Prinny 2, Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! | a Review
originally published on 14/10/2021;
Hello everyone, I am the thrice-cursed mongrel, G.E.M.Simov, a demon of the foulest variety, come to tell you about the game with a silly long title: Prinny 2, Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood!
Simple review details - I rank games on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it. Also, I am a gameplay designer and a writer so I got the credentials to talk shit.
Gameplay
The Gameplay is the same as it is in "Prinny: Can I really be the hero?" (henceforth referred to as Prinny1, even if it is very slightly enhanced with the addition of a few things and the replacement of another set of things.
For starters, there are now three difficulties. A standard difficulty, which allows the player to get hit twice before dying, a hardcore difficulty, much like the one in Prinny1, in which the Prinny dies as soon as it gets hit, and a Baby difficulty, which allows the player to get hit three times before dying, and also implements safety blocks that help with falling and platforming.
The combo gauge does no longer reward the player with extra Score, or, if playing on the easier difficulties on which the player can take a hit, extra hits to take, and, instead, it provides the player with a very impressive damage increase. That damage increase is absolutely bonkers, making it possible to kill the weakest goons in two hits, whereas normally one would need around four, maybe five hits to kill them. Upon receiving the buff, there's an explosion around the Prinny, and that explosion can destroy breakable blocks, as well as damage, and even kill, enemies. The buff gets prolonged by dropping onto goons with the appropriate move, picking up sweets (which increase score), dealing damage and killing goons. It is a very welcome addition.
The stomp maneuver has extra functionality - the player can now hold down the appropriate button, charge up, and land with force, dealing enough damage to kill certain enemies.
There is a bit of an issue with game clarity, however. There have been enemies that have been implemented, which enemies cannot be stunned by dropping directly on top of them with the appropriate maneuver. This really messes with the player's understanding of what's what and also is in violation of the manner in which the game is presented, or, rather, the game's language. In Prinny1, there were no such enemies - not that I remember, at least - and the consistency in the design approach was great. The fact that this is now an issue is very worrying.
In addition to that, there have been a few extra implementations that really... Well, they tend to work, but they aren't very well fleshed out. An example would be green crushable skulls (like the checkpoints, blue crushable skulls, or the boss entrances, red crushable skulls) though these do not increase your combo meter, do not provide almost any benefit, and, instead, drop some manner of cutlery at a certain spot. If there is an enemy there, cool, the enemy is now stunned. If not, oh well.
The trouble of triggering one of those, instead of just jumping above the enemy and stunning tbem the old-fashioned way, is rarely worth it, because the cutlery does not drop above an enemy - it drops at a certain spot.
Additionally, again, there's another mechanic - mortar fire, or something along those lines. Something that's not susceptible to damage fires upon the player, and the areas where the projectiles will land are highlighted... Except they don't get highlighted, sometimes. It's very unpleasant to get killed off of something that you have no idea how to predict, as it literally comes out of nowhere. Especially in a game such as this.
Then there's something very neat. In the Overworld - the castle courtyard - after every mission (after an hour passes, technically) there is a new platforming challenge, which, once completed, yields a ticket. That was frankly the most fun I had with the game.
There is a larger variety of secrets - or so it seemed to me, at least, but those were not something I really wanted to get, nor are they something I found worthwhile enough to obtain. In short, I did not enjoy playing Prinny2, for the reasons I did not like Prinny1 all that much, but also because…
There are Framerate dips. The game is not optimized well enough to run on the PSP. Was this another type of game, I would be more forgiving, but when the game in question is one where you need pixel perfect precision for half the things you do, and then you also end up dead in a single hit… That’s a massive problem. Also, did I mention that there are boss fights that just… Like, they top the last bossfight from Prinny1 in terms of how hard one needs to spam the buttons? It’s really fucking rancid, excuse my french. 1/3
Presentation
Presentation-wise, the game is the same. It looks the same, sounds the same (different songs, but, other than that... Maybe some new Voice Actors?) and it's pretty good.
HOWEVER… There are sections in which the PSP just can’t handle what the devs have decided to put on the screen, and, the Framerate drops I mentioned in the Gameplay section of the review are also present here, because no one wants to watch something that’s meant to be an animation in a slideshow format, right?
They've also replaced the award presenting demoness with another one, and I don't like her. Parsley, who? No bust, no presence, silly haircut - just not good. 2/3
Story
Whereas the first game had a charming… No, that’s not the right word… An amusing approach to storytelling, and the tale itself was, much like that, amusing, this one isn’t nearly as intriguing. Whereas Prinny1’s story could have been better, this one SHOULD have been better.
Once again, the player follows the Prinnies as they are threatened with death in 10 hours if they do not find an item for Etna, their master. This time it is her panties, which were stolen at the start of the game. Unfortunately, the problems start with the fact that Etna is so upset her panties were stolen, she decrees that the Prinnies need to catch the thief. Slight spoiler alert… The Prinnies catch the thief, and Etna is too busy doing something else - watching TV or playing games on the TV. This is just silly, and I did not like it, not one bit.
The novelty of the Prinny walking into places and being unaware of what’s going on, and being mistaken for X or Y by the bosses, has also worn off. All in all… It’s stale, at best. It was very middling. 1/3
Legendary Point
Does this game get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? Does this objectively less polished sequel of the FUCKER’s game get THE legendary point, when the original Fucker’s game did not? I’m afraid the answer is NO, it does not. 0/1
Conclusion
4/10. A game I’d recommend to people who enjoy making themselves feel pain - Masochists; to people who enjoy difficult games simply because they are difficult; to people who are fans of the Disgaea franchise, because… It expands on the lore, a bit?
I put it in the bag of mediocrity. I mean, it’s not a bad game, but it’s not good, either. It’s not fun to play, too, and it physically hurts. I ain’t about that life.