Princess Maker 2

Princess Maker 2 is one of a series of "Princess Maker" games produced by Gainax. There are many, many of these games, but only one has been translated into English. Guess which one. Go on, guess.

Gameplay
You start out with a cute-as-a-button 10 year old girl, given to you to raise. You give her a name, choose her birth-date (which affects her stats, and also which deity is her patron god/goddess) and also her blood type (which affects her stats as she ages).

Once the preliminaries are taken care of, you play the game by setting up the girl's monthly schedule. Each week, she can work, go to school, adventure, or goof off. Working and going to school raise certain skills (and in some cases, lower others) but also increase stress. Giving her free time lowers her stress so that she doesn't run away, or become a little hooligan who won't work and spends all your money. Vacations, while expensive and significantly less restful, have other effects such as making her closer to you.

Adventuring is different from the rest of the game, as it involves the arrow keys. While on an adventure, your daughter will wander around a little maze-y world, fighting monsters via a turn-based combat system. You may also find one of three major criminals in the game. They are tough to beat, but if you manage it, you'll be very well rewarded.

You start the game with 500 gold, which is your annual salary. Every month, a bit of your gold is deducted to feed her. With a normal diet this is 30 gold, although you can change her diet to make her strong and obese or skinny and frail. The rest of the money can be spent on tuition or items from the shops. (Incidentally, 500 gp does not go a long way.)

Each October, there is a festival during which your daughter can compete in one of four competitions. Winning these competitions gives you money (and sometimes a useful item), as well an increase in her "reputation" for that field. If her reputation in a given field is high enough, when she is 14 she will acquire a rival. Having a rival means that your daughter will only want to do that particular competition each year, and making her do a different one will raise her stress.

When she turns 18, you get to see the fruits of your labor. All of your daughter's stats are tallied to determine what she will be when she grows up. She could be anything from a hooker, to a farmer, to the ruling queen. Also, she may get married. Usually this is just some schmo (either a knight, wizard, or what-have-you), but there are ways to get a specific marriage ending such as The Prince, A Dragon, Your Butler (Cube), or even YOU! After all is said and done, your daughter's patron deity will come to comment on how you did.

Cue credits!