{"id":70180,"date":"2018-12-20T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/battle_princess_madelyn"},"modified":"2018-12-20T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T13:00:00","slug":"review-battle-princess-madelyn-an-aimless-adventure-redeemed-by-its-fantastic-arcade-mode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/12\/20\/review-battle-princess-madelyn-an-aimless-adventure-redeemed-by-its-fantastic-arcade-mode\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Battle Princess Madelyn &#8211; An Aimless Adventure Redeemed By Its Fantastic Arcade Mode"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/battle_princess_madelyn\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/battle_princess_madelyn\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"\">\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 1 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94144\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94144\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 1 of 6\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Causal Bit Games founder Chris Obritsch loved playing <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/megadrive\/ghouls_n_ghosts\">Ghouls \u2018n Ghosts<\/a><\/strong>, and his daughter <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/03\/feature_how_battle_princess_madelyn_is_fulfilling_one_little_girls_dream_of_starring_in_ghouls_n_ghosts\">Madelyn<\/a> loved watching him. One day Madelyn explained that she wished she could be in the game but \u201cgirls can\u2019t be knights\u201d, so her dad decided to work with her to make a game in which she was the star, to show that girls <em>can<\/em> indeed be knights if they want to be.<\/p>\n<p>The result is <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/battle_princess_madelyn\">Battle Princess Madelyn<\/a><\/strong>, an impressive-looking action platformer that takes more than a little inspiration from Capcom\u2019s arcade classic, but also adds a bunch of other things to the mix. While many of these new additions add to the overall experience, though, others aren\u2019t quite so welcome.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 2 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94140\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94140\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 2 of 6\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The main story \u2013 told to a cartoon version of the actual Madelyn by her grandpa in a lovely intro which reminds us of <strong>The Princess Bride<\/strong> (RIP, <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2018\/nov\/16\/william-goldman-obituary\">William Goldman<\/a>) \u2013 opens with the titular battle princess\u2019s hometown being attacked by an evil wizard, who also kills her dog Fritzy (because he\u2019s a nasty sod, you see). Thankfully, Fritzy comes back as a ghost, so it\u2019s up to Madelyn and her phantom pooch to explore the world and try to find the evil individual responsible.<\/p>\n<p>The key word here is \u2018try\u2019, because the one major issue Battle Princess Madelyn suffers from is a severe lack of signposting. To pay tradition to that, then, we\u2019ll go in a completely different direction for now and talk about the game\u2019s aesthetics. Simply put, it looks and sounds <em>fantastic<\/em>. Retro-looking indie games on Switch are ten a penny these days, but this is a particularly lovely example. It may not be accurately \u2018retro\u2019 \u2013 there\u2019s no way some of its lighting effects would have been possible back in the day \u2013 but it\u2019s respectful enough to the era that you\u2019ll let it slip. There\u2019s even an optional CRT scanline filter.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 3 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94142\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94142\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 3 of 6\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The ears are in for a treat too, as the game offers two entire musical scores depending on your personal tastes: an old-school retro style one or a fully orchestrated one (with a choir and <em>everything<\/em>). Either option delivers a fantastic aural accompaniment, which is really to its credit; it\u2019s tricky enough for most games to deliver one excellent soundtrack, let alone be generous enough to give us <em>two<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It plays well too. Anyone with even the slightest familiarity with Ghouls \u2018n Ghosts or its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/super_ghouls_n_ghosts\">SNES sequel<\/a> will be able to see that the inspiration here is more than just cosmetic; there are plenty of little nods that come straight from the arcade classic. From the way some enemies spawn by either rising out of the ground in coffins or by poking out from behind trees, to the way you can lose your armour \u2013 letting you take one more hit before you die \u2013 the whole thing\u2019s a pleasantly faithful tribute&#8230; at least, in terms of how it <em>feels<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s one large difference between this game and its inspiration: whereas Ghouls \u2018n Ghosts was a linear affair, Battle Princess Madelyn\u2019s main story mode is more of a Metroidvania, where you can roam back and forth throughout the various environments, unlocking new abilities and backtracking to use them in previous areas. And that\u2019s where the signposting issues we mentioned earlier come into play.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 4 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94145\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94145\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 4 of 6\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Simply put, there&#8217;s very little signposting at all. You\u2019re pretty much on your own from the very beginning and other than the basic story at the start, you\u2019re left to your own devices. There&#8217;s no map or no in-game tutorial, either. Now, we appreciate that there will be some people who are delighted with this, since it provides a truly old-school experience. But even some of the older examples of the genre were at least designed to guide the player along \u2013 even if unconsciously so \u2013 whereas most of the time here, you feel like you\u2019re picking a direction and hoping beyond hope that it\u2019s the right one.<\/p>\n<p>The only time you\u2019re given any real instructions are when you take on side missions by speaking to one of the numerous NPCs dotted around, but even then their requests are generally vague (\u201cI lost my hammer in a cave, please get it for me\u201d) and once you\u2019ve asked them they won\u2019t repeat it again. Since there\u2019s also no pause menu that lists all your active side quests, you\u2019ll almost certainly forget what they wanted you to do and where they wanted you to go; the issue is exacerbated by the fact that there are <em>loads<\/em> of side-quests on offer at any one time; keeping track of them all is almost impossible. An update \u2013 applied just prior to launch \u2013 hands out more obvious hints to the player, but it&#8217;s still not a perfect solution.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 5 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94143\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94143\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 5 of 6\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>This vagueness extends to major collectables too, such as the important upgrades needed to progress through the game. Take the double-jump, which is one of the first you get (or are supposed to, if you can find it). The second town you come to (which is located up in the treetops in a mushroom-filled marshland area) actually allows you drop down through the floor (by holding down while pressing jump). We accidentally did it and landed next to a door containing a boss fight with a giant spider. Our reward was the boots that give you the double-jump, but there was no feeling of achievement when we got them, more an exasperated \u201cWell, how was I supposed to know I had to do that?\u201d. The aforementioned update places an NPC directly above where you have to drop down, making it a little clearer \u2013 but even so, it feels too much like trial-and-error.<\/p>\n<p>This is usually the point where we go \u201cWhat a shame, so much potential, but completely ruined by one massive problem, don\u2019t buy it\u201d, but thankfully Battle Princess Madelyn pulls a last-minute solution out of the bag. As well as the main Story mode \u2013 aimlessly confused wandering and all \u2013 there\u2019s also a more direct Arcade mode, which ditches the Metroidvania malarkey and resorts to the old faithful linear gameplay that made Ghouls \u2018n Ghosts such a well-loved game in the first place. In this mode, armed with your double jump and powerful weaponry from the start and a clear idea of where you have to go next, all is well; it&#8217;s almost a shame that this isn&#8217;t the main mode of the game, because it offers a tighter and more enjoyable experience.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 6 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94146\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/94146\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Battle Princess Madelyn Review - Screenshot 6 of 6\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>(We just want to point out one more little disappointment, though it\u2019s more of a personal one and doesn\u2019t affect our scoring of the game. The story behind the game\u2019s development is a lovely one, but there are many gamers out there \u2013 including this reviewer \u2013 who have daughters of their own. The option to change the character\u2019s name from Madelyn to anything else would have resulted in a game that would feel just as special to any girl as it does to the designer\u2019s daughter.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Too much hand-holding in games can be a problem, but Battle Princess Madelyn goes in the opposite direction with its main Story mode and is just as annoying (if not more so) as a result. Thankfully, its alternative Arcade mode really does save the day, stripping away all the convoluted and confused exploration and leaving nothing but pure, unfiltered arcade action goodness. It\u2019s just a shame its main mode \u2013 and perhaps the key reason the developer wants your \u00a315.79 \/ $19.99 \u2013 is so frustratingly unhelpful and awkward to play. Still, fans of Capcom&#8217;s Ghouls \u2018n Ghosts will most definitely want to check this out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Causal Bit Games founder Chris Obritsch loved playing Ghouls \u2018n Ghosts, and his daughter Madelyn loved watching him. One day Madelyn explained that she wished she could be in the game but \u201cgirls can\u2019t be knights\u201d, so her dad decided to work with her to make a game in which she was the star, to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}