Throughout gaming history, there have always been games in which you have to save the titular princess of the story. These games have always been very popular Mario and Link, for example, have reprised their roles for the past three decades, with each game always being as popular as the last.

But, why? Why is it so popular to do so in each iteration?

My theory is thus: while the tried-and true formula of saving the princess is considered old by most, the newer generations of gamers, as well as gaming consoles, always find their way into mainstream popularity. As a result, game companies are able to cater to the new and old simultaneously, thus raking in the profits.

The other great thing about the whole ’save the princess’ routine is that the game designers can take something incredibly open-ended and turn it into something different. For example, Titan Studio’s recent Fat Princess title charges you to kidnap the enemy princess and take her to your base of operations. The opposing team can fatten their princess up, thus making it harder for their enemy to carry her off. All in all, it makes for a good strategy game. I watched a few videos, and it’s just hilarious.

Lots of people liked Super Paper Mario because you could play as Peach after you rescued her, as well as having the story focusing on something more sinister than Bowser. The same goes for Spirit Tracks, which gave Zelda the ability to possess suits of armor and attack enemies. Changing the formula, while keeping the base elements the same, is a nice touch.

I for one would like to see some other variations on the ’save the princess.’ for one, why not have the girl get a kiss from the prince for once? Nintendo kinda went this way with Super Princess Peach a few years back in 2005. Or, have the main character be gay, or a different species, or something. As we gamers move on, we want more and more variation, more ‘new things’ that make a series innovative an fun to play.

Recently, Level-5’s White Knight Chronicles has received criticism as having too generic a plot, that of saving the princess from the clutches of evil. How, may I ask, is this different than any Mario or Zelda game? New Super Mario Bros. Wii didn’t get that kind of criticism. Is it because gamers know about what happens? Why should WKC get the flak about a story structure that everyone loves?

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