Ryu’s Musings – Vanguard Princess (PC Game)

Vanguard Princess is a new 2D fighting game developed by Suge9, rumored to be a former Capcom employee. With a unique system and vibrant graphics, it challenges the shackles of restraint imposed upon it by Fighter Maker, blazing a higher standard for doujin fighting games everywhere!
Government experiments on a young girl triggered a cosmic shock wave that gifted many young girls with mystical powers. She re-emerges into the world and vows to destroy all of mankind in an act of revenge. A brave group of girls who embraced their powers head to the battlefield to confront her; not just for the sake of the world, but to pursue their own personal motives and dreams.

System Requirements:

Windows 2000/XP/Vista (with DirectX 7.0)
Pentium III 400MHz, 128MB RAM
Graphics card with 32MB video RAM
400MB hard disk space
4-button game controller (Optional)

If I’m honest i was looking forward to this game, a lot. I don’t generally like these sort of games, TBH i don’t really like brawlers in general. Games like Tekken, Street fighter, DOA have never really appealed to me.

Yet this one had something about it that frankly grabbed me, sure it’s ‘anime styled’ which is certainly a big plus. But it’s also got a Skullgirls vibe coming from it  which really did make me want to play it. So when i was asked to review it i was like a kid in a candy store told he could have whatever he wanted.

Sadly, right from the outset i had concerns about the game, and not with it’s play style or graphics. When you download the game your given a link to download site, which is only valid for 24hours, this makes me worry about recovering the game if your computer dies or something.

It’s a small download, but size isn’t relevant when it comes it games TBH. The problem however comes from the DRM used. Your given a code to install the game, but for whatever reason the DRM just wouldn’t work on my machine. It was stuck in a loop of authorising then asking for the code. Tried running it in compatibility mode, safe mode, UAC off, Firewall and VC off, everything i could think off and still a no go.

TBH this is why indie dev.’s should never use DRM on their release, especially with the number of options available as a distribution method are growing. For example, getting onto Steam these days is hard (unless you’ve published there before). However sites like Gamers Gate, Green Man Gaming and Gamefly offer alternatives to DRM. They all use a mild form of DRM in the form of a downloader or client which removes the need for Dev.’s to use annoying flaky DRM.

As things stand I’ve not been able to get the game to launch, I will keep trying and if i ever do get it to run I’ll revisit the review. Since i do think this is a game i could really get into and enjoy.

The game is currently on sale on the EManga website for $5 which is a steal. Given the price point I’d say it’s worth the gamble if you like this style of game. I know some people who use the same OS as me that have had no issues running the game, and others who run into the same problem as me. It’s most likely a software clash, but since I’ve no idea which progy I’ve got installed that’s causing it I can’t really fix it.

However at this price, it’s worth the risk, it’s the price of a coffee and will give you more hours of enjoyment

Edit: Okay quick edit, the version of the game being offered on EManga is 1.1, however according to the eigoMANGA twitter:

@amoirsp It’s our own version localized from 1.08. Hilda is a playable character and bugs from 1.08 were fixed

— eigoMANGA (@eigoMANGA) May 20, 2013

The game has advanced a lot, which most likely means bug fixes to the authorisation issue. Hopefully EManga release the updated version of the game soon

Edit2: DMP already got back to me saying they’re looking into it, so expect a proper review as soon as I’m able to