Battle Princess Madelyn is an interesting game. Imagine a Ghosts N Goblins game with a framing device similar to The Princess Bride and a metroidvania style of gameplay with RPG elements. Its a neat game and a loving tribute to a classic from the past, while also pushing new ideas that vary up the gameplay.
Battle Princess Madelyn definitely puts its own spin on a classic formula, and not just by introducing story elements. You can take more than a few hits here for instance, and you can cycle through weapons. The latter is a very welcome change, especially with the various enemies the game has. The use of a metroidvania style of gameplay is also an interesting alteration as it allows a much more involved level of gameplay and story integration.
Before I go any further, I want to talk about the visuals. They manage to capture the spirit of a game from the past, even if the look isn’t exactly accurate. I have in the past referred to the idea of a retro inspired game looking how we remember retro games looked, rather than how they did. This is how I feel Battle Princess Madelyn handles the visuals. Some of the effects, such as the lighting are a modern touch, but it works well here. There is also a CRT scanline filter, but I never used it, so I cannot comment on it.
I next need to mention that the metroidvania style has an issue in that you often do not know where to go. This often leads to wandering around trying to figure out where you go next. It is not a deal breaker for me, but it definitely held the game back from being perfect. However, I do like that Battle Princess Madelyn is not afraid to come at you with the difficulty. It is more forgiving than Ghosts n Goblins in some ways, while in other ways it is more of a challenge. For instance, continuing after getting killed is not as much of an issue, and you can take more hits. There is also the cycling through weapons and various other upgrades and powerups you get, but the world itself can be more treacherous to navigate. I also must comment on the intense boss fights, and I feel they are a standout here.
The last major part of the game I want to mention is the story. It is very touching and knowing the background behind it, that it was inspired by a young girl’s desire to see a girl knight protagonist in a video game, somehow made the story more fulfilling. It works as a tribute to classic storytelling, and as a family story and I commend the developers for this.
I fully recommend Battle Princess Madelyn and suggest you all check it out.
ROG was provided a review key