A truely bittersweet experience. It feels like my PSP has just been trolled...
You may have heard several times over that Prinny is a difficult game and to some extent, yes the game in itself is difficult mostly due to the often punishing level design (the levels end up being more difficult than their end boss a lot of times). However, the majority of the difficulty (imo) revolves around the purposely flawed character movement and frequently unresponsive controls. I died more times in this game from my Prinny over jumping a platform and falling into a pit or sent flying and bouncing right off a platform after taking a simple hit more than anything else. You really have to be precise and time your jumps when platforming in this game because its absurdly easy to over jump where you want to go. It also pays to be precise in the specific area where you land, so in the case you get hit, you don't go bouncing off into pit. Prinny gets knocked back and bouces several times when taking the slightest hit on this game which often times will lead to its death. These aspects were VERY annoying to me and contributed a lot to why I just quit playing. In addition to this, many times, some of the controls just flat out wouldn't respond. Especially, the all so vital stun attack needed to take out the majority of the bosses. Some times, I would go to jump right to land on a platform but my Prinny would just continue to jump straight up into the air (which many times led to it getting hit by an air bourne foe and being knocked down a cliff). The game gives you 999 lives from the beginning, so it all feels very intentional which just adds to the overall frustration with all the things that the game does wrongly. Despite these many quirks, Prinny is very charming and at times can be a fun game. There is a great sense of accomplishment left after completing each frustratingly difficult level. The environments are beautifully rendered and the voice acting is pretty good. There are collectables to be found but I was so distracted by the difficulty that I didn't even bother to really actively seek any of them out. To add icing to the cake...a special item has to be found first before you can even play the DLC for this game (which I ended up accidently stubbling upon). So don't waste the $10 total it costs for all the DLC if you don't find the Dimensional Orb first.
Like most of the Disgaea series, the game's premise is a bit light-hearted with mostly comical banter. It was charming but I may have been able to enjoy it all more if it wasn't followed by so much frustration. Despite Prinny being a spin-off title, I still felt a disconnection and lost when came to the significance of some of the characters. Fans of the Disgaea series probably could appreciate this game better than I could, may have found some significant things in the story that as an outsider I just wouldn't get, and would be more motivated to finish the game.
My Breakdown:
What's Good:
- Nice visual presentation overall
- Good voice acting
- Completing levels does bring about a feeling of accomplishment
- It does provide 999 lives to accomidate for the high difficulty level
- Plenty of secrets to uncover
- Comical
What's Not-So-Good:
- Some times the level design can be too cleverly difficulty
- Most of the DLC is just a pain in the @ss
What's Bad:
- Poor contols...poor controls...POOR CONTROLS!!!
- ^ Inconsistant and unresponsive at times (usually at the most invconvenient ones)
- ^ Prinny over responds to control inputs!
In all, I only recommend this game if you're 1. Open to a serious challenge, 2. Can deal with the less than perfect controls, and 3. Are a fan of the Disgaea series. That's all, dood!