Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?

In Nippon Ichi's Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? players take on the role of the titular minions in a quest to satiate Underworld Overlord Etna's sweet tooth. When Etna's one-of-a-kind late night snack is stolen, she sends her legion of panicky Prinnies to retrieve it. Donning a mystical red scarf that allows the regularly explosive-upon-touch underlings a bit of extra resilience, you're given control of Etna's entire army of 1000 Prinnies. Yes, that means you start off with 1000 lives which may sound like a lot, but trust me -- you're going to need each and every one to conquer this tricky platformer.

THE VERDICT by Will Herring Will Herring's Avatar Offbeat and charming, the Prinnies' first foray into platforming territory is hampered by clunky controls and an incredibly steep learning curve. Fans of the Disgaea franchise and those looking for a steep challenge should look into it; everyone else might want to steer clear.

No School Like the Old School

Prinny takes place on a 2D playing field decorated with detailed 3D backgrounds and hand-drawn enemies and obstacles, much like the Disgaea series itself. You'll visit all ends of the Underworld in order to collect the ingredients for the Ultimate Dessert from a legion of greedy demons through a myriad of colorful and creative stages. Each level is populated with classic monsters from the Disgaea franchise, truly making Prinny an ideal experience for any fan of the popular SRPG series. If I could judge Prinny based solely on its visuals, presentation and tongue-in-cheek humor, it would be an easy five out of five. Unfortunately, Prinny's gameplay isn't quite as inviting.

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?

Jump, Explode, Repeat

That's because you're going to find yourself dying at the hands of a random projectile or falling to your death, the victim of unresponsive controls about every five to ten seconds. Forced to use the highly-criticized PSP D-pad in order to navigate the Underworld, Prinny's controls take an extra hit with clunky, stiff and unsympathetic movement. Once you take flight into one of the three available jumping directions (up, up-left and up-right), it becomes nearly impossible to maneuver or guide your Prinny through the air, which makes the platforming elements of Prinny an absolute chore even on the normal difficulty mode.

While Prinny shows some amazing potential with beautiful visuals, amazing production values and innovative stages to traverse, I can't help but wonder what this game would be like if a few extra months were set aside to fine-tune the game's controls and learning curve. Raised on side-scrollers like Sunset Riders and Contra, I really wanted to love Prinny, especially since I'm such a big fan of the Disgaea series. Unfortunately, thanks to the unwieldy controls and poor design choices, Prinny never unleashes its true potential. As it stands, I can really only recommend this one to diehard Disgaea fans and masochists looking for a challenge. As the Prinnys would say, "It's a shame, dood."

PROS: Beautiful graphics, trademark series humor, wonderful voice-acting
CONS: Stiff controls, steep difficulty curve, frustrating gameplay
Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?

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weinymew

can you be the hero? no! ? Because you are just a dumb ass looking bird with a scarf and a knife.......what moron designed this crap?

KenTheGreat1

Waaah, it's even harder than freaking Ninja Gaiden -- I'm always running out of lives in this game, no matter how many I get.

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