Princess Elodie and the Case of the- [Internal Affairs Skill Failed]

 

Wow, is class really almost over already?  I can’t believe there are only two posts left to do!  I’ve had a lot of fun and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from writing this blog, and of course meeting you guys was awesome too.  I’m not sure if I’ll keep writing this blog after class ends, I love writing it, but it’s quite a bit of work as well!  Regardless, it’s been a fun experience, and now we’re in the home stretch!

 

So obviously, I’ve talked about a ton of different games so far.  I’m getting a few more for Christmas that I’m looking forward to, but it’s still a ways off and I needed something to tide me over.  Thankfully Steam, the diabolical soul-eater that it is, had an autumn sale recently, and if you know me, you know that I always end up losing money to the sales, no matter how much I tell myself not to buy anything.  This time, I bought a graphic-novel-esque indie game called Long Live the Queen.  You play as Crown Princess Elodie, a young girl whose mother, the Queen, has just met an untimely death.  So now, you have to survive in a kingdom filled with people that are all too willing to take your place on the throne, and the only way to do that is to learn the skills you’ll need to be a Queen.  Don’t let the cutesie anime art style fool you: this game is out to get you.

 

Poor Elodie.

So the only real gameplay in this game is deciding which skills in a long, long list to train, and making decisions that affect the story, such as raising or lowering taxes, visiting a friend’s birthday party, or learning how to use magic.  You soon figure out that no matter which skills you train up, most of the time, you fail certain events where you need them, since you don’t know which ones you need when you’re just starting out.  The game always points out when you fail or succeed a test, and it feels overwhelming at first because it truly seems like you need all of them to succeed.  However, after the many inevitable deaths, you discover that you can’t be the perfect Princess who’s smart, elegant, strong, fast, educated, and magical.  You have to choose certain skills to build up and stick with them, shaping Elodie’s personality and decision-making over time, and figuring out how to behave with each skillset.  For example, if you’re trying to be peaceful and diplomatic, it’s not a good idea to make the rival nobles angry; or if you’re being war-like and ruling with an iron fist, being obsequious and giving in to others will only make them sense your weakness.

 

Overall, it’s a really fun game with a lot of depth and replayability.  Not only are there a lot of different combinations of skills, but watching how the story plays out and how Elodie’s character develops each time is awesome.  After you make it to the end, there’s an epilogue that details how Elodie rules her kingdom and how your decisions affected the final outcome.  Who she ends up marrying, how she treats her allies and enemies, and what place magic has in the world are all up to how you play the game.  It’s a very unique experience and I highly recommend it!  Hopefully this will tide me over until Christmas, although, I really want to play Cave Story again too…

Whew, only one more post left, now!  See you guys on Wednesday!  What are you guys looking forward to about the holiday season?