Mr_Master_X2 Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Good news and bad news. The good news is that I've just paid full price for this, so I can guarantee it'll be reduced soon! The "bad" news is that I'm really not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I just feel that the 3DS is too low-res for the art style and it really needs to be seen in HD (which it was designed in, perhaps?) It just has that feel that it was conceived as high-res, but shrunk down (as opposed to the spritework in, say, Mighty Switch Force 2, which is sharp and colourful). Gameplay is bash-bash-bash at the moment, but maybe it'll get better. Massive file size, by the way. Overall, I think this is something that I'm going to regret having as a download, but would have been happy to have on cartridge. They really should have done a physical release in Europe. Been wanting to download this, but waiting for a sale. There was a recent sale (maybe still on?) and assumed it would have this game, but the sale turned out to be a US one. So annoying.
Grazza Posted January 5, 2014 Posted January 5, 2014 Been wanting to download this, but waiting for a sale. There was a recent sale (maybe still on?) and assumed it would have this game, but the sale turned out to be a US one. So annoying. Yeah, I bought Steamworld Dig precisely the week before it went on sale, which is why I think this will too. I'm enjoying Code of Princess a lot more now. It's starting to feel more like Guardian Heroes (which is what I wanted).
Grazza Posted January 6, 2014 Posted January 6, 2014 Completed Code of Princess last night. The main game took just over four hours, but there are lots of "Bonus Quests" and unlockables, so I'm not quite done with it yet. Found it an enjoyable game in the end. The mayhem generally matches Guardian Heroes, more or less. To describe the game, it's basically a button-mashing, side-scrolling beat-'em-up. I think I got by with strong attack, weak attack and two special moves, which is actually fine if you're not keen on memorising lots of button combinations. The arenas are very small - not quite as small as a "Vs." fighting game like Street Fighter II, but certainly not as big as a traditional brawler like Final Fight. Within each stage, there is no sense of progressing through environments whatsoever. This does mean each level is short (bosses have levels entirely to themselves), which is quite useful if you make a mistake and need to try again. It's not a particularly difficult game (I noticed just the one difficulty spike, halfway through), but there are a few bosses I'm glad I didn't have to fight at the end of a long level. Like Guardian Heroes, skill points are assigned as you level-up (which you can do quite a few times after some levels). This time, however, you also have typical, RPG-like equipment. Rather than making you massively more powerful, the equipment is more about balancing your strengths and weaknesses for the task ahead. Personally, I just equipped anti-boss items and didn't put much thought into any other strategy. Like most RPGs, I found I could complete the game at around Level 50. Stylistically, Code of Princess is a triumph. The music is quite nice and the art design is fantastic, particularly Solange and some of the bigger monsters, like the dragons. All in all, this would have made for a nice "CD + art book" collectors' edition. A lot has been made about Solange's outfit, but it really does work very well in-game, and is artistically-pleasing as it was intended, rather than anything vulgar. Overall, I feel Code of Princess would have been much better as a physical release, although I'm glad I had the chance to play it one way or another. The one thing I couldn't shake from beginning to end is that the art style would have been much better in HD. Rather than designed for the individual pixels of the 3DS (like WayForward's games, for instance), it seems to me these 2D character models could scale to all sizes. Not only that, there is a lot of slowdown at times, adding to the feel that it could/should be on a more powerful system. I'd be absolutely amazed if there wasn't an Xbox 360/PS3 version planned at some point. If there is (or a sequel), I feel those machines would be the best to play it on. For the time being, Code of Princess is a pretty nice game that I would somewhat recommend, particularly if it was more like £14.99.
darksnowman Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 Does the Speed stat do anything? I've stuck some points into it but Solange is still pretty sluggish. She has style but I want her to be quick and nimble. (Floating through the air and climbing up trees isn't a priority.) [YOUTUBE]RcP91tQ4ZSM?t=61/YOUTUBE] Not only that, there is a lot of slowdown at times, adding to the feel that it could/should be on a more powerful system. Slow down is a good thing in games like this, no? Makes it feel like you are pushing the 3DS to process more mayhem than they expected you would ever unleash.
Hero-of-Time Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 Does the Speed stat do anything? I've stuck some points into it but Solange is still pretty sluggish. She has style but I want her to be quick and nimble. (Floating through the air and climbing up trees isn't a priority.) I'm not sure. I mainly tried to just balance things out with my skills points. By the end of the game though I got bored of doing this and I just started piling everything into strength.
nekunando Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 Slow down is a good thing in games like this, no? Makes it feel like you are pushing the 3DS to process more mayhem than they expected you would ever unleash. The Bangai-O Spirits effect The epic slowdown is probably one of the only reasons I still own that game..
darksnowman Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 I'm not sure. I mainly tried to just balance things out with my skills points. By the end of the game though I got bored of doing this and I just started piling everything into strength. By the end of the game?? You just got it I thought. The Bangai-O Spirits effect The epic slowdown is probably one of the only reasons I still own that game.. Not as pronounced as in Bangai-O but its there alright. I don't think its as intentional as in Bangai-O either.
Hero-of-Time Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 By the end of the game?? You just got it I thought. I did. You should know what i'm like by now. Besides, it's only 31 chapters long.
Dcubed Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 The Bangai-O Spirits effect The epic slowdown is probably one of the only reasons I still own that game.. Yup. That's one of those games where the slowdown actually improves the game! It's EPIC when you destroy so many enemies that the DS just can't keep up (the game even jokes about how the "simulator" can't display everything because it's too awesome ) In Code of Princess though? Not so much. The game is far too sluggish (both in terms of slowdown and just in terms of the controls) for me to enjoy it :p
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