Conception Plus: Maidens of the Twelve Stars

Spike Chunsoft's latest revival of their old PSP dungeon crawler/dating sim hybrid unfortunately ends up unmemorable despite it's incredibly outrageous premise.

It's not that Conception Plus: Maidens of the Twelve Stars is a terrible game.

Honestly the biggest surprise in a long time. Such a crazy and un-family friendly concept pulled into an extremely fun game package with loads of laugh-out-loud moments, sharp visuals, and endearing characters. Definitely not one for the living room, but if you have a modicum of interest in what you've read here, then it's definitely a recommendation. A unique adventure that oozes with charm and always has a tongue in its cheek that's only let down by virtue of it being a remake that still shows its portable routes.

It has many possibilities that are not exploited, it becomes repetitive at the end and it's too easy, but it is fun to play.

To say that Conception Plus is a niche game is a heavy understatement. It’s certainly not a game that I can readily recommend to everyone, and even then, that’ll all depend on your tolerance or enjoyment of innuendo. And if you can get through it - and it does become commonplace to the point of being mundane - you’ll find an endearing and engaging RPG here, one with uniquely flavored gameplay and wonderful characters as well. And while its clever innuendos might imply that the game is more “adult” in nature, Conception Plus has a charm that will reward many patient players, and one that’ll satisfy individuals who can see past its misleading facade.

Other than the dungeons, one of the main features needing a good polishing, Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars was a rather unique and fun game to play. Sure, the difficulty spikes and lacklustre dungeon design left much to be desired, but everything else was so entertaining that you can easily look past those! It’s worth picking up the game simply for the strategy and battles alone as the depth and originality on display greatly enhance the overall experience. Though, with 15 endings, collecting EVERYTHING and getting 100% will take serious dedication if you’re aiming for the platinum.

Conception is not a revolutionary JRPG, nor is it a stimulating dating SIM. It is a strange concept but for the purpose of the game, it works. While the storyline could use a little more excitement to keep players hooked, it is definitely worth trying if you have an interest in harem RPGs.

This title is just the right fit. It’s hilarity exhumes most of what has made the franchise as successful as it has been in Japan, and it’s great writing which is delivered by an incredible cast of characters make this an unforgettable experience. Conception PLUS: Maidens of The Twelve Stars is certainly an enjoyable and lustful tale. Just don’t tell mum and dad.

It starts with a curious premise, only to retreat from it into a predictable storyline and highly repetitive gameplay.

Conception Plus: Maidens of the Twelve Stars does a nice job of providing some self-aware humor and taking a potentially absurd topic and making it interesting and enjoyable. This is a nice update to a game that released on PSP and probably did not get much love at the time, but fans of the JRPG genre should be right at home with. There is really nothing all that new mechanically from the dating sim aspects or the combat, but its all put together in a nice package that is entertaining to play.