Welcome to our full review of The Princess Guide, the newest game from Nippon Ichi Software on Nintendo Switch.
As mentioned in my preview, this is your typical Nippon Ichi Software Role playing game, so prior to reading my full review, if you tend to love their games, you will love this one and if you dislike em, well, you get the point.
I am a more neutral gamer of their games and The Princess Guide did stand out in the aspect of providing 4 storylines, with my main gameplay being Veronica. I loved the explanation given about her being a prodigal tyrant who is arrogant and well, she was my kinda character.
The other three are called Liliartie, Monomaria and Alpana, each with their own advantages, but I will let you explore their storylines for yourself. We all know I have a policy not to spoil the storylines.
So how does The Princess Guide play? Like most games in the genre, you got a big map where all the action goes down. You move your pawns (crew) in that direction to follow the storyline and occasionally run into random fights. Sounds familiar? It should as it is a frequently used approach in this game style and Nippon Ichi Software excels in bringing this genre to life.
The action itself, namely the fighting, is very action filled. Basic attacks, special attacks and so much more. I loved how it always felt easy to win, but I still died often. This may sound strange, but the game feels very easy, despite not being so such thing. The tutorial made the game look very easy even.
Speaking about the tutorial, please do not skip it, I know it gives you the option but it is important to know everything they explain! Not just to get to know everything you can do with your characters, but for not ending up button bashing. The basic attack move is a clear indicator that button bashing will occur, but the attack patterns are much deeper.
So what is bad about this game?
It may feel repetitive at times, I often had Penny Punching Princess flashbacks where I also had this feeling. In the end, running through a dungeon, slaying all enemies, opening all the chests and then “Rinse and repeat”. The storyline keeps you busy but when you start hitting that skip button, this game downgrades from above good to plain old good.
Graphically, it does not impress either, the stills look incredibly nice but the action is often too crowded due to the nature of the game. It looks better than many other games in its genre, but it did not impress me in the end.
In conclusion, the game lived up to my expectations and I think that lovers of the other Nippon Ichi Software games will get their bang for the buck with The Princess Guide. I was a bit more lukewarm in my reception and that will explain my 6,5 rating. I am confident though that this game will appeal to many, sadly it just failed to captivate me.
