Battle Princess Madelyn is a modern take on Ghouls 'n Ghosts which you set out to defeat a wickedly evil wizard who's kidnapped the family of Princess Madelyn and killed your dog Fritz, whilst trying to protect you.
The game mechanics should not surprise you if you've played Ghouls 'n Ghosts and indeed, you will feel like you have reinserted a cartridge into a SNES.
Madelyn starts protected by a simple dressing gown and with the only possibility of making small jumps and armed with a spear barely suited to take out some carnivorous plant or some skeleton.
Along the way in the story mode, which is probably the most interesting mode because it is enriched by secondary quests given by NPCs whose completion is rewarded with gadgets; there is also a locksmith who can upgrade Maddy's weapons. In this mode there are some influences from Metroidvania: some areas are initially not accessible, and only after having obtained special skills or keys will they. In addition, the difficulty is lower than the arcade version which has more "compressed" levels to complete simply by continuing from the left to the right of the screen.
If you're a fan of modern retro games BPM could be for you with a soundtrack that deserves a special mention, which can be activated in both orchestral and midi style. Longevity of the story mode will keep you busy for at least a dozen hours.
