Review: Time Princess - Princess Sissi Part 2

Time Princess has so many visual novels out now that they've been focusing more on sequels to the ones they already released than on new ones. While there's nothing wrong with a good sequel, they already concluded most of the stories that ended on cliffhangers. I was surprised to see that their latest continuation was for Princess Sissi, a historical visual novel they released five years ago that I don't particularly remember feeling unfinished. Still, Sissi is a popular character who has had many animated adaptations, so it seemed like a "safe" choice for the developers to continue if they didn't have the resources for an entirely new story.

The story picks up shortly after Sissi's engagement to Franz, the emperor of Austria, when he unexpectedly chose her after a proposed alliance between him and Sissi's sister, Helene. Their happy lives are immediately disrupted by an assassination attempt on Franz. The majority of the visual novel revolves around Sissi's attempts to prove Count Andrassy's innocence of the attack and make peace between him and Franz. The fact that Sissi was more concerned about a suspect for her fiancé's assassination than the fact that someone tried to kill her future husband took me out of the story. Sissi and Franz have an idealized historical romance, and it was difficult for me to accept that she wasn't concerned about his safety. The story also placed a heavy focus on Sissi's troubles adjusting to a strict royal life and her political disagreements with Franz, suggesting to players that her marriage to him was the cause of all her problems and that she would have been better off choosing freedom instead.

Though Count Andrassy plays a large role in this chapter, the story's primary companions are still Franz, Ida, and Helene. Franz is a troublesome character. He was a clear love interest in the first part, but here he refuses to listen to Sissi's problems, despite telling her how much he loves her, and both of them keep secrets from each other. There's a clear shift in the romantic focus between the two chapters. This one contains many not-so-subtle hints that he may not have been such a good match for her after all, despite what history may have implied. Ida's personality is also quite different compared to the first chapter. When I played it five years ago, I remember not liking Ida very much and thinking she was rather rude to Sissi and didn't deserve her kindness. Here, she has a complete shift in personality and treats Sissi like a beloved sister. Helene, Sissi's actual sister, deals with her own struggles after being rejected by Franz, and Sissi does her best to support her.

There are two new outfits for this story, but they feel lackluster and rushed compared to the gorgeous gowns from the first chapter and the stunning accompanying outfits available in Lucky Jerry. The first dress is a simple pale pink gown with some light floral accents, and the second is a simple black and white lacy ensemble with a long veil. The Princess Sissi outfits are some of my favorite ones available in Time Princess, but the two new additions do not add much to the lovely aesthetic the game already provides for the "accidental empress." The story also contains four new art pieces for the album, but most of them are revealed during the game's multiple endings, giving the rest of the chapter more of a focus on story and messaging than art.

The latest Princess Sissi chapter feels like a safe bet from Time Princess, but lacks the spark of the original. Sissi's relationship with Franz feels more like a source of stress than romance, and character shifts like Ida's are surprising, even after five years. Gorgeous gowns take a backseat to a story that questions Sissi's happily-ever-after and offers players alternative options to her real-life historical ending. I'm hoping to see more original stories from this game in the coming months because all the ones that were incomplete have now been given satisfying conclusions.