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A short, sweet and humorous tale of heroism

Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Length: 1 hour (an extra 30 minutes or so if you decide to check everything out)



Here's a game all about how, this hero's life got turned upside down...


Hero: The Princess Pursuit is a very enjoyable little game. Simple, quick-paced, funny and intensely entertaining. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that it's meant to be a fairly simplistic adventure and not sometime overly deep, but that's quite alright. If you're looking for a by-the-book, but really well done, save-the-world game, this is right up your alley, but if you're looking for a complex character study game or some sort of satire, it'd be best to look elsewhere.

No matter how you slice it, though, this game WORKS, in both senses of the word, and that's great, since it's very important in the RPG Maker scene to have a game that can be celebrated in any light.

Story: 7/10


Keep in mind that this is actually early in the game!


As stated above, the game has a simple, but enjoyable, story. Basically, the main hero is aptly named 'Hero', and must stop the Dark King from ruling the world under his ugly, smelly, iron fist. However, he's not goin' alone; he's bringin' some friends to kick some ass, Pursuit-style. He must also face other foes either hailing from the areas he enters, or innocents put under the curses by the main baddie himself.

...aaaand, there's not much else to it. Despite the plot being so simple, however, there's plenty of twists here and there (that I, of course, won't spoil) that keep things interesting, so the story overall, while not great, is far from bad.

Gameplay: 8.5/10


Tonight's the night bitches die.


The gameplay is arguably the best part of this game. It's a good ol' hack-and-slash fest with a squad-based feel (there's lots of slashing and whatnot, but all the enemies have simple set patterns, so the game is focused slightly more on strategy and how to approach the attacks your adversaries fling at you) and it's all in real-time. Even early on, though, it's fairly challenging and requires some quick thinking in order to survive. Not horrifically difficult, but not exactly super-easy either. Just stay on your toes throughout.

NOTE: The game utilizes Falco's Pearl ABS Liquid system, which is known for its somewhat complex control layout, so it might take a while to get the hang of things depending on what type of player you are.


Lets-a slash!


The game features a level-based world map that chronicles 31 stages/6 worlds of progressively harsher difficulty, and it's probably my favorite aspect of the game. I get a distinctly Mario-ish feel every time I'm on it, and it just feels awesome. The signs with the numbers on them to signify which level you're about to enter is a great touch, too. There are about 5 levels per world (4 normal ones and a boss stage), which heightens the Mario feel for me. Huge props to limsoonchiong for this concept!


hey guys maybe if i'm nice to her she'll have sex with me


The five extra allies consist of a Cleric (Alice), who can heal you, an Assassin (Natalie), a spunky pink-haired lass that specializes in using bows, a Templar (Rossana), a hot but incredibly violent captain-wannabe that will use axes and swords with glee against anyone in her way, a Dwarf (Gloin), a goofy but likable muscle-head that gives Rossana a run for her money in terms of viciousness, and my main man, the Sorcerer (Zero), who uses magic to kick ass and take names.

They all have their own purposes and varying importance, though I personally just used Hero/Alice/Zero/Gloin for most of the game, and I was good to go. The thing is, though, is that you'll need to get a bunch of money really early on if you want to get everyone, which can be a hassle. I recommend just spending your money wisely on the other stuff in the mall at first (which is incredibly sweet btw, WalMart ain't got shit on dis).

Speaking of the mall, you get early access to it, and you can enter/exit it whenever you want (yes, even during battle!) through the use of a scroll, and the game remembers where and when you used it. You get your typical equipment and hotel from here. One of the biggest sources of humor in the game comes from the mall; the vendors are total assholes if you just look around, but it's hilarious, so no harm in that.

Oh, and to top all of this off, you can choose what happens at the end of the game! That was a really nice touch as well, in my opinion.


Overall, the game is a blast to play despite its short length, and you won't be disappointed with what it has in store for you.

Graphics: 8/10


*drools*


The game is quite good as far as graphics go! Most of the maps have plenty of detail, and some look downright gorgeous, though a few here and there felt a bit bare (like a level in the inside of the ship and the last level of the desert world), though I'm sure it was intentional on limsoonchiong's part.

The screen up top is REALLY good looking in particular; something about a flying ship with a cloudy sky in the background just strikes me as breath-taking.

Really good stuff in this department, all things considered, and nothing overly offensive.

While the game seems perfect so far, it has a couple rather glaring flaws that keep it from getting a 5/5.

Music: 6.5/10


There's some great tracks here and there, but I ultimately unfortunately didn't get much out of the soundtrack. It's not AWFUL, of course, but it's somewhat mediocre in comparison to everything else about the game. However, the music at least fits a good portion of the areas (although the first three worlds have the exact same normal level music, which kinda rubbed me the wrong way, but the rest are fine) and you'll probably be having so much fun with the game like I did that you won't mind what you'll be hearing.

Bugs: 4/10


Oh my, how did I get myself in this situation?


There aren't many bugs, but there's a couple notable ones. At a point or two, when I was out at sea on the world map, the game didn't transition my player correctly and acted as if I wasn't using the ship. While this issue mostly didn't appear, it DID happen a few times at least. Also, the game uses quick teleports, so while your player will end up on the world map exactly how they should most of the time, you'll see the game process the event as you move to a different part. But this is more of a nitpick than anything, so it's fine.

However, the real kicker here is the bug in the screenshot; using the mall scroll while in the mall screws you up, and when you try to exit via the teleporter, you'll just be teleported right back into the mall! The game uses map x/y variables to keep track of where and when you use it, so if your coordinates happen to be in the mall... STUCK-LIMBO-STYLE. However, I'm sure this is probably an oversight, so it should be easy to work around. As it stands, however, it's a rather major bug nonetheless and should be looked into.


Despite the small handful of shortcomings, however, this is, regardless, an excellent game all things considered and a worthy addition to anyone's RPG Maker game library, especially those who are big fans of action RPGs like me! Download it and prepare for laughs, finger-cracking action, perversion and an overall wild ride.

Posts

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Thanks for the review and kind words. Noted the bugs and spelling mistake, will pay more attention to that in the future. Glad you enjoyed the game.
I most certainly did, sir. Thank you as well for making it. ;)

And thanks for taking note of my small criticisms as well; not a big deal, of course, but thank you anyways!
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