I’ve never played a Disgaea game before, as strategy RPGs just aren’t my cup of tea. But thanks to my friends who do enjoy NIS’ signature series, I am pretty familiar with the characters. One of their more popular stars are the hapless Prinnnies. They’re little demons who look like penguins, and in the Disgaea games they act as expendable pawns, ready to explode at a moment’s notice. And they say “Dood” a lot. A while back, Prinnies got their own game: a quirky yet tough as nails 2-D platformer on the PSP. And now they’re ready to follow up with a sequel available on UMD or downloadable on PSN.

The story is as quirky as the Prinnies themselves. Someone stole the demon overlord Etna’s panties, and now it’s up to her Prinny underlings to find them. To do so, they’ll need to travel through 2-D obstacle filled platform jumping stages. Prinnies can jump, double jump, dash, butt-bounce, and slash baddies with their little swords.

Unfortunately, Prinnies are also very weak and can explode at the tip of a hat. Just a couple of hits and they bite the dust. Luckily, you get 1,000 Prinnies to do the job (it’s just one thousand lives). And you’ll need all those Prinnies, too, as this game is brutally hard, with tricky jumps, wily enemies, and brutal bosses at the end of each stage. But what really makes the game difficult is the poor play control, which includes clunky jumps and trial-and-error gameplay.

Luckily, the sequel offers three difficulty modes that you can opt to switch to at any time, including a new Baby Mode which gives you extra hits and pit blocking cubes. There are also more hidden secrets to find and an extra quest with more levels after you beat the main game.  And the music is pretty jazzy and catchy.  Fans of super hard platformers like Ghosts N Goblins as well as gamers who enjoy NIS’ crazy characters and humor should enjoy Prinny 2. But that’s about it.

Kid Factor:

Prinny 2 is rated T for Teen with ESRB descriptors of Language, Mild Fantasy Violence, and Suggestive Themes. The violence is just cartoony stuff, no more brutal than a Mario game. There is some language in the text, and the suggestive themes are pretty obvious, as even the title reveals that. But it’s just campy anime-type humor, really. But because of the steep difficulty level, even on the easiest setting, Prinny 2 is best enjoyed by older kid gamers and up only.

Tags: Game Reviews