|
|
Game Information
|
Preview
|
Review
|
Screenshots
|
Forum |
»Princess Crown
""
RPGs are plagued with the stoic storyline of a hero off on a quest to
save a princess. Sometimes this hero is female, most of the times male.
Very rarely is the story reversed, and even rarer is that reversal
accepted. This is partially seen by both Zelda’s Adventure and Zelda
Wand of Gamoleon on the CD-i (I say partially because few accept those
games exist in the first place). Well enter Atlus with a gem of a game,
on the Sega Saturn of all systems. Here we have Princess Gradriel on a
quest to save her kingdom and become a worthy successor to her throne.
But you know what, this game doesn’t really need a plot. Don’t believe
me, just wait.
So it’s an Atlus game, usually that brings up Ogre Battle and Shin
Megami Tenshin thoughts. Well throw those out of the window; this game
is an Action/RPG through and through. More akin to Guardian Heroes,
Adventures of Link, or River City Ransom than any other game Atlus has
released. Guardian Heroes is another fantastic Saturn game that got
revived not too long ago on the GBA (check out Bloodspoor's fantastic
review of it here). But with those games in mind,
what also springs up? Epic tales of countries vying for power? Pokemon
with demons? Well that’s all bunk when it comes to Princess Crown. Ogre
Battle without the plot is what: an odd fantasy strategy game that
eventually inspires Disciples and Disciples 2. Princess Crown without
the story is still one of the best experiences in gaming since its
initial release on the Saturn in '97.
Graphically the game IS the pinnacle of 2D. Every motion your character
does is hand drawn and fantastically executed. There is no doubt in my
mind that this is the most beautifully drawn game I have ever played,
and trust me, I have played a lot of games. From the opening cutscene
to the final boss fight the game is beautiful to the tee. Even the
cheesy CG styled drawings fit the atmosphere. I spent more time when I
first started playing the game walking back and forth in grandmother's
room playing with the cat than it took me to beat the New Super Mario
Brothers. No, that could be an overstatement, or a lttle bit of a cheap
shot, but nevertheless, effective. Princess Crown is by far one of the
most engrossing 2D games to be released since the original Final
Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and Mario Bros games.
Quick Segue: When you first boot the game you control a little girl in
her grandmother’s living room. The grandmother is sitting in a chair by
the fireplace and ask will you to get a book for her to read to you.
There is a book on the ground and a cat, you can pick up either and
give them to her, but the cat sits there for a second and jumps off.
The book contains your save files for that character. As you play the
game you can unlock more characters, thus more books. Each characters
storyline is inherently different, but all ties back to Gladriels.
Coolest character select screen ever, anywho back to the review
But ohohoh, graphics mean nothing in a game if you can’t move them. The
gameplay dynamics are brilliant. The walk around, interact controls are
fairly standard fair for a game of this type. Though the battle system
is where we start to see the magic. You only use one button for
fighting. What you may be saying, how is that brilliant? Simplicity
gives way to innovation. Any fighting game fan will find it awkward at
first, but love it soon after. It comes down to rolls and control
patterns. You also have a power gauge which allows you to do a special
attack, which all look stunning.
The game does feel restrictive at first, in that you cannot jump
outside of battle. But you do not really need to in the overworld
anyway. Then again, the sheer size of the world is breathtaking. It is
the biggest Action/RPG that I and many others have ever come across.
The sheer size of the world is comparable to Daggerfall’s take on the
Elderscrolls world, where it takes hours to walk from one side of the
world to the other. Thankfully you can activate teleporters so you
don’t have to walk all that way all the time.
Now there is one major drawback to the game. A crucial part to any game
to be considered epic is the soundtrack. And while Princess Crown
boasts some good music, not one of the songs stick with you and you
think, “Oh Princess Crown.” There are no Dear Friends or Terra/Tina’s
Themes, like in Final Fantasy V and VI. Just cutesy music and canned
sound effects. Granted a better soundtrack would have taken away from
the graphic funds, so it becomes a bit of a double edge sword for the
development budget.
Import friendly for the most part. The battles menus and what not are
actually in English. So with some help from a translation guide for the
plot points and shop keepers you can get through the game fairly
easily. Though a $60-80 price is very steep for the game.
It is not a must have, or even a must play, just give it a chance by
looking at some of the screen shots; and see what 2D gaming could have
been. Sadly, one of the greatest 2D rpgs, on one of the greatest 2D
consoles, has still never been released outside Japan.
Article by: Fastbilly1
Posted on: Jul. 17th, 2006 |
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
