Test – Long Live The Queen – A surprisingly addictive Visual Novel | Xbox One

Initially released in 2012 on PC, the Visual Novel with RPG accents Long Live The Queen arrives on our consoles in a version at first sight identical, but yet so different. From the Hanako Games studio (to whom we owe many games of the genre) and developed on the famous free software Ren’Py, this title is proof that talent simply cannot be negotiated.

More than just a port

From the launch of the game, we are pleasantly surprised to see the work done since the first release of the game, in 2012. On the occasion of this console port, the Hanako Games teams have put the dishes in the big in us offering full localization of their title in five languages ​​(including French). And this French version is far from being anecdotal. We are accustomed, on this kind of production, to being far too often confronted with a translation carried out using automated and more or less efficient software, making the experience wobbly, even incomprehensible. But Long Live The Queen received a completely different treatment, giving us quality localization. A few rare spelling mistakes are to be deplored, but nothing that really interferes with immersion in its dark and magical universe.

Very nice artwork…

If visually the game is the same, we also benefit from HD visuals for each wallpaper. The title leaves us free to see the difference by adopting the “classic” style at any time from the menu. Admittedly too few in number, these wallpapers have the merit of being all entirely hand-drawn in a manga style of very fine workmanship. It should also be noted that this version has the huge update released in 2015, bringing its share of bug fixes, modifications, adjustments and new content.

…But very few

We may regret not having much more than that for this console version. Some new options and choices, new endings or even reworked menus would have been a significant plus and greatly improved the experience. However, the title of Hanako Games is sufficiently generous so that these grievances do not affect the pleasure, once the controller is in hand.

Live my Princess Life

Long Live The Queen puts us in the shoes of Elodie, crown princess of the kingdom of Nova. Then aged 14, her destiny is to ascend the throne a short year later. But do not become Queen who wants and, to have this honor, Elodie will have to do everything to learn… even if it means destroying herself morally. But she is not alone in seeking the title and the plots will be numerous. During the entire game taking place over 40 weeks, a weekly triptych of actions will be offered to us. The first of these will concern the emotional state of your heroine. The latter begins in full depression marinated in a hint of fear, following the “accidental” death of her mother. It will then be necessary for us to play (literally) with his emotions to better achieve your ends.

The tone is set

Represented as sliders divided into four columns (Anger / Fear, Joy / Depression, Determination / Weakness, Stress / Loneliness), these emotions will fluctuate according to the rhythm of events and your decisions, the most intense having an impact on the skills you Elodie will be able to learn. So it will sometimes be wise to increase the weakness and fear of this poor princess, if by chance we decide to boost her Faith skills. To play on these emotions, we have several ways to proceed. If the events are often random (being corollaries of decisions that we will have to make, but also of our successes and our failures), the weekend Elodie will be free to occupy herself as she sees fit. We will then have the opportunity to decide what she will do during this period. Leaving the castle discreetly? Go pray? Visit the cells? Going to a court meeting? Chat with his father or any guest?

But nothing is linear in the world of Long Live the Queen.

We can sometimes skillfully play on his emotional state, sometimes unlock new information about the scenario, and thus discover new optional endings, thwart plots, or simply appreciate variations in events. The rest of the week, Elodie will have to take part in lessons in order to learn various more or less useful skills. And these are numerous… So many that it will simply not be possible to explore them in one and the same game. Divided into four sub-groups (Social, Physical, Intellectual and Mystical), each skill can be improved as you study. We will have to choose which subjects to study (two per week maximum), thus allowing us to become more skilled in a specific area. Of course, our emotions will play a significant role in our learning. Thus, when Elodie is depressed, her Allure Royale and her Speech will develop less quickly. On the contrary, his joy will help him to make them evolve more quickly. Exemplary determination will be necessary to teach her magic, and fear will be essential to make her a good priestess.

Menus are obscure

However, we regret the lack of clarity in this bonus / malus system, which encourages the player to take out paper and pen and take notes to really understand which emotion influences which skill. These lessons will help our heroine during the exceptional situations she will experience each week. But nothing is linear in the world of Long Live the Queen. So in our first game, we maxed out Faith and Flexibility, allowing us to uncover hidden things or shine at a ball. But on the contrary, our lack of points in agility did not allow the heiress to avoid being bitten by a snake. However, instead of penalizing us… we were able to discover that a close friend had magical powers that had been kept secret until then. To ultimately lose a civil war and end up in the damp dampness of our own dungeon. In another, we let anger dictate our fate. Martial skills and military strategy boosted to their climax, this time we were ready for the rebel insurrection… which never happened. Instead, Elodie was simply poisoned. And if, during our first game, we are tempted to stupidly follow these tendencies and to develop the study schedule according to Elodie’s predominant emotions, the game quickly takes a completely different turn, encouraging us to model her internally. , to better thwart the many traps that pave the way to the throne.

Excellent replayability

As long as we get into the game, the end of our first adventure (count 2 or 3 hours) is really only the beginning. And the title screen immediately tells us the color. We will indeed find a menu listing a plethora of content: the ends to unlock, the deaths to experience, as well as the achievements available.

The choices are sometimes difficult

And the possibilities are many in Long Live the Queen. To bring our heiress to the throne in good conditions, there will be as many events as weeks (therefore 40), the latter being determined by your successes, your failures and your choices. No game is alike and the frustration of seeing Elodie perish miserably only reinforces our desire to restart the game once again, until we finally reach the Grail: the crowning glory. Considering the number of skills and events, we will need many, many games to discover all the little subtleties that the game conceals; especially since each has its share of surprises.

A limited tool

All is not rosy, however, in Long Live the Queen. The wise Visual Novel lover will immediately recognize Ren’Py (the software used for its creation) and will understand that the game has little better to offer than a complex story with multiple branches.

Each learning is personalized

While it is obvious that the Hanako Games studio team knows it by heart, the fact remains that this software never allows the title to be taken beyond its technical limits. We will therefore have to be content with gameplay that is as minimalist as possible, screens that look like Excel tables and non-contextualized choices. However, some subtleties are impressive enough to be noted. Like this ersatz RPG that the title offers us via the skills that Elodie can learn, quite unusual in this kind of game. Similarly, it is very pleasant to note that, despite an impressive number of possible branches, the game does not never suffers from the slightest inconsistency. The writing is mastered and there are no bugs to report. If it is nonetheless very pleasant to play, this Long Live the Queen will therefore be reserved for fans of the genre or, conversely, for neophytes discovering Visual Novel.

Tested on Xbox One X.