Nippon Ichi Software ha diffuso il primissimo materiale, con tanto di dettagli, per quanto riguarda il suo action/adventure game noto con il nome di Liar Princess and the Blind Prince che in Giappone vedrà la luce il prossimo mese di maggio su Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 e PlayStation Vita.
■ Logo and Key Visual
■ Solve Puzzles and Head to the Witch’s House
Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a stage clear-type action game. Players will solve puzzles by utilizing the ability to transform between a “monster” and “princess,” and guide the non-player character prince to the goal.
Stage Skip Feature
Liar Princess and the Blind Prince includes a stage skip feature, enabling even players who are not good at puzzle and action games to enjoy the story.
Also, once you clear a stage, you can play it again at any time. Collect the items necessary to unlock side stories and clear the puzzles at your own pace.
■ Warm Graphics
One of the characteristics of Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is its pen-drawn analogue-style graphics. Many of the elements that make up the screen—including the characters, stages, and user interface—were hand-drawn by the designers.
Players can enjoy delicate 2D graphics throughout the whole story, including shadows expressed through cross-hatching, multiple scrolling for a better sense of the forest’s depth, soft light textures, and more during action parts.
Also, during story parts, players can enjoy illustrations depicted in analogue.
■ Play in a the World of a Picture Book
The goal of Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is to combine a video game with picture book-esque visuals. Progress the story through event scenes recited by voice actors and page-turning presentation.
■ Story
In a certain forest lived a man-eating monster that resembles a wolf. The monster had a beautiful singing voice that did not suit its fearsome appearance, with which it was proudly singing on a moonlit night.
However, that night was unlike any other night before it. When the wolf monster finished singing from atop its slightly elevated crag, it suddenly heard applause.
When the wolf looked down below the crag, it saw a well-dressed boy looking up. He was the prince of the small country near the forest, but came to listen to the wolf’s song. But the crag was an obstacle, as it seems that the prince was unable to see the wolf’s appearance.
Normally the wolf would have immediately captured the prince and eaten him. However, the wolf overlooked the prince. This was merely by whim.
After that, the prince would come every night to listen to the wolf’s song. The two would not exchange words. However, the wolf eventually lost the feeling of possibly eating the prince.
That night, the prince heard the song of the wolf as always. However, when the wolf finished singing, it did not hear the prince’s applause. Thinking this was strange, the wolf looked below to see that the prince was climbing the rock. He probably wanted to finally meet the face behind the singing voice.
The wolf—who thought once the prince learns its true identity, he would no longer come to listen to its song—stretched its arm to the prince’s face. Its intention was to cover his eyes so the prince could not see it.
However, the wolf’s clawed hands were unfit for gently touching anyone. While it was not the wolf’s intention, its sharp claws slashed the face of the prince. The unexpected pain and the monster’s big hands surprised the prince, who fell to the ground and fainted.
They must have heard the prince’s scream. The castle guards came to rescue the prince. The guards shot their arrows, and the wolf retreated into the depths of the forest.
The prince would no longer come to listen to the wolf’s song. There was no one in the forest, including anyone to admire its song. Surely, such an eccentric would not exist beyond the prince.
Eventually, the wolf learned that the prince was blinded, and that he was imprisoned in the castle tower by royalty who hate face injuries. Unable to hold itself back, the wolf sneaked into the tower.
What the wolf saw in the dim prison was a prince wearing torn clothes. Perhaps to hide his unsightly wound, a plain cloth was wrapped around his face.
The wolf’s chest ached. However, the wolf was the one who cut the prince’s eyes. Would now be a good time to greet him?
The wise prince realized that the owner of that beautiful voice was standing in the prison before him. However, he did not know it was the monster that injured him.
With the prince unable to see the wolf, it promptly lied to the prince. “I am the princess of a neighboring country. I came to wish you well. Let us have those eyes cured by the witch of the forest.”
The wolf knew. Deep in the forest lives a fearsome witch. If you pay for it, the witch will grant any request.
Yes. If the wolf takes the prince to the witch, she will surely be able to heal his eyes as they were before.
But the wolf is a monster. If it touched the prince with its body, it would surely end up hurting him again. The wolf promised to return to pick up the prince, and ran to the witch’s house in the depths of the forest.
…in to become a “princess” to take the prince out of that cold and lonely prison.
■ Characters
Wolf
A man-eating monster who lives in the forest. It gave up its prided singing voice to the witch and obtained the appearance of a human.
Princess
The wolf, transformed into the appearance of a princess through magic. She takes the prince from his prison under the lie that she is the princess of a neighboring country. She fears that the prince will learn her true identity.
Prince
The prince of a small country that surrounds the forest. He has a deep wound on his face from the wolf’s slash, and lost his eyesight. He is afraid of the monster that wounded him.
Witch
A witch that lives deep in the forest. She can grant any wish, but to do so you must give up “the thing that is most important to you.”
■ Actions
◆ Two Forms: Beast and Girl
The witch, with the wolf’s wish to “make me into a human,” asks for the wolf’s singing voice as compensation.
The wolf then obtained the magic to change into the form of a princess in exchange for its beautiful singing voice.
However, with the princess’ thin arms, she cannot remove the heavy obstacles that block the path forward, nor can she protect the prince from the fearsome monsters that live in the forest.
The wolf was troubled. The prince is blind. As long as it did not touch the prince, it could turn back into a monster and the prince surely would not notice—.
In order to safely take the prince to the witch, make proper use of both forms, monster and princess.
Wolf Form
The wolf, with its strong legs and sharp claws, can climb to high places, remove obstacles, and defeat the monsters that wander the forest.
Princess Form
The princess has a small body and is good with her hands. She can pass through crevices the wolf cannot, cooperate with the prince to solve puzzles, and pick up flowers (which are a collection element of the game).
◆ Grab the Prince’s Hand and Head for the Depths of the Forest
The forest is a familiar habitat for the wolf, who has become used to seeing it, but for the prince it is completely unknown territory.
For the blind prince to head to the witch’s house on his own would be a dream within a dream. The wolf takes the prince’s hand and together they make their way.
Humans are powerless. While a monster can get to the witch’s house overnight by running, it will surely take days for a princess and prince to get there by foot.
However, the wolf was very happy with its newly obtained body.
Because of the princess’ small and tender hands, she is able to hold hands with the prince.
Holding the Prince’s Hand
The prince cannot walk long distances on his own. Grab his hand and head for the stage’s goal.
■ Image Boards
—An illustration meant to depict the world view.
—The forest is filled with man-eating monsters. It is rare for humans to enter.
—The caves below the forest.
—The forest where the witch lives. All of the leaves on the trees have died.
—A forest where giant mushrooms grow.
—The scene where the imprisoned prince meets the princess.
■ Nippon.jp Shop Limited Edition
Starting February 15 at 15:00 JST, the Nippon Ichi Software official online store Nippon1.jp will begin taking pre-orders for a mail order-only limited edition including a Liar Princess and the Blind Prince canvas artwork.
The illustration will be done by Liar Princess and the Blind Prince planner and character designer Sayaka Oda.
Prices are as follows:
- PlayStation 4 or Switch Version: 9,980 yen (without tax) / 10,778 yen (with tax)
- PS Vita Version: 8,980 yen (without tax) / 9,698 yen (with tax)
The set itself includes a copy of the game, and a 275mm width x 220mm height x 19mm depth canvas artwork.
Nonostante in Europa non si sappia ancora nulla del rilascio di Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, di seguito potete trovare il trailer che ci mostra una piccola anticipazione di cosa troveremo in questo gioco.