Galaxy Princess Zorana

I did like it, and I did play it for like 6 hours straight. Each run through is probably about 3 hours long, unless you're fast forwarding through it all, which you will be doing eventually. It was easier than the previous game, and I appreciated that. That said, when it got toward the ending and I thought everything was about to get even better and more information would be given, the game ended. It felt rushed. 3 hours for 24.99? Nah Should you get it on sale? Yeah, if you liked LLTQ. Personally that game just frustrated me. I'd say this is an upgrade to the predecessor only because it makes things easier and you don't lose your progress as easily, but it should have also been 10 bucks. Do I like it enough to play it again? No. And that's a shame.

First and foremost, this is a political management sim. Dont play this game for romance, there isnt any. The only characters you get any romantic interactions with is your school mate friends, which require you to have them be cabinet members the whole run, putting you at a disadvantage for the run by losing bargaining power with electors and requiring you to spend points to actually pass those checks. It can be done, of course, but dont expect much for your troubles. If they arent both there, youll get the same scenes as if neither were there. And even if they are both present, and you express interest, theres not much chemistry. Which is great if romance isnt your thing,but disappointing since LLTQ, Black Closet, and Cute Bite were able to include satisfying romance without negatively affecting the core gameplay. That being said, its still a fun game. Its political system is well done, theres lots to do and puzzle out. I was able to 100% it solely on Steamdeck. Theres interesting alien cultures and designs to learn about, and fun secrets to discover. Different builds will have you doing the same quest but experiencing it entirely differently. The pet system lets you manipulate your mood without it feeling too overpowered, but instead guides you on builds that can win you the election. I had someone try to assassinate me because i didnt solve his escape room game. Its great. I still wish we could marry Mirelle, though...

Addicting gameplay loop just like their previous title "Long Live The Queen". It's also a good game to play if your attention doesn't need to be entirely on it. Not that I play this while I'm at work, or anything. Nope...

Galaxy Princess Zorana is both a raising sim and a political sim, and very good at both. It takes aspects of the visual novel, but has so much more to offer than your average VN. As a successor to Long Live The Queen, I think it succeeds in every way. You take the place of a young girl who is the heiress of an evil emperor, as part of an evil empire, but it is an elective monarchy, so you still have to win the majority of the 30 elector nobles. The setting is in many ways a very generic, low-seriousness, somewhat odd anime science fantasy, but there are a few interesting things that stand out about it. The gameplay mainly involves jetting around the empire from planet to planet attempting to curry favor with various unreasonable nobles, trying not to die in the process, all the while uncovering multiple conspiracies and machinations behind the scenes. Gameplay is very good in this. You have a vast array of potential skills, and while some obviously matter more than others, all of them are important and come up with surprising frequency. Managing the electorate is engaging and requires both strategic thinking and the ability to read them interpersonally. Unfortunately, maybe realistically, some people simply cannot be changed or swayed, while some are just well-mannered and will support you on sight, but the vast majority fall in the middle. You can do quests or use blackmail to get them to commit votes to you, but in the end, there will actually likely be many uncommitted voters who will swing one way or another based on your general actions and demeanor, with a relatively sophisticated system behind it all. There is a complex system surrounding managing her moods, which have effects both on the skills you can learn as well as occasionally affecting dialogue, even quest progression. I find it significantly more fun than Long Live The Queen's mood management system. There isn't very much in the way of "kingdom management", mainly because you aren't actually empress until after the game ends (if you're lucky enough to win). You will sometimes be prompted to make ruler-like decisions, but these are quite limited, even moreso than Long Live The Queen. As for the writing, there are many interesting and memorable characters, but I wouldn't say there's very much in the way of interpersonal relationships, it's mostly based on intrigue, worldbuilding, and political maneuvering. The majority of characters you will only ever meet once, and like in Long Live The Queen, this applies to most of your romance options as well. You have basically one option if you want to marry for love, and you will talk to said love interest maybe five times in the entire playthrough. Ultimately I'd give this game VERY high marks, it's a favorite of mine and not even just in the limited niche realms of raising sims or political sims. Highly recommended.

Fun stat raising, rich story & lore

A charming fun life-sim

A very complex game. It might be quite straight forward at first, but depending on the routes you take or skills you train, you might encounter surprising changes. I might need to use a guide to find the true ending, but overall the game is very fun. A worthy sequel to Long Live the Queen.

i love kxenia

A life/political sim in the vein of the same dev's [i]Long Live the Queen[/i]. As the crown princess of a space empire, you're thrust onto the throne after the Emperor dies in a tragic accident and have to consolidate support before somebody assassinates you. Made in the Ren'Py visual novel engine, so it's no surprise that most of the game is interacting with an array of characters. The writing is absolutely on point here, as everyone you meet has a unique personality. They're not just pretty faces, though. Your major objective is to secure their support in your bid for the throne. Most of the time, this means doing them a favor. Sometimes this favor involves babysitting their kid for a few hours. Sometimes it involves capturing a dangerous predatory beast from planetside. Sometimes it involves reading and commenting their extremely dirty M/M fanfics. In nearly all cases, it involves skill checks. Skills are the other big part of the game- there are over 40 of them, some more useful than others, and a hard time limit of 30-ish turns means you can't be the best at everything, so you need to prioritize what's most important to you. Fortunately, most events permit multiple successful approaches. Does this work as a game? Mostly, yes. After a few runs, you start thinking of it as a big puzzlebox. You need to plan out your travel route and your skill development to hit the right nobles when you have the skills to meet their requirements, in addition to following subplots which advance at certain times. You can really get into the weeds with strategy here. If I had a problem, it's that the story kinda gets lost in the shuffle. The main storyline essentially becomes a series of vignettes. Subplots abound, but aren't always easy to devote time and effort to following, especially since most of them don't have full resolution until the epilog. It's still fun, though. It took me several times, but I did manage to finally become the empress, thanks to a lot of strategy and note-taking, and when your plans come together, it's a rush to see them go off. Absolutely worth playing if you dig lifesim games, political sims, or figuring out complex game-length metapuzzles.

The sequel to Long Live the Queen. It's genuinely such a great game on its own but as a sequel to an already nearly perfect princess maker game it is beyond any expectation. I love it so much and I think any girl who likes these things would enjoy it! So well made.