It’s obvious what game series Battle Princess Madelyn is an homage to -- the venerable Ghouls 'n Ghosts canon. Considering how many Castlevania clones there have been, how many Mega Man me-toos, at first glance it might seem curious that there aren’t more Ghosts copycats in todays retro-crazed gaming zeitgeist. But if you've ever played any of the Ghost games, and you thought about it for more than a second, you'd realize why.
Those games are so difficult that only a small segment of the old-school gaming population could claim to have beaten them fairly and completely, and not many more people than those would have claimed to fully and honestly enjoy the journey. Certainly it helps that the tunes were fantastic, the cartoon animation brilliant, the environments inspired, the challenges unique -- if bordering on insane: two times 'round, really? -- and the bosses legendary.
Madelyn takes its best stab at achieving some slice of that greatness, and in many ways it hits the mark. Our eponymous heroine is a cute nod by the developer to his daughter, or so I’ve heard. She certainly has more spunk, and is more inspired than the mostly bland Sir Arthur (minus his awesome boxer shorts). It seems Madelyn's dog has been killed, and her parents kidnapped by the bad guy of the day. Better this than a damsel in distress, right? How many games present to us parentnapping as a premise? In any case, Maddy's (can I call you Maddy?) loyal pup it turns out, is loyal even beyond the grave. He manifests as a ghost dog, and he can help us by harrying enemies that you sic him on, or else he can bring you back to life on the spot thrice within a level. This effectively replaces the button-down magic of the Ghosts games, and you'll want to manage these canine skills carefully.
More Reviews by Marc Golding [+]
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