Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software, NIS America
Platform: Switch
Tested on: Switch
Prinny 1-2: Exploded and Reloaded – Review
Dood! Someone made a collection of our games dood! Yes, the sketchy exploding penguins named Prinnies are up to some mischief again when things go bad in hell. Both games are now bundled into one sweet collection. With how similar both games are, you won’t really feel any difference between the two while switching titles during gameplay. The Exploded and Reloaded collection features both Prinny 1 and 2. Are you ready to serve the demon queen? She’s mighty pissed dood!
Story
The Prinny games have pretty much the same story going on. You play as a group of Prinnies; these are the damned souls of delinquents that need to serve the demon queen Etna until they have repaid their sins. The story in these games is always that something goes missing, in the first game it is her dessert and in the second game, it is her panties. The Prinnies are sent to retrieve the missing items or they will get punished for all eternity.
You will have a bit of a story when going through the game. There is some banter between characters, but the game doesn’t really follow a real storyline as you can just pick which level to play in any order you want. It would have been nice to have a bit more story value like in the Disgaea games, but the current frame for the game does suffice.
Graphics
The graphics are a very unique blend of old-school sprites like in the Metal Slug games and PlayStation 1 styled 3D environments. These make the games really pleasant to watch, although the gameplay can be really frustrating. Because the game is time-based, each stage will change depending on the in-game time (more on this in the gameplay section). The game also freely switches from 2D to 2.5D when doing certain moves. It is a cool gimmick and it’s insane how nice all the sprites are made from the enemies, most of them inspired by Japanese characters.
Sound
Dood, we are fully voiced dood! Remember ‘Dude, wheres my car?”. It really seems like the developers took some inspiration from that movie when voicing this game. There is a lot of ‘bro’ talk, while not being too annoying or even stereotypical. All the characters that interact in the story are fully voiced and sound great. During the gameplay you will have catchy music playing during the stages, and enemies have their own unique sounds.
Gameplay
Pinny 1-2: Exploded and Reloaded collection is a platforming game where you can play both the first and second Prinny games. Both games are pretty much the same, you won’t notice too much difference between the titles, except that the second game does have a few more functions.
The best way to describe the gameplay is by labeling it as a very hard adventure game with platforming elements that are inspired by the ‘I want to be the guy’ game. In each version you will have to retrieve the lost items in ten hours and clearing a mission will cost one hour. As time passes, the stages will change, so you have 36 stages per game (only need to clear the six to beat the story but as extra content, you can clear each stage in each variant). There is another limit to your adventure, you start with 1000 Prinnies and when they run out, it is game over. You can decide to either play on easier modes, granting two or three hits until you die, or play on hardcore mode where one hit means instant death. It might sound a lot, a thousand soldiers, but you will die a lot!
The main goal is to complete each of the six levels and retrieve the stolen or missing goods. Each game begins with a simple tutorial, yet this gives a false sense of ease because the real missions are relentless. Not only will you have to fight many different enemies with all their own unique attack patterns, but you will also need to move around tedious maps that will test your skill out to the max. Jumping in the game isn’t easy, there are a few tricks to it, but the normal platformer gamer will find himself missing jumps due to the fact that you can’t easily alter your trajectory. You have a few moves in your arsenal, such as a basic attack, stun move and aerial strikes. In Prinny 2 you can also charge up your combo meter to land a few special moves, ideal for boss fights. At the end of each level, you will have to defeat a boss, most of them have patterns that they follow, yet due to the difficulty, it won’t be an easy task.
Conclusion
The Prinny collection is a great way to experience the difficult as heck games for yourself. The overall old-school vibes are very amusing, even with the modernized visuals. Other than that, the little story value that is present is very enjoyable and funny, especially with the cheesy voice acting present. The gameplay is brutal and the difficulty is through the roof, yet the game doesn’t feel unfair due to limitations but rather due to player error. If you love to be macho and show your friends how great you are at hard games, then completing the Prinny collection is one to put on your bucket list.
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