The internet is home to some truly bizarre stuff, so when I saw images of handsome man’s head superimposed on a horse’s body, I laughed along with the rest of you all and didn’t really think much of it… In fact, I think I assumed it was some ridiculous fan-made creation. So, when I found out that not only was this not a hoax, but a very real otome game called Uma no Prince-sama (renamed My Horse Prince for the English localization), I didn’t know how to feel.
I’m no stranger to strange animal dating games, they’re everywhere, from free mobile apps like Animal Boyfriend to commercial otoge like Hatoful Boyfriend and Dandelion~ Wishes Brought to You, there are no shortage of human/animal titles on the market. Hell, I quite enjoyed Hatoful Boyfriend, so I figured the leap from pigeons to horses shouldn’t have been such a big deal… right?!
**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the images used in this review, ALL images, screenshots, and characters belong to Usaya Co. Please if you are interested in the game, download the game for free in the App Store or from Google Play.
Will you be my owner?
Fed up with your uneventful life in the city, you (name changeable) decide to visit a local horse ranch in search of good looking guys! But, who should you meet at that peaceful ranch, why a horse with a human face… In this delightfully absurd free to play otome game, you can live out your wildest romantic fantasies with your very own bishie-faced horse prince!
-Premise
Seriously, a dating game where the main love interest is a horse? And not just any horse, a horse with a hot guys face… I thought I’d seen it all, but this one takes the cake, heck it makes dating pigeons seem normal (mind you I love Hatoful Boyfriend and I highly recommend playing it)!
But, despite my initial shock, I jumped on the hype train and downloaded the game onto my iPad without giving it a second thought… Since it’s a free to play mobile game, I figured I had nothing to lose, if it sucked, I could just delete it from my iPad and forget the whole thing ever happened… Because, let’s be real, I didn’t pick this game up because I thought it would be good, I picked it up because I wanted to make fun of the ridiculous horse bishie, named Yuuma. It’s just so creepy looking and the CGs at the end of each chapter don’t help! A kabedon with a horse is not sexy, it’s hilarious and just a smidge scary…
Like any other otome game, you have to woo Yuuma, by spending time with him. But, since Yuuma is a horse, you have to train him to increase his affection points by having him perform various tasks. Some tasks seem like normal horse related activities, such as feeding and brushing him, while other tasks are most certainly not typical horse activities… you know like cooking and running on treadmills… people things… *cough* You can even chat with Yuuma and answer various questions to help raise his energy level, which in turn helps him perform better during the training sessions.
Now once you get over the initial shock of romancing a horse, there is something oddly captivating about this game. Obviously this is not the type of game you should take seriously, heck the game doesn’t even take itself seriously! The dialogue is surprisingly witty and there are times when even the characters realize how utterly ridiculous the whole situation is… The MC in particular has a rather hard time accepting her new role as Yuuma’s owner, the poor thing even tries to quit, but one look at Yuuma’s handsome face and she just can’t bear to leave his side… Ummm, I don’t care how handsome his face is, a horse is a HORSE, not a man… and certainly NOT a potential love interest! I’m actually still trying to wrap my mind around how the whole human/horse relationship is even supposed to work…
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m about to say this but, *takes deep breath* Yuuma is actually a pretty cool guy… I mean, horse. He’s super sweet to the MC and is willing to anything to make the her happy, hell, he even cooks for her at one point (please don’t ask me how, because I can’t answer that). If he were a normal otoge bishie, I’d probably be all over him, but I’m having a hard time getting over the fact that he’s a frickin’ horse!! *sigh* I wonder if the game will take a page from The Frog Prince, and turn Yuuma into a human at the end… or will it go the Disney route and have the MC turn into a horse?
I spent the first few minutes of My Horse Prince laughing so hard, I could barely see the screen. This game is weird, there’s no doubt about that, but even I can admit that it’s not the worse otome game I’ve ever played. Sure the premise is a little out there and Yuuma is creepy as hell, but I’m not completely against giving this game a try if you have the chance.
The art style is nice, and while the CGs are unrealistic and a bit comical, you can’t help but appreciate how beautiful they are. In fact, this is just a really well designed game, something I honestly I didn’t expect… The game utilizes a mix of gameplay styles, from tap based mini games to visual novel style story segments and it’s pretty easy to get into. Overall, I liked My Horse Prince way more than I originally anticipated and I’m probably going to keep playing this game just to see how far this unconventional romance goes…
What do you think about My Horse Prince? Are you weirded out by the half human/half horse, Yuuma? Can a horse/human relationship even work? Let me know what you think in the comments section. If you like what you see, like this post or follow Blerdy Otome! As always THANK YOU FOR READING!!
