Prinny: Can I Really Be A Hero?

When a game gives you a thousand lives to get you through it, you just know you’re in for a long, hard slog. And Nippon Ichi’s first diversion from strategy RPG dominance does not disappoint in this department, waving its insane difficulty level in your face and laughing at your every failure.

But it’s not all bad, since you’ll be laughing too. Like all of Nippon Ichi’s games, Prinny’s frankly bizarre humour permeates the entire experience. It’s a beautiful game as well; a bizarre 2D/3D hybrid that mimics the presentation of games like Disgaea while clinging firmly to the ideals of the long-forgotten side-scrollers that kicked our asses many moons ago.

And that’s our main issue with the otherwise lovable Prinny. It’s actually almost too retro. Jumps must be perfectly planned, not only that, each Prinny can only take a couple of stray hits (or a single blow if you foolishly decide to start on the harder difficulty) and, depending on the order in which you tackle the stages and how careful you are with your Prinny army, you can accidentally make your late-game life borderline impossible.

It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, hell, it’ll probably drive you close to throwing your PSP at times. But if you’re into games like Devil May Cry or God Hand where no punch is pulled, Prinny is totally worth a look, dood.