Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok / Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Review8/30/2022 By Manuel  Player(s): 1 Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC (Via Steam) We've had a lot of fun with the Prinny Presents NIS Classics line (Here's our review of Vol. 2!) and we were excited to hear about the release of Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok / Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure as it brings together two classic games that epitomize the term "hidden gem". Anyhow, this title is available both physically and digitally on the Nintendo Switch and each game is available individually on Steam. Let's take a look at these games and see if they're something you're going to want to pick up... DOOD! La Pucelle: Ragnarok La Pucelle: Ragnarok is an enhanced PSP remake, released in 2009, of the original La Pucelle Tactics from the PS2, released in 2002. The game is a Strategy RPG that takes place in the Kingdom of Paprica and sees you take on the roles of Prier and her younger brother Culotte who are both members of a team of holy demon hunters known as "La Pucelle". It's a nice take on the genre from the early days of Nippon Ichi Software and has all the quirks you'd find in other NIS SRPGS, but without QUITE the level of insanity that you'd find in say, later entries in the Disgaea series.
The story is a bit too much to outline here as, while there is an overall central plot, it takes a while to really kick in and you spend much of the early game just generally being demon hunters. Demon hunting for those from the Church of The Holy Maiden isn't all just battles though, you also have a bit of detective work to do with each case you take on. The game doesn't go into Phoenix Wright territory, but this inclusion to the story is a welcome addition and helps break up the action in a good way. There's also quite a bit of charm to this game that is quite hard to describe. Countless references to other NIS games and lots of quirky dialogue that has that right level of wit that will get a chuckle even out of the worst of puns are littered throughout. Most everything also seems to be named after either a religious reference or food, with both being done in French because of course they are. Also, you can take your time in investigating within each chapter or just plow through the story if that's what you feel like doing. There's even a New Game+ option if you want to give all this a second go. All in all, it's such a great game that gave me nostalgic urges like the other game in this collection even though I've never played it before.
Enough on that though, if you're coming to an SRPG you expect to fight... strategically. So let's talk a bit about that. Battles take place on an isometric map, and these are thankfully rather large than you find in other SRPGs. Attacking takes place in turns with your characters all taking their movements/actions and then the enemy doing the same separately. You deploy your units via a base panel and are able to not only move and attack, but also "purify" both monsters and "dark portals" that create a stream of dark energy and will continually summon monsters until they are taken out. Closing these portals allows you to continue your turn and when you eventually attack you can draw in surrounding friends by attacking with them near you, even if they are currently targeting another enemy. That latter action can be done by the enemies too so be careful. Purifying monsters allows them to join your party and you can either train them as new members of your party, or send them to fight the Dark Lord in a minigame that is too deep to discuss here. Completing the objective on any map, as in killing every enemy, or just the boss, ends the battle. The battle can also end if you are defeated of course, but you won't let that happen right? In general it's a pretty simple, but very deep, battle system, but there's more to it that should be discussed. Battles usually take place with your party clearing out an area and looking for clues to solve the current mystery or quest they are on. This is usually done by searching special tiles that can be found in battle zones. So you could hit a special glowing spot and suddenly find yourself in a cutscene in the midst of the action. This isn't as jarring as it sounds though and it helps add another layer of strategy to each battle as you might want to draw things out a bit longer to hit all these tiles. You get different endings to the chapters depending on what you discover within each area. Battles themselves are able to be replayed until the chapter's final boss is defeated. In short, there's a lot to cover when it comes to the core gameplay of La Pucelle: Ragnarok, and the game's tutorials do make it feel somewhat daunting at first, the game isn't overly complicated and it can all be mastered quickly enough and get your back on track with the game's story. The only real problem lies in that, unless you're really willing to dive into the game's depths, you're only going to get a surface-level experience of what this game has to offer.
La Pucelle: Ragnarok features full voice acting and it's pretty on point in a 2010s anime-inspired JRPG way. All the voice actors are on point and they really added to the story. Elsewhere sound is perfect and many of the tracks are surprisingly better than what I was thinking for the SRPG genre, which can often have a few generic tracks that quickly become annoying to hear on repeat. The only slight complaint about sound that I have is that the mix seems a little off with the music drowning out nearly everything else at times. This can be fixed a bit in the options menu, but I wasn't able to find it perfectly to my liking. It's a small complaint though all things considered. Graphics are pretty much perfect and not really worth going into, but let's give it a go! I was a bit worried when I heard that this was going to be a PSP remaster as some other remasters from that handheld feel overly blown up from the original and can be quite distracting on modern consoles. This isn't the case at all here and everything looks great and has aged perfectly. The only slight complaint on this front is that the interface has a bit of a "handheld" feel to it with the interface that might be odd if you're playing it on PC. It fit in perfectly for me though as I was playing this handheld on my Switch! Basically, no real complaints here.
In short this is a great game that anyone can get into even if you're not a fan of the SRPG genre. If you are a fan of NIS' SRPGs though, you'll definitely find a lot here that can see you dropping hundreds of hours on a single playthrough. Also, since this is the PSP release you get all the bonus content like bonus party members from Disgaea, and even Cornet from Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. Speaking of that game, it's amazing that these two are included together as La Pucelle: Ragnarok almost feels like a sequel of sorts. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. Oh, and read on below to see what I have to say about Rhapsody! Story: A Gameplay: A- Graphics: A Sound: A Value: A+ OVERALL: A Pros: + La Pucelle: Ragnarok's inclusion over the original PS2 version means that we get all that version's bonus content and none of the original's censorship. + A very unique take on the SRPG genre with a system that is both deep, but also not too intimidating to players new to the genre. + The exploration/detective elements aren't too pronounced but are a welcome addition and actually change the ending to each chapter, encouraging replaying the game to see them all. + Unlike other NIS classics that are upscaled from PSP releases, this game's graphics look perfect on modern setups. Cons: - While not truly an issue since this isn't an action game, the controls feel very floaty and the way one interacts in non-combat settings isn't very intuitive. - While alternate endings are great, it would be nice to skip find other endings rather than going through an entire New Game+. - Similar to the Disgaea series, much of the game's "depth" comes by way of intense grinding, though thankfully overly grinding isn't necessary to play the main game. Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (which I'm only going to call Rhapsody from now on) is a classic PS1 RPG that I have a long history with. I played this game on its original release and still own the copy that I grew up with. I wouldn't say it's anywhere near my top favorite games, but it's one that I've played through more than once and one that I look back on fondly. With that said, I'm going to refrain from letting this review go on a little too far, but know that I come from a slightly biased viewpoint.
Rhapsody follows a young girl named Cornet and her puppet sidekick Kururu as they first try to woo the local prince, Prince Ferdinand, and then venture all across the Marl Kingdom to save him after he's kidnapped by an evil witch named Marjoly. Cornet isn't just your average girl though, she has the power to not only talk to puppets but also to make them come to life by playing her horn. These puppets make up the bulk of the party and Cornet acts as more of a support for much of the game. The puppets even have their own goals and side stories, but that's something for you to find out about on your own since they game doesn't really lean too heavily into them. This is a very early NIS game and it's quite interesting to play this and see elements and references that would pop up in all sorts of games like Disgaea, and even this collection's own La Pucelle: Ragnarok. Playing this game over twenty years after its release makes it feel like the prototype for every other NIS game, but let's back up a bit and talk more about the game itself.
I called Rhapsody an RPG and that's definitely true, but the battles in this game play out like somewhat like a Strategy RPG, or at least a very light one. When you go into a battle (which are random btw) you move into a smaller area where you can freely move each character, attack, use magic/items, etc. There is very little "strategy" here though as the battles are usually over very quickly, and the battle arenas aren't big enough to really utilize any semblance of tactics anyway. Honestly, the battle system is very similar to what is seen in old-school computer RPGs like Ultima. Your main party consists of Cornet and three others and you're free to completely change your party at any time between battles with no characters ever being necessary to include. Besides puppets Cornet has the ability to recruit most of the monsters that she defeats herself. These monsters work a little differently than other characters though as they cannot be revived once they die, and they can be sold and stored separately to make room in the main party. Honestly this feels like a really underutilized feature within the game even though I spent more time than I care to admit trying to get some of the cooler-looking monsters to join. Overall the battle system is pretty fun and really breaks the mold of "hit the main button over and over until you win" mechanic that took place in most turn-based RPGs of the time.
We'll cover graphics and music together because a lot of the things I have to say about one carries over to the other. The graphics aren't going to impress anyone today but the sprites are cute too look at and there are filter options to change up the look of them a bit if you're into that kind of thing. Character designs are where things really shine though and the game absolutely oozes 90s anime charm. You can even view an illustration gallery from the main menu that is unlocked from the start unlike in the original where you had to find each illustration in game. You'll be hard pressed to find a game from the late 90s whose graphics have aged as gracefully as Rhapsody's. Sound is interesting too as while one shouldn't expect full voice acting in a game this old, this game is very unique as it's presented as a "musical adventure", that's right, this game is a MUSICAL! This of course means that throughout the game various characters break out into song, and some of these songs REALLY took me back. What's cool about this new updated release is that you can even pick English and Japanese song options and are able to change this choice on the fly. What's not so cool is the same "problem" (if you can call it that) that I had with the Rhapsody all those years ago... there just aren't enough of these great songs to listen to! There's only about a dozen songs throughout and a lot of them are frontloaded in the first section of the game (making up about a third or fourth of the entire experience), but then again wanting more isn't necessarily a bad thing. Vocal songs aside though, the rest of the music is great. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, the English track is from the original release and not a re-recording.
I can rave about the game some more but Rhapsody isn't without its flaws. First off, this game is OLD, and while most of what I described above can be deemed more "nostalgic" than anything else, there are some parts that have aged very poorly. First off the game's dungeons all come in two main styles, caves and brick-walled towers, with each one having room after room, floor after floor, of not much to see besides the same handful of color-swapped screens. Add to this the fact that many of the dungeons are literal labyrinths with paths branching off that go for many rooms before hitting an unceremonious dead end. This can sap a lot of the fun out of the game, but drawing a simple map (or looking one up online) might save one a lot of frustration. Also, the entire middle section almost feels like a half attempt at an open world. Like you can't REALLY complete all the game's scenarios out of order, but there is a lot of backtracking and speaking to just the right NPC to get the ball moving. This can be a bit off-putting to fans of modern RPGs who will probably be left scratching their heads over where they're supposed to go next. I'm actually a little unsure how I figured things out the first time around myself. Lastly, this game is very short. Even with doing every sidequest, recruiting every puppet, and leveling up to insane levels, the entire adventure still clocks in at under twenty hours. This can be a good too though as the game definitely doesn't overstay its welcome and it does move very fast. Oh, and did I mention all the funny, but wonky, translations and pop culture references in the twenty year old translation? Because they're there too.
In short Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is the standout game in this collection for me and I probably would've picked this up on its own even. Paired with La Pucelle: Ragnarok (especially since that game has a LOT of references to Rhapsody in it) it's a no brainer to grab now. Just set your expectations to a very different time when the total amount of JRPGs in the wild was numbers in the lower double digits. Let's hope we see this game's sequels (yes, it has sequels!) finally get a US release in the NIS Classics line! For More Information On Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok / Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure: https://www.nisamerica.com/nis-classics/vol-3/ Story: A+ Gameplay: A Graphics: A Sound: A+ Value: A+ OVERALL: A Pros: + A very charming RPG that executes the concept of "a musical adventure" so well that I wish others would make it into a real genre. + Even though the new features are only a few, the ability to change the game's musical numbers to the Japanese versions is much appreciated. + The 90s anime aesthetic really shines through and most of the game has aged quite well. + New players who are fans of other NIS franchises can really get a lot out of this game as the "Marl Kingdom" series this game began encompasses most of them. Cons: - Some gameplay elements, namely those involving the game's dungeons, have aged pretty poorly. - Besides being a rather short game, it's also very easy. This is probably also more of a "Beginner's RPG" than anything else. - Needs just a BIT more musical numbers to truly be a "musical adventure" in my opinion. A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.  Gonna take Kururu's advice and wrap this thing up! |
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