An okay game
Steal Princess is a game where you take control of Anise, a master thief. You've been tasked, against your will mind you, to become the hero of the land and save the Prince, who has been captured by demons.
The levels are a mix of puzzles and platforming for the most part. Sometimes you need to kill all the enemies before advancing, sometimes you have to use them to get ahead, and you really have to think on some levels on how to get to the next one. This as a concept is very interesting, but sadly, what took all the enjoyment out of it for me is the fact that the controls are terrible.
Anise moves and handles very poorly, and for a supposed master thief, she can barely jump, especially when it comes to jumping distance. On occasions you must, MUST use your stylus to make Anise use her whip to fling from place to place, but even then the game seems to be terribly picky about how much it'll listen to you. Anise seems to take her sweet time answering any commands you issue, which is frustrating if you're used to more immediate reactions. On the upside, falling from great heights doesn't seem to kill you, or even dock your health, which is one of the things you will be thankful for. Because you will miss and you will fall. A lot.
You can pick up new weapons, some of which are colour-coded to match the enemy you must destroy with it: the coloured weapons only work on similarly-coloured enemies as well. However, the button for picking up things and putting them down is the exact same one, so it's incredibly frustrating to be in a tight spot trying to pick up a gem, and suddenly Anise tosses her sword down because you just weren't close enough to the gem.
I've cleared the first "dungeon" at the time of writing this review, and if there's a button to make Anise run I've yet to find it. You also can't customise Anise or her weapons, all you can do with the gems is pay back her debt or buy map pieces. You can't buy weapons, armour, abilities, at least not at the very start. Like I said, I'm still fairly early on in the game.
The levels are rendered in 3D, which is nice to see, and as per the Atlus standard, the 2D art and character portraits are beautiful to look at as well. It's also somewhat hilarious to realize that the money-hungry, selfish thief Anise is pretty much the only sane man among the characters. Still, this is clearly not the game for me, and I do hold respect for those who have been able to finish the game. It's not one of Atlus' best, especially regarding the controls, but they remain as creative as ever with the premise and the artwork.
If you're looking for a game you play to kill time, this is a good option. But if you're looking for a gaming experience, I'm not terribly keen on recommending it. It's not a BAD game, just a bit of a disappointment for me personally.
