In case you don’t Princess Maker is this niche game series that originated in Japan and is a child trainer game. Now this sounds bad, but I can explain. A trainer game, or as its more commonly referred to in America as a social simulation game is a game where you raise a single character throughout the entire game. Think of games like Monster Rancher or Tomodachi but with a little girl instead. What makes Princess maker even more unique as a game is that all the character designs and art are done by Gainex, yes that Gainax. Unfortunately for us Princess Maker never really made it over into the states until 2016 when Princess Maker 2 refine was released on steam. This was an enhanced port of the second game in the series which translated the game into english. The one I played is a remake of the third game in series but is called this, which is definitely not confusing at all.

Now what do I think of the game, well its kind of a mixed bag for me. Full transparency, I’ve really finished this game once which really isn’t enough considering how many endings and routes go down so this is just some thoughts on how I feel about the game. It’s a pretty fun trainer game where you plan a young father who has been chosen by the fairy queen to raise her daughter to be a normal human. I really enjoy the loop of choosing what my daughter needs to do. In my first run I tried to make her a warrior by making her attend fighting classes, but it didn’t really work out. So then I pivoted into making her a teacher which made me max out her intelligence which was an insane turn, not gonna lie. If you want to get into the games after hearing my thoughts just be aware that games gives you almost zero guidance on what the different stats mean and how to successfully raise your daughter. This can make the early game maddening as you keep running out of money and the game turns into a child slavery simulator. This can remedied somewhat by certain contests and events which can net you some extra cash plus the yearly salary you get every year. I recommend looking up some guides before you delve in. I do really enjoy these types of games and I’m glad I played it but it can be really annoying if you aren’t a supreme micro-manager. Recommended.