Battle
Princess Madelyn borrows its style from Ghouls n’ Ghosts and Ghosts n’ Goblins.
Causal Bit games crowdfunded platformer is a delight for fans of Capcoms
classic platformers.
Story
The game begins with Madelyn’s Grandfather
telling her a story about a princess with the same name. This is a charming and
simple story but is generally a backdrop to the main feature which is the
gameplay, combat, and level design. The developer’s daughter loved watching him
play Ghouls n’ Ghosts and this inspired him to put her in the game. This story
mirrors the introduction of BPM. There are some heartwarming moments, with the
idea of family at the heart of the story. This was all the more interesting to
me because of the developer’s daughter serving as the inspiration for the game.
The story is generally a backdrop to the fluid
gameplay, yet the theme of family did convey a strong sense of emotion in these
brief scenes which often come unexpectedly and make the already rewarding
gameplay that bit more special.
Graphics
Battle Princess Madelyn’s art style didn’t
particularly appeal to me in the trailers or screenshots, but once I picked the
game up and saw Madelyn in motion, the visual experience was great. The game
was especially pleasing in handheld mode – another reason this game is perfect
for the Switch.
The game has an option for CRT scan lines
which make the game feel that bit more nostalgic, yet might turn some people
off. The cutscene graphics vary wildly from the in-game visuals and character
portraits – going from one to another is a bit clunky, and most players will
prefer one style to another due to their inherent differences.
Enemy death animations can crowd the screen,
along with Gramps the sidekick who takes up more of the screen than Madelyn does.
This becomes an issue in areas with many enemies – particularly in arcade mode where enemies
crowd the screen.
The character of Madelyn is portrayed as
intended. Madelyn is a strong, feisty female lead – one which will hopefully empower young female
players as well as the developer’s daughter.
Madelyn’s character lacks depth, but storyline
and characterisation are not at the forefront of what this game has to offer.
Battle Princess Madelyn’s main focus is recreating a beloved gameplay
experience for this niche.
Gameplay
The game is overall very stable – with only a
few issues. Some text speed seems a bit sluggish, and a faster text speed
option would be welcomed. Transitions from area to area are a bit clunky, the
game freezes when doing so rather than blacking out or showing a loading
screen. This is something the player gets used to but is initially quite
jarring.
The game introduces a praying mechanic, where
the player can kneel at statues of those who have fallen for hidden rewards.
This element is quite gimmicky, but I can’t pretend I didn’t enjoy discovering
this hidden treasure.
The gameplay is fairly simple. The lives
system allows the player to effectively have infinite lives as long as they
keep their amount of kills at a steady rate. Boss battles were quite easy after
the enemy patterns are learned, however, they do produce a fair amount of
challenge initially and were overall pretty enjoyable.
The first area has some quality of life
issues, such as trouble with items becoming unreachable if they are to close to
the level exits – such as money bags from one of the first breakable jars
entering this unreachable area in between the current screen and the next even
though they are visible to the player. This does become a bit tedious however
and is unlike that of Mario 1UP mushrooms, where there is a simple skill
element in catching the item. This is more of an inconvenience over anything,
and these small inconveniences and lack of truly new content are what hold BPM
back from being an exceptional game on its own that offers a polished and new
experience.
Battle Princess Madelyn’s level design was
good overall. Sections of the world are split into different styles, and this
helps keep the game fresh as Madelyn doesn’t need to dwell on similar areas for
too long – avoiding repetition.
Controls
Controls are quite straight forward. The game
does hold your hand quite a bit, as there are hints scattered across the first
area as simple as how to open your inventory. This allows the game to be
accessed by younger players unfamiliar with its inspirations. However, for more
experienced players and those who have played BPMs beloved influences the
abundance of tips are useless and clog up the screen. These ‘Hint!’ icons do
not disappear or become more subtle after accessing them. They do distract a
bit from the great detailed visuals as they flash constantly.
Arcade
Mode
Arcade mode is where this game really shines.
Borrowing a lot from its unashamed influences, Battle Princess Madelyn sports
the same kind of fun gameplay that was present in those that came before.
If you loved Ghouls n’ Ghosts, this is what you’ll likely drift towards. The developers love for this game is clear, although, BPM leaves a lot to be desired in terms of new twists and gameplay elements, and serves rather as a fun spinoff homage than its own unique new game.
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Blythe Nisbet
Blythe is a writer and student from Scotland, specialising in Nintendo Switch coverage at TZC. Her first Nintendo handheld was the Gameboy Advance SP at age 4. Since then she has owned 12 Nintendo consoles and counting, with her favourites being the GameCube and Nintendo Switch. She enjoys a variety of games, particularly RPGs, action-adventure games, and platformers.
