Little Princess: Marl Okoku no Ningyo Hime 2
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
-only RPG from the Marl Kingdom
series. The game was released three times — once in 1999
, once as Little Princess+1: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2 in 2000
, and then in the PSOne Books series in 2001
.
Little Princess takes place twelve years after the epilogue of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
, and features several of the same characters. The tactical role-playing game
battle system of Rhapsody was discarded for a more traditional RPG battle system. Like its predecessor, Little Princess includes many musical interludes and focuses on the themes of falling in love and fulfilling your dreams.
The game is currently available for download via the PlayStation Store
, and is playable on either the PSP
or PlayStation 3
. The download became available on May 31, 2007, only in Japan
.
left off. Cornet, having saved Prince Ferdinand in Rhapsody, is now the ruler of Marl Kingdom. 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 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 Tenshi no Present
.
and the daughter of Cornet and Ferdinand. She has a tendency to sneak out of the castle instead of studying, and is identified by the other characters as a tomboy
. She has known Crea since they were children. According to Tenshi no Present, she later becomes famous throughout her kingdom as the 'Pumpkin Princess', because her trousers resemble a pumpkin. These trousers are often a source of humour, as some characters refer to her as 'pumpkin pants' to tease her. It seems possible she is a reincarnation of the puppet Kururu from the first game, who had mentioned puppets being reincarnated as something else when they die.
, commonly known as , is Etoile Rosenqueen's adoptive daughter
, although at the start of the game she is unaware of her adoption. In a flashback at one point, it is shown that when Crea was young, the other children often picked on her, teasing her because she did not have a father. However, the first time she met Kururu, Kururu saved her by fighting off the bullies. The two of them became very close friends after that. It is suggested that she is obsessively in love with Kururu.
is Kururu's main love interest, although he is initially not very friendly to her
.
is a knight who works at the castle. He became a knight in order to become stronger after the death of his little sister, since he felt guilty over not being able to protect her.
is a female knight and Geo's daughter. She is popular amongst the people of Mothergreen, particularly the women,, and possesses her own fan club
, but shows little interest in romance. Though she treats Kururu strictly, some of her thoughts and flashbacks indicate that Sonia does care about Kururu, and that she wants for the princess to grow up properly and follow her dreams. This is partially because Sonia feels that her own dream (succeeding her father as a knight) was difficult to realise, and that one can't be pampered if they are trying to achieve something.
The battle system has changed drastically from Rhapsody's tactics style fights. 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. 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 , which subtract varying amounts of completed bars from the player's total. A predecessor of the Reward system was present in the previous game; however, 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.
and Tenshi no Present - Marl Oukoku Monogatari, this game is part of the Marl Kingdom
series, a Nippon Ichi
series. Little Princess maintains the emphasis on musical numbers and themes of love introduced in Rhapsody, as well as the anime
inspired, bright graphics, which are used in several later Nippon Ichi games. Unlike Rhapsody, Little Princess was never released outside of Japan, possibly due to Rhapsody's low level of mainstream popularity.
Currently there is an active forum on NIS America requesting Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2 and Tenshi no Present - Marl Oukoku Monogatari on the NIS request forum. It is believed that with enough support the games will be licensed, but NIS Americas response to this is currently unknown.
A version of the game was released on mobile phones.
on May 31, 2007. However, the download was only available in Japan, and there is no word of bringing it to North America.
.
Tracklist:
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
-only RPG from the Marl Kingdom
Marl Kingdom
is a series of RPGs developed by Nippon Ichi Software. The three main games in the series are Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Little Princess: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2, and Tenshi no Present - Marl Ōkoku Monogatari....
series. The game was released three times — once in 1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
, once as Little Princess+1: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2 in 2000
2000 in video gaming
-Events:* May 11–13 — 6th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo ; the 3rd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³* June 26 — International Game Developers Association renamed from Computer Game Developers Association...
, and then in the PSOne Books series in 2001
2001 in video gaming
-Events:* Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame...
.
Little Princess takes place twelve years after the epilogue of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, released in Japan as is a console role-playing game for the PlayStation from Atlus USA and Nippon Ichi Software, the creators of Disgaea, and is part of the Marl Kingdom series....
, and features several of the same characters. The tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
battle system of Rhapsody was discarded for a more traditional RPG battle system. Like its predecessor, Little Princess includes many musical interludes and focuses on the themes of falling in love and fulfilling your dreams.
The game is currently available for download via the PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
, and is playable on either the PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
or PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The download became available on May 31, 2007, only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Story
Little Princess starts off many years after where Rhapsody: A Musical AdventureRhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, released in Japan as is a console role-playing game for the PlayStation from Atlus USA and Nippon Ichi Software, the creators of Disgaea, and is part of the Marl Kingdom series....
left off. Cornet, having saved Prince Ferdinand in Rhapsody, is now the ruler of Marl Kingdom. 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 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 Tenshi no Present
Tenshi no Present - Marl Okoku Monogatari
is a Japanese 2000 RPG from Nippon Ichi. This is the first Marl Kingdom game for the PlayStation 2. 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....
.
Characters
, a.k.a. , is the game's protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and the daughter of Cornet and Ferdinand. She has a tendency to sneak out of the castle instead of studying, and is identified by the other characters as a tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
. She has known Crea since they were children. According to Tenshi no Present, she later becomes famous throughout her kingdom as the 'Pumpkin Princess', because her trousers resemble a pumpkin. These trousers are often a source of humour, as some characters refer to her as 'pumpkin pants' to tease her. It seems possible she is a reincarnation of the puppet Kururu from the first game, who had mentioned puppets being reincarnated as something else when they die.
, commonly known as , is Etoile Rosenqueen's adoptive daughter
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, although at the start of the game she is unaware of her adoption. In a flashback at one point, it is shown that when Crea was young, the other children often picked on her, teasing her because she did not have a father. However, the first time she met Kururu, Kururu saved her by fighting off the bullies. The two of them became very close friends after that. It is suggested that she is obsessively in love with Kururu.
is Kururu's main love interest, although he is initially not very friendly to her
Tsundere
is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms , meaning to turn away in disgust, and meaning to become 'lovey dovey'...
.
- Near the beginning of the game, Cello occasionally appears to give her cryptic advice and help her. He takes on a larger role after the birthday party of Queen Siegrind, during which he sneaks into the castle and attempts to steal the five treasures that act as a key to Beauty Castle (the home of Marjoly and the Shadow of Beauty). He explains that he needs the Shadow of Beauty to heal his ailing mother, who has a terminal illnessTerminal illnessTerminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
. His 'mother', however, is Akurjo, by adoption. - Near the end of the game, Kururu has a vision of the distant past, and through this the player learns Cello's history. It is explained that his parents died in a war with a neighbouring country, and he ended up becoming friends with Kururu's grandmother, Cherie (although, because Cherie and Cello are time travellers, these events are transpiring long before the birth of Kururu's grandfather). When destruction of the Ancient race seemed imminent, Cherie and Cello tried to use the Light of Beauty (a wish-granting jewel related to the Shadow of Beauty) to escape to the future. However, Cello was very anxious over the future, and so his wish was not as strong as Cherie's; they ended up in completely different time periods. Soon after Cello's arrival in the future, he met Akurjo, who decided to adopt him, apparently with the intention of manipulating him for her own purposes.
is a knight who works at the castle. He became a knight in order to become stronger after the death of his little sister, since he felt guilty over not being able to protect her.
- Although Sonia considers him to be weak and often scolds him, he secretly loves her. In the second chapter of Tenshi no Present, he is engaged to Sonia, and as of the sixth chapter of the same game, they are married and expecting their first child.
is a female knight and Geo's daughter. She is popular amongst the people of Mothergreen, particularly the women,, and possesses her own fan club
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
, but shows little interest in romance. Though she treats Kururu strictly, some of her thoughts and flashbacks indicate that Sonia does care about Kururu, and that she wants for the princess to grow up properly and follow her dreams. This is partially because Sonia feels that her own dream (succeeding her father as a knight) was difficult to realise, and that one can't be pampered if they are trying to achieve something.
- In the second chapter of Tenshi no Present, she is engaged to Randy; however, financial concerns prevent them from holding the wedding until sometime after the end of the chapter. In the sixth chapter, Sonia and Randy inform Geo of Sonia's pregnancy, news he takes joyfully.
Gameplay
Like Rhapsody, 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 over all is viewed as more challenging than Rhapsody.Battle
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
is added to the musical staff
Staff (music)
In standard Western musical notation, the staff, or stave, is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch—or, in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments. Appropriate music symbols, depending upon the intended effect,...
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 , which subtract varying amounts of completed bars from the player's total. A predecessor of the Reward system was present in the previous game; however, 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 AdventureRhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, released in Japan as is a console role-playing game for the PlayStation from Atlus USA and Nippon Ichi Software, the creators of Disgaea, and is part of the Marl Kingdom series....
and Tenshi no Present - Marl Oukoku Monogatari, this game is part of the Marl Kingdom
Marl Kingdom
is a series of RPGs developed by Nippon Ichi Software. The three main games in the series are Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Little Princess: Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2, and Tenshi no Present - Marl Ōkoku Monogatari....
series, a Nippon Ichi
Nippon Ichi
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are responsible for such titles as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Phantom Brave, La Pucelle: Tactics and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure.-History:Nippon Ichi Software was founded in September 1991 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, as an entertainment...
series. Little Princess maintains the emphasis on musical numbers and themes of love introduced in Rhapsody, as well as the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
inspired, bright graphics, which are used in several later Nippon Ichi games. Unlike Rhapsody, Little Princess was never released outside of Japan, possibly due to Rhapsody's low level of mainstream popularity.
Currently there is an active forum on NIS America requesting Marl Ōkoku no Ningyō Hime 2 and Tenshi no Present - Marl Oukoku Monogatari on the NIS request forum. It is believed that with enough support the games will be licensed, but NIS Americas response to this is currently unknown.
A version of the game was released on mobile phones.
PlayStation Store
The game was made available for download via the PlayStation StorePlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on May 31, 2007. However, the download was only available in Japan, and there is no word of bringing it to North America.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack for the game's music was released on March 8, 2000. The music, like in the other Marl games, was handled by Tenpei SatoTenpei 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.-Biography:...
.
Tracklist:
- Little Princess ~ Main Theme
- Princess Kururu
- Marl's Lane
- Wonderful World
- Daydream
- A Tomboy Princess
- Starting Over
- Because We Are Always Together
- Winged Boy
- The Way of Making Good Soft Cream
- Mothergreen
- Let's Go Walking ~ Etoile's Love
- It's...the Front of the Back?
- A Customer's Here!
- Kururu's Memories
- Evil Queen
- Puppet Crisis
- The Karkanskys and the Baknekoffs
- Rosen Queenland
- The Little Princess' Decision ~ Sending My Thoughts into Eternity
- Hysteric Ceremony
- We are the Witch-Tribe
- Eyes of the Princess
- First Love
- Uru-uru Kururu
- Under the Rule of the Soldier
- Sky-Palace of the Witches
- The Law of the Noble Flower
- Last Dance
- The Little Princess' Decision ~ So That Thoughts May Be Handed Down Through Generations