Princess Connect! Re:Dive

'Princess Connect! Re:Dive' (プリンセスコネクト！Re:Dive, Purinsesu Konekuto! Ridaibu) is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Cygames. It was released in Japan on February 15, 2018 for Android and iOS, and on May 22, 2018 for Microsoft Windows via DMM Games. Mobile version would later be released in other regions.

The game was announced in August 2016 as a sequel to the social network game Princess Connect! (abbreviated as プリコネ, Prikone), which was released on February 18, 2015 and ended service in June 2016.

The game was co-developed by CyberAgent and Ameba Business Division (Girl Friend Beta) and Cygames (Rage of Bahamut and Granblue Fantasy), by utilizing the strengths of both companies. It is a dating sim game that incorporates online RPG elements such as guild battles.

An anime television series adaptation produced by Cygames Pictures aired from April to June 2020. A second season aired from January to March 2022.

On March 30, 2023, Crunchyroll, the publisher for the global version of the game, announced that the game would be ending service on April 30.

Synopsis
In the continent of Astraea, a man falls from the sky, possessing no memories other than his name, Yuuki. An elf named Kokkoro finds him, introducing herself as his guide in the world they are about to traverse. With Kokkoro's guidance, Yuuki is able to learn how this world works, from battling monsters to handling currency.

To earn money for their journey, Yuuki and Kokkoro decide to go to a nearby guild association to accept a simple quest. In their expedition, they meet Pecorine, a somewhat gluttonous but charming girl skilled in battle. The next day, they also meet Karyl, a cat girl specializing in magic.

After some time, a bond of friendship and camaraderie forms between them, and the four decide to create a guild of their own. As they continue their adventures, they explore the world, meet new people, and will perhaps uncover the mysteries behind Yuuki's missing memories.

Gameplay
''Princess Connect! Re:Dive'' is a real-time action role-playing game. Players can form a party of up to five characters to participate in various modes such as main quests and player versus player (PvP) arena modes. New characters can be obtained via a gacha mechanic or can be exchanged with character-specific Memory Pieces (the latter is not possible for event-exclusive characters). Players are also able to form clans to qualify for participation in Clan Battles, which are similar to raid battles in a typical massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or freely chat with one another using text or in-game emojis in the clan room.

Every playable character in the game has a regular attack, two Skills, an EX Skill, and one Union Burst. Players generally have no control over the activation of characters' skills and attacks, which are automatically activated at predetermined times based on character. EX Skills are stat-gaining skills that are activated on the start of each battle. A Union Burst is a powerful skill which, unlike other skills, can be manually activated by the player at any time the character's Union Burst Meter (also known as TP in-game) is full. However, all PvP arena modes are strictly on autoplay, where the character's Union Burst is activated as soon as their TP is fully charged.

Development
Originally, Cygames was in charge of character creation in "Priconne", and with the desire to make a sequel using these characters, planning started after obtaining permission Since there was still time when it was only possible to update the final story of "Priconne", it was decided to make Pecorine the main character of the sequel "Priconne R" in the meantime, and she appeared in the ending of "Priconne".

This work, which advocates an anime RPG, consists of an anime part and a game part, and care was taken not to separate these two elements when adjusting the UI design and visuals For example, the user interface of the game part matches the drawing style of the anime part, and the coloring and processing of the user interface is based on Pecorine, one of the main characters. The main story is produced by WIT STUDIO, and the ending of the limited-time event is produced by Cygames Pictures.

Web novel
''Princess Connect! - Princess Knight Sodatsusen (Japanese: プリンセスコネクト！ 〜プリンセスナイト争奪戦〜) was a web novel of the prequel game Princess Connect!'' was released on Dengeki Online. Author by Ōta Riyō with the supervision of and co-produced by CyberAgent / Cygames.

Manga
Published in Saicomi. The drawing is Eshika/Shogo, the composition is Asahiro Scarecrow, and the original notation is CyberAgent/Cygames. It has been published in book form.


 * 1) Released on March 30, 2018 -  ISBN 978-4-06-509257-6
 * 2) Released on December 28, 2018 - ISBN 978-4-06-513346-0

Character
A character that represents the player. A Humanfolk male in the series who serves as the player stand-in in game. In Princess Connect!, Yuuki was a member of Twinkle Wish, but after the world reset that begins ''Princess Connect! Re:Dive'', Yuuki has lost all memories and instead founds the Gourmet Guild guild. While losing most of his memories and has regressed to a simpler mind state, he is kind-hearted and brave. He has a mysterious power granted to him that allows him to empower his allies with tremendous power. In real life, Yuuki is well acquainted with most of the girls of ''Princess Connect! Re:Dive'' to a certain extent.

He is the same person as the main character of the previous work, but as mentioned above, he lost his memory due to the influence of the battle with Emperor Hajime. His first person is also "boku" as in the previous work. Shortly after he lost his memory, he had some regressive aspects, such as trying to eat the money he saw for the first time, but he has recovered to some extent with the passage of time. Although he has lost his memory, he still has a good-natured way of not leaving people in need. She is also surprised and amazed at the breadth of friendships she has with the heroines.

In chapter 15, the power of Princess Knight is released from Labyrinth (Akira Suzumeji), and with that powerful power, he defeats Emperor Hajime. However, as a result, her soul is damaged, and from the second part she loses her memory again. Also, infant regression is even worse than Part 1. When using the power of "Princess Form", her original personality was temporarily restored, but due to the medicine developed in Part 2, Chapter 3, she regained her original personality.

Personality


 * In the first game, Yuuki was shown to have quite the sarcastic side. Though being a friendly and approachable guy, he was not above making snide remarks at anything he found to be inconvenient or annoying, with some of his comments coming off as grating, calling out Fio when she poked fun at him for not knowing anything for being a newbie. While Yuuki used to go along with a lot of his friends' antics and quirky behavior, he would occasionally make it a point that they needed to behave themselves to not cause unnecessary problems, usually ones that involve him getting the end of the stick despite being the one that tries to defuse the situations. He also had a dry sense of humor, which, coupled with the above, made him come off as a bit of a jerk to some, such as commenting on how ineffectual Okto, Nouem and their little gang were as "villains" despite being part of the Seven Crowns, which Fio and Rei chastise him for.
 * However, Yuuki is a nice person. As shown in his childhood with Saren, he is quite selfless and protects others when they need help, even if he puts himself at risk for their sake. He is willing to go out of his way to assist someone, rarely thinks much of what he does and never asks for anything in return, unless it is insisted upon by whoever he helps. This trait has allowed him to form friendships with multiple people. His honesty, while sometimes frank, shows that he has nothing to hide, yet is also willing to keep a secret for his friends if it means respecting their privacy, something that has earned him the trust of others and has allowed them to open up to him. He tries his best to understand those around him and encourages them to give it their all when faced with challenge, helping Nozomi take her dream of being a top idol seriously and Aoi's social anxieties. Yuuki's genuine kindness has endeared him to others and inspired Akira Mosakuji to regain her faith in the world. Yuuki is also, humorously, oblivious to the feelings of girls who have romantic interests in him, despite the many obvious hints they present to him. Yuuki initially had no interest in playing Legends of Astrum, until he was forcefully logged into the game. However, thanks to meeting and becoming a part of Twinkle Wish, he found himself thoroughly enjoying the experience and dedicated much of his time in-game adventuring with them, solidified by him promising to help them in their goal to reach the Tower of Sol's top. While Yuuki does cherish the bonds he has made, he treasures his bond with his guildmates the most thanks to his time spent with them in the small time he has shared with them, both in the game and in real life, and will come to their defense without hesitation. Yuuki was also a surprisingly good strategist, being the one to come up with plans and instruct Twinkle Wish to get out of any situation by making sure of his guildmates' specific skills.
 * In the second game, after suffering amnesia, Yuuki had lost all basic knowledge such monetary value, his sense of direction and judge of character, requiring others, most notably Kokkoro, to help teach and guide him. A great example of this is how he initially chewed on a piece of Rupee and often gets lost in and out of Landosol while looking for either Kokkoro or Pecorine. Additionally, Yuuki lost all of his fighting experiences, which initially made him practically useless in a fight except for his Princess Knight power until Mifuyu Ogami began acting his part-time mentor and Rei sparring with him from time to time. Yuuki's overall behavior has been likened to that of a child due to his newfound innocence, but he occasionally shows some of his old personality, such as his sarcasm. He had also begun to adopt Pecorine's penchant for oddly open-minded cuisine, at one point eating an insect raw. Despite his current state, Yuuki's kindness and selflessness persists through his amnesia, showing that his true nature still shines through even without his memories, such as defending Karyl from Mana even after learning of Karyl's role as an assassin sent to kill Pecorine and him. However, there are times where Yuuki is able to show off some bouts of cleverness, being able to help Suzuna with her math problems. Additionally, he is able to hold down several part-time jobs, showing that he is still capable of working by himself. Bits of his old personality does resurface when he regains some of his old memories. In Dangerous Vacation, Yuuki had regained some of his old personality and memories enough that when Kokkoro was captured by the Giant Squid, he was the one who came up with the plan to rescue her and defeat the beast, coordinating Pecorine, Karyl, Kokkoro and Suzume to do as they asked him. Additionally, he had become more assertive during this which Pecorine noticed, but Yuuki still retained his new personality afterwards, reassuring the others the he is still the same person they know. In the second arc, however, Yuuki suffers another amnesia, but this time worse than before, as his mental state and personality have been reverted to that of a baby, although he is able to recover not long after.
 * Yuuki is revealed to have a wish of becoming a Magical Girl, pleading with Mora to turn him into one despite the fact that only girls are allowed to become one. He also has a huge love for them, which is what allowed him to get along with resident magical girl fangirl, Nanaka Tanno. Upon learning that Mora had made it possible for him to turn Shiori and Kasumi into Magical Girls using his Princess Knight ability, Yuuki did not hesitate to transform the two. This becomes a running gag where he causes Kasumi to transform, catchphrase and all, against her will whenever he has the chance to do so.
 * In the anime adaptation, Yuuki's amnesia is shown to have affected his mental state that, along with his lack of basic knowledge, his behavior is reverted that of a toddler. In addition to his current state, he is only able to speak one or two words at a time and he simply follows along what the rest of the Gourmet Guild do. His uselessness in a fight is shown where he is unable to take care of himself and often gets bitten or chewed on by various monsters and even animals, which becomes a running gag throughout the anime. However, much like in the game, Yuuki's unyielding kindness and heroism still shows, throwing himself between Christina and Hatsune when the former was about to attack the latter and facing a giant Shadow by himself to protect an injured Pecorine and Karyl. Over time, Yuuki slowly but surely starts to regain much of his mental faculties and starts becoming independent, being able to fight monsters and Shadows by himself. However, his memories still remain fragmented and when he does start to remember his past, his behavior takes a momentary shift, mainly if he remembers anything relating to his former guild, Twinkle Wish. Yuuki becomes serious, lacking much of his innocence which Karyl notices after he asks Pecorine for swordsmanship lessons. Upon seeing a vivid memory he had of them, Yuuki became depressed for forgetting about them and blaming himself for failing to protect them. While Yuuki does care for his current guildmates and the people they have befriended, he becomes reckless in his attempts to save everyone, such as forcefully pushing the limits of his Princess Knight power to prevent Kiiri from disappearing and reassuring Labyrista he is fine when asked about his worsening physical condition. Ultimately, Yuuki's decisions and actions are meant to protect his friends no matter the pain he has to endure, shown in a flashback where he tearfully sacrificed the bonds he formed and memories he created in a previous loop with his friends to start over and save them.

TV Anime
''Princess Connect! Re:Dive'' is an anime series adapted by CygamesPictures based on the video game of the same name developed by Cygames. It was directed by Takaomi Kanasaki with assistant directing by Kana Harufuji. Satomi Kurita, Lie Jun Yang and Yasuyuki Noda provided character designs. The series aired in Japan from April 7 to June 30, 2020, on Tokyo MX, BS11, Sun TV, and KBS Kyoto before airing on other channels. It was also simulcast in North America by Crunchyroll.

Season 1 Staff
Based on the main story of Cygames' RPG game titled "Princess Connect! Re:Dive."

On August 13, 2020, it was announced that the series will receive a second season, with CygamesPictures returning for production. It is directed by Yasuo Iwamoto, with Kanasaki serving as the chief director and scriptwriter. Mai Watanabe joins Kurita, Yang, and Noda to provide character designs, and Imagine is composing the series' music. The main cast will reprise their roles. The second season aired from January 11 to March 29, 2022.

Season 2 Staff
''Princess Connect! Re:Dive Season 2'' was released on Blu-ray in three volumes from March 22, 2022 to May 17, 2022.

Books

 * "Princess Connect! Re: Dive Official Strategy Fan Book” Takarajimasha, released on March 17, 2018 - ISBN 978-4-80-028237-8
 * "Princess Connect! Re: Dive Visual Fan Book” Gz Brain, released on July 31, 2019 - ISBN 978-4-04-733411-3
 * "Princess Connect! Re:Dive Official Artworks” KADOKAWA Game Linkage 
 * Released on March 31, 2020 - ISBN 978-4-04-912722-5
 * Released on July 10, 2020 - ISBN 978-4-04-733456-4
 * Released on July 30, 2021 - ISBN 978-4-04-733542-4

Radio

 * 1) It is distributed at Hibiki -HiBiKi Radio Station- under the title of "Pricone Channel Re:Dive" (Pricone Channel Redive). The personalities are M・A・O (role of Pecorine), Miku Ito (role of Kokkoro), and Rika Tachibana (role of Cal).
 * 2) The 0th pre-delivery will be delivered on July 6, 2017, and the main broadcast will be delivered from July 27, 2017, updated every Thursday.
 * 3) The theme song is sung by three personalities under the character name.
 * 4) *Opening theme "Yes! Precious Harmony!"
 * 5) *Ending theme "Hidamari" (Lyrics- Genki Mizuno / Composition-Takao Yanagawa / Arrangement- Tetsuya Shitara)

External Link

 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive (Priconne R) ─ Official Website (in Japanese)
 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive Game (Priconne R) ─ DMM GAMES version Official Website (in Japanese)
 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive Game Official (@priconne_redive) - Twitter
 * TV Anime "Princess Connect! Re:Dive Season 1" Official Website (in Japanese)
 * TV Anime "Princess Connect! Re:Dive Season 2" Official Website (in Japanese)
 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive Anime Official (@priconne_anime) -Twitter
 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive Channel ─ Youtube Channel
 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive ─ Wikipedia  EN 
 * Princess Connect! Re:Dive ─ Wikipedia JP

Trivia
'' to be added. ''

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