Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! Review

Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! is a lighthearted affair that has enough flair to stand out in a barren month of video games still recovering from the holiday overload. Published and developed by Nippon Ichi Software, the team responsible for the Disgaea franchise and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Prinny 2 has many colorful traits that bode well for fans of the development studio. It’s entertaining and, at times, even with its repetitive and in-your-face comedy, quite humorous.

Developed as a platfomer, Prinny 2 is a challenging romp that keeps players on their toes to collect the mystical panties for the Overlord of Prinnies named Etna. If players have never heard of a prinny before, then they are in for a treat; well at least the first hour or so. A prinny is a penguin-like creature who has a goofy attitude, repetitively says the word “dood” and thinks lowly of itself. Their antics are never short of childish, but that’s the point, though they run their course rather quickly.

Any way you look at it, Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! was meant as a comedic title and accomplished that goal in spurts. The comedy routine exceeded the rule of three (do a gag three times and the audience will often laugh on the third cue) with too many attempts to make the prinny a lovable character with a witless attitude. Even so, there’s humor to be found deep within if players are willing to wait around.

Back on track though, Prinny 2 can test the intelligence of the gamer. As a 2D side-scrolling platformer, it’s not the most difficult I have ever encountered, yet it did require patience. Perhaps it was because of the tiresome jumping mechanics that don’t work as fluidly as they should, but Prinny 2 certainly attempts to give players something to bite on with substance.

Speaking of substance, the world that NIS has created is wonderful. As a spin-off series from Disgaea, Prinny 2 continues the trend of colorful and crisp artwork that works well alongside the comedic tone of the storyline. Outside of jumping, the animations are clean and never resort to clipping or slow frame rates. Don’t be fooled though, NIS is all about the art style rather than moving the genre forward with “next-generation graphics.” With the atmosphere and theme set, Prinny 2 is bound to impress fans, but does little to invite newcomers.

New to the series is Baby Mode for fanatics that complained about the original’s difficulty level. Baby Mode allows players to achieve Break Mode anytime they pass through a checkpoint to help clear the enemies on the screen with a limited boost of power. Baby Mode also throws in safety blocks for the tedious jumping mechanics, so players who originally were scared away from the first title should be happy to return to the more user-friendly Baby Mode.

Be warned though; any way players slice it, they will only have 10 hours to complete their mission to find the stolen panties. In Baby Mode, it was simple to breeze through the game, although it was much tougher to obtain that deadline elsewhere. It’s best to learn every enemy’s weakness, avoid conflict when possible and keep pushing forward to make an effort to finish before the timer runs out.

Then again, the questionable jumping may leave players scratching their head on NIS’s decision to not allow the ability to change direction in mid-air. It’s an odd choice considering the rest of the animations are quick and fluid; NIS essentially promoted an action-packed side-scroller while oddly endorsing slowdowns due to the jumping. Players will spend more time fidgeting with platforming than making it look graceful.

Overlooking the jumping, and even the worn-out “dood!” phrases, Prinny 2: Dawn of the Operation Panties, Dood! is a thought-provoking adventure that hearkens back to gaming standards of yesteryear. The voice acting is in line with the genre and Disgaea universe, but that doesn’t make it more enjoyable since there were times I had wondered if the characters would ever shut up so I could go on my merry way to find the panties thief. So, yes, Prinny 2 is riveting at times; but it doesn’t come without its flaws.

For Disgaea fans who want to see the lovable prinny losers get punished over and over again due to the demanding difficulty level, I could see it being a smart purchase. Otherwise, try before buy is the best advice I can give.