One of the last games to launch on 3DS, Fragrant Story, has finally made it over to Nintendo Switch. Fragrant Story and Papaya's Path is now available on the Switch eShop and (as you might expect from that name) it packs in the base game and its 2023 DLC expansion too.
For those who missed this one when it launched on the 3DS in *checks notes* 2022, Fragrant Story is a tactical RPG inspired by the classics. Created by indie developer William Kage, this short-but-sweet Final Fantasy Tactics-style experience was a little too slight for our tastes at launch, but this Switch release extends the campaigns of both the base game and the DLC, beefing things up to a 10-hour story and a 30-hour 100% completion — not bad when you consider the original lasted us maybe five hours.

With pixel art and music by Kage (plus some musical input from Final Fantasy composer Hitoshi Sakimoto as well as Yoshimi Kudo, and Bulby), this appears more of a love letter to the tactical RPGs of old. And at only £5.99 / $7.99 on the eShop — there's even a 75% discount currently available in North America — it might just be worth a pop.
There's even a range of physical editions available from the Squire Games website, with options including bundled albums, premium platinum editions, strategy guides and more.
Here's a rundown of the game's key features and a handful of screenshots:
TEN HOURS AND BEYOND
Expanded campaigns from the 2022 game and its 2023 update offer dozens of unique battles. Conquer all story biomes in about 10 hours, then track your progress and go for 100% with about 30 hours to complete.
GOLDEN ERA 16-BIT STYLE
Featuring pixel art, music, and sound effects by William Kage, plus musical guests Hitoshi Sakimoto, Yoshimi Kudo, and Bulby. Companion 8-bit mode offers cabbage-colored challenges reminiscent of a bygone handheld from the same era.
FULLY VOICED CUTSCENES
The star-studded voice cast features Chris Sarandon as King Kabocha, and Gideon Emery as Colonel Rhubarb. Other voices include Nicole Fantl, Lilja Obrien, and William Kage.
DECEPTIVELY DEEP STRATEGY
Level up your team by defeating enemies, and unlock permanent upgrades with new equipment and ability enhancements. Customize your team and combine different abilities in a surprisingly versatile combat system.
TIMED HITS (OPTIONAL)
Stop the wheel with precision and score a critical hit, or leave it up to chance. Use guaranteed moves to hedge your bets and secure a smooth victory.LEGENDARY TREASURE
Use the mission map to locate and break open royal treasure chests, which can grant each character a unique legendary ability.
We were saddened to hear in a recent Patreon post from the non-profit charity HumbleCat that Fragrant Story's creator, William Kage, has been struggling with multiple serious health conditions of late. The post (which contains donation links to both the Patreon and the charity) notes that despite his health issues, Kage is continuing to work on his next game, Otosan, which is aiming for a June 2025 release.
Will you be picking up Fragrant Story on Switch? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 29
Love to see Fragrant Story not stuck on 3DS anymore, will eventually get it for sure!
I was thinking about this game just last week. I missed it on the 3ds but will probably pick it up now
The retro trailer is awesome.
Square Enix-ahh name.
What a nice wink to old commercials! Might pick this one up!
I remember when this came out, people were very harsh about it's length. But for $1.99 I'll give it a go on Switch
We're just gonna pretend the name isn't hilarious?
$7:99 i could buy cheeseburger and enjoy it more then this game..
When this was announced I was convinced it was an April Fool's joke.
Looks ugly as sin, I love it! I'll definitely pick this one up, love me some tactical games.
@JohnnyMind it's a complete scam that lasts 8 minutes apparently. Watch Davidvinc's YouTube vid on it!
Got it for free with with the sale plus gold points. Looks entertaining.
Something about it being a SRPG and the word "Papaya" got my attention. Gee, wonder why? :^)
@garfreek A $1 per minute kind of game then!
Jokes aside, that issue - which I'm willing to believe being caused just by the base game releasing so close to the eShop's closure until proven otherwise - has apparently been addressed by the free DLC according to Nintendo Life's update to the review (https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds/fragrant-story).
@babybilly 2$?!? That’s a STEAL!
@JohnnyMind Ignore that suggested YouTube video. It's your typical over satirical YouTube player toxic attitude, which people end up believing as truth sadly.
The game description says 10 hrs for the main story, 30 hrs for completionist. Looks fun, so I'll give it a whirl, especially being as it is just $2. (or free in my case with gold points)
@BodkinDQ To be completely fair, the original Nintendo Life review did mention "15 minutes to play through" per run and that "Fragrant Story will last you maybe five hours at the absolute maximum, but it’s more likely to run out of gas around the three-hour mark" so exaggerations aside it seems like the base game was indeed quite short but again, it had already been addressed by the free DLC which is included from the start in the Switch version and further extended for this specific rerelease as mentioned by this very article so luckily there's no reason to worry - even less so for those of you in North America as you can get it with such a generous discount (originally it came out only there so it's probably a way to allow those who already have it on 3DS to double dip for cheap)!
@JohnnyMind From what I've read in interviews, the developer was originally making a SNES-style JRPG for the 3DS in which he had a tactical mini-game. Nintendo's announcement of closing the eShop caught him unawares and with the RPG nowhere near completion, so he released the mini-game as a standalone game with a promise to add more content later. He made good on the promise with the Papaya DLC.
I have the 3DS game, and it's fun. Not a classic, but a solid few hours of game play and well worth the price!
Update: IGN article with more background: https://www.ign.com/articles/meet-last-developers-releasing-games-3ds-wii-u
With how busy I am, a game less than 10 minutes long sounds like a godsend.
@XiaoShao Thanks for the confirmation and the link to the article!
People still don't know that the 3DS game was a ripoff piece of garbage?
The base game on the 3DS was unfinished, the devs had to rush it to release it before the 3DS eShop shut down. They later released a free DLC which was actually the intended base game had they got more time to release it on their own terms.
It's unfair to call it a scam whether you like the game or not.
Can Nintendo give us the late 3DS titles Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn and Metroid: Samus Returns on Switch? Games that arguably should've been made for the Switch instead of launching on 3DS in 2017?
I read it as Vagrant Story, got excited, saw the article again, got disappointed, read the article, got excited again.
It's been a roller coaster of emotions.
Wish the guy the best with his health issues, but I'd just as soon buy a couple cans of soda to shake up and smash on the pavement for more entertainment than this game offers and nearly the same playtime.
@Coalescence
"Expanded campaigns from the 2022 game and its 2023 update offer dozens of unique battles. Conquer all story biomes in about 10 hours, then track your progress and go for 100% with about 30 hours to complete."
@garfreek I bought a physical copy of the game when it first came out. And it's true, you could play through the campaign in about 15 minutes (although knowing it was short, I only played it on hard, and it probably took two hours of many failed attempts). That said, what they guy in that video failed to mention was there was a message in the box that said there was more content coming through free DLC. And they did release the DLC, bringing up the length of the game to a few hours, and add several more to unlock and beat all the bonus levels. Considering the physical cost $35 (I think, it's been a while), you could compare it to something like Fire Emblem and say it's still light on content. But keeping in mind that this was an indie game that launched in the middle of Nintendo shutting down 3DS production, I think what you get is reasonable.
@TheFox that DLC is pulling it's weight then. There was no DLC when he was reviewing this and remembered how shocked he was because he was looking forward to this!
@garfreek I actually saw that video. At the time, his review was fair based on what was on the cart. But he had a physical copy, so unless his copy for some reason didn't have the note about the forthcoming DLC, he should have at least mentioned it. And I wish Squire games would have just finished the game in time to put all of it on the cart. I'm just thinking in the future when someone picks up this as a collector's item and may not be able to access the DLC.
@JimNorman fyi your game profile of this game only shows UK release information and not US
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