Battle Princess Madelyn Reviews
With all this packaged together, the player is presented with a well-balanced package that gives gamers a taste of what it used to be like to be called a gamer but never pushing so hard as to cause a rage quit, tip over the arcade machine and demand your quarters back.
Battle Princess Madelyn is clearly an homage to Capcom titles about slaying ghouls, ghosts and goblins but presented in an endearing, story within a story fashion.
I probably won’t be rushing back into Battle Princess Madelyn‘s story mode any time soon, but if you’re up to the challenge of the game’s difficulty level, you’ll certainly get a kick out of its old-school animation and soundtrack.
In trying to revive a decades-old series, Causal Bit Games created a Frankenstein's Monster of sorts. Adding adventure and exploration elements to the Ghouls ‘N Ghosts formula hasn't improved the experience. Forcing the player to replay the entire game only to retrieve a special weapon that can truly defeat the final boss was a better design choice than the ones made in Battle Princess Madelyn's Story Mode. The Arcade Mode saves it from mediocrity in that it allows players to enjoy the different environments, weapons, and bosses through a tough but beatable campaign. Regardless, questionable design choices and lack of gameplay explanations detract from the overall satisfaction. After spending time with Battle Princess Madelyn, I'm left with one lasting impression: I really want to replay Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts.
Battle Princess Madelyn from Causal Bit Games and Hound Picked Games is quite an enjoyable game and one you should certainly check out!
Battle Princess Madelyn is a difficult game to recommend on a whim. Its design and mechanics calls to mind the classics of yesteryear, but there's a distinct lack of follow-through. The story mode isn't hurting for content, as it features a slew of worlds to explore, bosses to battle, and goodies to collect. Unfortunately, not all of it is arranged in a manner that is appropriately compelling. The arcade mode trims most of the fat, but it lacks the challenge and polish that defined the arcade era. Still, one has to appreciate the effort that went towards appealing to fans of action-adventure and arcade games. If they're willing to look past the issues present in both modes, they might enjoy themselves. It helps that the art direction and music are really charming.
Although the existence of an Arcade Mode offers a more enjoyable experience and should please retrogamers, it is unfortunate that the length of the dungeons and the repetitiveness compromises the enjoyment of the ambitious story mode. Madelyn's adventure is problematic and needed more development time. The potential is there, it just needed a bit more of effort.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
We both liked playing Battle Princess Madelyn even though we thought that there was certainly room for improvement to the game.
As mentioned at the beginning of the review, the mode you choose to play will influence your impression of Battle Princess Madelyn. For arcade mode players, the game retains the spirit of Ghosts 'n Goblins, and while there are a few concessions to make the game seem a touch easier for newcomers, some of the design decisions suck away that enjoyment. For story mode players, those flaws are compounded by more design issues that make it a frustrating Metroidvania clone. In the end, the game's charm isn't enough to attract anyone but genre die-hards who are looking for a near-impossible challenge.
For better and worse, Battle Princess Madelyn is an authentic retro experience.
An interesting concept unfortunately marred by incredibly frustrating design choices, poor mechanics and directionless level design. Not recommended except for hardcore platformer aficionados who enjoy being masochistic.
WORTH CONSIDERING - I had such high hopes for Battle Princess Madelyn. The core concept works and if you’re just looking for another Ghouls ‘N Ghosts action game, play the arcade mode. The adventure mode is a mess with poor stage design and little to no direction on where or what to do next. Without a walkthrough most will never see the end.
All in all though Battle Princess Madelyn has been a wonderful waltz down memory lane.
Battle Princess Madelyn is never subtle about its inspirations but that’s ok. Because it really does capture the heart and soul of what made those games so great, a rare find in the ‘modern masterpiece’. It’s not perfect nor the best representation of a side-scroller or Metroidvania, but the clear passion of the developers, as well as the charm and style of the game continually win me over. Even when I’m constantly lost and effortlessly overrun.
Battle Princess Madelyn is not bad. But it's not good either. Apart from the compelling graphics, it is simply too uninspired, and thus the famous "one among many". In 2018 the competition is just too big. There are too many games that are better in terms of playability and gameplay than you should spend your time with this blender. Although the creators promised a few improvements via patch, at the time of the test, unfortunately nothing was yet to be seen.
Review in German | Read full review
Battle Princess Madelyn is what happens when one mixes the whimsical mind of a seven-year-old child with the gameplay of old-school retro titles. Despite its flaws, the game provides an overall enjoyable experience.
A decent platformer with nods to difficult classics, there are a few problems with this one that keep the score down. Might be best to look elsewhere until a patch arrives.
This is no child's game and it is absolutely challenging, but there is no satisfaction at the end of an easy road. All achievements are due when they are worked for. There are more and more 8 bit games coming out and I have to admit, as much as I thought that I did not want to play titles like these when they started becoming popular, I am glad I did.
One has to appreciate Causal Bit Games will that they tried to further develop the formula of the clear role model, which is of course Ghouls 'n Ghosts. It would have been better, however, to hand over the story mode only when it is free of it's faults and better designed. It's annoying that the difficulty of the game too often lies in finding the easiest and luckiest route through the dungeons with every new screen death, while the arcade mode seems to be much more polished. So Battle Princess Madelyn remains a likeable game which brings fun for a few hours due to the arcade mode. This and the charming character design can't fool you about the numerous annoyances, and so Madelyn finally awakens one thing above all else: The longing for Knight Arthur.
Review in German | Read full review