Yet, even while dodging a dozen cannon-wielding monsters attempting to blast you off a cliff, Prinny is nothing if not easy on the eyes. By all accounts, it just might be NIS’s most visually appealing title yet with vibrant, hand-drawn sprites that just seem to “pop” on the PSP’s gorgeous screen. For years now, NIS has consistently received flak for emphasizing game mechanics – not graphics – in its games. Prinny stands out as not only an oddball platformer, but an outright beautiful game from start to finish, and NIS deserves credit for taking their time making such a aesthetically pleasing title.

One interesting twist that Prinny introduces to the tried-and-true platforming formula is its liberal lives system. With an astounding 999 lives at your disposal, Prinny never punishes you for exploring, dying, and otherwise taking your time getting to the exit. On the contrary, it’s actually designed for piecemeal completion. Instead of seeing each level as a straight-shot to the boss’ lair, each stage contains multiple “mini-stages” designed to be completed one life at a time– a difficult task for almost anyone towards the end of the game. However, since it restarts so swiftly and the lives are virtually endless, half of your time is spent learning every inch of the level, one life (one/three hits) at a time – a neat take on the traditional platformer save system that sees you restarting over and over again at the start (or the lone checkpoint) of each stage.

Even though the game is fair enough for those willing to put in the work learning the stages, Prinny is not a title for the easily discouraged. Indeed, the only thing that’s really on your side is the outrageous number of lives at your disposal, which you will regularly be forced to dish out with no real regard to penguin life whatsoever. You’ll regularly be struck, shot, and knocked off platforms (oftentimes in that order), and only the most masochistic would start out with the one-hit kills found in the “Hard” version of the game.

Equally frustrating (at times) is Prinny’s ridiculously rigid movement system that doesn’t allow for any sort of Mega Man-esque movement in midair. Once you’re going, you’re gone, and many, many innocent Prinnies will meet their demise thanks to aerial miscalculations. Would it really have killed the programmers to be a little move flexible with the character movement? I know it’s a distinct platforming style, but man can it be brutal.

With all that said, there’s little doubt that Prinny is good old-fashioned frustrating fun, with loads of replayability granted by its six difficulty levels packing myriad trinkets to be picked up along the way. Is it tough? Absolutely. But will you actually use up all of those 999 lives? Probably not. Prinny presents a formidable challenge, but it is a challenge that can be surmounted with a pinch of luck, a touch of skill, and a whole lotta perseverance.

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