Samantha LienhardVN Game Den received a review copy of Slobbish Dragon Princess.
Takeru enjoys a casual life where he doesn’t work or do much of anything besides depend on his childhood friend Suzuka, but everything changes when he finds a strange lizard-like creature along the side of the road. He names it Haru and begins caring for it as a pet, not realizing that it’s actually a young dragon… and that dragons are about to return to Earth to pass judgment.
The dragons are displeased with humanity and have decided to turn humans into livestock and kill anyone who disobeys, but then Haru awakens to her true humanoid form. Not only is she a dragon, but she’s actually the dragon princess. Since she’s become attached to Takeru, she disagrees with the dragons’ plans for humanity, and they retreat as a result. Don’t expect this level of excitement and danger throughout the rest of the visual novel, however, because Slobbish Dragon Princess is much more of a slice-of-life story than anything else.
Haru doesn’t really understand how humans live, and she’s constantly hungry. This leads to a series of amusing misadventures as she discovers new types of food and tries to get Takeru to give her more things to eat. The story has some pretty funny moments, and there’s also a bit of a love triangle due to Suzuka’s feelings for Takeru (who is oblivious to them) and his changing relationship with Haru. Romance isn’t a big focus compared to the more prevalent conflicts of Haru accidentally causing trouble and Takeru not wanting to work to support them, but it’s a recurring thread that continues to pop up throughout the story.
The original release of Slobbish Dragon Princess is an 18+ visual novel, while the Steam version is all-ages. This is not handled in the smoothest way. I’m used to all-ages visual novels that either include the build-up to the sex scene and then cut to the aftermath, or alter the scenes entirely. The all-ages version of Slobbish Dragon Princess, however, has some of these cuts ahead of the build-up, leading to jarring moments where a fairly innocent conversation is followed by the characters awkwardly thinking about how that just happened. It not only makes those scenes confusing, but makes the romance feel odd as well.
It also should be mentioned that despite the love triangle aspect, it’s largely a kinetic novel and has no separate heroine routes. There is a single choice partway through that changes the scenes immediately after it, but has no effect on the rest of the story. As for the story itself, it’s fairly enjoyable. The weakest part is probably Takeru, since his refusal to work can make him a little annoying, but he has enough redeeming scenes to avoid him becoming unlikeable. The character dynamics lead to some funny moments, and there’s also some additional conflict introduced due to another dragon character who has a different view on how humans and dragons should interact.
The art is beautiful, and it’s a well-presented visual novel overall. I was a little disappointed that it doesn’t do more with the dragons overall, but at the same time it feels like the sort of universe that could have further stories told in it. Its strange premise might just be the setup for a goofy slice-of-life story, but it’s entertaining enough for the handful of hours you’ll spend with it.
You can buy Slobbish Dragon Princess from Steam or Denpasoft.
Anna Mirabella
