Code of Princess 1 Site: http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess/
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
Code of Princess for the Nintendo 3DS wasn't the best game it could be. Equipment acquirement wasn't that big of a deal since most of them were terrible with a few select items giving the best benefits. The Campaign was short and didn't have various difficulty levels. All the characters had a very limited amount of move sets and abilities. And worst of all, the game's graphics lagged a lot for the 3DS XL with the 3D on and when explosions erupted on the screen. Despite all those short comings, the game was a whole lot of fun and I enjoyed it a bunch. The story was light-hearted and filled with humor, the graphics were colorful and lively, and the music was just brilliant. It seems like the game sold better than anticipated in the US. The producer has expressed his interests in perhaps making a sequel on the PS4 and XB1. Now imagine how great the game already was and fixing every one of those problems I mentioned above? I'm all for it and would love to see it on the next generation consoles with 4-player cooperative local play seeing how beat-em-ups and local multiplayer games are a dying trend. Until then, there's Dragon's Crown coming out soon published by Atlus.
Source:
-Joystiq - Code of Princess producer likes PS4, Xbox One for a sequel
Showing posts with label Code of Princess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Code of Princess. Show all posts
Monday, June 24, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
GameLight Review - Code of Princess
Official Site: http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess/
Source: Youtube Channel insidegamesjp
Developer: Agatsuma Entertainment, Bones
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Genre: Beat-em-up, RPG
Pros:
+ Story is light-hearted and humorous
+ Gameplay is simple, but can be challenging at times
+ RPG elements include switching equipment and stat building
+ Lots of replay value with over 50 characters to choose from
+ An amazing music score throughout the game
+ Online cooperative/competitive play
+ Memorable characters, moments and boss battles
Cons:
- The skills sets are rather limited and combos don't have that much depth
- There could've been a lot more character and story development
- Graphics lag when 3D is on, but doesn't look that great when 3D is off
- A lot of the equipment is junk while only a select few are useful
- Competitive arena is only for multiplayer, no customizable solo play
Recommended: Yes, fans of Action games and Beat-em-ups should check it out
It's difficult to talk about the game and not compare or even mention Guardian Heroes as the game's mechanics are essentially the same with the three rail planes, beat-em-up action, and stat building RPG elements. The game is developed by Agatsuma Entertainment and Bones, Inc. (The animé cutscenes) with two members who worked on Guardian Heroes (the director and lead programmer). Many would say that it's Guardian Heroes stripped down by a lot. Unlike Guardian Heroes, it doesn't have branching story paths (there's 2 different endings though), combos and skills are a lot more limited, and there isn't a difficulty setting. Despite those missing aspects, the game turned out to be incredibly entertaining and a lot of fun. Even with a limited amount of attacks and skills, they chain into each other pretty well for some interesting combos. The dialog is funny, the combat is hectic but satisfying, and the aesthetics is just absolutely mesmerizing. This is a game I wouldn't mind going back to play again once in a while.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 2D-Animé Style graphics with cartoon-ish 3D characters/enemies.
+ Light-hearted story of protecting a kingdom and magic
+ Animé-style cinematics thoughout the game
+ Unique and memorable characters both on protagonists and antagonists sides
+ Catchy and memorable music
+ 3D usage makes it easy to tell which plane an enemy is on
+ Flashy and destructive effects for attacks and spells
+ Some pretty good dialogue lines in some of the conversations
- Story could've been expanded into so much more than what was told
- Lots of lag and frame skipping with 3D on but graphics don't look good without it
- Lag in the graphics also causes delays in button commands
- A lot of the voice acting is pretty painful, but some are absolutely golden
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: Analog and buttons
+ Easy to understand combat mechanics
+ Skills are simple commands and can be accessed on the bottom screen
+ Combos are fairly easy to pull off
+ Both analog and digital pad can be used to move
- Some commands will be delayed or won't execute entirely when lagging
- A limited amount of skills and combos for each character
Buttons: 7/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Kill all enemies or boss enemy to progress
+ A quirky cast of characters with fun personalities
+ The use of animé cut-scenes is effective and appropriate
+ Combat can be hectic, but has a satisfying, chaotic action sort of feeling
+ Aside from the main campaign, there's free mode, bonus quests, and multiplayer
+ Lots of characters to use in free-mode and bonus quests
+ Multiplayer allows cooperative play as well as competitive play
+ A shop and equipment system offers different builds and advantages
+ The player is free to build on any stat for all sorts of play styles
- I wish the story and character's were more in-depth and fully developed
- 3D graphics are effective, but gameplay suffers from laggy graphics
- Other than certain bosses and later bonus quests, the game is very easy
- A lot of the equipment found and bought are useless, only a select few are good
- Unlike Guardian Heroes, competitive play can't be played solo
Concept and Content: 8/10
Duration
+ The game keeps me wanting more
+ Campaign is chopped up into lots of tiny sections, perfect for on-the-go play
+ Progression is a nice and steady flow fed to the player little by little
+ Tons of modes, characters, equipment, and builds for replay value
+ Despite a very short campaign, I played the game up to 20 hours
- Very short campaign
- The game can feel repetitive after a while
Duration: 8/10
Fun
+ The opening cinematic is amazing, it really set the whole theme of the game
+ I can't get over how much I love the music within the game
+ It's a great feeling when I take on a dozen enemies at once and destroy them all
+ As bad as some of the voice acting are, I really liked all the characters
+ I was really impressed with the boss battles
+ A great deal of the time played was spent in Bonus quests, they were hard
+ Getting to play as a Dragon was a treat when no other character could win
- I really wanted to see the story and characters develop, but then the game ends
- The lag in graphics was a huge issue when fighting against a boss
- Some of the Bonus quests were incredibly frustrating/irritating/dumb (Dragon time!)
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Code of Princess is far from perfect, but ironically I would consider it a classic for the Nintendo 3DS. Overlooking a somewhat shallow storyline, laggy graphics, and a limited list of skills and attacks, the gameplay turned out to be really fun, characters were memorable, and the art and music stands out as a prominent factor to the game's wonderful experience. This will be one of those games I'll remember and talk about while many others will probably forget or never hear about the game. The game is not for everyone, but those who enjoy beat-em-up games like Double Dragon, Guardian Heroes, or Dungeon Fighters Online will find an enjoyable experience with Code of Princess. Overall: 8/10
P.S. They should totally make an animé expanding on the story and characters!
Source: Youtube Channel insidegamesjp
Developer: Agatsuma Entertainment, Bones
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Genre: Beat-em-up, RPG
Pros:
+ Story is light-hearted and humorous
+ Gameplay is simple, but can be challenging at times
+ RPG elements include switching equipment and stat building
+ Lots of replay value with over 50 characters to choose from
+ An amazing music score throughout the game
+ Online cooperative/competitive play
+ Memorable characters, moments and boss battles
Cons:
- The skills sets are rather limited and combos don't have that much depth
- There could've been a lot more character and story development
- Graphics lag when 3D is on, but doesn't look that great when 3D is off
- A lot of the equipment is junk while only a select few are useful
- Competitive arena is only for multiplayer, no customizable solo play
Recommended: Yes, fans of Action games and Beat-em-ups should check it out
It's difficult to talk about the game and not compare or even mention Guardian Heroes as the game's mechanics are essentially the same with the three rail planes, beat-em-up action, and stat building RPG elements. The game is developed by Agatsuma Entertainment and Bones, Inc. (The animé cutscenes) with two members who worked on Guardian Heroes (the director and lead programmer). Many would say that it's Guardian Heroes stripped down by a lot. Unlike Guardian Heroes, it doesn't have branching story paths (there's 2 different endings though), combos and skills are a lot more limited, and there isn't a difficulty setting. Despite those missing aspects, the game turned out to be incredibly entertaining and a lot of fun. Even with a limited amount of attacks and skills, they chain into each other pretty well for some interesting combos. The dialog is funny, the combat is hectic but satisfying, and the aesthetics is just absolutely mesmerizing. This is a game I wouldn't mind going back to play again once in a while.
Aesthetics
Art-Style: 2D-Animé Style graphics with cartoon-ish 3D characters/enemies.
+ Light-hearted story of protecting a kingdom and magic
+ Animé-style cinematics thoughout the game
+ Unique and memorable characters both on protagonists and antagonists sides
+ Catchy and memorable music
+ 3D usage makes it easy to tell which plane an enemy is on
+ Flashy and destructive effects for attacks and spells
+ Some pretty good dialogue lines in some of the conversations
- Story could've been expanded into so much more than what was told
- Lots of lag and frame skipping with 3D on but graphics don't look good without it
- Lag in the graphics also causes delays in button commands
- A lot of the voice acting is pretty painful, but some are absolutely golden
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: Analog and buttons
+ Easy to understand combat mechanics
+ Skills are simple commands and can be accessed on the bottom screen
+ Combos are fairly easy to pull off
+ Both analog and digital pad can be used to move
- Some commands will be delayed or won't execute entirely when lagging
- A limited amount of skills and combos for each character
Buttons: 7/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Kill all enemies or boss enemy to progress
+ A quirky cast of characters with fun personalities
+ The use of animé cut-scenes is effective and appropriate
+ Combat can be hectic, but has a satisfying, chaotic action sort of feeling
+ Aside from the main campaign, there's free mode, bonus quests, and multiplayer
+ Lots of characters to use in free-mode and bonus quests
+ Multiplayer allows cooperative play as well as competitive play
+ A shop and equipment system offers different builds and advantages
+ The player is free to build on any stat for all sorts of play styles
- I wish the story and character's were more in-depth and fully developed
- 3D graphics are effective, but gameplay suffers from laggy graphics
- Other than certain bosses and later bonus quests, the game is very easy
- A lot of the equipment found and bought are useless, only a select few are good
- Unlike Guardian Heroes, competitive play can't be played solo
Concept and Content: 8/10
Duration
+ The game keeps me wanting more
+ Campaign is chopped up into lots of tiny sections, perfect for on-the-go play
+ Progression is a nice and steady flow fed to the player little by little
+ Tons of modes, characters, equipment, and builds for replay value
+ Despite a very short campaign, I played the game up to 20 hours
- Very short campaign
- The game can feel repetitive after a while
Duration: 8/10
Fun
+ The opening cinematic is amazing, it really set the whole theme of the game
+ I can't get over how much I love the music within the game
+ It's a great feeling when I take on a dozen enemies at once and destroy them all
+ As bad as some of the voice acting are, I really liked all the characters
+ I was really impressed with the boss battles
+ A great deal of the time played was spent in Bonus quests, they were hard
+ Getting to play as a Dragon was a treat when no other character could win
- I really wanted to see the story and characters develop, but then the game ends
- The lag in graphics was a huge issue when fighting against a boss
- Some of the Bonus quests were incredibly frustrating/irritating/dumb (Dragon time!)
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Code of Princess is far from perfect, but ironically I would consider it a classic for the Nintendo 3DS. Overlooking a somewhat shallow storyline, laggy graphics, and a limited list of skills and attacks, the gameplay turned out to be really fun, characters were memorable, and the art and music stands out as a prominent factor to the game's wonderful experience. This will be one of those games I'll remember and talk about while many others will probably forget or never hear about the game. The game is not for everyone, but those who enjoy beat-em-up games like Double Dragon, Guardian Heroes, or Dungeon Fighters Online will find an enjoyable experience with Code of Princess. Overall: 8/10
P.S. They should totally make an animé expanding on the story and characters!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
VGCulture - Music: Code of Princess
Official Site: http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess/
Source: Youtube Channel insidegamesjp
Having finally completed The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D on my 3DS, I opened up Code of Princess with excitement. I've been listening to the soundtrack for a month or so now before last night and really liked what I heard, but to hear it alongside the game was a different experience. This is generally true for all videogame music I listen to. I am able to better appreciate the songs once I hear them in-game and have a better connection with what the song were meant for. I already liked the opening song "Gather the Lights", but it blew me away hearing it along with the opening cinematic. Source: Youtube Channel dannykim0730
There are many unique songs throughout the game that emphasizes the colorful and often eccentric characters within the game. They can be upbeat, inspiring, and playful. It's something that really gets to me when the most recognized and praised videogame music are the generic hollywood style moods, themes and orchestration while memorable music within videogames that sound nothing like other genres of music out there are largely shrugged off as background music. The level of music Code of Princess is at rivals with that of classic games with its catchy melodies, exciting beats, and memorable themes.
Source: Youtube Channel tangytablet
This is one of my favorite tracks in the game so far. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. The quirkiness it has in the opening just leads it into a really simple riff, but it commands so much of its mood and theme that draws in the listener. The melody is equally simple, but is also uplifting. I have heard this song only once in the game thus far in the 2 hours I played, and it was during a major boss fight. It really changed the mood from when I was fighting against regular enemies. The difficulty of the boss battle mixed with this track made is so exciting and memorable. Although it doesn't sound anything like it, it really reminds me of one of my favorite tracks from Guardian Heroes:
Source: Youtube Channel KMaelstrom
The music for Code of Princess is done by a group of 3 composers who call themselves ACE+. It's really hard looking for information about them, but they've also worked on music for Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm looking forward to hearing more of their music in videogames in the future.
In terms of the game so far, I wasn't expecting the campaign to be chopped up into individual quests as I was hoping for a long and cohesive play like Guardian Heroes. Character selection doesn't change the story and there aren't branching paths. Conversations between the characters and voice acting are odd and can be perceived as pretty bad, but the writing is pretty humorous with lots of puns and jokes which makes the seemingly bad voice acting tolerable. Combat mechanics are rather limited with two attack buttons with a few special moves. Also, there are conflicting art styles throughout the game between scenes, in-game sprites, and cinematics. Despite all that, I couldn't put the game down so there's definitely something about it that makes it really fun. I'll have a full review of it in the future.
Source: Youtube Channel insidegamesjp
Having finally completed The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D on my 3DS, I opened up Code of Princess with excitement. I've been listening to the soundtrack for a month or so now before last night and really liked what I heard, but to hear it alongside the game was a different experience. This is generally true for all videogame music I listen to. I am able to better appreciate the songs once I hear them in-game and have a better connection with what the song were meant for. I already liked the opening song "Gather the Lights", but it blew me away hearing it along with the opening cinematic. Source: Youtube Channel dannykim0730
There are many unique songs throughout the game that emphasizes the colorful and often eccentric characters within the game. They can be upbeat, inspiring, and playful. It's something that really gets to me when the most recognized and praised videogame music are the generic hollywood style moods, themes and orchestration while memorable music within videogames that sound nothing like other genres of music out there are largely shrugged off as background music. The level of music Code of Princess is at rivals with that of classic games with its catchy melodies, exciting beats, and memorable themes.
Source: Youtube Channel tangytablet
This is one of my favorite tracks in the game so far. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. The quirkiness it has in the opening just leads it into a really simple riff, but it commands so much of its mood and theme that draws in the listener. The melody is equally simple, but is also uplifting. I have heard this song only once in the game thus far in the 2 hours I played, and it was during a major boss fight. It really changed the mood from when I was fighting against regular enemies. The difficulty of the boss battle mixed with this track made is so exciting and memorable. Although it doesn't sound anything like it, it really reminds me of one of my favorite tracks from Guardian Heroes:
Source: Youtube Channel KMaelstrom
The music for Code of Princess is done by a group of 3 composers who call themselves ACE+. It's really hard looking for information about them, but they've also worked on music for Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm looking forward to hearing more of their music in videogames in the future.
In terms of the game so far, I wasn't expecting the campaign to be chopped up into individual quests as I was hoping for a long and cohesive play like Guardian Heroes. Character selection doesn't change the story and there aren't branching paths. Conversations between the characters and voice acting are odd and can be perceived as pretty bad, but the writing is pretty humorous with lots of puns and jokes which makes the seemingly bad voice acting tolerable. Combat mechanics are rather limited with two attack buttons with a few special moves. Also, there are conflicting art styles throughout the game between scenes, in-game sprites, and cinematics. Despite all that, I couldn't put the game down so there's definitely something about it that makes it really fun. I'll have a full review of it in the future.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
GameLight - Code of Princess
Official Site: http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess/
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
Code of Princess is an Action-Beat 'em Up with RPG elements that's reminiscent of Guardian Heroes back in the Sega Saturn days (and a game of fond memories for me). There are a lot of characters to choose from and in some of the modes there are over 50 characters to choose from (including the last boss). Two of the developers that worked on this game worked on Guardian Heroes, so some of its influence is probably still there. What made Guardian Heroes so great was the cohesive mixture of vibrant and colorful characters, intense combat, branching story paths that brought the players to many conclusions, the exciting and memorable music, and crazy multiplayer gameplay in both cooperative campaign and competitive combat. From what I understand, Code of Princess won't have branching story paths and the main characters will essentially go through the same storylines. The highlight of the game is probably its ability to play online with other players cooperatively and competitively. For cooperative play, four players can link together online to possibly play through campaign (not entirely sure yet) if not helping each other on the 100+ quests within the game. I think competitive multiplayer is still limited to 4 players as Guardian Heroes was up to 8 (or was it 10?) players at a time. I'm very curious about this game as I love beat 'em ups and they're quite rare now. The game seems to have great lasting appeal and replay value, but a lot of that comes from the online multiplayer. What usually happens is that people stop playing online as Nintendo still haven't found the best way to deliver online multiplayer on their platforms yet (although the handheld market is definitely better than what the Nintendo consoles have done). I guess I'll be picking up this game eventually. Code of Princess is exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS and is available at your local game store or favored online shop.
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
Code of Princess is an Action-Beat 'em Up with RPG elements that's reminiscent of Guardian Heroes back in the Sega Saturn days (and a game of fond memories for me). There are a lot of characters to choose from and in some of the modes there are over 50 characters to choose from (including the last boss). Two of the developers that worked on this game worked on Guardian Heroes, so some of its influence is probably still there. What made Guardian Heroes so great was the cohesive mixture of vibrant and colorful characters, intense combat, branching story paths that brought the players to many conclusions, the exciting and memorable music, and crazy multiplayer gameplay in both cooperative campaign and competitive combat. From what I understand, Code of Princess won't have branching story paths and the main characters will essentially go through the same storylines. The highlight of the game is probably its ability to play online with other players cooperatively and competitively. For cooperative play, four players can link together online to possibly play through campaign (not entirely sure yet) if not helping each other on the 100+ quests within the game. I think competitive multiplayer is still limited to 4 players as Guardian Heroes was up to 8 (or was it 10?) players at a time. I'm very curious about this game as I love beat 'em ups and they're quite rare now. The game seems to have great lasting appeal and replay value, but a lot of that comes from the online multiplayer. What usually happens is that people stop playing online as Nintendo still haven't found the best way to deliver online multiplayer on their platforms yet (although the handheld market is definitely better than what the Nintendo consoles have done). I guess I'll be picking up this game eventually. Code of Princess is exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS and is available at your local game store or favored online shop.
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