Genre: Action
Publisher: NIS America
Developer: Nippon Ichi
Release Date: February 17, 2009

There is a very vocal segment of the gaming populace that claims that today's games are far too easy and that any real challenge was eliminated the moment video games reached beyond their fan base and began trying to attract casual gamers. Limited lives, devilishly difficult stages and bosses that require careful memorization and patience have all been abandoned in favor of a kindler, gentler approach that can welcome all audiences. Well, for all those who think that the challenge is gone, NIS brings you Prinny, Can I Really Be the Hero?, a title so difficult that you'll likely experience some Contra flashbacks.

Prinny takes place in the Disgaea universe, a realm of demons and unrepentant souls normally forced to do battle in the form of a strategy RPG. Things are different this time, though, as the game has eschewed spells and equipment in favor of simple 2-D side-scrolling action. Players assume control of a Prinny, the most basic foot soldier in an evil demon lord's army. Master Etna is furious because she believes one of the Prinnies ate her dessert, so she is forcing the entire flock to scour the Underworld in order to gather the six ingredients necessary for creating the fabled Ultra Dessert. In all honesty, Etna holds out no hope that her legion of minions will succeed, and is sending them all out as a punishment for angering her and simply because she's bored. For the Prinnies, though, their lives are on the line, so they have every bit of motivation necessary to succeed.

Unfortunately, being a Prinny means that our heroes are pretty much outmatched and outclassed in every situation. The penguin-like creatures can attack with their dual knives or dash in order to cross particularly harrowing chasms or escape imminent death. There's also a hip-drop attack thrown in for good measure, but that's about it. Just like those insanely difficult NES games of old, it's you against the world, and the odds are definitely not in your favor. The title is so challenging that you're given 1,000 lives with which to complete your mission, and there are moments where you'll be all but sure that you're going to need every one of them.

While Prinny is an exceptionally hard game, it's tough for all the right reasons. Every enemy and hazard is placed with loving care, and there's a way to scrape through every situation unscathed even if it seems damn near impossible. The developers even went so far as to include a replay mode where players can watch the level they just completed handled in the most expert way possible, easily inspiring some to put forth the effort to be perfect. Still, this is a title that demands precision in every aspect, much like N+ or Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. Miss a jump by just a little or fail to anticipate an enemy attack, and it's a one-way trip back to the last checkpoint. The game does offer a bit of forgiveness on the standard difficulty by allowing each Prinny three hits before death, but true masochists can try out the Hell's Finest mode, where one hit means you're toast. Did I mention that this game is challenging?

Thankfully, it seems that the control system in Prinny is poised to take on the demands of every jump and attack, and death will come because of your human failings, not some limitation of the game itself. Things really can't get any tighter than they already are control-wise, so no worries about cheap deaths because you pushed the button but Prinny decided he didn't feel like jumping or stabbing.

Even more good news for PSP owners is that the environs you'll spend your time dying in are absolutely gorgeous, and few games can aspire to this level of graphical greatness on the PSP. Disgaea's sprite-inspired art direction works perfectly on the handheld, and the vivid colors really make the levels pop.

Prinny, Can I Really Be the Hero? is the sort of throwback title that nostalgic gamers are going to love when it drops next month. Planning out a path through a level, carefully studying boss patterns in order to find a weakness, and the constant need to nail a stage just a little more cleanly than the last time all drove a whole generation of gamers to spend hours and hours in front of a television screen, and now it's about to happen all over again. It's no secret that the PSP desperately needs some quality software in 2009, and it's becoming clearly obvious that Prinny is likely going to deliver in a big way.