Crunchyroll Games continues to bring mobile anime games to fans with its latest, Princess Connect! Re:Dive. That's right, Crunchyroll not only offers anime shows on-demand but also publishes Japanese mobile games in other languages for fans around the world to enjoy. Its library has slowly been growing over the last couple of years with success as many of the games are generally high quality. Princess Connect! Re:Dive is no different.
This game is actually a sequel, but it doesn't really feel that way, thanks to how the story is structured. However, if you're someone who prefers to know what they're getting into, the first season of the anime based on it is already available to watch on Crunchyroll. It's even been greenlit for a second season coming sometime this year, but let's stick to the game.
Princess Connect! Re: Dive is a JRPG auto-battler with a hefty amount of story. Like any JRPG, there are plenty of systems to get to know, but in this case, not so many that it feels overwhelming. It's also not too simple and actually requires a bit of strategy on the player's part. There is, of course, the standard microtransaction aspect that comes with mobile games, but it's limited to purchasing Jewels, which can be used to replenish other currencies, recharge stamina and character Gacha. However, these can also be gained naturally through progression, so the choice is up to you to spend real cash. Although, if you're interested in trying the game for yourself after reading this review, Crunchyroll is giving away Jewels as part of various launch celebration events.
Right from the opening screen, you can tell Princess Connect! Re: Dive is a high-quality game thanks to its gorgeous background cinematic. In fact, there are quite a few anime cinematics in the main story portions -- and we're talking television/streaming service quality complete with a Japanese voice-over option and sub-titles. The rest of the game is character images, backgrounds or other artwork, but it's also very well done with plenty of variety. And even the stationary scenes and combat have Japanese voice over with an English (or language of choice) text box. These voice-overs do take up a bit more space, but you're given the option to opt-out of them if you wish. Even the music is well done and fits the upbeat, light-hearted feel of this game, with everything from menus to combat having its own theme. Seriously, this music would fit a YouTube chill video game music playlist perfectly.
At the beginning of the game, you're introduced to the first few characters and the tutorial is kicked off. Essentially, you choose up to five characters to create a party and they auto fight three waves of monsters for you. You don't just sit idly staring off into space while they do so, though. You have some control over the flow of battle via each character's special attack called a Union Burst. These can be used by taping a character's portrait when their TP bar is full. Each is different as they can attack, heal, buff or debuff and knowing when to use them becomes important later in harder battles. These Bursts, as well as passive skills characters gain, can be leveled up using the Mana currency, which is easy to earn. However, they can only be leveled up to the character's level, and their level is tied to yours. It sounds complicated, but it all happens passively as you basically level by playing the game.
Combat isn't simply limited to tapping a character portrait, though. You can prepare for battles by equipping characters with gear, and the make-up of a party can impact success. Equipment is found, bought, traded or, in some cases, made with other gear, then equipped to characters. Once a character has all equipment slots filled, you can choose to rank them up, which means consuming the equipment to raise stats and accessing the next gear tier. This can be very helpful later on, and there are a few other ways to upgrade them. Party make-up also plays an important role as characters have specific positions on the battlefield. Front row characters are melee, middle row is a combination of types and back row characters are magic or ranged. Combined with Union Bursts, there are quite a few team combinations; however, we found having more than one character closest to enemies is most effective. For example, having one front row, two middle and three back is likely to get your front row character killed because most enemies will focus on them before moving onto middle characters. All of this creates a good amount of strategy for an auto-battler, imitating traditional turn-based combat aspects without over-complicating things and making for entertaining gameplay.
Characters are mainly obtained through a Gacha system using Jewels, but it comes in two flavors. You can buy one random character for 150 Jewels or 10 randomly for 1500 to build your team. They all have different ratings from one to five stars, with five obviously being better in stats but not always skill or Burst-wise. You can also get to know characters via side-stories as their bond with you, the main character, increases. This is done alongside regular levels, and each bond level opens up a new piece of their stories while also increasing their stats and giving you rewards. They all revolve around how they interact with you, the main character, as this portion of the game plays out in traditional anime harem-style -- and some scenes go a little beyond flirty but never into explicit territory.
The main story is a fantasy isekai where the foreign character in question is more of a vehicle to put the player into Princess Connect! Re: Dive's world. It follows a series of adventure guilds, all with different objectives, and how they interact with each other, including a particularly aggressive one, while also helping the main character regain his lost memories. Each story section unlocks as you progress through the main levels. There are also individual guild stories and some extras for completing other parts of the game, such as Dungeons (which, oh boy, are hard) and the Guild House, both of which unlock through progress. This means there is plenty of story for anime fans to enjoy, complete with quality cinematics and lots of gameplay to challenge players and keep things interesting. However, if, like me, you aren't that interested in the cut scenes, there is an option to skip them and instead get a quick text synopsis of what happened. It's perfect for keeping you in the loop while getting back to the gameplay.
There is a slew of other things included in this game too. Daily and normal missions are basically in-game achievements and goals, giving you items or experience as you play and even an item Gacha can be used for free twice a day. It doesn't skimp either. The Guild House can be furnished, and some furnishings can give you items after a certain period of time. It can also just be decorated, and characters placed inside to enjoy. There are clans, which are player guilds that can be created or joined, and members can trade items. Clans can even battle each other, giving this JRPG a PVP function. There is a LOT to this mobile game, but for now, we'll leave you with these basics.
Overall, this is a really good JRPG auto-battler with a fun gameplay loop. Everything about this game is high-quality. More challenging content unlocks through progression that can really step things up, and there's plenty of room for complex set-ups with various rewards to keep you playing. The cherry on top is that if you're a fan of anime, particularly isekais or the harem-theme, you'll likely enjoy the plentiful story and cinematics Princess Connect! Re: Dive has to offer.