Game:

Purikura Daisakusen (1996)

Duration: 21:34

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70

Gameplay starts at about 08:12

Ah yes...Prikura Daisakusen...you see, Atlus wasn't always about publishing or developing Persona; I kid, I kid...but while most modern people only really know them for Shin Megami Tensei or Persona, Atlus had a rich, odd history...this game is just a piece of that history, you see. Atlus had a bit of an odd, slightly popular fighting game series back in the day...many simply refer to it as "Power Instinct". Prikura Daisakusen, or "Princess Clara" (to some), deals with a character who had huge appeal and appeared in Power Instinct 2. Kurara Hananokoji (or, let's just go with Kurara/Clara) made her appearance outside of PI2 and to the surprise of "many", the game is something of an unknown gem.

There is a rich depth of information for this game and the Power Instinct series, so I will provide a few links, but I will cover the basics of this game. Prikura Daisakusen was originally in arcades, running off of the "Sega Titan Video" system (ST-V) and while not hugely different from each other, the Saturn version has a few additions from the arcade game. Such differences primarily just consist of added artwork and additional voice acting for the added FMV and other things. This video goes through an "attract mode" viewing before starting, but it is to showcase some of the "new things". The opening FMV is not present in the arcade game, though the "second intro" actually is and in typical arcade fashion, is smoother and prettier...however, if you continue to wait, there is a "third" movie...it is actually the same opening movie as before, only this time, Kurara is explaining the general story and how the "Scrap Empire" came in and ruined the peaceful and cheerful Miracle World.

The game is two players simultaneously and you can use Kurara Apricot, Grey O' Brien (a prince who was changed into an animal/beast hybrid who turn into his original shape with a special item), and Kirara Apricot (a sister of Kurara who only appears in PD). Your goal is to collect the residents of Miracle World (who have been turned into animals) and eventually rescue Urara Apricot, the older sister to Kurara and Kirara, who is also the current ruler of Miracle World (you get a cry of help from her when you start the game). The Sega Saturn version also has a sort of "character introduction" mode, which I sample in this video, where Kurara (since I picked her) tells you about herself...her age, what she likes, so on and so forth. It is done to various pieces of artwork.

The game system is pretty neat...simple enough to play, challenging to get the highest score possible. You have a few ways to attack; a regular shot that can be powered up (increasing range, power, etc.), a melee attack, and a rolling melee attack. The melee attack is especially important --- when you whack enemies, you can cause them to explode, which will destroy other enemies nearby in a sort of "domino effect"...the important aspect of this is that, not only can you clear tons of enemies this way, but you get jewels that give loads of points AND alter the evolution of your "Pure Egg" (will explain in a moment). The more enemies that get blown up by the starting enemy you whacked, the more valuable jewels you get. You also get health items, 1-ups, and an item that makes you temporarily invincible (with different music to boot, as the characters become "human/adult" forms). You also have a very useful "roll evade", where you are temporarily invincible. You also perform the rolling melee attack from the roll evade.

Now...that "Pure Egg" --- at the end of a level, you have a sort of "experience" system, based on how many animals you rescue and how many jewels you have. There is an evolution chart and depending on whether you rescued more animals or had more jewels, you move around the chart accordingly. I have the chart in my game manual, but I am sure you can find it online too...one thing to intrigue you though; one of the final evolutions of the pure egg is Jack Frost...you heard right; Atlus' hip mascot. Don't believe me? Try seeing for yourself. It is always awesome to see SMT references in non-SMT (or other) games. Your Pure Egg functions as an "option" (Think Gradius) that fights alongside you, but also can launch almighty magic attacks (think "bombs") if you have magic stock to do so. The neat thing is how every evolution has different projectiles and cool magic attacks.

At any rate, the music is pretty neat, as are the visuals. It is awesome...though only perfectionists might have anything to do after they beat it once or twice. A great game in and of itself, while it lasts. A couple of reference materials:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purikura_Daisakusen

http://powerinstinct.wikia.com/wiki/Kurara_Hananokoji

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