Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess

Last updated

Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess
Little Princess 2.png
Developer(s) Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher(s) Nippon Ichi Software
  • WW: NIS America
Director(s) Shinji Ikedo
Producer(s) Sōhei Niikawa
Artist(s) Ryōji Nomura
Writer(s) Sōhei Niikawa
Composer(s) Tenpei Sato
Series Rhapsody
Platform(s)
Release
November 25, 1999
  • PlayStation
    • JP: November 25, 1999
    i-αppli
    • JP: December 18, 2006
    PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3
    • JP: May 31, 2007
    Microsoft Windows
    • WW: August 30, 2023
    Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5
    • NA: August 29, 2023
    • EU: September 1, 2023
Genre(s) Role-playing video game
Mode(s) Single-player

Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess [lower-alpha 1] is a role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software for the original PlayStation and is the second installment in the Rhapsody series. The game takes place twelve years after the event of its predecessor, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure , and features much of the same characters. Like its predecessor, Little Princess includes many musical interludes and focuses on the themes of falling in love and fulfilling your dreams, though the tactical role-playing game battle system of Rhapsody was discarded for a more traditional RPG battle system.

Contents

The game received several re-issues in Japan: twice as a budget range title on the original PlayStation and once each as a digital download for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 and i-αppli-compatible mobile phones. The game received an international release in August 2023. It was released for Windows PC via Steam as a stand-alone title and as part of the Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles compilation, along with its follow-up Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom , for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.

Plot

Little Princess starts off many years after where Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure left off. Cornet, having saved Prince Ferdinand in Rhapsody, is now the ruler of Marl Kingdom. [1] They have one daughter, Kururu, named after Cornet's fairy puppet friend/mother. Now twelve years old, Kururu, joined by her best friend Crea Rosenqueen, wants to go on a journey to find her own knight in shining armor.

While taking a walk through the forest, Kururu and Crea are attacked by a dragon and saved by a mysterious boy named Cello, much like how Cornet and Ferdinand met years before. Kururu does not immediately fall in love with Cello (mostly because he calls her "Pumpkin Pants" after her taste in clothing), and initially hates him. Over the course of her quest he repeatedly appears out of nowhere to help her.

Elsewhere, a battle is brewing between the two families of the witches — the Marjoly Family (the villains of the first game) and the Akurjo Family. The Akurjo Family is attempting to steal the Shadow of Beauty, a wish-granting gemstone that Marjoly has always treasured (as it is a memento of her first love, Keeldear). To keep the Akurjo Family from taking the jewel, Marjoly breaks it into pieces and scatters the shards across the country. Both of the witch families then begin searching for the shards, each trying to complete the gem first. Kururu, Crea, and Cello are soon involved with the search as well, as Cello needs the Shadow of Beauty to heal his mother's illness. As they work together, Kururu realizes that she is falling in love with Cello.

Once the pieces have all been collected, Kururu gathers the courage to confess her feelings to Cello. The moment she does, it is revealed that Cello's mother is Akurjo, who subsequently teleports away with him.

Kururu, determined not to give up on Cello, battles her way through Akurjo's castle to find Cello. Upon meeting him again, Cello tries to fight Kururu, but finally admits that he loves Kururu as well. He then collapses. Marjoly uses her magic to let Kururu enter Cello's heart to heal him. In this way, Kururu gets to experience his tragic past firsthand.

After the final battle with Akurjo, everyone (including the Marjoly Family) wishes together on the Shadow of Beauty for Akurjo to be healed of her illness. This succeeds, but Akurjo retreats into the Netherworld, saying she needs to cool her head (though Marjoly points out that Akurjo wants to say "thank you", and is just too stubborn to do so). Cello decides to go to the Netherworld to look after his mother, but promises Kururu that he will someday return to her.

Four years later, Kururu and Crea take a walk in the forest (just as they did at the beginning of the game), and again, Cello appears to save them from a dragon.

The game ends there and its story continues in the second chapter of Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom .

Characters

Gameplay

Like Rhapsody, Ballad of Little Princess is an RPG. Characters join the party, level up, equip things, etc. The player controls Kururu around different areas. There are multiple difficulties, but the game overall is viewed as more challenging than Rhapsody. [1]

Battle

Battle scene Little princess battle pic.gif
Battle scene

The battle system has changed drastically from Rhapsody's tactics style fights. [1] Ballad of Little Princess features a more traditional RPG, turn-based battle system, with the enemy characters on the left-hand side of the screen and the player characters on the right. Unlike the battle system in Rhapsody (in which one controlled the game's main character and three puppets or monsters), only human characters fight. Puppets are equipped to specific characters, and are used to cast magic; instead of MP (magic points), money is taken with each spell in small amounts. [1] Furthermore, a character's equipped puppets receive experience in battle and level up at roughly the same rate as the player, regardless of whether they are actually used in battle. Each time the player uses a puppet, a note is added to the musical staff on the battle screen; when a full bar is completed, the number to the right of the staff increases by one and the notes are cleared, allowing the player to fill up more bars with notes. When enough bars have been completed, the player can use a variety of attacks known as "Rewards" (ごほうび, gohōbi), which subtract varying amounts of completed bars from the player's total. A predecessor of the Reward system was present in the previous game, but in Little Princess, one receives notes after using puppet magic (rather than after playing the trumpet to boost the puppets' statistics), since the central character of Little Princess cannot play her trumpet in battle. As only two of the game's characters are able to equip and use puppets, most human characters have special skills or techniques equivalent to magic, and one character is able to use monsters (which can be captured after battle, as in Rhapsody) in much the same way as puppets.

Legacy

Along with Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure and Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom , this game is part of the Marl Kingdom series. Little Princess maintains the emphasis on musical numbers and themes of love introduced in Rhapsody, as well as the anime inspired, bright graphics, [1] which are used in several later Nippon Ichi Software games. Previously, Little Princess had not been released outside Japan, possibly due to Rhapsody's low level of mainstream popularity, until the Summer 2023, when it was released in Europe and North America. [30]

PlayStation Store

The game was made available for download via the PlayStation Store on May 31, 2007, but was only available in Japan.

Steam

The game was released via Steam on August 30, 2023 with enhanced visuals and music, as well as an expanded soundtrack.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack for the game's music was released on March 8, 2000. [31] The music, like in the other Marl games, was handled by Tenpei Sato.

Track list:

  1. Little Princess ~ Main Theme
  2. Princess Kururu
  3. Marl's Lane
  4. Wonderful World
  5. Daydream
  6. A Tomboy Princess
  7. Starting Over
  8. Because We Are Always Together
  9. Winged Boy
  10. The Way of Making Good Soft Cream
  11. Mothergreen
  12. Let's Go Walking ~ Etoile's Love
  13. It's...the Front of the Back?
  14. A Customer's Here!
  15. Kururu's Memories
  16. Evil Queen
  17. Puppet Crisis
  18. The Karkanskys and the Baknekoffs
  19. Rosen Queenland
  20. The Little Princess' Decision ~ Sending My Thoughts into Eternity
  21. Hysteric Ceremony
  22. We are the Witch-Tribe
  23. Eyes of the Princess
  24. First Love
  25. Uru-uru Kururu
  26. Under the Rule of the Soldier
  27. Sky-Palace of the Witches
  28. The Law of the Noble Flower
  29. Last Dance
  30. The Little Princess' Decision ~ So That Thoughts May Be Handed Down Through Generations

Reception

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 30 out of 40. [32]

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as Little Princess: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2 (Japanese: リトルプリンセス マール王国の人形姫2, Hepburn: Ritoru Purinsesu Māru Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime Tsū, lit. "Little Princess: Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom 2") in Japan.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nippon Ichi Software</span> Japanese video game developer

Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the Disgaea and Marl Kingdom series. Its mascot is the penguin-like Disgaea character Prinny.

<i>Phantom Brave</i> 2004 video game

Phantom Brave is a tactical role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 video game console, developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released on January 22, 2004 in Japan, on August 31, 2004 in North America and on February 4, 2005 in Europe. The North American release was the first game published by NIS America. The game shipped in two "editions"—Normal and Special—the Special edition coming with a free soundtrack and shortened instruction manual.

Kaoru Fujino is a Japanese voice actress who was born in Kōchi and raised in Tokyo. One of her lesser known roles is that of the heroine Cornett Espoire in the Nippon Ichi Software game The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom. She voice acted both Rockman and Roll in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, as well as Elena in Street Fighter III: New Generation and Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. Fujino is a member of the band Ruururu.

<i>Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome</i> 2005 video game

Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was initially released for PlayStation 2 on March 17, 2005 in Japan, July 26 in North America, and October 28 in Europe. An enhanced port of the game, Phantom Kingdom Portable, was released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on October 6, 2011. The game was later ported to Windows as Makai Kingdom: Reclaimed and Rebound, and to Nintendo Switch as part of the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 2 compilation, with those versions released worldwide on May 10, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prinny</span> Fictional character

Prinnies are a fictional race of creatures primarily in Nippon Ichi's Disgaea series of role-playing games. First appearing in Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, they have appeared in all later titles by the company, as well as on various merchandise such as hats and plush toys. With a few notable exceptions, they are voiced by Junji Majima in Japanese releases and Grant George in the English releases from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness to Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten. The Prinnies are regarded as the mascots for the Disgaea series and have received generally positive reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenpei Sato</span> Musical artist

Tenpei Sato is a video game composer and voice actor. His most notable works are his soundtracks for Nippon Ichi Software games, such as Disgaea and Phantom Brave. He also provides voice-over for games and movies.

<i>Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure</i> 1998 video game

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is a tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software for the PlayStation. Released in 1998, it is the first installment in the Rhapsody series. A version for the Nintendo DS was released in Japan and North America in 2008, and in PAL regions in 2009. The game was released for Nintendo Switch as part of the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3 compilation in western regions, and for Windows as a standalone game worldwide in 2022. The game's story focuses on a young girl named Cornet as she seeks to rescue a prince after being turned to stone by a witch.

Kururu may refer to:

<i>GrimGrimoire</i> 2007 video game

GrimGrimoire is a 2007 real-time strategy video game developed by Vanillaware and published by Nippon Ichi Software and Koei (Europe) for the PlayStation 2. The story follows Lillet Blan, a trainee witch who is sent into a repeating cycle of five days after her school is attacked by an evil wizard seeking the hidden Philosopher's Stone. The player commands units called familiars, each having strengths and weaknesses against the other, with the goal of either destroying the opponent's bases or surviving waves of enemies.

<i>Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom</i> 2000 video game

Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom is a role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software for the PlayStation 2. It is the third installment in the Rhapsody series. Unlike the previous games in the series, this game was only released once, although a special limited edition version of the game was released concurrently.

<i>Rhapsody</i> (video game series) Role-playing video game series

Rhapsody is a series of RPGs developed by Nippon Ichi Software. The three main games in the series are Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess, and Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom.

<i>Cross Edge</i> 2008 video game

Cross Edge, originally released in Japan as XEdge, is a role-playing video game originally for the PlayStation 3. The game was developed by Idea Factory with characters from games by Capcom, Nippon Ichi Software, Bandai Namco, and Gust Corporation. Released on September 25, 2008, in Japan, the title features turn-based battles, a plot that involves rescuing souls, and the ability to dress the female characters of the player's party in a wide variety of outfits. It was later ported to the Xbox 360 in Japan under the title XEdge Dash.

<i>A Witchs Tale</i> 2009 video game

A Witch's Tale, released in Japan as Witch Tale: The Apprentice Witch and the Seven Princesses, is a video game for the Nintendo DS. It was published by Nippon Ichi Software and developed by Hit Maker. The game was initially planned for a Winter 2008 release, but was pushed back to 2009.

<i>Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?</i> 2008 video game

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? is a 2D side-scrolling comedy platform video game for the PlayStation Portable, developed by Nippon Ichi Software. It is a spin-off title in the Disgaea series.

<i>Disgaea</i> Video game series

Disgaea is a series of tactical role-playing video games created and developed by Nippon Ichi. The series debuted in Japan on January 30, 2003, with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, later re-released as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Disgaea DS. One of Nippon Ichi's most popular franchises, it has branched off into both a manga and anime series. The Disgaea games are known for complex gameplay, extremely high maximum stats and humorous dialogue. The Disgaea series has shipped 5 million copies as of 2021.

<i>Last Rebellion</i> 2010 video game

Last Rebellion is an action role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Hit Maker exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It was published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan as well as in North America and Tecmo Koei in Europe. The game was released on January 28, 2010 in Japan, in North America on February 23, 2010, and in Europe on March 26, 2010. The game received negative reviews from critics.

Ningyo-hime, which can mean both "Mermaid Princess" (人魚姫) or "Puppet Princess" (人形姫), may refer to:

<i>Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk</i> 2016 video game

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a dungeon crawler role playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released in Japan in June 2016 for the PlayStation Vita and in September 2017 for the PlayStation 4. The game was then released internationally on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows in September 2018. It was followed by Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society.

<i>The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince</i> 2018 video game

The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released in Japan in May 2018 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita, and was released in western territories in February 2019 only for Switch and PlayStation 4. iOS and Android mobile ports were released in Japan in May 2020.

<i>Bokuhime Project</i> 2020 video game

Bokuhime Project is a mystery adventure video game developed by Wizard Soft. It was published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2020, and for Microsoft Windows in 2021. The player takes the role of a young man who infiltrates a school for refined young ladies by enrolling as a female student to investigate an incident involving his sister. As part of their investigation, the player aims to get a seat in an influential organization at the school, and thereby needs to improve their character statistics to raise their character's cuteness, overcoming the other candidates.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Karl Kalata. Marl Kingdom at Hardcore Gaming 101 Archived 19 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2007-10-7
  2. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Kururu: My name is Kurusale Cherie Marl Q, and right now I am the princess of Marl Kingdom.
  3. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Gio: In any case, it's troubling that the princess is such a tomboy.
  4. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Letter From Cornet: To Kururu, seeing as you're such a tomboy I'm sure you'll find this treasure chest.
  5. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Young Kururu: Today I made friends with a girl named Crea.
  6. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Kururu: Recently, it seems like just about everyone has been calling me the "Pumpkin Princess".
  7. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Cello: I said leave this forest and never come back... Pumpkin Pants.
  8. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Crea: Indeed. I am Etoile RosenQueen's daughter, Createur RosenQueen.
  9. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Crea: I-it can't be...Mother is...she's not my real mother...
  10. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Bullies: Hah, hah! Mom said that your Mom was a "player" ! She said that nobody know who's your father!
  11. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Child Kururu: Hey you there! I won't let you bully her! I'm going to punish you!
  12. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Kururu: You probably don't know about it, but Randy had a little sister named Linda. She was attacked by monsters and killed... It crushed Randy's spirit. He was upset that he couldn't protect his sister. He decided to learn fencing, but it was hard for him.
  13. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: You... spineless... URGH! Stand up straight! H-how could someone like you become a Knight?!
  14. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: Giving in to every little whim she has! You're just as responsible for this as she is!
  15. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: You get so upset whenever something like that happens to the Princess, but you're too lenient with her. Don't forget that. There is a limit to how kind you should be with your companions.
  16. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: However, you've still got a long way to go as a knight.
  17. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Servant: I heard a rumor that Randy likes the knight's captain, Sonia.
  18. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: Randy wants to hurry up and get married, but there's no need to rush.
  19. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Geo: Then the grandchild I've been waiting so long for is on its way!
  20. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Statue of Sonia: This was made by the Sonia fan club.
  21. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: I am not interested in either marriage or children.
  22. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: Kids shouldn't be spoiled.
  23. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: I'm the Captain of the knights. My job isn't to be 'nice'.
  24. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Crea: That's true. She [Sonia] is a strict woman.
  25. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia: This is my dream!! I won't be defeated! I will become a knight!
  26. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (1999). Little Princess (PlayStation). Nippon Ichi Software. Sonia's thoughts: When pursuing one's dream, whether a woman or a child, one can't be pampered. The princess will understand that one day...
  27. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Randy: I also want to get married soon. But I really have to get the money for the ceremony... I really should have started saving.
  28. ↑ Nippon Ichi Software (2000). Angel's Present (PlayStation 2). Nippon Ichi Software. Geo: What are you so embarrassed about? This is wonderful news!
  29. ↑ "Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles | NIS America". 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  30. ↑ "Puppet Princess of Marl's Kingdom". www.rpgfan.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  31. ↑ プレイステーション - リトルプリンセスマール王国の人形姫2. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.22. 30 June 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.