Battle Princess Madelyn Review

A Brave Princess

We start this journey off with a little girl lying in her bed, on the other side of her bedroom door, her grandpa. In walks the grandfather with a face of cheer, (I heard that your home sick) he says, so I have come to keep you company. Maddi pulls up her video game system and tells her grandpa that she is ok, she's about to level up in her game. Not knowing what she was talking about he insists that he has a great story for her. A look of disappointment, and a sigh, why don't you just watch me play Buildykraft she bargains. Already sitting down, he exclaims how this book would really spike her interest and it is about a brave princess. A princess named Madelyn? That is also my name, she says with an expression of excitement. The grandfather goes on to explain that this princess goes on to be a great knight, one of the greatest and she has amazing adventures. Battling all kinds of monsters and slays them. A princess, becomes, a knight? How does that happen? Let's get into the good stuff... this is boring she says. With skepticism she sits and listens to a tale that is heroic and adventurous, not knowing that it would be a decision she would not regret.

The sorrow

(We have no time left for tears Madelyn. Be brave. We must find the others), says Grampy. Grieving over her puppy that had just been killed, Madelyn, on all fours and wiping away tears tries to compose herself. Out of the dark to the right of the shrine dedicated to "Fritz" her dog, an old lady in a robe and black hooded cloth appears. Explaining that this is the beginning. (beginnings are found where other things end). The old lady goes on to explain how their ancestors are hidden in the place they are now and are buried with a magic scroll that will lead you anywhere you seek to go. Lightning strikes from above and the ghost of Fritz appears! So happy that she gets to see her dog again, she embraces him fully with tears of joy this time. Directly after the warm embrace, a skeleton appeared from beneath the ground and Grandpy smites him down. Insisting that they need to leave he tells Madelyn that they are not safe...

The first quest

Our 8 bit adventure starts in the Boneyard of the royals. Twisted trees and bare branches flail around in the background while leaves fall majestically to the ground. Earthly colors and dark shadows color our world along with tombstones that rest in place with descriptions of the deceased who lie below. Be aware of skeletons and walking coffins who will jump out from behind fences, gravestones etc. Some may even fall from above after leaping out of trees. Press up on the D-Pad to read hints, they are very valuable. Up ahead a downed soldier tells you that a strong guardian lies ahead, they have locked it in the royal tomb for they could not destroy it. Explaining that he lost his key as he fled the tomb, he proceeds to tell you that another guard named joe may have one. Hope is still alive. Venture into town and find him! He is probably making sure his child is safe. Trudge back to the left and you will enter Castle of the O'lonergans. Much the opposite of the place you just arrived from, villagers here seem a little less intense and the air seems to be still with less evil. A statue, tall, proud and very demanding of respect lies ahead a short distance. Press down on the D-Pad to duck and you will commence paying your respects to this fallen hero. You will receive throwing knives for doing so. Any statue or ghost you may come across, pay respect by falling to your knees, you never know what you may receive. Press either LB or RB to switch between weapons. So far you should only have a spear that you started out with, and the throwing knives you received from praying to the statue. You will find villagers with either happy or sad face symbols above their heads, talk to them, they will have you help them with some type of mission or give you hints. In a three story house, you will find Joe, the royal guard who has the key you need to proceed. He tells you that he has a magic key ring, it'll glow when you are near a door you can unlock. The closer you are to a door, the faster it will glow. Currency will be within barrels and pots, break them so you can collect. Keep in mind that a lot of these villagers you talk to will give you items upon completing what they are asking of you. Some may say, if you beat a certain boss, I'll give you something, or if you find this person, I will reward you. So, try to do as much as you can. Look for light rays that shine form walls, they can be broken, and there are often hidden treasures, ghosts and statues within them. These levels are long. There are a lot of searching and finding, then more searching. It seems like it goes on forever and there will be no end, but that's what I like. I like how it isn't a quick run and done. When I hit the first boss, it was frustrating at first until I found out the pattern on how to kill him. He is huge and his sword even bigger. This is what you are going to have to do. When the boss swings his sword down, stand right underneath it, he will not hit you unless you are too close to the tip of the blade. The trick is to stand under the handle, right near the feet. After he swings, run underneath him and throw your weapons upward. You can hit him about five or six times before he starts going crazy and running toward you. He'll eventually stop, that's when you will rinse and repeat. The closer he is to death, he'll start blinking red, faster and faster, until he finally turns completely red and explodes. It was definitely hard, but very rewarding when I defeated him. When the smoke cleared, two very old skeletons stood in the place of the enemy. A king and a queen. They begin to say that they have been watching Madelyn up in the clouds since she was born. They are her great, great grandparents. With their blessing and wishes of luck, they disappear. You return to the castle to meet Grampy and go on to your next mission That ended the first endeavor for Battle Princess Madelyn.

Witching Hour

The kingdoms alchemist, Sir Dav, created a device he calls a Stitchbot. Fast travel to faraway places in an instant. He was captured by a witch that was jealous of his transport machine. The Stitchbot was stolen in hopes to use the magic for herself. She didn't understand that it comes to life with magic and science. After going through the cave on the outskirts of the swamp, which is really, really hard. You'll come to another boss. Instead of one witch, like your grampy mentioned earlier, there are two. That means you are going to be facing to witches who throw fireballs at you while floating through the air. When they land, they will, at the same time, start throwing a sequence of fireballs. The first two will be directly at head level, so that means you can duck and throw a whole lot of weapons at them. The second sequence they will catch on, they will commence to throwing the fire at feet level now. So, jump up out of the way, you will not have as much time as you would on the ground to throw weapons, but every hit matter does matter. After you damage them, they will throw lightning down on you while they are flying above. Watch out, she will throw two lightning strikes. Took me three times but I did it. You think that by killing one witch that would be the end, nope. You have to kill both of them. When you slay them, you will finally rescue Sir Dav who is hanging above a cauldron in his boxers.

Spidey Boots

When heading to the swamp, you'll come across a guard that has a key to unlock a door that has a side boss locked in it. Right after you talk to him, hold down on the D-Pad and press A. You'll fall down to a huge hidden door. If you notice up in the top right corner of your screen, your magic key ring will start blinking pretty fast, indicating that a secret door is near. That being the door you just found. This boss is a little less complicated but still very dangerous. The huge spider will come down from the ceiling and you must throw your weapons upward, you will only be able to get in one to three hits before you have to move. If you do not move, the spider will grab you with his mouth and pull you up, resulting in damaging you. Throw weapons upward and step to the side. Do this process until the boss starts to blink red, then the final full body red and he explodes. You will acquire loot and Spidey Boots! These boosts will allow you to double jump from now on. These are very helpful indeed. No need to equip them for they are already instantly attached to you. Now you have the ability to reach higher places and find more hidden items.

The Travels

This is another one of those platformers where you can go back and forth from place to place. This one is a little on the hard side though. You can fast travel with stones, but you must also travel the length of the level just to get to a new one. And these levels are filled with enemies and obstacles. So, it may take you some time again to get to the end where you once were fighting the boss. It is a little disheartening to have to do it in my opinion, but it's worth the adventure at least.

Fritz

Your loyal companion has a lot to do with your success in this game. He also has a meter. This is his magic meter and it will also accommodate you in reviving yourself if you die. So, if fritz has a full blue magic meter and you completely lose your life meter, then you will pull from his meter to revive, but only with a couple bars of life. When you kill enemies, your pals' meter will also refill. So, keep that thing full. Fritz also has abilities, if you hold down the attack button he will fiercely bite and attack an enemy. Keep this meter full as I mentioned before though, it is important.

Details

I wanted to include telling you about these bosses, items and other details to give an idea of what this game is about. 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. I am 30 years old and these games have brought back some kind memories. Let's just say that kids will not know the struggle of being an old school gamer. It was a struggle to beat the freaking Lion King on the PC back in the day and all you had to do was jump and move left and right. I mean dang. Know with all of this new technology, games are much smoother and way more adaptable. That is the end of my rant. I think a lot of people I know should take time off from the modern gen games and install a throwback and enjoy. If your and old school gamer like myself, you'll be happy you did.

My Conclusion

This was a fun experience. I know I've said this a couple times, but it is great to give new indie games a try. I mean, if we just stick to the same old things and games, we aren't being openminded and how do we know we won't fall in love with new games? I have with a couple. I thought at first, man I just want the new AAA games to review, not these low budget games. Well, I was wrong. I took the time and was very surprised by what I found lying below where I have never ventured. BPM is a great game. There is love and hard work pieced into this game.