Shall We Date: My Sweet Prince Review

Characters (left to right): Nagit, Jun, Lambert, Alvah and Chezem

After the success of NTTsolmare's Ninja Love, I decided to search their archive for another title that appealed to me. Although I was initially unimpressed with their Visual Novels (excluding Ninja Love), I thought why not try out another one? Perhaps I may enjoy it just as much, if not more. My Sweet Prince caught my eye because of the beautiful art (which I believe surpasses even Ninja Love), and I quickly purchased it. All in all, I was rather disappointed and not very pleased.

Storyline: You play the role of a common, japanese tourist on her first overseas trip to a foreign country. She's simple, slightly ditzy and not very bright - as she manages to lose her luggage upon arriving there. However, the thief surprisingly leaves behind a beautifully made bracelet, to which she realises is worth more than any luggage. And so, she sets out to the police station to report what had happened. To her dismay, she is captured and instead sent to the very King of the country himself! They're suspicious of her intent, as the bracelet is property of the Royal Family and of utmost importance. After earning the King's trust, he explains to her whoever is within ownership of the bracelet represents the next line in succession to be King.

She quickly refuses - as she is merely a simpleton on vacation after all. And so, he suggests that she stay within the country for a while, and to instead choose one of his six sons to be the next king! Whoever she deems worthy will immediately accept the title. Just what has she gotten herself into? What will become of her "so called relaxing vacation?" Or perhaps, will she find something more waiting for her in this foreign paradise?

I found the premise of it very interesting, and a unique take on a story. The story itself was rather well written, with each of the characters possessing solid, succinct dialogue. I was rather impressed, as the grammar improved dramatically since Ninja Love and was a definite positive aspect. The story is cute and humorous - more so of a game to pass the time than anything else. It doesn't have that edgy mystery going on, as it is more of the protagonist's experience within a different setting - and of course, her time with the Princes.

Their romances whilst sweet, doesn't quite have that in depth development, nor that "heart wrenching, emotional" aspect. For someone like me who loves that action/drama within a Visual Novel, I was rather disappointed. Its not the kind of game that you'll actually remember, or consider playing again. It's split into 12 episodes, and is around 1-2hrs per path (a little disappointingly short for me).

Admittedly though, I did adore their confession scenes - since the dialogue was just beautiful, and you could really feel that emotion coming through in their words. But overall, if you love cute, sweet fairy tale romances with happy endings - then this is the game for you.

Character Development: Each of the characters had very contrastingly different personalities - allowing you to have a wider scope of who you would like to choose. All in all, I found each of their paths mediocre/decent, since as I stated above - it's not the kind of game where you'll be placed in heart wrenching, emotional situations. There's no edgy mystery, and whatever conflict that comes your way is predictable and obvious.

In saying that though, the characters do undergo a lot of of believable changes and become the better person in the end. The characters themselves did have depth and personality - its just their paths/stories didn't particularly interest me, or would be called "memorable". Also, a factor to remember is that it's not as... sexually explicit as Ninja Love. There may be some sexual innuendos thrown in here and there, but that's about it.

Lambert: Probably my second favourite path, since I found their interactions to be absolutely adorable. Their dialogue in particular, I greatly enjoyed - since it was humorous yet oh so sweet at the same time. He's considered the most "focused" of the cast, since he's completely serious within his duties as a Prince. He places it above all (even his honour) if it means benefiting his country. This includes marrying someone he doesn't love. I couldn't help but laugh at his complete turmoil at the idea he may even possess feelings for anybody, nonetheless a common Japanese tourist. 

What I was disappointed in though, was his CGs. Yes, they were beautifully done - but there weren't many of him and the protagonist together. It was more so self portraits of himself during various events and such. But I guess that's because out of all the Princes, he was the least explicit in his endeavours for her heart (so don't expect so much "open affection" from him).

Chezem: Surprising, this was my absolute favourite path in My Sweet Prince. Although I was initially "meh" at his character, since he was so difficult to approach (due to his soft spoken nature), he ended up not only having the greatest character development, but being the most romantic. Isn't it funny how the cold ones always seem to be the most passionate in other aspects? (LOL) I loved their storyline, and how he ever so slowly opens up to others. Originally, he detests the crown and anything related to being King - however with the meeting of the protagonist, the way he views the world changes. It was such a slow, gradual development but realistic in how she makes him able to see the world from her eyes.

Their moments together was just so well done, as you can just feel that tension... those hidden emotions bubbling beneath the surface as you read their dialogue together. My favourite CGs of the game were within Chezem's path, and I thought the third one was so beautifully done. I also liked the reasoning behind his initially cold demeanour, as it added a fresh twist to the plot (in comparison to the other bachelors). Overall, although I was disappointed with the game - I really did enjoy Chezem's story.

Alvah: Although I originally went for Alvah first (since I thought he was the most handsome of the cast), his story was completely and utterly boring. His character is the type who is kind to all, rather slow in some aspects and an overall nice guy. For a lot of people, then this is rather sweet... but for me, then I usually detest them the most. His story although admittedly was cute... there was just no development. No build up, no real "complication" or "climax". It was simply smooth sailing from the beginning to the end. I was really disappointed with his story, and it was probably why I had a bad impression of My Sweet Prince from the very beginning.

Not to mention to unlock his story, you need to pay an extra $7.50 USD. So, I don't recommend purchasing the extra stories - unless this is the kind of guy you usually like within Visual Novels :)

Jun: I guess the only aspect I liked about Alvah & Jun's paths was the unveiling of their bad relationship, and how it came to be so. It gave more insight into the brother's and their characters themselves. I thought Jun's story would be a lot more interesting than Alvah's, since his character was colder, crueller and seemed to have a lot more depth. Although this was true to a certain extent, it wasn't as interesting as I anticipated it to be. Usually I do like tsundere characters, but his was just far too pushy. It pushed the limits between being enchantingly mysterious, and just plain obnoxious. So many times he pushes himself onto the heroine, merely because of the bracelet.

After several times of this - it does become overused. I am definitely regretful for buying their extra stories, although Jun's CGs were rather nice (he is the only one other than Meichiorre who has a kiss CG ;D)

I haven't played Nagit, Meichiorre or Ivan's paths since Nagit never interested me and Meichiorre/Ivan requires me purchasing another extra character pack. I apologise for not including them within my review, although I may someday update this section if I ever decide to play Nagit's story ^_^ Again, this probably makes my review inaccurate - but I feel like I've played enough of it to get the "gist".

Design: The strongest aspect of this Visual Novel was without a doubt the art. Its probably my favourite (visually) from the Shall We Date series (surpassing Ninja Love) and I loved the character designs. Although this was probably anticipated from the very beginning, since it is a commercial piece. Everything was coloured wonderfully, and I really did like the efforts placed into the background CGs. The character CGs were also very well done (particularly Chezem's) although I do wish some of them incorporated the character and the protagonist together. 

What I've noticed about the Shall We Date series is it chooses to not show the heroine/protagonist's face. Although this is common within Visual Novels, I hope in future works by NTT Solmare that they decide to scrap this idea. I feel like CGs with the protagonist's face are so much more interesting as you can actually see her expression within that moment. 

Again, like the rest of the series it incorporates a character information selection (which is useful in knowing whether or not you'd like to purchase extra characters) and 5-6 CG's per bachelor. All in all, I have no complaints about the art whatsoever :)

Music and Voice Acting: Now this was probably the biggest let down of My Sweet Prince, and what truly pulled down the overall quality of it. It has no background music whatsoever. This was actually my first time playing a silent Visual Novel, and let me tell you... it was not a pleasant experience. At all. Although the story itself was so entirely majestic with its setting... I just couldn't truly get into the atmosphere. 

I felt like so much of the magic.. so much of the excitement of this Visual novel was stripped away because of this aspect. I would have enjoyed My Sweet Prince infinitely more if they ever decide to update it with background music. Whilst I was playing it, it just felt completely empty. I sincerely hope they decide to add music to this, and the other titles within Shall We Date (thus far, only Ninja Love has had an update for music).

System: The system itself follows in the same suit as Ninja Love, incorporating practically the same design. It includes all the necessary controls for a Visual Novel (play, skip, options etc) but again it lacks the text speed which I prefer. I usually do like playing VNs where the whole dialogue text appears with the click of a button, although on "fast speed" it isn't so bad.

Again, I'm disappointed with the auto-save feature, since it makes the game much more difficult to achieve the "happy" ending. I really do wish they'd add slot features instead. The "my room" component definitely improved though, with the mail box including much more sweet and heartfelt messages from the characters. They were far longer, and very well written. Otherwise, everything was clearly laid out and I had no technical difficulties whatsoever (no errors, bugs, glitches, etc).

Personal Opinion: Overall, My Sweet Prince is a decent Visual Novel, as it does have some strong points, but it is more lacking in others than I would normally like. The only story which I truly, truly enjoyed was Chezem's, and it is the only reason why I didn't regret purchasing the game. Its also the only story which I would consider replaying. The other characters and stories however, really were bland in comparison... and a Visual Novel as a whole should at least have a couple of good character paths instead of just one. 

I felt like the lack of music truly impacted the whole quality of the game, as it just didn't have that "foreign country", "mystical castle" and "romantic princes" kind of feel. It made my interest in the game wane all the quicker. But all in all, if you love the cute, happy ending kind of stories with beautiful artwork - then this is for you. If you're like me and want a little more something from a Visual Novel, then this is not for you. 

In saying that though, if the above faults were improved, I would without a doubt do an updated review ^_^

Overall Rating: 6.5/10