The cover for the otome game Alice in the Country of the Heart~Wonderful Wonder World~ for the PSP.
Alice in the Country of the Heart, also known as Alice in the Country of the Heart~Wonderful Wonder World~ or Heart no Kuni no Alice (ハートの国のアリス～Wonderful Wonder World～) is an otome game series based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland by an author known as Quinrose. It is the first game of the game and is followed by its sequels Clover no Kuni no Alice, Joker no Kuni no Alice, and a remake of it Anniversary no Kuni no Alice. A manga series based on the game is being published.
Plot Summary
Taking place in what appears to be the Victorian times, Alice Liddell is an insecure girl who is jealous of her sister's beauty and grace. It is implied in the beginning that Alice's boyfriend left her for her sister Lorina. As of yet, it isn't confirmed if her sister did anything to seduce Alice's boyfiend or if he just pursued her.
As Alice's sister goes to get a card deck, Alice falls asleep and a white rabbit comes and encourages her to chase him. When she simply thinks that he is a dream and tries to go back to napping, he turns into a man with white rabbit ears and carries her off. Peter White, who is the White Rabbit in this adaptation, throws Alice into a random hole that appears in her yard. He jumps in with her, speaking of falling with her forever.
When they land in a strange, open area, Alice is frightened and Peter starts confessing his love for her. He tells her to drink some 'medicine'. When she refuses, claiming she won't take drinks from strangers, he simply pours the liquid into his mouth and kisses her, forcing her to drink it. It is later revealed that this liquid is some kind of way to prevent her from going home. The only way she might be able to return to her world is to interact with people in Wonderland, which slowly refills the medicine vile as she encounters and spends time with the strange people. Not only that, but Wonderland is going through violent times.
Everyone is wreckless and uncaring as to who lives or dies, and with a war going on, they care even less. It is later revealed by a man named Nightmare, who only appears when Alice sleeps, that everyone in Wonderland loves, is in love, will love, or will be in love with Alice at one time or another. Even Nightmare admits he loves Alice.
It is explained that because Alice felt so unloved in her previous life, she was brought to a place that was filled with men (and the Red Queen) who will love her. Though, Alice doesn't really understand what forms love comes in. Now, Alice has to figure out a way to get home and survive the dangerous world of Wonderland, which is going through civil war.
Characters
The Real World
- Alice Liddell is the game's incarnation of Alice. She is an insecure girl who is implied to have an inferiority complex towards her sister Lorina due to her sister's 'perfection' and the fact that her ex-boyfriend left her for Lorina. Due to this, and the fact that she is lonely, Nightmare reveals that everybody in Wonderland 'loves' Alice. Alice has long hair brown and wears a blue dress.
- Lorina Liddell is Alice's older sister and is the reason for her insecurity. Alice loves her sister very much, although she feels insecure about the fact that Lorina seems to be better at everything Alice does, and the fact that her boyfriend left her for Lorina.
The Castle of Hearts
- Peter White is a stalker and represents the White Rabbit. He lives in the Castle of Hearts with the Red Queen and Ace as the prime minister. He kidnaps Alice in the beginning and then confesses his love for her, forcing her to drink the 'medicine' by kissing her. He is the character that falls head-over-heels for Alice from the beginning and is as a result incredibly possessive of her, threatening to fight other men to the death for getting close to her. He has the ability to transform into a rabbit which he uses to make Alice love him. He has white hair, glasses, and bunny ears in his humanoid form.
- Ace is possibly the The Knave of Hearts, as he is referred to in the game and manga as 'the Knight of Hearts'. In the beginning, he is portrayed as charming, having a terrible sense of direction, and incredibly nice. Later, it turns out he works for Julius in his 'job.' Ace is revealed to be a psychopath who enjoys killing, which terribly scares Alice. Later on, he reveals to Alice that everybody in Wonderland has clocks for hearts, and part of the reason he is interested in her is because he wants to hear her heart beating. He attempts to kill Alice, but Alice talks him out of it. Vivaldi refers to him as one who resists his role.
- Vivaldi is the Queen of Hearts, who rules over the Castle of Hearts. She is revealed to have a fondness for cute things despite her slight temper. She is not married to the King of Hearts, as she states they are only King and Queen by title and that she sees him as 'depressing.' She is a friendship route in the game.
The Hatter's Mansion
- Blood Dupre is the Mad Hatter's incarnation, portrayed as Wonderland's Mafia boss. He lives in a mansion with Elliot and the twins. It is shown that he enjoys reading, having a large library and even letting Alice borrowing books. Coincidence or not, Blood strongly resembles Alice's ex-boyfriend, which is why she feels insecure about him.
- Elliot March portrays the March Hare and is Blood Dupre's right-hand-man. He falls in love with Alice as well. Like Peter, Elliot has bunny ears as well, but denies being a rabbit, not wanting to have any similarities to Peter. He covers up his love for carrots by saying he loves carrot dishes. He does not get along with the twins and Ace due to him always having to tell him which direction is the Castle of Hearts. It's revealed later that he broke his friend's clock to avoid him from coming back to life due to his friend's wish. For this, he was thrown into jail, although Blood helped him escape. This is why Elliot is Blood's right-hand-man.
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee -- nicknamed "Dum and Dee"-- are portrayed as black-haired twin boys who guard the Hatter's mansion and strongly dislike Elliot (often calling him "Newbie Hare"). They are known as the "Bloody Twins" because of their light-hearted attitude towards killing. They have a habit of collecting many weapons (nicknaming them "treasures"). They even loved Alice so much, they wanted to test their most prized 'treasure' on her, but luckily Elliot came rushing in to save her. Tweedledee is dressed in blue and wields his axe in his left hand, while Tweedledum fights with his right hand and is clothed in red.
The Amusement Park
- Boris Airay (the Cheshire Cat) Boris is a playful cat. He calls himself a cat, loves cats, and does things like a cat. He likes interesting things because of curiosity. Boris' role is similar to the Cheshire Cat in the original Alice in Wonderland story. He is the one that comes and goes and could appear anywhere he wants with a "Door". He likes to talk riddles and play with Alice as a friend. And like everyone else in Wonderland, Boris didn't think much of the meaning of life and of killing until he met Alice. Boris is close friends with the Bloody Twins. Unlike Gowland,Vivlaldi, etc., Boris does not belong to any territory so he is free to roam to places. He and the Bloody Twins are good friends because they share the same fetish towards weapons. He is close to Gowland too, because Gowland lets him try all the thriller rides for free. Boris is also attracted to Alice like everyone else,but he's not afraid to take her out to have fun. But when the relationship gets serious, Alice becomes quite reserved when she is with Boris.
- Mary Gowland is the amusement park's owner. He dislikes Blood because Blood spread his 'embarrasing' given name around Wonderland. He is normally very good-tempered, except when it comes to the Hatter. He also seems to enjoy playing his violin (that is constantly changing sizes and can transform into a gun) and singing, although that doesn't mean he's good at it.
- Pierce Villiers is the embodiment of the The Dormouse who appears in the sequel, Clover no Kuni no Alice. He has a fondness for cheese and lives at the Amusement Park. He can be a bit cowardly. He is often harassed and being chased by Boris.
The Clocktower
- Gray Ringmarc represents Bill the Lizard, appearing from the second game onwards. He lives in the clocktower with Julius. He works for Nightmare, being his doctor. He isn't good at art and cooking, but he is a hard worker.
- Julius Monrey manages the Clocktower, the only neutral place in Wonderland, and gives Alice a place to stay during her stay in Wonderland. Later on it is revealed his job is to fix the 'clocks' of other people, which function as their hearts. Despite this, Alice is not afraid of him and he continues to open up to her. He dislikes it when women cry, claiming he "doesn't know what to do".
- Nightmare Gottschalk is a mysterious man who appears in Alice's dreams, representing The Caterpillar. He was the one who gave Peter permission to bring Alice into their world. He also seems to give characters advice. He seems to be a "sickly incubus" since he happens to cough out blood.
The Circus
- Joker is the mysterious head of the Circus, who appears in the third game, Joker no Kuni no Alice. In the game, they are two jokers. The white joker, the sweet and polite and the black joker who has a foul mouth. According to most fans, he is portrayed as the villain of the game.