Battle Princess Madelyn Reviews
With both arcade and story modes, there's a lot of old-school charm to enjoy, but be prepared for some old-school frustration as well
The arcadey gameplay of Battle Princess Madelyn is a treat, but the game's weak story mode drags down the package.
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.
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's just a shame its main mode – and perhaps the key reason the developer wants your £15.79 / $19.99 – is so frustratingly unhelpful and awkward to play. Still, fans of Capcom's Ghouls ‘n Ghosts will most definitely want to check this out.
A good game that will please retro lovers but one that offers too few new things to a genre that is getting saturated.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Battle Princess Madelyn lets you save your family, save the world, or just scrap the story and rack up points in Arcade mode.
Battle Princess Madelyn has some lovely animated cut scenes to enjoy, the plot begins in a charming manner that brings to mind the Princess Bride, and its retro inspired pixelated graphics are on point. If only they were attached to fun and compelling gameplay, then Battle Princess Madelyn really could have been a contender to capture the crown of Ghost ‘n Goblins. As it stands, it's probably best to avoid this one and break out your SNES from storage instead.
If you love retro arcade action games, and more precisely, Ghost'n Goblins wannabes, you'll love Battle Princess Madelyn. Maybe the adventure mode it's a bit harsh, not for everybody's tastes and with a high difficulty level... but if the Capcom classic it's among your all time favorite games, here you'll find a worthy heir for Capcom's legacy.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The game's love for Ghosts ‘N Goblins is obvious but its refusal to cater for anyone but hardcore fans results in a frustrating and tedious slog – especially in story mode.
While its adventurous ambitions fall short of nailing it, there's a lot to love about Battle Princess Madelyn. It's a beautiful game in sight and sound, with a dead-on Ghouls ‘N Ghosts vibe but designed to be much less frustrating, an incredible soundtrack with both old and new-school arrangements options, and an adorable Story Mode that pays homage to a classic story in adorable fashion. It's a bedtime story based on a nightmare that somehow comes out on the more pleasant, earnest end of that old school madness, and while it's a pain in the butt to find your way around without a map, the gorgeous settings and pitch-perfect platforming action make it feel worth the struggle.
Battle Princess Madelyn is a good game with stylish retro graphics, cute characters and a variety of levels, which suffers from poor explanation of the rules of the world, terribly confusing navigation, understatement and a lot of glitches that make the stages impassable. However, we write something similar about one of the three surveyed games from independent studios. It seems that such an attitude to the audience for the modern indie scene has become almost the norm.
Review in Russian | Read full review
While not always clearly defined, Battle Princess Madelyn is still a damn decent excursion into the storied history of 16-bit platforming.
Battle Princess Madelyn offers equal parts fun and frustration.
Battle Princess Madelyn is everything you need in a retro romp. The lack of a map with limited direction may be frustrating at times, but the heart and soul of Ghosts & Goblins remains true to form. Battle Princess Madelyn is a joy to play and a must for retro fans.
Battle Princess Madelyn follows the footsteps of 1980s 2D classics with very high levels of difficulty. With its metroidvania elements, Battle Princess Madelyn ends up not living up to its expectations but its more action-oriented arcade mode is certainly an enjoyable experience. While it's not a groundbreaking title and it suffers from gameplay problems, Battle Princess Madelyn has its redeeming factors.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Battle Princess Madelyn tries to deliver a new twist to the old Ghosts'n Goblins formula. Unfortunately, its broken level design forbids Causal Games hommage to reach the same heights as Arthur's adventure. With no clues on what to do or where to go, even players looking for a tough challenge will only consider the arcade mode worthy of interest, if they want to enjoy the game's gorgeous graphics and art direction.
Review in French | Read full review
Battle Princess Madelyn is certainly a time capsule from a few decades ago for better and worse. Where the game succeeds, it does so well and with style. But, the multitude of minor pitfalls that inhibits gameplay progression and causes frustration held Madelyn back from being a true indie gem.
Battle Princess Madelyn is both impressive in both visuals and audio. For better, and sometimes worse, the game has modeled itself after difficult games like Ghosts'n Goblins. Metroidvania fans will enjoy the expansive levels, however, satisfaction from level completion and boss fights are less thrilling provided the immediate backtracking you'll perform back through harms way throughout most of the game.
Battle Princess Madelyn might not be a bad game; it just isn't special. All the difficulty stems from tricks, meaning the difficulty no longer exists once a player realizes it's all smoke and mirrors. With enemies, bosses and stages lasting longer than they really need to, it's an experience that doesn't invoke a desire to replay. At most alternate paths and hidden story bosses might, though even that is limited. So, unless you really want to play something like Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, Battle Princess Madelyn is simply too hollow to be fun.
A game confused about what it wants to be — an accessible and fun side-scroller for the whole family to enjoy, or a brutal experiment into what Dark Souls would be like in a 16-bit format. Battle Princess Madelyn looks and sounds the part, but is so unforgiving it sucks all the fun out of it.