Portable Pedigree: Princess Crown

It’s fair to say that in the western hemisphere, Sega’s 32-bit Saturn console hasn’t got the greatest reputation. It boasted a confusing mess of hardware chips under the hood and a penchant for 2D visuals at a time when the entire industry was moving inexorably towards 3D. Programmers struggled to get the best out of the machine and it also had the misfortune to be up against Sony’s unstoppable PlayStation juggernaut.

However, the failure of Sega’s console in the west tends to cloud the perception of the machine in this part of the world. In The Land of the Rising Sun the story was slightly different; the Saturn enjoyed a solid fan base and was actively supported by many respectable Japanese third-party publishers long after western developers had given up and moved on to other machines. (Well, PlayStation.)

Sadly, many of the Saturn’s finest titles never actually made it out of Japan; one such game being Atlus’s Princess Crown. Released in 1997 this 2D tour de force achieved significant popularity in its homeland and over the past decade has become a much sought-after import classic amongst dedicated western Saturn collectors.

Thankfully, Princess Crown was a new lease of life when Altus made the decision to port it to Sony’s PSP handheld in 2005.

Ostensibly a straight port of the Saturn original (a fact that disappointed fans who were expecting an enhanced remake of the game), the PSP edition is the very epitome of lazy programming. No attempt has been made to update the existing concept; the visuals and audio are identical and even the display is unoptimised – as a consequence the game runs with two bloody great borders down either side of the screen.

Yet none of which really matters in the grand scheme of things as Princess Crown is one of the most joyous 2D action adventures you’re ever likely to play and the bone-idleness of team that ported it fails to dent the drop-dead gorgeousness of the overall experience.

But what actually makes Princess Crown so great in the first place? The most obvious answer is the striking hand-drawn graphics, which are arguably some of the best ever to come out of the entire 32-bit era; back in 1997 this game turned heads and the PSP’s pin-sharp display only makes these radiant visuals look even more appealing. Expressively animated characters navigate lush environments with a grace that is too often absent from the latest 3D epics we’re constantly assailed with these days.

The smooth animation is thanks to the use of segmented characters; arms and legs are effectively treated as separate sprites which are rotated and scaled to create a thoroughly convincing impression of fluid movement.

So we’ve established that the game is a jaw-dropping aesthetic feast, but it’s important to remember that it’s no slouch in the gameplay department, either. Princess Crown is essentially divided into two sections: exploration and combat. Starting off from your royal abode, your character must travel to various towns and villages and converse with the residents in order to advance the story and open up new pathways.

Locations are joined by these pathways and they must be navigated in real time. During this portion of the game you’ll experience combat situations which eschew the traditional turn-based mechanics you might otherwise expect from this kind of game and instead relies on a real-time battle engine that effortlessly mixes RPG elements with Street Fighter II-style button commands.

Once combat is triggered your character unsheathes her massive chopper (oo-er, etc) and the basic controls change accordingly; a quick tap of the action button will result in a swift slice and subsequent taps will produce a flurry of quick blows.

Holding down the action button results in a ‘charge’ move which takes a few short moments to execute but will send your hapless foe spiraling through the air.

However, all this offensive power comes at a price – during combat, performing attacks depletes your action gauge. This refills when you’re not engaged in any activity, but if it reaches zero then your character is momentarily exhausted, leaving her dreadfully exposed to any attacks your enemies might throw at her.

During battles you’re also able to utilize items from your inventory, such as health-restoring foodstuffs and one-shot projectile weapons. In an interesting twist, you can even plant seeds which will bloom into fruit-bearing bushes as combat progresses. Those of you that consider yourselves to be budding Jamie Olivers will also be pleased to note that you can combine various items to ‘cook’ meals.

Success in battle rewards you not only with additional swag but boosts your experience, and just like a traditional RPG your character is able to ‘level up’ and therefore gain even more offensive and defensive power.

Needless to say, it’s an intriguing mish-mash of game styles and if you’re looking to make comparisons then it would be fair to say that the much-maligned Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a fairly close match.

Longevity is ensured by the sheer amount of quests available; once you’ve finished the main storyline you can unlock peripheral characters such as Edward the dragon slayer, Prosperpina the witch and Portgus the pirate. You bump into these quirky chaps during in the main quest and it’s interesting to experience the game again from their perspective.

The only thing that stymies all this action-RPG brilliance is that Princess Crown features massive helpings of Japanese text. Thanks to the dire performance of the Sega Saturn in the west the 32-bit original was never translated and although there were hopes that Atlus would rectify this sorry state of affairs with the PSP version, an English localization never materialized.

In Japan the PSP version sold so well that it was eventually reprinted as part of the ‘classics’ range and as a result it sells for a reasonable price on certain online auctions sites. Many members of the original Atlus development team have formed their own studio called Vanillaware and have since gone on to produce what is viewed by some fans as an ‘unofficial sequel’ in the shape of the sublime PS2 epic Odin Sphere. Thankfully this game did receive a western release and is well worth checking out.

As for pocket gamers, given the region-free nature of Sony’s portable hardware you owe it to yourself to give the PSP port of Princess Crown a spin. Granted, the language barrier presents something of an issue but speaking from experience we can honestly say that as long as you have a trusty FAQ at your side, you’ll still gain a massive amount of enjoyment from this 2D masterpiece.