I’m happy because I’m finding more and more visual novels that I can stand to “play.” It seems that if the game is 1) Dialogue-based 2) Reasonably fast-paced and 3) Has at least one character I like, I can usually clear at least one route before giving up. That’s good for me to know because it helps me weed out the chaff much faster.
Pri Saga! Portable
Thus early on you pick a subject out of Archery, Swordsmanship, Spear fighting, Magic, Martial Arts, Medicine and Ninjutsu and then the rest of the game pretty much writes itself. …Or maybe not, because you can still choose to take classes in the other subjects from day to day. This affects your stats in that subject as well as the girl-related events you get to see. It might even be possible to get ALL the girls somehow. Apart from Miranda (the redhead), I can see myself getting together with any of them, so perhaps I should explore a harem option.
For my first playthrough though, I went with Fei in the Medicine department. She’s like a cross between Fumiko Yanagi of Tokimeki Memorial 4 and Asa-sempai of Shuffle!, especially the latter. Sweet girl, round face, short hair in front, older than the protagonist, constantly gives him advice, suffers from some mysterious ailment or another that she doesn’t want to talk about, etc. etc.
In Fei’s route, she helps coach Lemiris from bottom of the class to close to the top. She then reveals that she’s suffering from a hereditary illness that will cause her to disappear. Lemiris sets out to look for a special plant that is the only thing that can save her. He ends up caught in a time portal and goes adventuring with his great-great grandfather Drake, who is also looking for the plant to save his girlfriend who just happens to be Fei’s great-great grandmother. In the end there’s only enough of the plant to save one girl, so Drake lets Lemiris have it, crisis averted, happy happy.
After that there’s a short skirmish with a neighboring country during which Fei finds out Lemiris is the prince. She panics a bit, he assures her he loves her anyway, they kiss, crisis averted again, happy happy. And so in the end he graduates successfully and becomes a legendary king who carries out lots of medical reforms in the country with Fei at his side. They also set up a medical school, and the route ends with Lemiris watching Fei lecture and thinking romantic thoughts.
It sounds like a lot to write out, but it didn’t take very long to play. Maybe about 5 hours? Thereabouts. The story was cliched, but it was also simply and quickly told. Fei is a sweetheart and my kind of girl. Lemiris can be a douche, but he usually pulls through when the occasion call for it. The other characters pop in and out from time to time, but never piss me off or get in the way. In short, it was a fun experience.
So fun, in fact, that I can’t decide whether to do one more route or whether to quit while I’m ahead. Short, sweet game with interesting characters, what’s not to like? But at the same time Fei’s route was satisfying in all kinds of ways. Why play again and risk ruining everything? Hmm… I’m going to have to ponder this a bit more. I’ll start by doing a little research and seeing if there’s a True End or something similar out there. If there is, I’ll go for that. If not, I’ll think some more. Hmmmmmmmmm…
Oh, btw, I’m also several hours into Princess Maker 5. I thought I’d be done by now, but I’ve barely finished the first year of 8. Long game is LOOOONG. Will comment on that once I’ve gone a little further.
