Princess Maker 2 Refine

I've played this game as a break from my usual Counter Strike esports. What a break it was. I get to experience a piece of gaming history. From three runs, two of which were completed, I can boil it down to this pros and cons list. [h1] PROS [/h1] [list] [*]Compelling Stat-raiser: You're a hero raising an adopted daughter. What's not to love? [*]Diverging Paths: Unlike modern sims that boil it down or add visual novel fluff (Love Esquire cough), the way you raise your daughter will be like an RPG; your choices matter. [*]A Piece of Gaming History: Ever played Persona 3 to 5? Their life sim loop was inspired from Tokimeki Memorial. The TM franchise was built on the same engine and gameplay loop as Princess Maker. [*]Prepare to Be Surprised: No spoilers, but you will be pleasantly surprised by things in this game. And I don't tend to be surprised with video games. [*]Charming Visuals: Most of the things in this game look surprisingly good, even at reduced 1024p resolutions. [*]Minimal Specs: This used to run on IBM PCs in the early 90s. Your grandparent's old-ass PC can run this. [/list] [h1] CONS [/h1] [list] [*]Clunky Controls: It's just clicking with no keyboa…

This game is both frustrating and yet addicting. It's easy to play in the background whilst watching something. It can become monotonous with the monthly schedule routine, but I can't stop trying to get new endings. Even getting the farmer ending after hours of grinding wasn't that bad since it was an ending I somehow hadn't gotten before. Even "lesser" endings are still somehow fulfilling; so no endings upset me. Unless it's the Cube one. Fck Cube. I'd recommend getting it on sale if you like grinding for a variety of different endings and can tolerate the older art style. Oh, but if you play the game with sound off, get ready for sound effects to ear blast you.

Truly a pleasure, from the animation to writing. I first got turn onto this genre from the Flash Game Project Princess, and I can see how much it borrowed from this spectacular piece of art.

gg

Unfortunately, Princess Maker 2 hasn't stood the test of time, as much as the people behind Refine and Regeneration have tried their best to make the game work in present day. The gameplay simply felt awkward, and the interface wasn't configured to match newer computers in the first place. Also, the translations were just prickly and difficult to digest. I can read English and Chinese, and I must say that the scripts could use a lot more refining, pun absolutely intended. The Chinese characters looked out of place inside the boxes. The English words would look nicer in a different font type. Stick to Volcano Princess and Magical Princess, because they are far better.

Fun and not so complicated. Good game!