Farming, cooking, caring for animals, and fishing are all staples of the RPG and parenting simulator genre, and Volcano Princess offers opportunities to do all this and more. Volcano Princess is a parenting simulator where players decide whether their daughter will pursue a future in academia, combat, the arts, or royalty based on the activities and skills the players spend time on.
Each month, players are free to roam the Map. While there are suggestions of tasks to complete for Knight Paths or specific endings, the game gives players the freedom to pursue any activity, with the limitations of money, Action Points, and a limited time frame. Which skills and activities are the most useful and entertaining? And, which can players skip?
10 Alchemy
Alchemy in Volcano Princess is financial-draining and underwhelming. Without even a mini-game of mixing potions to entertain players, this system is simply clicking on items in the Alchemy Room with a high success rate, paying hundreds of gold, and hoping for the best. If players haven’t leveled up their Mind stats appropriately and spent Talent Points on becoming a "Master of Alchemy", they can easily waste a year’s work of money attempting to repair items.
There are three types of items in the Alchemy Room: Potions, weapons, and furniture. Potions and weapons will either increase your skills (ideally) or can be sold at the Weapons Shop if proven useless. Furniture will end up in the daughter’s room to raise her stats! The Alchemy Room has 6 new items every 6 months, so players need to pace themselves to avoid waiting half a year to try out this expensive hobby.
9 Debating & Dueling
There are two kinds of Challenges that players can engage in with locals that take up Patience: Dueling and Debating.
- Duels are entirely pre-determined on the player’s Stamina, Strength, and HP stats. The duel itself is a black screen with writing describing the fight, and HP is lost until there is a winner.
- Debating is similar, except players can choose the topic with the highest success rate. The player can see their opponent’s points and choose an option that will boost their own points higher. The debate involves a lot of fast-moving text that is deliberately vague.
Some kind of animation and player interaction or option selection would make both of these endeavors more entertaining. Martial Arts and Debating Competitions at the Volcano Festival are vastly more entertaining and colorful, but they still have no player interaction.
8 Fishing
The fishing mini-game in the Forgotten Valley of Volcano Princess is simple and fast – players need to click rapidly on appearing fish in the water and avoid clicking on algae within a short countdown. Clicking on enough fish will trigger a set of reward items, ideally rare fish and other ingredients, including gold.
Oddly, there is a worm item in the game, but it’s not used as bait, nor do players seem to need any skills to boost performance beyond being quick with their mouse. Fishing costs 7 Action Points, which players may be better off spending on working at the Bath House, Performing, or Exploring. However, if someone does fancy fishing, it can be a quick way of gathering new ingredients for recipes.
7 Working
A bizarre workplace for an innocent Knight, the Bath House is located in the Central Plaza. Once players have a Charisma or Mind stat above 5, they can work at the Bath House as a Cleaner or Accountant to earn gold. Players spend 7 Action Points per shift and players can switch between roles every month. During a shift, players might need to select options that will increase tips or affect skills; for example, Accountants are asked to calculate multiplication problems and click the correct answer. While players may only earn a few 100G per month, look out for double salary days to maximize money earned!
Higher stats will qualify players to earn more money and tips. Players can also upgrade by spending Talent Points on "Dedication" which increases tips earned. Be wary of working as a Private Maid or for the Mafia as this will expose the daughter to increased Darkness points. Other avenues of work would be also appreciated for storytelling, but the Bath House teases a lot of mystery and contains cute, atmospheric animations.
6 Horse Catching & Racing
Horse Catching and Racing are technically two separate activities that both consume 5 Action Points each. Hunting horses in Volcano Princess can be tricky and requires a high Mind stat along with a portion of Stallion’s Diced Carrot. Frustrating with cute animation and combat-like style, horse hunting is the best way to bring home a new pet in Volcano Princess.
If players care for their horses and improve their skills, they can enter their animals in Racing and Beauty Competitions, which will win players money and fame if they are successful. The racing and pageant mechanics are overly simple and a little disengaging; in this game, it is more fun to catch a horse than race or care for it in a stable!
5 Acting
In pursuit of fame, Charisma, and money, players perform at the Central Plaza Theater. To be cast in a play, the daughter will need high Charisma and skills that match the performance requirements. Performing costs 6 Action Points and earns players gold and fame for a decent performance.
Each month, players can refresh the play choice three times and can perform once. During the performance, players select lines that match the emotion to give a perfect performance for higher accolades and appreciation from the crowds. Acting in Volcano Princess is satisfying, quick, and visually pleasing, even if it isn’t overly challenging.
4 Banquets
Banquets are perfect for gaining fame, relationships, and Charisma, in exchange for 5 Action Points. After choosing a banquet location, players engage in conversation with a random NPC. The NPC will have an Interject Level which will decrease if they are charmed by the player’s dress and Charisma.
Players are challenged with selecting topics that they have experience with (indicated with a star rating) and that are pleasing to the NPC’s personality. The banquet is ideal for players who love to social climb and learn how to please (and seduce) characters in Volcano Princess.
3 Dice game
Dice Game Gambling at the Central Plaza is a way to earn money in Volcano Princess. Players must have three dice to play and 2 Action Points to spend. Players can roll dice three times per turn before picking dice to play. To deal damage to the opponent, pick a Character and a Number Dice combo. Numbered Dice determines the number of attack, damage, or healing points awarded.
Weapon Dice Side must be played on their own and have different colors: Red attacks, Blue is a shield, and Yellow heal. After rolling, select the Dice you wish to play and make sure to click the button that appears underneath. Players can attack multiple times per round consecutively if they have enough dice. The Dice Game has complex rules and is difficult to learn for new players, but with practice and a guide, players can gamble to earn money and enjoy this dice-rolling mini-game.
2 Farming & Cooking
At the Wild Horse Lake, there are two spots in a field for planting wheat, carrot, and flower seeds. Players can use Action Points to water plants or boost growth with fertilizer. After harvesting produce, players can cook dishes provided they have the correct ingredients. Meat and fish can be sourced by hunting and fishing, and other rare ingredients can be collected from NPCs.
Players can discover new recipes that provide Mood and Action Points, improve imagination, intelligence, and emotional skills or increase player’s strength, attack, defense, and healing ability. While the farming and cooking mechanisms are not the most detailed of RPGs, the animations are particularly sweet and appetizing, and there’s satisfaction in feasting on dishes to maximize the benefits.
1 Exploring & Combat
The greatest part of Volcano Princess is exploring the four Realms of the kingdom, slaying monsters with friends, collecting gold, and exploring mysteries. To reach the end of each realm, players will need to invite friendly locals on missions, conquer the turn-based combat and preserve their HP at all costs. Take advantage of attacks that use no energy points and characters like Ze who can petrify enemies. Get lost in strange lands and indulge in the satisfaction of defeating monsters, while harvesting plenty of gold and meat in the process!
Volcano Princess is available on the PC.