Matt Kamen 

Battle Princess of Arcadias review – versatile action game

This versatile action game is destined for cult classic status – but deserves more, writes Matt Kamen
  
  

battle-princess-arcadias
Battle Princess of Arcadias: 'an offbeat sense of humour'. Photograph: PR

Released digitally only on PSN, with minimal publicity, this versatile action game seems doomed for "cult classic" status – a shame, since it deserves more. There's a relatively straightforward plot: monsters have overrun the kingdom of Schwert, forcing its "battle princess" Plume to take up the sword against them. She proves an interesting hero, too – she's a mix of sheltered naivety and gleeful exuberance in combat.

But this set-up is less important than the remarkable gameplay, which shifts from stages of scrolling beat-'em-up-style action, where you can switch between characters at will, to more tactical boss battles in which Plume leads an entire army, issuing commands to the battalions.

Throughout, the game uses a 2D setting and paper-doll animation for the characters, giving it all a stage-like feel. It is a tiny bit cliched in places, particularly if you're familiar with anime tropes, but the offbeat sense of humour, lovely visuals and increasingly challenging gameplay make it deserving of a home on any player's console. An

 

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