Sometimes when you have too much of something good, it goes bad (Final Fantasy? Tomb Raider? Three-dozen or more other gaming series?), which is the way I feel the Disgaea series is heading, or has headed. The newest entry / spin-off in the series, Prinny 2: Dawn of Operations Panties, Dood!, does not help that trend (as if the title were any hint to how this review is about to progress).

To be fair, Prinny 2: DOOPD! is a classic-style 2D platformer, and a step away from developer NIS’ other works, which were RPGs. Now, that’s not to say Prinny 2: DOOPD!, is a bad game, and it can even be fun, but other than for mild entertainment, the game is very easy to pass up.

For those who don’t know, Prinnies are characters from the Disgaea series. They are the souls of humans who have commited sins in their lifetime and are now destined to be cute, blue penguin-looking thingies (doesn’t get more scientific than that). The original Prinny game, Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?, was also a 2D platformer, and it was the first step NIS took outside the RPG world. Prinny 2: Dawn of Operations Panties, Dood! is, of course, the sequel. 

- Oh My! -

The basic premise: you need to retrieve the stolen panties of some Goddess. We’ve seen the ‘panty-stealing’ storyline before in a variety of animes and mangas, but apparently the trend has not died. Somewhere, somehow, stolen panties still make a good storyline. In my opinion, it just make me feel creepy, both purchasing and playing this game. However, panty story aside, we still have what can be a decent platformer somewhere within the layers of problems.

My first qualm with this game is that it is quite hard, but not in a nicely-designed, well thought out way. The game and level design is simply obtuse and frustrating. There are a few different modes of difficulty, but even the easiest feels cheap. Often times when you die, you feel as if no matter how your skills progressed while playing, the game would find some stupid way to kill you. So how do they help you out with this? By giving you a 1000 lives.

The concept of a 1000 lives is pretty cool, but not when it is used to try to buff out the fact they didn’t take the time to design challenging levels, instead letting frustratingly cheap ones lazily sneak by. There is a ‘night and day’ to each level too, and when the sun goes down, the difficulty increases.

The game is not impossible, but there is a point very early in the game where you feel getting through it isn’t worth your time. However, I wanted to be fair to the game, so I went back and checked out the original Prinny. The couple hours I spent with it showed me the two games are pretty alike, with very few changes to Prinny 2: DOOPD!. I did not feel there were enough changes to warrant someone who didn’t like the original to play the second, and fans of the first will either be pleased because not much has changed or they'll be disappointed because nothing has been improved.

- Just... one... more... -

Prinny 2: Dawn of Operations Panties, Dood! is one of those games you either like or hate. Casual fans of the Disgaea series may or may not care to make the trip to revisit another Prinny game; however, hardcore fans will love it. After all, Prinnies are one of the most iconic characters from the series. Also, this game takes a lighthearted approach to story and content, which is a relief from so many serious games out there… but, really? Did they have to stoop to the wacky panty-thieving story? 

GameDynamo's Score for Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! (PSP)

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