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[video game] Long Live the Queen
Oct. 1st, 2014 07:58 pmPurchased as part of a weekly Humble Bundle deal consisting of video games with female protagonists (still good for 16 hours! anti-rec to The Cat Lady, massive suicide/gore warnings!), this was my first time playing a visual novel RPG. The player controls Elodie, a pink-haired 14-year-old princess whose mother just died. She will inherit the crown and become queen on her fifteenth birthday - if you can keep her alive until then.
As the player, you can regularly control two aspects of her life: what she studies in her classes during the week, and how she spends her weekend. Classes range from court demeanor to animal husbandry to military logistics. Elodie's lessons affect her "skills" stats, which can also receive a boost if you choose to have Elodie wear the associated outfit (e.g., military uniform for strategy, cat suit for political intrigue, etc.). These skill sets affect Elodie's performance in the game's events, such as her abilities to fend off assassins, adequately deal with criminimals, and sense the plots - both political and magical - of those who want to steal her throne. While Elodie can choose how to respond to would-be suitors or political attacks, her options are shaped by her skillset (in this case, flattery/composure for the former, intrigue and her kingdom's history for the latter).
Of course, Elodie's ability to retain knowledge to boost her skill set is controlled by her mood, and her mood is controlled by the choices you make as the player about how she spends her weekend, or sometimes by forces beyond her control (aren't we all). For example, playing sports on the weekend increases her anger, and being angry helps her retain military-related lessons at a faster rate. Touring the castle's barracks on the weekend, though, can make her feel more pressured.
ALSO THERE IS AN OPTION TO BECOME A MAGICAL GIRL?!
While there's more than one way to win, and winning is fun, so is dying - sometimes attacked by bandits, or from poisoned chocolate. There are at least two achievements in Steam that you can win for finding a certain number of ways to die!
Tonight I gave a human sacrifice to satisfy a kraken, & also saved my kingdom from invasion by singing.
Basically, this game is great fun, and I didn't know games like this existed. (I mean, I was aware of visual novel RPGs, as they sometimes inspire anime series, but not the details.) I'll be messing around with this one for a while, but am very interested in finding and playing more.
Oh yeah. I'm ribbonknight on Steam - just signed up Monday night.
As the player, you can regularly control two aspects of her life: what she studies in her classes during the week, and how she spends her weekend. Classes range from court demeanor to animal husbandry to military logistics. Elodie's lessons affect her "skills" stats, which can also receive a boost if you choose to have Elodie wear the associated outfit (e.g., military uniform for strategy, cat suit for political intrigue, etc.). These skill sets affect Elodie's performance in the game's events, such as her abilities to fend off assassins, adequately deal with criminimals, and sense the plots - both political and magical - of those who want to steal her throne. While Elodie can choose how to respond to would-be suitors or political attacks, her options are shaped by her skillset (in this case, flattery/composure for the former, intrigue and her kingdom's history for the latter).
Of course, Elodie's ability to retain knowledge to boost her skill set is controlled by her mood, and her mood is controlled by the choices you make as the player about how she spends her weekend, or sometimes by forces beyond her control (aren't we all). For example, playing sports on the weekend increases her anger, and being angry helps her retain military-related lessons at a faster rate. Touring the castle's barracks on the weekend, though, can make her feel more pressured.
ALSO THERE IS AN OPTION TO BECOME A MAGICAL GIRL?!
While there's more than one way to win, and winning is fun, so is dying - sometimes attacked by bandits, or from poisoned chocolate. There are at least two achievements in Steam that you can win for finding a certain number of ways to die!
Tonight I gave a human sacrifice to satisfy a kraken, & also saved my kingdom from invasion by singing.
Basically, this game is great fun, and I didn't know games like this existed. (I mean, I was aware of visual novel RPGs, as they sometimes inspire anime series, but not the details.) I'll be messing around with this one for a while, but am very interested in finding and playing more.
Oh yeah. I'm ribbonknight on Steam - just signed up Monday night.
