Ren'Py - Completed - Long Live the Princess [v1.0.1] [Belle]

I think Long Live the Princess is very easy to summarize: One of the best titles that I found here, but it didn't become one of my favorites. The main reason for this, is that I'm biased against any sort of "detective work" in videogames, and my mind immediately starts rejecting the concept and any associations (I feel abject terror, thinking of the trials in Danganronpa). So basically, what we have here is a simple "It's not you, it's me game", and Long Live the Princess makes for an amazing partner, that ends up being wasted on me (I can't fully appreciate it).

The idea that I want to transmit, is that this is very good, and you should try it, despite what I said above.

The longer version and the important stuff:

- The Fairy/Pixie - I don't know the difference, but I can tell you that writers, in general, seem to get inspired when portraying this particular creature (it could be a collective unconscious type of situation... or just a cool archetype). Long Live the Princess has a great Pixie sidekick character. Among the best and the most funny, definitely the one with most presence/screen time, and a substantial amount of my enjoyment with the game came from her (guess who I picked at the end?). It's very clear they had this character well thought out from the get-go.

- (Almost) Everyone has an actual problem - A reason to feel down on their luck. This is not exactly a credit to the game in itself, but it becomes one when you compare it, to some of the idiocy you see "flying around" in the competition. The sister, the librarian, the seamstress etc... The secrets they carry have weight (especially if you consider the imaginable time period), and you can clearly understand why such things bring them down, or stop them on their tracks. Appropriate emotional conflicts, for the most part.

- The protagonist - Usually, I don't give two shits about protagonists, but this one is pretty good. Have you ever complained about the virgin protagonist getting all the girls, thanks to the whole universe conspiring in his favor? Well it's a little bit better here. Some of the tropes still stand, but you can see a clear evolution in how he deals with the girls and becomes more confident. Adding to that, he is funny, especially in his inner monologue, and his interactions with the pixie (while repetitive in the long run) are very enjoyable.

One thing I would change, is him already being (very) attracted to his sister from the start. I like the incest tag (one of my favorites, alongside monster girls), but it DOESN'T work for me, if it's already established in any form. (I'm more about the journey and not so much the destination). Just a thought for future reference: Visual novels that start with family members already lusting after each other don't make good incest, at least for me (I know how good incest sounds).

- The visuals and the adult content - In terms of presentation the title needs work, but I think the H-scenes (let's call them that, for my convenience) are still well above, some of the other titles you can find here. The reason is the build-up and set-up (psychological components). Here comes the "brutal honesty train": You have seen many girls more attractive than the librarian, but how many of them pull off seductive mannerisms while constantly talking about their father? Long Live the Princess is all about that (not the father part. The sexy part, and the mental aspect).

- Humor - The pixie adult content really cracked me up, it's so imaginative. (No Black Souls or From Frontier type of material unfortunately. Fortunately?). The pixie sexuality is a twist I did not see coming, and I'm gonna mark that approach as bold/positive (they go to places in this department). Overall I had a good time with the game, but do note that most of the humor is coming from the same source (the pixie), and that shows a lack of resources.

- The time limit (it's optional) - I don't understand the why of it, but if new game plus is the cause, then the causality is not working properly. The last time I went for new game plus was on Monster Girl Club Bifrost (go up 3 paragraphs... Surprising, isn't it?) The main reason was enjoying the game so much, that I wanted more.

In other words:
A great game, may equal interest in new game plus. The notion of seeing more content in itself, DOES NOT equal new game plus interest. It's not a problem, it's just the principle.

Snark aside, there's one great thing in the time management aspect of Long Live the Princess: Free events (not-time consuming). I like how things are clearly marked and somewhat balanced between the 2 approaches. It's "oranges and apples", but the reduced number of free events in Magical Girl Celesphonia, is one of the reasons why I favor Ambrosia (same developer) over it. Just another thought.

There's more to talk about, like the smooth interface, the fact that some thought was given to the audio parameter, or the role of the main story being diminished by all the different pursuits, but I'd say this paints a good enough picture.

Overall, this is one of the few titles that I genuinely believe, deserves its spot at the top of the ratings. This is a 10/10 (from a fair POV), but personally, pegging it down to an 8 or 9, feels more in line with my own experience. Great game, highly recommend it, and this is definitely one of those titles that deserves to be supported.

The f95 community and the developer recommend playing the game with the time limit to encourage multiple play-throughs but in my opinion the game isn't good enough to warrant an immediate second play-through so I recommend playing without it.

+
decent story with lots of dialogue.

+/-
low-quality film-grained renders (could be taken as an artistic choice).

-
every female body-type is near identical but with a different shade of color.
poorly implemented RPG elements in the form of currency and inventory management.
poorly implemented mind-control core-mechanic; whats the point in mind control when all the girls will fuck you for merely talking to them a few times?

i'm so glad that i finally tried the game out after i stumbled over it multiple times but was a bit scared about the "netorare" tag (easily avoidable). this game highly surprised me and exceeded my expectations.

the writing, story, wonderful looking girls (seems like belle has the same taste in girls as i do ) and that this games keeps me interested in playing it multiple times, places this game in my favorite list.

sure there are things that could get improved (i hope in the next game) like render quality and giving the player the freedom to avoid any Li he wants to. specially, i would like to praise the dev's decision to NOT make this game a typical harem game.

P.S. I Love Girl on Girl content the scenes that are in game are pretty hot!

While I think there's an attempt here at interesting gameplay with the clues and blackmail system, its largely just another horribly written, unengaging porn game with a braindead main character and a cast of women who are either bland and boring or so annoying I'd rather they didn't exist. The fairy character was so obnoxious I could hardly stand her, she's basically just an NSFW version of Navi quipping and constantly piping up when she's entirely unwanted. All in all, I just hate this style of H game where the cast is largely vacant of character and the author thinks they're a comedian when their humor just comes off as cringe.

This is an amazing game. Every aspect of it is perfect, from the writing to the tone to the art to what happens is you fuck everything up. It's bone-chilling, refreshing, hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. Play it.

I love the fact that the dev actually monitors reviews. Of course, the game is great and has some replayability potential if you want to see more endings or minor and not so minor plot branches.

Errr, well, the website requires me to add more characters, so here comes a filler sentence to hit the threshold of 200+ characters. Much love to Belle once again!

At first, I was sceptical, since the game features two mechanics I am not a fan of: Incest and sexual assault on sleeping girls. However, I tried a play-through to see if you can avoid any of these. And in fact, you can to a certain degree. It is not absolutely necessary to become a creepy sex offender in order to reach a somewhat good ending.

And while playing the game, I discovered that it includes a lot of great ideas and a good story. So I can totally recommend this game, as it will give you a gaming experience that is different to most other games you can find here (while still having nice sex scenes and beautiful girls). Try this out!

Best story and quality of any game in this "genre" . Get you in the feels at the end tho. And one of the best NG+ ideas. The mistery of the plot is cherry on the top. One of the rare cases of I Play It For The Plot

An excellent game. made thoroughly with love and it shows.

The only complaint I had was the lack of Harem routes. you only get a harem through the evil route.

Other than that, its got a bunch of cool music and well timed too

Good art, althrough most of the girls weren't my type.
Amazing story. you have to be ready for a bit of replay, as with most time loops.
I usually don't rate music, but what i heard was good, too.
Sex scenes are mix of standard and animated 3D. Girls didn't look like plastic dols nor enter uncanny valley, like with most 3D I usually see, but I prefer 2D art, so I might have a bit of bias here.

An engaging, sex-filled mystery.

You are a lowly apprentice wizard tasked with uncovering a conspiracy after your master's death. Gameplay consists of visiting various people and places at different times of day to uncover clues, unlock abilities, and generally advance the plot. Periodically you are required to present the evidence you've gathered, Ace Attorney style. While neither system is groundbreaking, they work quite well together. It really feels like an actual complete, cohesive game, rather than a linear visual novel, or a porn gallery with extra steps.

The writing is mostly good. Characters generally have multiple dimensions to them that you gradually uncover. Dialog can still be occasionally cringe, and the main character is an annoying bitch, but no worse than the average porn game. The real strength of the game is the plot, and the way we're fed a steady trickle of clues. It's an engaging story, ever expanding in scope, where you solve one mystery with a satisfying "Take That!" moment, only for two more mysteries to take its place. The game recommends you try to solve the story in 40 days, but provides an optional unlimited mode; given a handful of frustratingly obscure puzzles, I recommend the latter.

The game boasts impressive 3d models, though the overall artistic direction is a bit generic and uninspired. The sexual content is plentiful, and - to the game's credit - relevant to the plot surprisingly often. You have to do quite a bit of work to get into most of the girls' pants, which really builds the anticipation and makes your success more satisfying. Unfortunately, sex scenes are also a bit generic and uninspired. Not bad, but often the buildup is more enjoyable than the conclusion. Note that the game is all about subtle mind control and dubious consent; if that's not your fetish, then there's not a lot else here for you.

Overall, a solid mystery adventure that's more than the sum of its parts. Though sex is constantly present, it's not the main draw of the game.

Really good game
The conversation,secret reveal and the mind maniplate thing are the best and This game have a very good story too!
The relationship in this game is very good
The old Fairy Queen are so adorable I really love her

If this game came out with 2023 graphic this game will be the best thing I ever have!

Interesting plot with dire consequences. Not easy to get to the good ending without a guide. In my opinion the characters are well made and most of them are pretty and sexy. I like the game. Belle is very amusing.

the game mechanics are very engaging. A minimum of reasoning is needed, and the choices reward the player. It would have been nice to have longer sex climaxes, perhaps with foreplay and gape.
The characters are varied and likeable, and the story is interesting and deeper than average. Excellent epilogue

This is really quite a good H game. The renders and animation are simply some of the best I have seen in H games / VNs. OUTSTANDING quality. The story and writing are decent, there is a lot of humor and plenty of awkward/hilarious situations.

The game also introduces a really good mechanic that I WISH WE COULD SEE MORE OF IN THESE GAMES SO DEVS PLEASE TAKE NOTE! After you play through the game, you can do a 'new game+' and keep most of your stats and spells. I absolutely love this feature. It's not implemented perfectly - for example you keep your agility stat, but then you wind up having to redo your agility lessons anyways because the lesson events are necessary to trigger other events, I think this one small aspect could have been dealt with better but it's a minor point.

There is a lot of content here, you could easily play through it a few times to hit everything.

I think the 50 day time limit is too short, maybe 60 or75 days would have been better as some of the events are quite time consuming (trying to avoid spoilers but, for example, there is a part where you go visit... someone and for the next couple of days after each visit you are severely weakened.)

I would also say the plotline of banging your sister was unnecessary. I could do without that aspect. The story really wouldn't have to be impacted at all, one of you could have been adopted or she could have just been your neighbor or something, it seems this was basically inserted into the story just to appeal to people who... I guess get turned on at the thought of a dude banging his sister(?) IDK not my thing but also avoidable to an extent and not enough to ruin what is otherwise a really impressive game.

This game is a remarkable achievement. More than an eroge, it feels like an interesting fantasy game that has lots of beautiful fantasy women with whom you can have various types of sex. The story and writing are refreshingly well-done and interesting. The women are visually different from each other as well as being separate and distinct characters. Fantastic visuals, interesting plot, and an all-around sexy time.

If I had one complaint it would be that, while Belle threatens to piss in your mouth at the beginning of the game, she never makes good on that threat. Other than that, very satisfying.

This is a very good game. The plot was coherent and the story was intriguing. I really like games that have many paths and routes when they all feel fleshed out and have substance and not just thrown in just for extra renders and such; this game was great down each path, I saw a calamitous world ending having failed and all the happy endings. Each one was compelling and worth a playthrough. Shit, I am about do go do a NG+ run that has even more content so we aint going no where but up from here babay! lol ...Also all the girls are very good looking and the H scenes are steamy... P.S. Belle ending is the best imo ...

This is on version 1.0.1.

"Long Live the Princess" is a very...average game. It has a moderately high level of production quality to it, which lends itself well to appearances, but the details and mechanics are lacking.

Let me start by saying this is a porn game second, and a narrative first.

The problem there is that the narrative is not particularly compelling, and the eyes you experience it through - those being the protagonist's - appear to have a certain trouble acting as a human being.

I'll start with that latter point first. The protagonist is...perpetually horny - despite the game not being all that sex heavy - and perhaps it's due to that lack of bloodflow, but stupid to boot. That's a big problem, because this is presented primarily as a mystery game - a mystery game where the player will always piece conclusions together far quicker than the protagonist, making that element more frustrating than engaging.

So what about the rest of the narrative? I want you to look at that sixth image preview on the front page, the one that says "I believe the Fairy Queen needs to expand her sexual horizons. How about teaching her the art of lesbian sex?", because that is very indicative of the quality of the game's dialogue. It's bad. And with it is delivered a purposefully convoluted plot that aims to make very little sense. The player is supposed to be confused, it's a "mystery element"...but it doesn't deliver, because the only one confused is the protagonist. The player is fully capable of dismissing many of the details that don't matter and gaining a relatively full understanding of the plot.

It's worth noting too that the story is delivered through a faux sandbox used for investigations, but the story and character interactions themselves are almost entirely linear - I say "almost", because there are a handful of story-impacting decisions to be made...if you can call them that. Generally speaking, these choices given to the player are binarily "bad end" or "good end", but not presented as such. Effectively, you make a choice, and if that was a choice the game didn't like, you're locked into a bad ending - a bad ending which you will have to play the rest of the game to get, only to realize you're in for a restart.

So what about the actual porn, then? "Limited" is the best way to put it. There are a variety of girls in the game - none of which you actually interact with to a substantial degree outside the developer's self-insert - but their scenes are all fairly low in number and none particularly interesting. In fact, this game has a pretty bad habit of the scenes being so utterly vanilla that you can't see any details. One thing I do appreciate is that the game goes to lengths to keep the protagonist's face hidden, something I wish more games would do - I'm not here for the dude and I'd rather not have my mental image of my character shattered by what is typically a low-detail model with a startlingly bad haircut.

By and large your interactions with the cast of women in the game revolve around finding their deep dark secrets and blackmailing negotiating with them, which gives you control over them. It's effectively and a bit nonsensically "mind control". They are to a large extent plot devices with sex scenes, and while I have been known to be guilty of agalmatophilia from time to time, it does not make them effective at supporting a detailed narrative.

I will throw out there that despite how I've described the content of the scenes as "vanilla", which I stand by, the game does include some mandatory nightcreeping as well as mostly optional NTR elements. It's a weird combination that manages to capture neither the standard nor the perverse.

To be completely blunt, "Long Live the Princess" was to me a disappointing experience barely carried by its production value. I'm not going to strictly say it's "not worth playing", the characters are attractive...but as someone who places a large emphasis on cohesion and interaction, I didn't feel it was worth my time.

One of the most "complete" experiences on the website, it's not perfect but it deserves a 5/5.
The sandbox is done extremely well, the plot is well written and intriguing, interesting mystery solving/clue gathering, many different characters to romance with "training" elements, good renders and animations. You can play the game as it was meant to be or they even give you the option not to be in any rush and play the sandbox as long as you want before you start the endgame, talk about pleasing everyone. It has potentially a lot of replayability, more so if you go with the "challenge" mode where your playthough is timed to a set amount of days (if you go with unlimited time you can live most of the experience in a single playthrough). It even has a new game + mode where you can replay the game by keeping your upgraded stats. Lots of work and love were put into this game, a must play.

[After playing v1.0.1]

Probably one of the most balanced AVN and specially for sandbox, the mixture is perfect.

Very good story, likable characters, dialogues... It's mostly a light story, lots of comedy elements but also not afraid of doing something dark. The amount of sex scenes and story is nice and feels balanced, the way the sex scenes are performed is great (and the amount of girls and acts), you feel free to do things as a sandbox and it's not one you feel grinding like just some sort of way of blocking you from the good stuff by doing boring things, all the tasks are mostly implemented in the story so it works, it makes sense ("of course you have to do this before doing that!" instead of "you have to repeat this boring act 37 times before doing this"). You can choose to have a time limit or not if you want some challenge, I would recommend having the time limit for the first time at least.

This is for sure one of my favourites.