The Princess' Heart

This is a old style RPG, with graphics similar to SNES. The basic story is about a princess who has to[spoiler]break a curse she set on herself because she made an agreement with a demon to make the prince love her. (What a Stalker!) [/spoiler] Positives: + It’s $4.99 + Graphics are nice, if you like the SNES style + A few randomly funny moments, there's a few side quests, no random enemy encounters, the combat is quick. Negatives: - Graphical issues: The screen flashes and skips often when walking. This is especially annoying if you set movement speed from walk to run. - The story line: It is different and that helps it a little, but there needs to be more to the story and the characters within it.[spoiler](The story starts with the princess going on a drunken bender and ordering the death of innocent guards for no reason. This does not make for a very likable princess character.)[/spoiler] - Some basic missing aspects: No armor or weapon upgrades, except for one accessory slot. New spells don’t unlock as you gain levels and each character only has 6-9 skills. Money is mostly irrelevant, since you don't need to buy gear. No world map. - Some boring design choices and grinding: So far I have been going from dungeon to dungeon, moving two levers to unlock a boss room, and then killing a boss. Go to the next dungeon and repeat. There are also some difficulty spikes, where you are fine one level and then get crushed the next level. Exploring new areas is not advisable, as you really need to go in the order the game wants or you're going to die. Other: • Not recommended for kids. The majority of the game would be fine for kids but there are occasional, mostly random moments, where the text is pretty all over the place. I am an adult so I can handle it, but it a little unexpected in a cute looking game when a bandit states he going to kill the princess and rape her corpse if she comes back. Overall this game has a few positive aspects but I haven't found enough enjoyable content in this game to make me recommend it. If more content was added and the above mentioned negatives were corrected, it would greatly improve the game and add some charm to it's world. Rating: 5/10 -------------- Game Tips: -To get spells you have to buy them from within the game menu. This is simple but easy to overlook, so go to the skills screen and select learn skills to buy them with journey points. -You need to talk to Maota, at the Snowline Port Inn, to be able to fight bandits at the tower and obtain the ship to sail the sea’s. *This review covers the first 8 hours of gameplay.*

This is an open-world RPGMaker-based game where the protagonist Aerin Goldheart signed a contract with the demon of desire Izdul Kalag to make her husband Tommy Wocrome love her with all his heart. Things didn't turn out well as planned and Aerin has to travel through the world with her companions and defeat 5 different demons, each representing a different dark part of the princess to be able to break out of her curse and clear her husband's possession. For an open-world RPG, the game is relatively easy to finish, with an estimated playtime of around 15 hours and doesn't require much grinding for experience levels or loot drops. The combat is simple and very consistent, with every character using the same weapon from start to end of game and only one optional jewellery slot to protect against a special negative effect or to enhance a certain combat ability. There are very few instances of failed or missed combat abilities or magic not working on allies or enemies that have no special resistance to that form of attack. The only con is the scaling up of prices for potions and elixirs with character level, which reduces the motivation to grind for loot and hoard 99 units of potions or elixirs. Among the side-quests available in the game, they are short and all can be completed without too much travelling or grinding for specific high-quality mob loot. The graphics and soundtracks are great, it would have been nice if the game allows the take screenshot button on Steam to work. The deluxe edition is recommended when at discount as it includes the OST and the strategy guide which is needed to finish certain side-quests that require travelling to a specific area.

I had alot of fun beta testing this game for steam release, would be speedrunners have me to thank for adding 4 hours to their runs, no sequence breaks for you hehe XD To start off my review, my opionion of the game was pretty low starting out. The intro gave me the impression that the plot was going to be quite dark. Having a few innocent guards executed near the begining reinforced my suspicions. The gamplay which ill cover later, also bothered me at first and i was almost ready to send the game back and not play anymore. That said, I am glad i pushed past that, as overall i realy enjoyed the game. It just took some warming up to. The plot was not nearly as dark as the intro made it feel for me. Gameplay Mechanics(7/10): There were a few mechanics that irked me while playing, Such as entirely disabling dash in any combat area, making navigating already comquered areas much slower. or that Shop items never change, the price just goes up with your level, making it harder and harder to purchase everything. I ended up just not bothering to use consumable items and found it easier to grind till the area couldnt hurt me. There were also some mechanics i loved in the game, such as the ability to swap out your entire party once per combat, even boss battles, this has saved me many times. As you progress and unlock more skills the initially dull encounters start becoming very fun and engaging, there are so many ways to play your party strategically. The skills make the battles, as other than an accessory that allows double turns, most equipment in the game is rather dull and pointless. there are only accessories, armor and weapon do not change. also strange how many characters fight with some variation of fisticuffs. Graphics: The engine used to create a game is not an excuse for the quality of the game. As with most RPGM games I feel i cant really even grade this catagory, other than the "retro feel" it does not stand up to current industry standards, though its what you will see in most RPGM games. Characters(9/10): I very much enjoyed the banter between characters and the personality of each one, and no character felt worthless in my party so the battle balance was well done. the only flaw i find is there isnt enough screen time to showcae these characters, and few of them grow past what they start as. Story(8/10): I feel this could have been much more than it was. while i did end up enjoying it quite a bit, there are alot of gaps between story moments, and the story moments were short and sweet. I do feel the needless deaths of countless guards was a bit much compared to the light heartedness of the story that follows. I started off with a negetive bias but enjoyed the game enough to get back into the story, and i feel that while too short, it was a good story. Overall: not without its flaws and frustration, but far better than a great many other games out there, and overall quite enjoyable even with the issues. Dont expect the next bioshock 2 out of it, but dont pass it up either. EDIT: In light of the recently released deluxe version, im afraid my overall opinion of this game has dropped conciderably. making 3 in game skills only available by spending extra money is kinda messed up. x.x

This story is not true. Those were the first words to greet me into this game after some rather awkward form of configuration. Just like how you don't hang out at alcoholics anonymous meetings for a laugh, don't come to this game expecting a documentary style affair. Don't come into this game expecting a lot, it saves a lot of disappointment in the long run. Well, as if that little statement didn't give away my opinion on this. I should elaborate. The Princess' Heart is a story written from the perspective of an adolscent girl and like everyone's early work, this is just awful. The princess herself is a brat. Totally irredeemable. The captain has no backbone. These two are introduced to us and are just flat out unlikable, how does one get invested in the story when the characters themselves actively fight your interest if you decide to give it a chance? You are punished for starting a new game. It doesn't get any better from there. Bland plot points, one dimensional characters and just poor mapping. The game uses RTP which is included in RPG Maker and the built in character generator for the character sprites and faces. I maintain there is nothing wrong with that, however when you have a place called a Ridge, why is it suddenly floating in the sky? The world itself feels empty. Characters sprouting the some few lines as nauseum. In a dungeon, there may only be a few things to interact with, some treasure chests and a switch or two if you're lucky. No flavour text, just events important to the plot and that's it. Here's another map you have to walk through until you get to the next non-interactive moment. A > B > C. Perhaps it opens up afterwards, I don't know. I doubt I'm going to find out. If you recall the beginning of this "review", I mentioned some configuration. You are asked how you would like to play and you are then warned to not press the F12 key as that will reset the game. It does not, it does however crash the game. You can also change the window colour in the options menu however the audio system? Doesn't work. I changed all values to 0% and still had everything at the same volume it was earlier. In short, it's a cliche ridden mess, full of unlikable characters with menus that achieve nothing. The music isn't too bad and the auto-save feature is non-intrusive.

Very good, but rather short JRPG. The music in this little gem is really great. One of the best soundtracks I've listened to in a while. The graphics are rather standard for an RPG Maker game, but some effects and a distinct set of tiles for each location creates a pleasant to look at game. The story isn't very deep, but it's well written and gives enough background. The gameplay isn't without flaws though. There's the odd auto leveling of prices for inns and items. I guess it's meant to balance out the higher rewards you get from stronger enemies, but it just feels wrong. The other thing that is worth mentioning is the 'streamlined' equipment. There's only one accessory slot to equip something and the selection of equipable items only covers protection against the various status effects, more HP or MP and a small boost to attack. There's only one special accessory that you can get for completing a side quest. At least two slots and a bit more variation could have helped here. The enemy variety and the boss fights are again very good. You won't find any 'recolored' enemies in this game. Each area/dungeon has its unique set of enemies and you will need a bit of strategy to get past them. The overall difficulty isn't very high, but it's not a casual game either. Make sure you save up enough potions before you enter any boss fights. The game is only 15 hours long (including all side quests) and there's not that much to discover outside of the main path. A good amount of that time is grinding for levels as the lack of equipment forces you to make up for it by leveling your characters. It doesn't get too boring though even if the dungeons don't hold any surprises. You hunt for a switch or two and figure out which paths are dead ends. That's pretty much it. Still the game doesn't feel boring because the dungeons don't drag on too much and as mentioned above each location feels unique. Overall it's a very solid JRPG with a bit wonky gameplay mechanics, but a beautiful soundtrack, a good variety of locations and enemies and an entertaining story. Well worth the 5 bucks.

As a game it's alright. Let's be real though, it's pretty much exactly the same experience as 90% of RPG maker games out there. Generic fantasy adventure thing with the same art assets, same shop, and the same combat system. Dungeons are long and often confuzing because the beginning of the dungeon and the end of the dungeon look exactly the same with little to no distinguishing features/ layouts. All that said, it's decently balanced, the character skill unlocks give you a moment to think, and there was a decent amount of effort put into the story, so if you're like me and you can be a sucker for RPG maker games every once in a while give it a go.

I just found myself wondering what exactly I am doing wasting my Christmas holidays playing this game. Holiday gaming is supposed to be fun, not frustrating or boring. I do feel bad giving a bad review because the creator seems absolutely lovely at the forums and is really kind in her (?) answers, never once snapping or becoming rude even at the face of criticism. Howerver, I cannot escape the fact that no matter how much I wanted to like this game it is both boring and frustrating. The main character is dislikeable, her prince seems like a douche and is ugly to boot (ugh), there are weirdo sexist comments (hence my questionmark on whether the creator is a woman despite the name "Lucia") and the worst offence... THERE ARE NO MAPS. No dungeon maps, no world map. I hate feeling like I am missing stuff or that I do not know where I should be going next and whether I have seen everything I wanted to see. Moreover, battles are tedious and boring. It feels like either too easy, or a constant grind. The game is not awful... It could be interesting at certain points, but do get this on sale if you must and only play if you've really run out of other, FUN games.

This is an... interesting game. The story appears to be a story with another. The princess has made a pact with a demon, but now needs to break it by hunting down demons across the world and killing them. But all of this is a tale written by a girl who is fighting her own demons in this way (through the story she is writing). Whether that is a glimpse into the actual author, or another layer of storytelling... tricky to tell. Still, it appears to be a good game. Give it a try.

Great premise but poor execution. Among other things, I teach game design to middle school students, and I'd love to have a substantive RPG I could share with my female students. I thought this might be it - but it isn't. The problem isn't the premise, or the occasionally mature content. Rather, the problem is the execution. Far too often, the game contradicts itself. Far too often, the narrative breaks the fundamental rule of storytelling, telling you stuff instead of showing you stuff. And the RPG mechanics, while they bring back fond memories of FFII and FFIII, are pretty standard, and quickly get old. An example. Vices as demons is a common but useful metaphor, and it could have been a solid foundation for a game that was both fun and thoughtful. Unfortunately, the very first demon battle (about 3 hours into the game) is just like every other battle. Before the battle began, the game told me in words that that this fantasy demon was a metaphor for the real problems of a real-world human. However, with the bland RPG battle mechanics, the game told me that this fantasy demon was just a bunch of stats - no different from a snake, bird, goblin, or manticore. Further, after defeating the demon, my princess was exactly the same person that she was before the battle began. There was no nifty mechanic, pithy punchline, no change-of-heart epiphany. At the end of the battle, all I got was a Scroll of Return - allowing me to teleport out of the dungeon. This was a huge missed opportunity. On the bright side - the designers put lots of nice touches into the visuals and the UI. It's clear they cared about the game, and that care shines through the cracks in the narrative and the design. I just wish they'd been more consistently faithful to the premise, and had crafted mechanics that supported and enriched the narrative. The completionist in me may someday sit down to finish this game so that I can lay claim all the achievements. Right now, I feel done. I'm a little curious about the story, but not so curious that I'm willing to slog through more cookie-cutter dungeons or consequence-less battles.

This game is Half baked. Mechanically, the game runs well. You are given early on a number of different characters to build a party, and each characters skills can be selected as they level up. Being able to determine the party turn order, and swap party members out during combat gives the battle system some added level of tactical depth. The map design isn't bad, either. However, the story, and characters are awful. They feel paper thin, even worse than simple charactures of common stereotypes, making the story incredibly uncompelling. The world is largely uninteractive; NPCs simply exist to say a single, pointless line of dialogue, if anything at all. As you level, the price of everything goes up, meaning that your money is effectively inflating as the game goes on. (who knows, maybe all that added dungeon gold to the economy is actually hurting things for once!) The game quickly becomes entering the next dungeon, and as the dungeons are nothing special, this game really doesn't have much to offer... At least not enough to keep my attention.