Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

Hound Picked Games

Developer

Casual Bit Games

Genre

Action, Adventure, Platform

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

598.87 MB

Release Date (NA)

Dec 20, 2018

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Update (2/20/19): Casual Bit Gamers will be releasing updates to the game. Addressing game’s issues and more content. Details are available to read.

Battle Princess Madelyn is a game with lots of spark, taking quite a few notes from the classic game Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, but it’s not enough to last. Those who have played the titles from that retro series know how frustrating they can be, and Battle Princess Madelyn will make you revisit those hardships.

A Girl and Her Dog

Casual Bit Games founder Chris Obritsch’s daughter loved watching her dad play Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and wished she could be in the game. But after explaining to her dad that girls couldn’t become knights, Chris took the challenge and made Battle Princess Madelyn, a game where girls can become knights.

Meet Madelyn, a young knight in training who had her world turn upside down when an evil wizard storms the kingdom, kills Madelyn’s dog Fritzy, and takes her beloved family away.

Afterward, Madelyn and the survivors of the attack grieve in the royal tomb for the loss of Fritzy. An elderly woman appears and informs Madelyn that there is a magic scroll in the crypt that will aid the young knight in training. Without explanation, a column of light moves across the screen and then a bolt of lightning strikes Fritzy’s tomb. A ghost dog appears from the grave, and Madelyn immediately recognizes the ghost as Fritzy. To save her family, Madelyn and Fritzy go on a journey through the treacherous, eerie world to take down the evil wizard.

Fritzy can help do a few things as a ghost, such as aid in battle and find clues. However, these abilities aren’t available right away; they must be earned as you go. (That’s only the case in the Story Mode; the Arcade Mode lets Fritzy help you in battle right away.) However, it’s best to save Fritzy’s powers to revive yourself when you get slaughtered in the game.

Arcade vs Story

In Story Mode, there are a lot of secrets and huge areas to explore. This is where a visual map would come in handy but one doesn’t exist. Yes, the game will give you some clues, such as wooden signs with arrows, but the direction feels underwhelming. You’ll be doing backtracking to find areas and pick up items you missed, and a map would be very helpful. If you didn’t find that double jump ability, you’ll need to to continue the story. Good luck on your hunt!

Also, while traveling, you’ll need to kneel down in front of specific statues to earn key items. The first time you come across one in the Story Mode, expect to take a few minutes to figure it out. As a result, you may end up picking up the item from the statue by pure luck.

Additionally, there are side quests you can accept from non-player characters (NPCs). The downfall is once you accept a quest and you happen to forget the information, you are out of luck. The NPC won’t reiterate your goal. Instead, you either can’t talk to them until the quest is complete or they’ll nag on you about your pace. This is where a quest log would come in handy, keeping track of all the quests you completed or are in the progress of doing.

The Arcade Mode, on the other hand, is straightforward and linear. No backtracking, no convenient checkpoints, and no character dialogue. It’s a cut-and-dry version of the Story Mode. This mode is also quite challenging in comparison. The Story Mode is the better option to start if you want to get comfortable with the game’s mechanics. However, Arcade Mode is more entertaining and will keep you on your toes, even if the enemies swarm all around you. Players will also have better success finding armor and weapons in this mode.

Flopping to Another Level

It’s great to see developers today use retro games as their influence in design, mechanics, and music. Ghouls ‘n Ghosts was a huge influence on Battle Princess Madelyn, almost to a fault.

When Arthur was hit or landed on spikes in Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, he was thrown back a far distance and lost his armor. The same goes for Madelyn. (You go back even farther when you are thrown off a floor, making it even more frustrating.) Enemies will pop out of nowhere—from the ground, bushes, or by air, enemies are right in your face. Sometimes, it feels like a cheap shot with these sudden appearances, but that’s what makes the game intense. Trial and error.

As noted before, if you get hit once, you lose your armor. Get hit again while in your pajamas, and you’re dead. Madelyn does, thankfully, spring back to life as long as you have enough magic filled in your gauge. Magic may not be the right word used in the game, but again, the game doesn’t explain enough about what every symbol and tool does. When you run out of lives to spare, the game takes you back to your last checkpoint. In Arcade Mode, you start from the beginning of the level, making it more frustrating when you lose and have to go through the hordes of enemies all over again.

Back in Time

The game’s user interface (UI) and graphics do make the game feel as if it were released for the Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo. In the game’s options, you can even turn on “Scan Lines” to make it feel more retro. But classic games also taught us a lot of good and bad things in game design. The UI in Battle Princess Madelyn definitely could have been cleaned up some. For example, font renders could have been improved by making the text upper and lowercase. Additionally, a darker stroke to help the text be more crisp and readable could also show improvement. It’s more noticeable on a large television screen.

Also, in the Story Mode’s dialogue boxes, the NPC’s pictures feel too bland. When talking to an NPC, their sprite displays next to the dialogue box instead of having a portrait like Madelyn’s or another secondary character’s. Instead of trying to showcase the sprite in the box, removing the sprite entirely and filling the space with text would have been just fine.

Such issues aside, the overall sprite design of Madelyn and the levels she travels through are downright eerie and fun. Madelyn’s journey is filled with vicious and creepy creatures and the dark themed levels make it work. The game truly feels as if you were playing a new Ghouls ‘n Ghosts game on a 16-bit console.

Enemy designs are fascinating and blend well with the fantasy medieval setting. Skeletons and ghouls popping out from the background and from the ground make the game feel lively and a bit creepy. The true terror might be the boss battles, though, since they can be quite challenging and frustrating. Players will spend countless deaths figuring out how to dodge and attack, but overcoming such fearsome foes does feel quite rewarding.

Your Choice in Music

Players have two choices in music: orchestral and arcade. Both are fun and you can’t go wrong with either one. Very few games offer this option, and after witnessing this, every game going forward should have it. Composed and played quite nicely in the game. From the upbeat tempo of the menu screen to the eerie underground, it fits the game’s levels and battles.

A Knight in Not-So-Shining Armor

Battle Princess Madelyn has a lot of potential, but it is perhaps a little too faithful to the past to really catch fire. Fans of the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series and those who love a real challenge will definitely want to jump into Madelyn’s adventure. After all, who doesn’t want a ghost dog by their side?

Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by PR Hound for this review.