Princess Maker 2

The Good
You don't see this kind of thing often. For those of you who haven't played it, another appropriate title would be "Sim Daughter". The objective here is to guide the daughter, and then depending on your actions, she will end up in one of several professions.

It's an original concept that is rarely seen anymore, especially in America. Somehow, this thing is strangely addictive, and you'll find yourself replaying, wondering what sort of outcome you'll get.

The Bad
If you're like me, and know little or nothing about Japanese culture, you're going to be exposed to some strangeness.. most apparently in the weight/height ratio of the child. When I played, she turned out to be 17 years old, 5' 7" and 97 pounds. With these statistics she complained about being "too fat" and the game would not allow her to wear some of the fancier clothes. I had to slim her down to 87 pounds to resolve the problem.

There's also the whole Child Pornography issue. Yes, you will see naked cartoon preteen art. At no time are sexual acts depicted, but nudity is not exactly scarce. It's my understanding, though, that the North American versions have been censored, and that the art for that is simply not available.

The Bottom Line
If you want something unique, try it out. It's fun, addictive, and just downright nifty.

The Good
1. It looks great, even though it uses only 16 colors! Wow!
2. 74 endings... when I think that PM1 has 30 endings, and even PM3 has only 60 endings...
3. It's really addictive ^^. It means it's really good.
4. A lot of stats desciribing your daughter.
5. Adventure mode is really cool. It's not only walking around, killing monsters and finding treasures, you can also, for example, meet interesting creatures.
6. Ending with your daughter marrying Cube is so cute ^^

The Bad
1. A bit repetitive.
2. English beta doesn't have descriptions of some endings.
3. Why do I have to be the father, and I can't be the mother? It makes me feel a little confused...

The Bottom Line
Great game. What else can I say? Maybe just: you must play it!! ^_^

The Good
While not a terribly unique concept in Japan, Princess Maker 2 is one of the few "real-life" sims that has (sort of) come across the ocean. It is vastly replayable, due to the large number of endings. In addition to the base ending (ie, your daughter's chosen career/lifestyle at age 18) there are other factors such as whether and to whom she marries, whether she considers her childhood to have been happy, etc. There are some truly bizarre endings out there... a few trial runs should be enough to figure out how to max out her stats... and messing with stats is the key to determining her future. I got the Princess ending once, ages ago... but its really far more interesting to seek out some of the obscure endings.

The Bad
It gets repetitive... in order for your daughter to accomplish ANYTHING in any field, she needs money and you will therefore spend a lot of time having her work or fight for the sole purpose of raising money. It also becomes important to make sure that she doesn't do the same job too often, unless you want her to go into that field. Too much cooking and cleaning will get you a housewife every time. It seemed like a waste to spend hours on the game only to get ANOTHER housewife, artist, dancer, or hooker (those were the ones that kept cropping up for me at least), knowing that there are around 40 endings that I have never got, it was frustrating to do something different and get the same ending over and over again.

Princess Maker 3 actually has more endings, and it is a bit easier to ensure a different ending by changing your actions to a lesser degree than is necessary in 2. But for those who don't read Japanese, this is just about the best--if not ONLY--game of its type.

The Bottom Line
Yes, it sounds dorky. Who wants to play a child-rearing sim? Well... I do, for one. It is AMAZING how addictive this game is once you give it a shot!