When it comes to games that I enjoyed playing on the SNES just a short 10 possibly 15 years ago at a push in the early 90s, a few instantly spring to mind such as Unirally, Street Fighter II, Mario Kart, and quite a few others. One platforming game however instantly forces its way to the front of my mind due to its great-looking graphics, memorable characters and enemies, level design, and being a pain in my arse to play. That game is none other than Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts staring Arthur on his quest to rescue his princess who surprise surprise has been kidnapped. (It was gaming law that any and all princesses should be kidnapped when starring in any video games during the 80s and 90s!)
The game garnered many fans with the homage Cursed Castilla EX being created to help scratch that itch for fans of the 2D original games. (The Maximo games on the PS2 were pretty good sequels in my opinion although suffered from not being on the same level as the original games) Yet whilst feeling very much like a game from the Ghost n’ Goblins world, it felt lacking something in my opinion and I lost interest in it quite early, despite many others adoring the game. It is one of those games that I have been meaning to return to, but as of yet, I still haven’t felt the urge to do so as of yet.
However whilst scrolling through the PlayStation store a few months ago I stumbled across a game called Battle Princess Madelyn on sale for just £2.79, I thought at that price I might as well buy it and add it to the other countless games that I have bought previously and forgotten about on one digital library or another and left to never play. Yet the other day something told me to give the game a go, and I have to say I am really glad that I did. Whilst it isn’t something of a complete clone in gameplay terms, there are enough similarities and changes to give you that warm GnG feeling whilst also adding new ideas to keep it feeling fresh.
Instead of Arthur in his undies, you have Madelyn in a nightgown, and you also face off against similar undead enemies and monsters although I have to say that some (not all) of these look amazing and are better designed than their Capcom counterparts. You also have a wide range of weapons to pick up like swords, axes, and whips. Super suits of armour, which come in more than one type such as a knight and what I can only describe as a warrior/barbarian, another addition which adds something great to the game is the ability to double jump. Whilst some people may moan that this isn’t what you want to see in a game, it does make a difference and I have to say I am a fan of its inclusion as it does add an extra element that is definitely needed when fighting the giant bosses so you can dodge an extra time in midair, but also comes in quite handy during normal playthrough of the levels before reaching them and makes the game a bit more forgiving in parts and also gives you a false sense of security in others.
Battle Princess Madelyn offers you two main different playing modes to choose from, These are Arcade mode and Story mode and each one is quite different from the other. Arcade mode is exactly as you would expect it to be, Just a pure run-through of levels fighting boss after boss at the end, and is a joy to play as you journey through the different areas that the game has to offer, killing enemy after enemy.
In addition to the traditional style arcade mode though we also have Boss Rush and King Daddy mode. Boss Rush is as you would expect a mode where you fight boss after boss, the only problem is you choose a starting weapon and have to run through all the bosses using just that and it is only a level-one weapon. King Daddy mode features you playing as Madelyn’s father and is a lot harder than the standard Arcade mode.
Story mode however offers a slightly different experience from what I expected, especially as my first experience of the game was playing the previously mentioned Arcade mode. So what’s different? Well, it plays differently for a start, playing more like an action RPG with NPCs giving you quests to complete, upgradeable weapons (when you find the blacksmith) with backtracking and replaying of levels needed as you go through the game.
The controls in the game work well and feel tight, the graphics and in-game animations and effects look good overall, and the soundtrack and sound effects are also pretty good, …. yet Battle Princess Madelyn still has its issues which whilst not game-breaking, do hurt the overall experience of the game. One issue is the bosses, whilst looking imposing some of these can be beaten quite easily like the first boss in the game the giant skeleton warrior. You just move when he moves, hit him repeatedly when he swipes, and double jump and hit him at other times whilst killing the odd smaller enemy that drops from the ceiling. The Spider boss was another pretty simple foe as well to defeat.
The backtracking in story mode can get a bit tedious as well as the lack of information on where to go for turning in a specific sidequest. Then having to find the boots to double jump in story mode was a bit of a shock to the system at first as I had just started getting used to playing the arcade mode, so taking a jumping ability from me kinda sucked. Luckily it wasn’t that long until I was reunited with my jumping boots and everything felt better with the world again.
Oh, another thing the game has 2 different editions on the Nintendo Switch, the standard edition and the Royal edition. The Royal edition plays in 4:3 instead of widescreen to give you more of that retro arcade feel as opposed to the widescreen of the original game mentioned above.
It also adds the following:
Pure arcade action! Redesigned with the creator’s original vision!
New enemies, bosses, music, and sfx added! Completely redesigned stages!
Information from the Nintendo Eshop
For some reason, the Royal edition on the Switch is cheaper than the standard edition. It also includes an additional 3 stages to run through. So I am tempted to maybe pick that version up in the future if I am not sick of the game by then and it goes on sale at a price I am happy to pay. (Spoiler alert, it is now on sale and I have! This version of the game is quite different and doesn’t include the Story Mode or Boss Rush.)
Despite the flaws though I have to say that I am quite enjoying playing through Battle Princess Madelyn so far, and I am sure that if you were to give it a try then you would too especially if you pick it up at the discounted price. I am not saying the game is a masterpiece by any means, but it isn’t a slouch either offering a nostalgic but fresh experience. Some things aren’t perfect, yet there is a lot to like about the game, and if you like your old-school retro-style platform action games then you could do a heck of a lot worse than this one and for the sale price, I have to say you do get a lot of game for your money. I would have been happy just paying the price for the arcade mode alone!
Battle Princess Madelyn
Developers: Causal Bit Games Inc., Monster Bath Studios Inc.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Vita, Wii U
Initial release date: 5 December 2018
Composers: Gryzor87, John McCarthy
Genres: Platform game, Adventure game, Shooter Video Game
Publishers: Causal Bit Games Inc., Monster Bath Studios Inc., 3goo, Limited Run Games, IndieHound
Engine: Unity
