I got to play this when visiting my sister easily 17 years ago. Her partner was babysitting my brother and I and I finished my homework first so I got to play whatever I wanted.
I loved the dark story, the bizarre outfits and the unique gamestyle. Like someone had played Clock Tower and said "but what if, while running in god knows what clothing, we could do some sick stuff to the antagonists?".
Yes our protag is a precious princess we must protect, but we are actively making her slaughter dozens of individuals, all with their own stories that interconnect and fit the world. You killed that soldier? His mom is wondering what happened to him, hope you don't mind slaughtering a rolling pin wielding granny! Dying words abound.
Or maybe you try pacifist, as hard as that is, to see the different endings. Would certainly be more princess-like of you! Even having those options, it's fun and jank and makes it all the more interesting as you encounter the main characters while the story plays out.
You spend your time placing weird and archaic traps and run around during the fight activating them. You unlock different traps and rooms (each with their own "Why is that a trap???") and some even have fantastic combos (just look up "man eating music box"). Knock enemies down stairs, freeze them in ice, bounce them into a candelabra to set them alight, drop kick them onto some spikes. You'd be surprised how good at killing your scared princess can be!
There's a pretty simple story underneath the delightful gameplay; you're framed for killing king dad, so you run into a cursed mansion and get possessed by The Fiend. Who demands souls. Be awful to ignore our host while we wait for this all to blow over.
This being a Tecmo game, there's obviously a lot more to the story, but that's part of the delight. I really think this game needs to be experienced by a modern audience. Even have competitions for combo making!
I really want more weird games brought to the mainstream GOG!