Prinnies, dood. Prinnies. Yes, that's right, the lovable exploding penguin demons from the Disgaea series are back, but this time, as the title infers, they are the stars - but, really, weren't they always?

Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? is a cool concept. Take a supporting character with a cult following and give him his own game. You see this type of thing often in the comic book world, but rarely in videogames. Wisely, the game is a vast departure from the series' roots with no SRPG action to be found; instead, this Prinny adventure goes old school with a side-scrolling, action platformer format.

The story is very Disgaea. As a Prinny, your liege is, of course, Etna. Unfortunately for you, someone stole Etna's "Ultimate Dessert" and the task to retrieve the ingredients falls to her loyal Prinnies. Don't Prinnies explode too easily for such an adventure, though? Well, thanks to a magical scarf that you wear, exploding penguins don't explode as easily. So, equipped with a new scarf, your old, trusty dual swords and a Prinny army ready to rise in your place should you fall, it's up to you to scour the Disgaea universe so that Etna can enjoy her tasty treat.

Right off the bat, if you've played any other Disgaea game, it's easy to tell that the look, feel and humor of the series is intact. In the small hub-world screen before choosing a level you can talk to other Prinnies who bemoan their fate, portend doom and say "dood" a lot. Throughout the levels you'll see familiar faces in the form of demons and character classes from the Disgaea parent game; even some locations hearken back to the series and all of these touches really suck you in if you're a Disgaea fan - if not then you might just become one.

So, with a great direction and a new format that retains the charm of the Disgaea series, it seems that NIS hit one out of the park, right? Unfortunately, not quite; if only the execution was as solid as the concept. There might not be any other game I wanted to like more than I wanted to like Prinny; I love it when developers go against the grain, step out of their comfort zone and try their hand at something new, so the fact that there's just one flaw, albeit a crucial one, that throws this game out of whack is real heartbreaker.

When you think of a platformer there's one defining characteristic of the genre: jumping. If the act of jumping in your platformer is off-kilter then there's a real problem. I don't know if it's some kind of cruel joke about penguins being flightless birds or not, but if so, the joke is on the player, though they won't be laughing as they fall to their death for the twentieth time while trying to cross a chasm of flying carpets and dodging, in vain, fireballs and off-screen enemies. It's sort of hard to explain, but you know how jumping in Super Mario Bros. is all based upon your momentum and how you can manipulate where you're going to land whilst airborne? This isn't the case for the Prinnies; the sole problem is your inability to control your character's jump mid-air. Each jump is a measured, unalterable distance so if you want to jump onto a moving platform, it has to be a perfectly timed jump, otherwise you'll explode, Prinny style. This wouldn't be so bad if you had all the time in the world to calculate your jumps but, especially in later levels, with hordes of enemies onscreen, your decisions must be quick. Either way, you're likely to die enough times that you'll just stop playing.

It's a shame that the platforming is so bad because the action is good fun most of the time, especially the boss fights, which usually pit you against two foes at once, forcing you to work out their patterns simultaneously. When there are no bottomless pits to be wary of, jumping isn't a problem, which allows you to unleash Prinny fury with your dual swords. Chaining together attacks using the Prinny Slam and regular slashing ramps up your combo meter, which rockets your score counter. There's not much motivation for getting high scores any more but it's cool to see a feature from the gaming days of old return. Even though the action is fun, I can't help but answer the question that the game's title poses and the answer is, no, Prinny, you can't be the hero. You don't have a big enough arsenal. Enemies whiz around you with a multitude of attacks and even regenerate once they're off screen long enough. The Prinny can get the job done but not without expounding monumental effort. Dood, you need an upgrade.

High production values have always been a staple of Disgaea and Prinny is no exception; as far as graphics and sound are concerned, this is no mini-game or side project. This game was crafted with the same care as the SRPGs so the dialogue is hilarious and has a sound quality that brings pleasure, not pain. Your eye will be pleased as much as your ear too, as each level has a vast color palette and is minutely detailed. Parts of the levels that are only glimpsed, like water, are still well crafted. There's no doubt about it, the game is bright and beautiful - if it only played as good as it looks.

Even though, in its first few stages, Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? is both charming and fun, seemingly out of nowhere the difficulty soars. I have no doubt that there are gamers out there who have the patience and skill to see the Prinnies through their adventure, but I guarantee that they'll be few and far between. Is it a failure? No, I wouldn't go that far, but in what I perceive as an attempt to hit a broader demographic, the developers have, I'm assuming accidentally, hit upon an even smaller one - Disgaea fans who dabble in masochism. I was very disappointed that Prinny didn't turn out like I hoped it would, especially in a time when the PSP is in dire need of quality, exclusive titles. If you love the world of Disgaea then you'll probably want to check out Prinny; the quirkiness continues in this spin-off but if you're looking for a solid platformer then you'll have to overcome much adversity to get any pleasure.

Reviewed by Scott Schmidt for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).