It is the second installment in the Princess Maker series of social simulation games where the player must act as a parental figure and raise a young girl.
[5] The game takes place in a fantasy world roughly modeled after medieval Europe with the starting year is given as 1210 K.D.
[6][7] The player's character is a famous warrior who defended the kingdom from an invasion by Lucifon, the Prince of Darkness (a corruption of Lucifer); consequently, he is known throughout the land as a military hero and receives an annual salary from the palace.
One night, he receives a communication from a god whose identity is determined by the birth-date the player selects at the beginning of the game.
The daughter has a set of statistics that fluctuate depending on the activities the player assigns to her schedule, including various part-time jobs, schooling, adventure, and free time.
That patron determines her starting statistics in a way that is loosely related to the god's role in the Roman pantheon; for example, a girl born under Mars begins the game with an advantage in fighting reputation.
Designer Takami Akai explained that "To play this game means to do something you want to but can't", adding that a father would not be allowed to manage his daughter's life because they would complain too much.
[9] The version was completed and review copies had been sent out to magazines, however the company producing the English port, IntraCorp, went bankrupt.
This remaster features most of the same content as the above since one in game item and two endings were taken out of the PS4 and PS5 while the Switch and Steam versions remain untouched.
The animation, which was made by a team led by Takami, allows new players to get a sense of what a future raising their “daughter” is going to be like.
Saying that he had grown attached to his virtual daughter, and that the unique gameplay rewards sensitive paternal players.
While Vacas praised the game as addictive and enjoyable, one downside they noted was its sheer complexity, something that could be daunting for first time players.
[26] Janine Hawkins, writing in Vice was critical of the look of the Refine version of the game, including the lack of dithering in artwork.
[27][15] Reviewing the 2016 English Refine release, Hardcore Gamer gave the game a score of 4 out of 5 and called it "absolutely a blast all these years later", although criticizing the translation, which at times said the opposite of what actually happened or left the endings voiced in Japanese without subtitles.