If you have fond memories of Landstalker on the Genesis, try to not let that influence you when it comes to Steal Princess, the latest game from developers Climax Entertainment, who were also behind Ladystalker, Time Stalker, and a few other RPG titles from various systems. On the surface, Steal Princess does seem to have some resemblance to the Stalker series, but that goes about as far as the isometric view, and there's not a lot of fun to be had with a pretty basic puzzle/platformer.
The idea of the game is that you're in control of a big time thief who screws up an attempt at the Demon King's palace, and ends up in a kingdom that requires her help to rescue a Prince that's been kidnapped by the Demon King. Anise, the thief, doesn't consider herself as much of a hero, but reluctantly agrees, with the hope of finding more treasure and getting another shot at the end game inside the palace. The story is basic, but the localization is actually pretty good, and there's certainly some humor in the banter between Anise and the fairy guardian she gets stuck with.
The story does take a backseat to the actual gameplay, in the sense that there's not a ton of cutscenes or character interaction except after a large stretch of puzzle solving and enemy manipulation. The game has an action side to the platforming, but almost everything you do in these small, one-room stages is based around puzzles. Things start off simple enough, just clear away the enemies to get a key drop, which will unlock the door at the end of the stage. All the stages are timed, and if you're able to complete a level within a certain time limit you'll earn either a gold, silver, or bronze badge for the completion. The badges don't serve much of a purpose other than bragging rights though, so if you want to get the best time that'll be up to you. It does add quite a bit of longevity to the title if you're trying to get all gold, which can definitely be tricky to pull off.
After a few introductory levels the puzzle difficulty starts to amp up, but it never seems to differ greatly from the mechanics introduced early on. Anise comes equipped with a basic whip, which she can use to tether to objects or enemies. Certain puzzles will require Anise to bound around from tether point to tether point, and the isometric view makes this more of a challenge than it needs to be. Even jumping can be a little difficult, it never feels entirely precise, which is definitely a pain when it comes to stages that use pitfalls and spikes that you need to jump over. If Anise latches her whip on to an enemy, she can drag it over to her, and temporarily stun it as well, which is somewhat useless as the basic guys you come across aren't particularly challenging. Most of the time they stick to a walking pattern, and don't deviate it from it unless you get really close to them.
While the whip can't kill an enemy, a few other items you'll find along the way will do the trick. Certain stages use colored weapons, like swords with a red, blue or yellow tint to them, which will match up with the enemy type they can kill. Some enemies need to be defeated in a pattern to get your key to drop, while others just need to be wiped out all together. Figuring out if there's an existing pattern in place will be the difference between a bronze and gold medal usually, and sometimes it's difficult to figure out whether it's necessary to clear the screen or not. Also, with a few puzzles you can literally screw yourself out of finishing the stage, as some enemies need to be used as platforms to get to higher spots. For these instances you're just going to need to back out, since the game won't auto-fail you or let you know you've messed something up. This can lead to some initial frustration if you don't figure out what you've done relatively quickly.
The game isn't particularly nice to look at, and while it does keep in line a bit with a Landstalker design, I'd honestly say the Genesis game looks better than this. The sprite work is an ugly mess, and the level design isn't exactly inspired either. There are multiple locations that you'll go through, and certain scenery will change about, but when you're doing the sub-levels for an area they all tend to look the same. I was as disappointed in the look of the game as I was the gameplay, and while the soundtrack does have some catchy tracks attached, it's just about the only redeeming factor of the presentation.
All together I was pretty disappointed with Steal Princess, as early screens had given me some hope for a cool platforming throwback from Climax, but the end result didn't do it for me. The puzzles run the gamut from basic to difficult, but certain puzzles are too easy to accidentally screw up and aggravate the player, and it's equally annoying when you realize you can't finish something. I can't really say I'd suggest trying it out, even if you're on a nostalgia kick, as the end result is more frustrating than satisfying. Avoid this one, and hope we'll see a better effort out of Climax in the near future.
