[Terukazu Yoshida's Picture Diary] Dad Vets Daughter's Spouse! Doting Dad's Raising Story: “Princess Maker: Children of Prophecy”

This time, we’re playing *Princess Maker: Children of Prophecy*, a PC title from GEAR2! This game is the latest installment in the *Princess Maker* series, a simulation game where you raise a daughter.As a parent, you watch over your daughter’s growth through school, part-time jobs, and adventures. Depending on how you raise her, her abilities and future will change, and there are various endings to discover.

I’m 43 years old, so not only would it be perfectly normal for me to have a child at this age—I’m actually old enough to have grown-up kids. Since I’ve led a life far removed from that kind of thing, I figure things will probably stay this way for the foreseeable future.However, my parents don’t seem to see it that way. Every time I go back to my parents’ house, they nag me with comments like, “What are you going to do about getting married?” or “Is the Yoshida family line going to end with you?” It’s about time they gave up on me…!

◆I’ve Started Raising a Child in the Demon Realm!

The Demon Realm used to be known as a desolate and cruel world, but those days are long gone. Today, it’s a peaceful place not much different from the human world. In this Demon Realm, you play as the father of a young daughter and raise her through studying, part-time jobs, and adventures.

First, you’ll enter the protagonist’s profile and your daughter’s name.

Her name is Teruko. Since she’s the child of Teru and Kazu, I decided on Teruko. If she ever finds out the origin of her name, she might cut me off. Names aside, together with Cube, a young demon, I’m going to raise my beloved daughter, Teruko, into a fine young lady.

You’ll plan your schedule on a monthly basis and progress through the game according to that plan. The available actions are broadly divided into four categories: Study, Activities (Part-Time Jobs), Rest, and Exploration.

In “Study,” you can pay tuition to raise the corresponding stats. In “Activities,” you can raise stats in the same way while also earning money from part-time jobs.

“Exploration” is the RPG segment where you embark on adventures in the fields outside town. Every time you take one of these actions, Teruko’s stamina decreases, so you’ll need to take breaks at appropriate intervals to let her recover.

If Teruko’s condition gauge is full, she can keep going for a whole month without resting. As for Dad, though, his maximum condition is only about 2, so he needs a break just from going to the library or city hall…

There are various stats, such as Strength, Stamina, Magic, Intelligence, Sense, and Sensitivity. Some jobs become available once specific stats reach a certain threshold, and the ending changes depending on which abilities you choose to develop. It’s best to start thinking now about what career path to set my daughter on—it’ll give her an advantage when she enters the workforce.

In situations like this, I tend to go for the easy route and boost power-based stats, but this is my daughter’s life. I have to think it through carefully.

During exploration, you’ll make your way through fields like forests and deserts, defeating monsters as you go.

If your Charisma stat is high, you can even talk to monsters before battle.

There are monsters that look exactly like humans—you’ll want to say, “That’s clearly a human!”—but unless your Charisma is high enough, you won’t be able to communicate with them at all.

Take this guy, for example—he’s just an ordinary middle-aged man in black tights.

At the annual Harvest Festival, events like martial arts tournaments and cooking contests are held. It’s a good idea to enter competitions that match the stats you’ve been training.

While studying or participating in activities, you’ll also encounter social events with characters who become Teruko’s friends. By having conversations with them and giving them gifts, you’ll gradually become closer.

As a parent, watching her interact with boys who might become future marriage partners gives me an indescribable feeling. I find myself on the verge of making those annoying “parent moves,” like wondering, “What does his father do?” or “Is he of noble blood?” However, in games like this, it’s a common trope for potential marriage partners to be hiding their true identities—only to turn out to be the prince of a neighboring country.

I’ll have to be careful not to overdo the “annoying parent” behavior so I don’t get condemned in the ending…!

I played for about three hours before reaching the ending. A single playthrough is on the shorter side and can be cleared quickly, but there are many endings, so I think the game offers substantial content when you factor in multiple playthroughs.

By the way, Teruko—perhaps because I focused on boosting her strength and stamina stats—ended up with a rather ominous ending titled “The One Who Holds Order in the Back Alleys.” Meanwhile, no matter how much I trained my dad, he only ever had the potential to be a rock-carrier!

As for romance, I didn’t end up with any of the named characters—I married a random NPC instead. Since I want to welcome my favorite character, Oria, as my stepson, I think I’ll go ahead and play through another playthrough!

*Princess Maker: Children of Prophecy* is currently available for PC (Steam).

プリンセスメーカー 赤井孝美画集 (一迅社ブックス)
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