Developer: Gainax, Microcabin, CFK Co., Ltd., GeneX
Publisher: Bliss Brain Co., Ltd.
Platform: PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Princess Maker 2 Regeneration – Review
Princess Maker 2, first released in 1993, is making a grand return for the Switch as Princess Maker 2 Regeneration. In this game, you not only look after your daughter but also decide her every action, meal, clothing, etc. There are many roads your daughter can take, and choosing the correct one might prove difficult and might also take a couple of retries. However, your and your daughter’s hard work will prove satisfying.
Story
The interesting thing about Princess Maker 2 Regeneration is the fact that there isn’t much of a story. There is a short introduction that leads to the game’s main premise but soon after that, there is no main story that the game follows.
To punish the humans who have sinned repeatedly, the gods have allowed the demon lord to destroy humanity. A fierce war erupts and all of human civilization is on the brink of destruction. However, out of nowhere a hero takes the stage and defeats the demon lord, saving mankind. For his heroic actions, the God Jupiter gifts the hero a daughter. This daughter is not a baby, however, but a ten-year-old girl. This is the start of the game and from here on out you, as her father, will decide how the story will go. Will she become a real princess? Or maybe a hero who takes on monsters? The choice is yours.
Graphics
The art style of Princess Maker 2 Regeneration resembles a lot of older Japanese animes such as Sailor Moon which has a nice feeling of nostalgia. Sometimes, for example, if you go on an adventure, another screen will pop up. On this screen, you will play as your daughter, and it will remind you of old 16-bit RPG games.
While the art style looks very nice on the switch, the interface unfortunately does not. The letters and numbers are extremely small and can be hard to read. The font style is also not your standard Times New Roman or Calibri but one that is a bit hard to make out. Sometimes it is also not clear what is being selected since the highlighted button barely differs from the others. Lastly, when you try to speed through certain dialogue boxes, the game might temporarily freeze. It is therefore recommended to put the text speed at maximum to avoid this problem.
Sound
The sound design is simple but nice and also has a hint of nostalgia with its old anime vibe. There aren’t many tracks throughout your playthrough but they capture the sense of the scenery well. Whether you attend the royal castle, stroll through the city, or adventure in the wilderness, there is always a great tune that accompanies you.
There is a lot of voice acting in the game with almost every character that you encounter having their distinctive voice. The voice actors are very good as the emotions they convey don’t feel forced or fake. During the introduction of the game, there’s also a narrator which is a nice touch.
Gameplay
Princess Maker Regeneration 2 is a life simulation game with strategy elements. The main goal is to prepare your daughter’s skills and reputation till her 18th birthday and achieve the desired ending. Since there isn’t much of a story in Princess Maker Regeneration 2, everything that makes the game good is the grinding and the rewarding gameplay. Something that will immediately become clear when you start your first playthrough is that nothing is explained. Every option requires some trial and error until you find the ‘build’ you want to settle on.
The game is divided into months and years, starting from your daughter’s 10th birthday till her 18th. Every month, you have a couple of options you can take: talking with your daughter, going to the city, and you can also visit the palace where you can talk with the inhabitants. Finally, you will have to choose your daughter’s diet for the month, which also affects her stats.
Most importantly the last option you can take during a month is the scheduling of her activities during the coming month. There are four main options: work, study, adventure, and time off. With working you can earn some money while also training certain skills. However, depending on the type of work, some skills can also deteriorate. Unfortunately, you’ll have no idea in the beginning what to choose since, apart from the salary, the differences in jobs will be guesswork. Most jobs even have certain skill requirements. If the desired skill of the job is lacking or your stress is too high, you might fail a day at work. Therefore, you will not earn money which is a huge problem. This could lead to frustrations at the beginning of the game because money management is enormously important since you have to balance paying for your daughter’s studies and buying her items.
Study is the next option you can schedule for your daughter. As with work, studying will improve certain stats but will lower other ones. The main difference is that instead of earning money, you will have to pay for every day that she follows her classes. If you have insufficient money, the classes will end prematurely, which will result in lost days. Again, the same problem arises as with choosing work. In the beginning, it will be unclear which study trains what skill. While some of the options are logical, others are not. However, one can argue that finding out which work or study to choose is part of the rewarding experience of the game.
Going out on an adventure, or a so-called errantry is also time-based, which can stress the player if they want to find a particular item. The final option you can schedule is time off. This will be your primary way of reducing stress. While most things seem unclear at the start of the game, having so many options is great and just goes to show how many different routes you can work towards.
Lastly, every year is the Harvest Festival where you can show off your well-earned skills through competition. The four contests are combat tournaments, cooking, dancing, and royal art. Working throughout the year towards winning the contest is an important part of the game. When your skills have earned you a high enough reputation, you might even be challenged by some NPCs who want to take you on! This often happens in the form of a random event, which is a cool addition as you can see that your daughter is becoming more and more famous.
All the choices you’ve made throughout your gameplay will lead to a particular ending. Planning ahead what to train is therefore very important and there is no shame in reloading a save file. Unlocking as many as possible is the main goal to score in-game achievements.
Conclusion
Princess Remaker Regeneration 2 can be somewhat confusing in the beginning and you might even be dissatisfied with your first run, because nothing is explained and you will make a lot of mistakes. However, the second one will be better as you know what work and study to choose. This makes the game also interesting and fun to play as you discover more and more possible endings. If you want to take care of a daughter, and you like to grind for hours, then Princess Maker 2 Regeneration is the perfect game for you.
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