Prinny 1-2: Exploded and Reloaded Reviews
While it's possible to get into the retro groove of Prinny's perilous platforming, neither game does anything interesting enough to earn your patience. And collecting two games together only reveals how much of the same ground is covered by both. If anything, additions in the sequel water down the formula. If you simply must experience an unathletic penguin falling to its death again and again, stick with the simpler original. Or better yet, search for 'penguin falling over' on YouTube. Cheaper and a lot more entertaining.
Taken as a single package Prinny 1-2 exploded and reloaded is not so bad. However, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the mere porting operation performed by the developers. The two games have been modernized by a bland filter for 2D elements, without any possibility to intervene on the graphics. The result is a slightly blurred image, even in portable mode, which together with the rigid and frustrating gameplay, outline a very lazy and unattractive package.
Review in Italian | Read full review
For someone who isn’t a fan of the original Disgaea games, I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed my time with Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded. It’s not the best remaster I’ve seen and the challenge can be overly frustrating at times, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had in its simple-to-learn, hard-to-master mechanics and charming characters.
Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded is a lovely piece of gaming history that holds up decently well and is still a fun little platformer to this day.
The choice to remaster the two Prinny spinoffs was puzzling to begin with, and, unfortunately, the remasters are puzzling too themselves, leaving a lot to be desired. Definitely wait for a sale for these ones.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Prinny 1 & 2 will endure on and be remembered, if only because they have that infamous challenge level and the highly amusing approach the developers took to address that. Who doesn't want to throw a thousand-strong horde of Prinnies at a problem? Scratch beneath that surface are two platformers that are more bluster than refinement, relying more on humour than adventurous design to keep players interested, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it does need to be noted that as far as the platformer genre is concerned, these efforts are neither stand-out nor inspiring. You might not have favourite levels or scenes by the time you've ground out victory across these two titles, but as raw entertainment, they really are hard to put down. As a double feature, NISA is providing real value and entertainment, and hopefully plenty of people are willing to tackle the challenge.
Prinny 1 & 2: Exploded and Reloaded contains a couple PSP games that are pretty fun and undeniably challenging. However, their clunky controls lead to much frustration so make sure you have plenty of patience in your pouch before you dive in.
Prinny 1 • 2: Exploded and Reloaded is a bit frustrating, but at the same time it offers a good feeling of reward when you finally overcome the hard obstacles. Perhaps hardcore or nostalgic players will appreciate the high difficulty, as it is certainly not a game for beginners. In short, the bundle brings together two niche platformers that will only make sense to anyone who knows Disgaea - or perhaps, who knows, to people who have plenty of patience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Overall, Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? and Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties are titles that are tough as Orichalcon, but full of flavour and love. These games are for masochists through and through, but are still fun even if you are using more than half your Prinny lives. The gameplay has held up well, and although difficult, it was a lot of fun, even if it feels like smashing your face against a brick wall at times. Prinny 1 and 2 are hard, but full of character. If you think you've got what it takes to triumph over the levels designed to melt through 1,000 lives, check out Prinny 1 and 2.
It is really cool that this rather obscure title has been ported to Switch and I do hope that this trend continues from NIS America. I just wish there could’ve been a couple more things tossed in to make this more appealing for a wider audience.
A nostalgic action-paced 2D side scroller
Taking characters from an RPG game and turning it into a crazy, hilarious and tough platform game, is not something that’s done every day. Prinny 1•2 Exploded & Reloaded comes bounding onto the Nintendo Switch from the guys over at Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America. Does this hard platform game live up to its lineage? Let’s dive right in.
At the end of the day, your enjoyment of these games will come down to how well you like platforming, and if you’re a Disgaea fan. Fans will find a lot to love at the $19.99 asking price for each title. While these adventures do clock in a bit on the short side at around 8 hours each, you will need multiple playthroughs to unlock all the hidden goodies in each. NIS has also included all the DLC for each title as well, which is a fantastic bonus. While these games certainly are not for everyone, but they will cater to the audience that loves these types of games in grand fashion.
A fantastic but barebones rerelease of titles everyone a fan of the old school should experience dood!
My final thoughts on this collection are - for what they are they’re great. The updated art is great, and to my memory, these are the same games I played back on the PSP (though never beat them back then). I believe there’s a solid foundation present which can be used as a springboard to make another Disgaea themed platformer title featuring our favorite demon mascots.
It is undeniable the charm that this pair of games will have both for fans of the saga and for those who, like me, live with the curiosity to know more and better the Disgaea universe. Of course, have your nerves prepared because on more than one occasion you will want to send your Switch to fly very far.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I recommend Prinny 1 & 2 Exploded & Reloaded for those that love the niche. For those looking for that tooth and nail gameplay. However, the needless frustration induced by the awful level design in the 2nd makes this unattractive for the casual player. To play this for a long stretch will take any semblance of fun out of the experience. You’ll then take a break and may never even return. For these reasons, I say to wait for a sale.
The adventures offered in Prinny 1•2 Exploded and Reloaded are bizarre yet fun to venture through, even if they are held back by slightly cumbersome controls. Don’t get me wrong, they can be pretty tough and certainly aren’t for platforming newbies, but each level offers plenty of enjoyable moments and they never feel unfairly difficult – just slightly frustrating when you end up losing one of your valuable Prinnies because the game didn’t offer enough precision with your jumping. You do get used to it the more you play though and, whilst the controls are never perfect, they’re adequate enough to get through both of the unusual but ultimately entertaining escapades featured in Prinny 1•2 Exploded and Reloaded.
At the end of the day Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded is a charming, if sometimes crude, platformer that comes with the signature style and flair Disgaea fans have known and loved for years.
Prinny 1 • 2: Exploded and Reloaded combines some great games with a frankly weak job when it comes to bringing them to a current platform, giving the feeling that it is a quick and cheap job to try to take advantage of the cult niche that they were in their moment.
Review in Spanish | Read full review