Fat Princess: Piece of Cake is Anything But - Article

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I would say that free to play games are a dime a dozen these days but that wouldn't really make any sense seeing as they are “free” and all. Regardless of how it's viewed, the free-to-play gaming model has carved out its own place in the market, mostly on PC and mobile platforms, but it is also slowly starting to gain a foothold on dedicated gaming devices.

One such game is Fat Princess: Piece of Cake, a match three puzzle/turn based RPG hybrid the likes of which we have seen many times before. In a move telling of where Sony’s priorities are at the moment, the game released on iOS and Android platforms before making its way to the PlayStation Vita via the PlayStation Store. Is that questionable slight indicative of a title that faithful Vita owners should avoid, or is there enough here to satisfy gamers hungering for new content?

In Fat Princess: Piece of Cake you take control of the red army against the ideologically vague forces of the blue army. Your party consists of four classes; a worker, a priest, a warrior, and a ranger. The worker throws bombs that are effective in inflicting damage on multiple enemies at once and may even stun them temporarily. The priest heals himself and other members of the party. The Warrior attacks with a single powerful sword slash each time. Finally, the Ranger shoots a gun that can hit enemies standing adjacent to one another. You execute attacks by matching at least three gems of the same color - one for each of the classes. The other two gems populating the grid are: diamonds, used as experience points to level up your party in-between levels, and cake, which is used to summon the titular rotund royal who will attack with a powerful ground pound that damages all foes.

You control the game completely using the touch screen to navigate the map and menu items, as well as to swipe gems into the desired positions during battle. In terms of strategy it makes more sense to try to match four rather than three gems. Lining up four gems of the same type will not only earn you an extra turn but leave behind a shiny gem, which if matched will make all gems in its perimeter disappear and launch a more powerful attack. If you match five gems in a row you will earn a special multicolored, heart-shaped gem that can be used to eliminate all of a specific kind of gem from the play area. If you ever run out of matches, fear not, the game will simply shuffle the board, which can come in handy in a pinch.

Every few levels the game will throw in some new gameplay element to mix things up. These include enemy towers that you have to capture before progressing and barricades that you have to break through. Until you accomplish these tasks enemy reinforcements will continue to impede your progress. In the case of the tower it is a matter of making sure a special tower-shaped gem reaches to the bottom of the grid. You break through the gates by matching gems in a specially designated square on the grid.

There are also boss fights against formidably resilient rogues. In order to inflict damage on bosses you will have to match gems within highlighted squares; any matches occurring outside of these boxes will go to waste.  The difficulty curve is reasonable but every so often you will encounter a level where it feels like you will either need an unreasonable amount of lucky matches or deep pockets to move onward. Still, the challenge is tweaked just enough that I find myself coming back for more despite unfortunate setbacks. There are also challenge levels which are inherently more difficult but offer a greater reward in the event of victory.

There are three stars to earn in each level. The first star is earned simply for completing the level. The remaining two are split between either completing the stage under a certain number of turns or dealing a specific amount of damage. The developers have also been consistent in providing new content and tweaks via updates. In recent weeks these have included new areas on the map, weekly challenge levels, and the opportunity to earn rewards by playing the game daily.

One issue I have is that the different classes of enemies you encounter are far more varied than those in your own party. Your blue army foes will attack with ice mages, pirates, archers, and dark priests who can inflict damage instead of just providing healing support, all of which would be interesting to command at some point if the game afforded you the chance.

Of course the free to play model comes with certain restrictions. Playing a level, for example, will cost you 1 stamina, regardless of whether you win or lose. Once your stamina runs out you can either purchase more or you can wait 20 minutes for it to refill automatically. Gold coins act as the premium in-game currency, used to purchase powerups, boosts that will increase your diamond intake, and stamina. Gold purchases range from $0.99 for 8 coins all the way up to $49.99 for 750 coins. Most powerups are priced between 3 and 5 coins. If you want to purchase infinite stamina for endless play it will cost you 200 coins, which is somewhere in the ballpark of $20.00. Hey, the cost of royalty am I right?

When it comes to free to play games I have a strict pay no money policy. Thus far it has worked with Fat Princess: Piece of Cake. I have reached level forty with many levels still ahead. I hit a rough patch around level 30 or so, but rather than pay for stronger bonuses I replayed previous levels to earn enough diamonds to level up my party appropriately. Piece of Cake also comes with 13 trophies to unlock, all of which are doable if you devote enough time to the game. Fat Princess: Piece of Cake even includes a free digital voucher for a download of the original PlayStation 3 Fat Princess game (are people still playing that?), which is a nice extra bonus in an already free game.

The bright, cartoonish visuals remain appealing, with the ability to toggle the blood splatter animations on and off a nice compromise for anyone who is a bit squeamish. The battle animations are restricted to one quadrant of the Vita’s screen. The playing grid takes up approximately half of the screen real estate, with the remaining 25% set aside for important information about your current objectives.

All told, Fat Princess Piece of Cake offers enough fun, ingenuity, and content to be worthy of your time, which is really the most important factor here considering the cost of entry is free. How much money you are willing to spend on it is a matter of how patient you can be in the face of stiff AI competition. I think the folks at One Loop Games, in association with Santa Monica Studios, have done a good job reskinning one of Sony’s quirkier IPs into a free to play title that is both fun and fair. Unless you find match three puzzlers as unappetizing as a stale piece of cake there is no reason not to give Fat Princess Piece of Cake a try; you may just find a fresh and savory new addiction.            

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