

* ''Psychic Detective Yakumo'', a novel series whose second manga adaptation was illustrated by Suzuka Oda
* ''Pretty Boy Detective Club'', a novel series whose manga adaptation was illustrated by Suzuka Oda

References

External links

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{{Disney's Alice in Wonderland

2020 video games
2025 anime ONAs
Alice in Wonderland (franchise)
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Anime based on video games
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Gangan Comics manga
Graphinica
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