Developed and published by Dogenzaka Lab, ‘Destiny’s Princess: A War Story, A Love Story’ originally released on smartphones and Steam, and has now been released on the Nintendo Switch. This being a visual novel, I thought I knew what to expect. It met some expectations, though fell short of a few others.
You play as a young princess named Saya, though you can change her name later. The prologue starts surprisingly dark, with Saya running away from demons in her castle as it burns to the ground, while all the guards and her family are slaughtered. Eventually, she comes across a cursed dagger with a demon inside that can grant her a wish, though at the cost of losing most of her memories of the people close to her. Not wanting to see herself and everyone else around her getting slaughtered, she makes the wish, and five people she knew are replaced with generals from a different era. These five bachelors are Yukimura Sanada, Masamune Date, Hanbei Takenaka, Kotaru Fuma and Nobunaga Oda.
Since this is a visual novel, there’s not much interactive gameplay. Rather than being set in a single story with multiple choices to accumulate affection for the ending/character choice, this game gives you the option to choose which character you want. The story is slightly different with each different character you pick. Each route lasts eight chapters with two endings, lasting three to four hours per route. Once you get at least one ending, you will also be able to unlock a character’s date scenario and a bonus scene. These are very short, but add a few more minutes of entertainment to see more of your favorite bachelor. To get to a character’s ending, you have to gain enough affection by picking the right dialogue options. Not every choice is tailored specifically to trying to impress your boyfriend, as it tries to give the Princess her own thoughts about the current situation. This helps make Saya more of a character and gives her a personality beyond just a defenseless damsel in distress waiting for someone to rescue her. Though some choices do baffle me, like having to choose between shouting and yelling something. I don’t see the difference between these options, but only one choice is the correct one and raises affection.
One thing that felt lacking was the interaction between all of the characters, to see how they’d act without Saya around. The game is definitely character-focused, but only when it comes to the bachelors’ relationship with Saya. The bachelors rarely interact with each other, making them come off as secluded beings that only Saya knows of. It’s also disappointing that the game doesn’t give much explanation about the whole demon invasion. Yes, it’s a romance visual novel so demonic creatures shouldn’t be the focus of the story. But why include them if you’re not going to use them properly?
The different bachelor routes are mostly fine and will fulfill your basic romantic VN needs. However, I must make clear that some of the characters are created with the infamous Japanese ‘taboo’ in mind. One character that you can develop feelings for is, in theory, your sibling. Yet, if you want you can go all the way with him. Another character’s story features an almost-rape scene where the chosen character saves you, which might be a little too unnerving if the topic of rape is a sensitive one to you. What I described here is not exactly unique in Japanese VN’s, but I wanted to make sure that those who are interested in this title, know what they’re getting.
The presentation is fairly good. There are lots of well-drawn characters and scenes, accompanied by some good music, as well. Though I do feel the lack of sound effects harms some scenes, especially the more intense ones when facing against a demon. Transitions at the end of the chapter and being asked to save also feel a bit off, as the save point is abruptly shoved into your face. That being said, saving is relatively quick with six slots and does show the affection levels for the character you are wooing. It’s very helpful when you want to see the other ending you missed out on.
Conclusion
The best way to describe Destiny’s Princess is as another romantic visual novel. It’s fine for the most part but the weak main story is what holds this title back the most. The character routes are good, but some of them tackle some taboo topics which might turn off some people. It’s certainly not a must-play VN, but it’s not a bad one either.
6,5/10
Tested on Nintendo Switch
