Oriental Grove

 

Oriental Grove
Also known as	Mysterious East
Location	Western hemisphere
First appearance	Chapter 3
Dress gained	Silk Maiden
Series	Alice: Madness Returns
Location on map
Further information Transcript Transcript Walkthrough Walkthrough
Image gallery (7)

“

Much has changed. But you've got it backwards! Save Wonderland and you may save yourself. Carpenter was on to something, but he was hiding from the real. Your goal is to accept it! — Caterpillar to Alice

”

The Oriental Grove, also known as the Mysterious East, was an area in Wonderland found within the Vale of Doom. Alice Liddell was shrunk down by Caterpillar to enter the domain after traversing the vale.

History

Alice: Madness Returns

Soon after the incident with Radcliffe, Alice returned to Wonderland through the Vale of Doom, which once was the Vale of Tears not so long ago. After navigating the valley, following the disembodied voice of Caterpillar, she found the Oriental Grove seemingly unharmed. With the smoke from his hookah, Caterpillar shrunk Alice down to the size of an insect, making her just about the right size for the grove.

Starting from the bottom of the grove's mountain, Alice traveled up to the summit to see Caterpillar face-to-face. However, she found out that the villagers of the grove were constantly terrorized by savage, dishonorable Samurai Wasps. The Wasps captured, killed, and feasted on the villagers. Although the ants worshiped Caterpillar, and believed that he will save them from the Wasps, they start to see Alice as some kind of hero for killing the Wasps as she climbed the mountain.

Caterpillar in his chrysalis.

After passing the Elder Ant's trials and beating her way through the Wasps and Ruin creatures, Alice reached the summit to find a shrine with a simulacrum of Caterpillar. She expressed her disappointment on finding the simulacrum, though the real Caterpillar chastised her for denying her own reality before the floor crumbled underneath her and she fell into the shrine where she found his chrysalis. As Caterpillar matured into a butterfly, the mountain started to crumble around them. He advised Alice to speak to the Queen of Hearts. He then became a butterfly and flew away just as Alice woke up in the real world to find herself in gaol.

Appearance

The base of the Grove.

The Oriental Grove was a mountainous isle which, to a person of normal size, appeared to be a mound of jade and greenery, with trickles of water running down the sides to form a pool around the bottom. However, to an insect, the mound was a mountain, the trickles were waterfalls, and the plants are full-grown trees. The Grove was filled with oriental motifs – various ornaments, platforms, and locations were heavily influenced by the decorations Alice saw at Radcliffe's home.

Locations

• Monastery Shelf Valley
• West Peak Prison Village
• Peak Temple

Residents and creatures

• Caterpillar
• Colossal Ruin
• Daimyo Wasp
• Drifting Ruin
• Insidious Ruin
• Menacing Ruin
• Oriental Frog
• Origami Ant Elder
• Origami Ants
• Samurai Ink Wasp
• Samurai Wasp
• Samurai Wasp Archer
• Slithering Ruin

Trivia

• The in-game reason why the Oriental Grove appears in the game is due to Alice's interest in Asian culture, sparked by Radcliffe's collection, whose house Alice likely visited a few times in her childhood. It's also likely that Alice listened to various stories about Asia, causing her imagination to go wild. Alice visiting Radcliffe's house likely triggered Alice's imaginative memories.
  • Spicy Horse had the opportunity to use real and exact Asian culture (such as writings and language), however, it was frowned upon by the development team because the Oriental Grove is rooted in Alice's ideas and imagination of what the east is like. It is also important to note that the game is set in the 1800s, before mainstream photography and video, so Alice would have a very limited perception of it.
• The real-world reason why the Oriental Grove appears in the game is due to American McGee's involvement in China, and Spicy Horse being based in China.
• The culture of the insects was similar to the culture of Oriental Asia, and the land was full of architecture and other objects with Chinese and Japanese influences. Some of the floating pathways here are formed by large mahjong tiles. Japanese fans create platforms and tea turns green.

Hidden Spicy Horse logo.

• At the very end of Chapter 3, before entering the Caterpillar's temple, there are two statues on the left and right. Going behind the one on the left while shrunk reveals the Spicy Horse logo on it. This earns a trophy/achievement.
• It is ironic that the Caterpillar advised Alice to kill the Queen in her last adventure, when a year later, he advises her to talk with the Queen.
• Towards the very end of the level, the design of the level changes into a Japanese painting style, which looks almost exactly like the style of the game Ōkami.
• On the porcelain vases that adorn the level, one can see many characters from the books, such as the Lion, the Unicorn and the Crocodile.
• At one point in development, it was apparent that the Wasps has specific sides to the area that they would tend to, being separated as East and West.