UlasanAnime.com – For over a year, Princess Connect! Re:Dive has been a consistent presence in my mobile gaming routine, managing to fulfill my RPG cravings without demanding an excessive amount of my time.
Currently, my mobile game workload is as follows:
- Tier 1: Playing extensively (logging in multiple times a day, completing all tasks):
- Princess Connect! Re:Dive
- THE IDOLM@STER Million Live Theater Days
- Tier 2: Playing occasionally (daily logins only, with occasional bursts of normal play):
- THE IDOLM@STER Shiny Colors
- Magia Record (EN)
- Tier 3: Playing rarely (logging in occasionally – primarily for gacha pulls):
- Hachigatsu no Cinderella 9
- THE IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage
- Granblue Fantasy
While I haven’t discussed it extensively on my blog, I’ve been playing Princess Connect! Re:Dive since its launch in 2018 and have maintained a regular play schedule. It’s been about 1.5 years since its release, and I still find immense enjoyment in the game. I’d like to share my thoughts on it.
Basic Information and Review:
Gameswith
English Reddit
JP Wiki
The Princess Connect franchise, initially launched in 2015 as a browser game, ceased operations in 2016. Princess Connect! Re:Dive (Pricone or Pricone-R), a continuation of the series, was released in 2018 as a mobile app game. While initially available on Android and iOS, it is now also accessible on PC via DMM. An anime adaptation has been announced, though its air date is yet to be revealed. Studio Wit has been instrumental in providing extensive animation for the app and PC game.
The primary reason for my deep engagement with the game is its ability to satisfy my RPG needs, a core element of Cygames’ RPG offerings. Yet, unlike their other titles, Pricone manages to deliver all the desired flavors with minimal commitment. “Grinding” in this game typically involves about 30 minutes of gameplay per day, which covers daily quests and perhaps a bit of extra time for “tower” challenges or PvP. For players who genuinely enjoy extensive grinding, the game might feel lacking rather quickly. However, for those who are already invested in other games or have real-life obligations, it offers an easily manageable experience that isn’t overly laborious.
Re:Dive also strikes a good balance between free-to-play and paid progression. Given its PvP focus, a decent level of balance is crucial for the game to maintain its relevance even 1.5 years after its launch. In typical Cygames fashion, they are quite generous with in-game currency, monetizing primarily through frequent and affordable options to enhance your teams. While spending currency to improve existing team members is often more beneficial than using it for gacha pulls, both avenues are utilized.
The “Cygames RPG theme” I refer to generally encompasses a stats-building core in the traditional JRPG sense, a rock-paper-scissors damage/defense model, an evolving meta (akin to Shadowverse, but with characters instead of expansion sets), and clan battles and co-op events. In many ways, if you are familiar with Cygames’ original properties over the years, you can observe these themes progressing from one game to the next. In this regard, PriconeR reflects a level of maturity in both Cygames’ development process and their experience in game design.
A significant testament to PriconeR’s mature development process is its status as one of the most user-friendly games, both in terms of UI design and mechanics. Over the past 18 months, the game has seen consistent improvements to its user interface, with updates adding common shortcuts and removing mechanics that detracted from player enjoyment or added tedium. It’s evident that they are closely monitoring player behavior, such as which menus are accessed and which stages are frequently played, as well as obvious metrics like which characters players are investing in and using.
There was once a player-matching PUG (pick-up group) mechanism that offered decent rewards, but the fights within that feature were so easy that it became a pure grind. The actual challenge lay in the PUG coordination itself. This feature was eventually removed because players spent more time navigating the matchmaking interface than actually playing the game. It was even observed that rewards were increased to encourage more participation before its discontinuation, yet many players were unwilling to wait for matches.
Visually, the game embraces a “cute girls get stuck in an MMORPG” theme. It is undeniably cute, with visuals that seamlessly transition between SD models in the 2D game engine and full anime cutscenes, or static 2D graphics for dialogue and visual novel segments. The extensive use of skeuomorphism adds vibrancy to the overall experience, evoking a rustic RPG vibe reminiscent of Ragnarok Online. Once in anime mode, however, the game, complete with Kouhei Tanaka-style music, brings to mind Sakura Taisen. The “next episode preview” segments for its in-game events and main story chapters further reinforce this impression.
The game’s composers are quite diverse. While Tanaka composed the main theme, a glance at the in-game music store (where you can unlock songs from events and story to use as background music) reveals composers like InoTak, which is quite amusing.
Day-to-Day Play
Typically, playing Princess Connect! Re:Dive involves completing daily quests. This requires stamina (which regenerates over time and is the primary gameplay driver) to clear 20 regular nodes, 3 hard nodes, engage in 1 Arena battle, 1 Princess Arena battle, purchase mana once, skill up a character, star up a piece of gear, give a clan member an “ii ne” (like), complete 1 dungeon battle, and perform 4 “explorations.” Players also receive 100 free stamina at noon JST and another 100 at 6 PM JST. Occasionally, there are events featuring self-contained areas with their own daily and event-specific quests, in addition to the monthly Tower of Luna and Clan Battle dailies.
To complete my daily quests, as someone in UTC-5, I log in once in the morning and once at night. The game features a “room” (similar to Deresute) where you can grow and farm bonus stamina, EXP pots, skip tickets, and mana. Harvesting twice or thrice daily prevents resources from exceeding their maximum limits. This also allows me to collect daily quest stamina. I usually handle the “early day” tasks and complete as many quests as I desire when I log in at night after work. Then, I log in again in the morning to clear accumulated items and finish all dailies.
I tend to play a bit more intensely on evenings during Clan Battle periods to save those battles for the morning, as they consume 900 stamina. It’s simply more convenient to wait for the bonus daily stamina. The Tower, which I generally dislike, is something I only tackle when I’m in the mood and have the time.
Having played the game consistently since its launch, my routine has kept me at the player level cap throughout this time, as the cap is extended once or twice a month. Access to all content likely facilitated this progression from the outset. Events are a breeze to grind through, with the challenge primarily lying in clearing the VH boss on the first try, along with the exhibition and special modes. In recent months, the game has been designed to be more relaxing, allowing latecomers to enjoy later content.
Meta
Given the PvP emphasis of the game, being an early adopter provides a significant advantage. To use a recent example, the latest meta-altering character, Neneka, was introduced as a limited gacha character a couple of weeks ago. For the first 2-3 days, players were easily dominating Arena and Princess Arena. Now, a week later, the leaderboards are filled with players who have obtained 5-star Neneka (and 6-star Kyaru). Achieving 5-star Neneka at rank 14 represents a considerable investment, one that I, despite being mostly a free player, was able to make.
There is undoubtedly an online community for the game where a meta exists, either due to players reading online discussions or observing others. Naturally, as a social game like Pricone, with clans and all, players discuss what strategies are effective and what are not. This is particularly crucial for Arena and Princess Arena, which are essentially complex puzzles where recognizing your opponent’s team composition allows you to devise a counter. The enjoyment often stems from figuring out these counters, as playing “rock-paper-scissors” without foresight can be less engaging unless the sole objective is to win, which is indeed enjoyable.
This contrasts with the social/meta nature of other Cygames games (like Shadowverse), where players competitively develop “teams” (or decks) that can be countered through RNG (as direct control is limited). If your team is sufficiently “rock” against an opponent’s “scissors,” your chances of winning increase. Consequently, players often gravitate towards teams that represent the most difficult counter within the rock-paper-scissors dynamic. It’s not as simple as guessing in janken, or even strategizing in “arena janken” by predicting an opponent’s team type; it boils down to balance.
Therefore, when a new, dominant combination emerges due to a new character, the game becomes exciting again. This renewed enjoyment lasts until the meta settles or is altered (as Neneka’s dominance was somewhat supplanted by 6-star Kyaru).
Conclusion
This game perfectly aligns with my lifestyle. In reality, I don’t have extensive free time to dedicate to gaming. Console games are challenging to fit in. I can manage stints with Steam, though my PC currently requires an upgrade to truly enjoy it. A significant portion of my free time is spent watching anime or sports, or catching up on a wealth of free seiyuu content online through radio shows, promotional talk shows, or weekly streams. While I am capable of grinding, and the game offers grind-oriented content if desired, I am never forced to do so, nor does grinding provide an overwhelming advantage. I can simply invest about 20 minutes a day if that’s all the time I have. I can even skip gameplay if absolutely necessary.
The game is also genuinely fun, which is why I haven’t grown bored with it. The quality-of-life improvements implemented over time have made the game more accessible and less frustrating compared to other titles. The art and voice acting (the game is fully voiced) are top-notch, and its anime style effectively fills the Sakura Wars-shaped void in my life.
It also helps that the main story is rather engaging, although I don’t particularly focus on the characters themselves. It’s a serious game with quirky characters, and I’ve had my fill of those. These are features I don’t necessarily need but appreciate, and perhaps others value them more.
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Overall, this is a fantastic little gem of a game that could achieve greater success in the right circumstances. In South Korea, the game is apparently performing very well, and its reception in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau is also quite positive. I believe there’s even a Chinese imitation of it now. Pricone demonstrates that a quality product that excels in many small details will still find its audience.
