WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom: additional details (not a straight port, offline, FAQ), and pictures

20 January 201820 January 2018 Lite_Agent althi, WorldNeverland - Elnea Kingdom

A few weeks ago, we found out from Famitsu magazine that althi was bringing WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom to the Nintendo Switch. It was originally released on smartphones, and is even available in English if you’re interested in checking it out ahead of the Nintendo Switch release.

Following the announcement, althi opened the official website. It’s a bit empty for now, but it does provide some additional details, that show the game isn’t just going to be a straight port or anything.

WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom will be released in Spring 2018 in Japan, and is meant to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the WorldNeverland series. This version has been designed to be playable offline, without having to be connected to the internet (which isn’t the case of the mobile version).

It will also feature a fully redesigned UI. That redesign was more or less mandatory, since we’re going from a vertical display (smarthpones) to a horizontal one (on Nintendo Switch). Granted, it would have been possible for althi to stick with a vertical display, but that would have meant making the game playable exclusively in Handheld mode (or force a vertical display on TV, which is less than ideal).

The official FAQ also provides additonal details about the Nintendo Switch version of WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom:

it will be completely separate from the mobile version, and you will not be able to transfer data from and to the mobile game (similarly, the password system from the mobile version is not supported);
you will be able to create up to 4 save data files. You will be able to save at any time, as long as it’s not during a cutscene or in a dungeon;
since the game will be playable offline on Nintendo Switch, there will not be events like in the mobile game. That includes Log-in Bonuses, and other real-time events. However, there may be DLC and updates after launch, but nothing has been decided yet (it will most likely depend on how successful the game is;
the Nintendo Switch version will feature additional content, such as exclusive missions, weapons, skills, items, and more;
the development team is considering adding support for the passwords from previous NeverlandWorld games, but it would be a pretty complex feature to implement, so nothing is guaranteed yet. It doesn’t sound like it would be available at launch, at the very least;
the Nintendo Switch version does feature the Magical Cosmetics (that allows you to change the appearance of your character, and NPC close to you -like family members-), but you need to get them as paid DLC. However, once purchased, you can buy them as many times as you want from the in-game shops;
The Volgo Forest and Bugwell Forest (Japanese names) do appear in the Nintendo Switch version, but the items found in there are slightly different than the ones in the mobile version.
[New!] the Nintendo Switch version does not feature touch controls, and can only be played using the Joy-Cons;
[New!] in case you’re wondering… yes, you can run in the Nintendo Switch version (using the L stick while pressing B);
[New!] just like in the mobile version, you can disable the “name tag” above characters’ heads from the settings;
[New!] the game will be playable in Japanese and English;
[New!] the Nintendo Switch version will feature items and recipes not found in the mobile version.

Unfortunately, the official website doesn’t specify whether WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom will get an English release or not (it does have an English option, but it’s greyed out and cannot be select, which may or may not be a sign an English version of the website is coming at a later date).

Finally, here’s various screenshots for the game: