The Princess Maker series has a very interesting reputation. The games originated on Japanese computers in the 90s and received ports to the Saturn and Dreamcast in Japan, but did not have a presence in the West, though there was an abandoned attempt to bring the second game to DOS in the west. That abandoned localization spread far and helped the series get a fanbase that wanted these games in the west, and eventually they did come. And now for the 30th anniversary of Princess Maker 2, the game has been given a new release with redrawn art and a new intro for its second official localization as Princess Maker 2 Regeneration.
The game sees you play the role of a respected 12th century nobleman who defeated a powerful demon. The gods, impressed by you, entrusted you with a divine being in the form of a young girl for you to guide from her tenth birthday until her eighteenth, at which point she will have her future revealed. To do this, you must make decisions like choosing the subjects she studies, where she works, and how much rest she receives. These will all affect the ending you receive and there are multiple endings to encourage a replay, though more on this later.
Gameplay is divided into two sections. The first is one that is mostly menu driven and confined to a single screen with short stilted animations displayed in various panels that tell the story. In this mode, you must set a monthly work/rest schedule, set aside gold for food , decide which meals to eat and so on. This is the sim/management portion of the game and is the one that is most similar to the rest of the series.
This mode plays a bit like a visual novel at times, and you can also have the daughter head into the town and purchase items from shops like the tailor, armoury and general store using the money she earned from working. She can also talk to guards and the monarchs at the nearby castle, but to get their attention takes time as there is a lot of standard NPC dialogue at first.
The second part is more unique to Princess Maker 2 and is the RPG section of the game. This does not mean light RPG elements in a sim, but an actual RPG.. The daughter can go on short adventures using various swords, daggers and armour from the armoury and explore four areas. These also contain turn-based battles where you can fight, cast magic, talk, or flee, and while not the most in depth battles, they do serve the game well.
Exploring the various locations fully is satisfying component of the game and there is a good challenge when the monsters show up. These are standard RPG enemies like dragons and trolls, but while they pose a risk, the daughter can also find treasure chests that contain rare items, which makes everything worth it. There is not a big risk for falling in battle as the daughter’s winged butler Cube will whisk her back to your home. The RPG aspect of the game helps set Princess Maker 2 apart from other sim games and even the rest of the series in a good way, though a map would have been nice.
Overall, Princess Maker 2 is a game about stat watching. Even the RPG side of the game is about stat management and every action increases, or decreases, the daughter’s statistics in some way. You will need to plan her actions well to get her the stats you want for her playthrough and this means you will need to experiment a bit. Making her work manual labour will give her better stats in strength and stamina, while working at the church will boost faith.
However, do not overwork the daughter or should will become stressed, fall ill. or even rebel and become someone no one wants to hire. These aspects can all be managed though, and there are a number of side options to both keep her happy, manage the stress and reverse bad traits. It just takes some planning and care.
Now for something I danced around before. There are a lot of risque elements in the game that originate in its roots in 90s Japanese computer gaming. In her teen years, the daughter can work in a seedy bar or as a cabaret dancer, and there are options to adjust her bust size. Some of the endings, especially the ones considered bad endings, will see the daughter end up in very seedy professions and even sex work, and then there is the most infamous ending involving marriage. There is a reason I had to mention the daughter is a diving being the player character is fostering and not a biological relative. Many of these controversial aspects will be removed in the PlayStation release, but are included on PC and on Nintendo Switch and you can decide for yourself if this is a good thing or a bad thing, There are plenty of endings considered good endings and many of these will feel much better to players who may want to avoid the controversial ones. It is all about choosing a path yourself.
Overall, Princess Maker 2 is very much an enjoyable game and some aspects have aged well, while others may be a bit off-putting to some players now. This is considered the best entry in the series by many and the unique blend of RPG and sim management make Princes Maker 2 stand out more in a good way and helps make its playthrough feel different in a worthwhile way. The additions to Princess Maker 2 Regeneration are neat, but the overall experience is still the draw and it manages to be a compelling experience the entire time that you are playing. In the end, Princess Maker 2 Regeneration is highly recommended, warts and all.
