Manual Stimulation: Pri Pri Primitive Princess! (GameBoy)

Don't let its lovely cover art fool you--Sunsoft's Pri Pri Primitive Princess isn't a great game. In fact, most people who've played it will tell you it's an absolute turd.



I can't say I agree with them, at least not entirely. Yes, Pri Pri Primitive Princess has its faults, but the same can be said of a lot of GameBoy titles, in my experience.



Granted, I've got a soft spot the size of Texas for single-screen platformers, the genre that encompasses this Japan-only release from 1990. I've got a similarly large soft spot for games that star cavemen--you know, like Hudson Soft's old PC Genjin (aka Bonk's Adventure) series.



Combine all of the above with the fact that Pri Pri Primitive Princess is, as you should be well aware by now, a GameBoy cart, and you've got yourself the makings of a "must buy" game pour moi, as the French might say.



In other words, I'd covet my complete-in-box copy of Pri Pri Primitive Princess even if its instruction manual were an utter disappointment. Thankfully, it isn't.



You'll see what I mean as you make your way through this post. For now, though, take my word that nearly every page features at least one nicely crafted illustration.



Would I have complained if the folks who cobbled together the Pri Pri Primitive Princess manual way back when had thrown in a few more pieces of art? Of course not.



Even as things stand, though, this manual's still a good bit better than quite a few other Japanese GameBoy instruction booklets currently in my possession.



See also: similar posts about the instruction manuals made for other Japanese GameBoy titles like Bubble Bobble Junior, Lolo no Daibouken, Penguin Land, Snow Bros. Jr., and Tumblepop

Another Year of the GameBoy: Pri Pri Primitive Princess! (Sunsoft, 1990)

I think I may be the only person on earth who even slightly enjoys Sunsoft's Pri Pri Primitive Princess! for the GameBoy.

OK, so that's probably overstating things a bit, but it's an easy overstatement to make considering every person I've chatted with on line about this game and every review of it I've read (here's one example) has ripped it to shreds.

Granted, I'm overly fond of the single-screen platformer genre, which includes such all-time classics as Bubble Bobble, Don Doko Don, Snow Bros. and many others. 

In other words, I may be more willing than most to give a rather rough offering a break. 

It helps, of course, that Pri Pri's gameplay seems to have been inspired by one of my favorite single-screen platformers, The Berlin Wall. 

Don't take that as me saying Pri Pri is anywhere near as polished as that Kaneko-made quarter-muncher (which earned a rather wonderful Game Gear port). Still, my experience with the former hasn't been as tortuous as that of many others.

And even if Pri Pri Primitive Princess is a turd, it's a turd wrapped in some rather beautiful paper, don't you think?

I especially love its cover art, which can be seen in the first two photos that kick off this blog post.

This Japan-only GameBoy title from 1990 also sports an impressively produced instruction manual, as evidenced by the snapshot above.

It's not quite at the level as, say, Konagi's Famicom games or Taito's PC Engine efforts from the same period, but it's still pretty great.

Another aspect of Pri Pri's packaging that earns brownie points from me is that the little flaps that help keep its box closed are branded with adorable illustrations.

Oh, and the striped, kaleidoscopic logo that's not too far away is kind of cool, too, if you ask me.



So, what do you think? Do Pri Pri Primitive Princess' box, cartridge and manual help make up for the fact that its gameplay isn't as compelling as could be? Or do you think all of the above are on the "meh" side, too?

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' and 'Another Year of the GameBoy' posts