When we were younger we wanted to play house. We pretend to be fathers , mothers or children. Of course the part we don’t really want to play is parent. Playing house just lasts a few minutes. Parenting is a full-time occupation and no child or teen should bear that responsibility. But the Japanese came up with a unique game genre called “Child-rearing simulation”. Imagine a hybrid between Sims™ and Pokemon but with just one main character. The Princess Maker series is one of the most successful franchises in this genre. In fact it was so successful that its makers the anime studio Gainax, yes the same Gainax who made Neon Genesis Evangellion, licensed an American studio to develop an English version of what was then it’s latest version Princess Maker 2. Sadly PM2’s English version never got sold, but you can get the Japanese and Korean versions
Princess Maker: raise your 10 year old child into a princess
The premise of Princess Maker 2 is fairly straight forward. A hero comes to save the kingdom, you, and as a reward the gods give him an innocent 9 year old daughter to raise. This game has also been described as a god game and an RPG because you have near absolute control over what your daughter will do. She can work part-time jobs, go to school or do nothing at all depending on what you want her to do.
There are over 70 different endings depending on how you raise your daughter. My favorite ending is when she becomes a legendary warrior like her father. If you make her do a specific job all the time she might end up working there when she becomes an adult. If you raise her poorly she might become a bandit or even become the dark god. Other cool endings include becoming the ruler of the kingdom and becoming a legendary sorcerer.
Olive as a legendary sorcerer: well if that’s what you want her to be..
A word of caution, this game is not suited for very young children. Your daughter can work in a brothel or a cabaret, she can dress in skimpy clothes like the Venus robes. Your daughter can even fall in love with her father, although this isn’t as bad as it sounds because in the beginning of the game it was established that she is a gift from the gods and not really your blood.
She is 18 so maybe its age appropriate. Maybe.
In conclusion the game is very entertaining and is a very good simulation game from Japan. The anime theme makes it endearing to play. The concept is fairly unique since the game predates the Sims. The idea that how you nurture your daughter has a direct impact on future would be a valuable lesson even for today’s youths. More importantly understanding how diverse ones’ choices are and yet understanding what path you want to take is something a high school student should understand .
