Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software
Platform: PS4, Switch
Tested on: PS4
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince – Review
NIS America is quite known for its quirky Japanese titles, often for either the visual representation or the story value their games have. The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince seems to be no exception to that rule, as it tells the story of a blind prince, and a girl who can shift between her wolf-like body and that of a princess, and their quest to grant vision back to the blind prince. From the moment we booted the game, we were enthralled by the fairytale-like appearance and story of the game.
Story
Like in many fairytales, this game takes place in a kingdom with a young prince who likes to visit a cursed forest in said kingdom. The prince enjoys a beautiful singing voice that comes out of the darkness, which just happens to belong to a female wolf, a feared monster in this world. While wolves normally eat humans, this one has taken a liking to the prince as he always applauds her singing, making her less lonely. When she is taken by surprise when the prince is only inches away from her, climbing up the mountain she is singing from, she accidently scratches his eyes when trying to cover his face, as he would surely be scared of how she looked. This all results in the prince becoming a shame for his family, who lovk him up and throw away the key. As the wolf is feeling guilty, she decides to see how the prince is doing, only to find him in his locked up state. She then promises him to take him to the witch of the forest, who can heal his eyesight. But to do so, she will have to consult the witch first, granting her a human form as well, as the prince would never follow the wolf if he could feel her horrid claws. From here on out the adventure starts.
The game has a lot of story content, and you’ll get a bit of story every few short levels, making the game very appealing for those looking for a story driven experience. Of course, it’s all about reaching the witch’s cottage, but you’ll encounter other monsters along the way, each presenting you with a fun scenario.
Graphics
The graphical style of The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is amazing. Everything in the game looks hand drawn from start to finish, and the game has beautiful artwork, backdrops and character design. The entire game feels like a fairytale book that has come to life and everything is simply presented in a stellar fashion. Some of the story parts are done like rough sketches, only to be alternated with beautifully designed drawings. We fell in love with the visual style of the game, and those who are fond of somewhat traditional Japanese games will certainly enjoy this experience as well.
Sound
The sound design for this title is handled brilliantly as well, with very captivating music, which might loop quite often, but it never gets annoying during your playthrough. The sound effects are fairly simplistic, but they do the trick. It’s mostly the voice acting that steals the show in this title, which is a typical trait for NIS America’s games. You’ll be treated to original Japanese voice acting, where the voice of a young woman accompanies you from start to finish when it concerns the story.
Gameplay
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a puzzle platformer, in which you’ll have to work as a team, or at least escort the blind prince through the forest. You’ll be solving simple puzzles, which often involve activating switches, fighting off a few monsters or perfectly timing some jumps as a duo. The prince is quite useless at the beginning of the game, but after a while you’ll be able to give him small commands such as to walk a short distance or to pick up items, such as blocks or a lantern to keep monsters at bay and guide the way. Overall the mechanics don’t get much deeper than this, but the game is well designed, making sure the experience is quite pleasurable from when you start your journey in the monster-infested forest, until your quest ends.
Truth be told, there is not much to the game when looking at the gameplay. Most puzzles are easy to solve, safe for the final levels where timing is key to properly get to the ending of the stages. Most of the combat is also negligible until the final stage, where you’ll have to defend the prince more than once on a moving platform, rather than leave him behind, kill the enemies and go fetch him. The controls are quite responsive, but properly aiming jumps when holding the prince’s hand (which is vital for making him move) is sometimes a bit tricky and may result in a few deaths. Luckily the game saves regularly, and you won’t have to redo big portions of the level you’re in.
As stated before, you’ll have to hold hands with the prince if you wish to escort him as the princess. She cannot do this in her wolf form, but after a while you’ll be able to issue small commands, making the prince walk short distances on his own. You can’t regulate the distance however, which can sometimes be a bother. You also have a few restrictions to transforming, as when there is a lack of space, you can’t transform. That being said, most obstacles don’t provide that much challenge, and the trickier ones will become apparent after a few tries. The game itself will take roughly five hours to beat, depending on if you wish to collect every of the five flower petals and flower in each level.
Conclusion
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a great title for people who love a doable puzzle game with a picturesque setting and a lovely story to accompany it. Escorting the prince might take a bit of practice, but the game will be easy enough to beat, without being frustrating because of puzzles that are too hard. If you’re into a fairytale-like experience, we can only recommend this title.
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