Proudly continuing the Japanese tradition of awkward-sounding fantasy game titles, Code of Princess arrives on Switch in ‘EX’ form courtesy of new publisher, Nicalis. The 3DS original launched back in 2012 and positioned itself as a spiritual successor to the SEGA Saturn cult classic, Guardian Heroes. This souped-up edition promises a range of improvements, although it’s not quite the revamp we were hoping for.
This is a hack-and-slash game with some RPG trappings (you level up and use stat-altering equipment). The story is broken into thirty-or-so ‘Quests’ – essentially side-on battle arenas. You arrive in an area, get attacked by waves of enemies, perhaps defeat a boss, then the narrative takes you to a new area and the cycle repeats.
As with classic 2D brawlers, the controls aren’t too complicated. ‘A’ and ‘B’ offer different attacks, with special moves available by pressing down twice on the analogue stick before attacking. Each fight screen is separated into horizontal ‘rails’ which you hop between by holding ‘L’ or ‘R’ and pushing the stick up or down. It feels restrictive at first (and we’d have preferred the option to jump between rails using the more easily-pressed Z-triggers), but success relies on herding and prioritising enemies to your advantage.
Pressing ‘Y’ locks on to a specific foe and increases the damage dealt. You can also activate a limited number of ‘Bursts’ which drain a Magic meter for additional damage. This was toggleable on 3DS but deemed overpowered, so now, once activated, it can’t be paused. You develop a satisfying flow with your chosen fighter, but after hitting a couple of frustrating difficulty spikes in the middle of the campaign, we found ourselves wishing we were a little OP. Hack-and-slash enthusiasts will certainly enjoy it, but Code of Princess won’t convert naysayers to the genre – take the score at the bottom of the page and add or subtract a point according to your appetite.
Quests are spread across multiple modes: Campaign, Free Play, Bonus and Tutorial. Free Play allows you to replay quests using any of the fifty characters you unlock throughout the game proper. The original four Campaign characters are now joined by a handful that were previously relegated to Free Play. Bonus Quests offer further opportunities to level up and online multiplayer is available in co-op and versus flavours. Lobbies were empty at the time of review, but we’ll be sure to update if online play isn’t up to scratch.
The original roster remains unchanged, from the heroine who wears little more than a belt into battle to the genteel villain who got lost en route to the masquerade ball. It’s a suitably oddball (and pleasantly female-strong) cast with impossibly large swords and impossibly larger hair. Rather than spoil any of the story, we’ll leave it to the description of the eponymous princess to give you a taste of the tone: “Solange Blanchefleur de Lux, Princess of DeLuxia and protector of the sacred blade, DeLuxcalibur.” Quite.
Suffice it to say, it’s nonsense of the highest calibre, but – crucially – the game’s tongue is firmly in its cheek. It jokes about inappropriate battle attire and fantasy conventions, and the localisation is possibly the best thing in the game. Cutscenes are skippable but you’d be missing out.
Which leads us to our first doubts over this Switch edition: the cracking English language voice over is not included here. Whether due to oversight or bureaucracy, it’s a baffling omission. A Japanese VO option would have made a fine addition to the package but losing elements from the original is disappointing, especially for a game purporting to be the definitive version.
In general, the audio varies in quality. A barrage of MIDI trumpets grate on your nerves in the introduction, as do the repetitive battle cries during combat – you get the feeling that those diminutive 3DS speakers helped disguise this. Perhaps our expectations are simply different on a home console in 2018, but the soundtrack doesn’t quite hold up like other games of the period.
Elsewhere you’re left wondering where exactly the ‘EX’ is hiding. Fire up the game in docked mode and welcome to Jaggy Town, population: Princess Jiggle-Physics. While portraits and text look sharp (and pleasingly large), the character models display line artefacts and the action looks a bit ropey on a big screen. The little 3DS helped to gel the art styles together in the frame but there’s a visual disconnect in HD. Change to handheld mode, however, and the softer presentation makes everything look significantly better – portable mode certainly offers the better visual experience.
So what else is there to justify that ‘EX’ tag? Well, 60fps is a notable upgrade over the original, which struggled to deliver a steady 30fps. Couch co-op is now possible without needing multiple consoles and copies of the game, and the simple controls lend themselves well to snapping off a joy-con with a mate. Stat allocation is now automatic, with manual customisation limited to the gear you equip. While this preserves each character’s individuality, we’re not convinced removing the ability to tailor your favourite fighter to your specific playstyle is necessarily a change for the better.
Other alterations include rebalanced AI and some redrawn textures, although you’ll only notice if you have an intimate knowledge of the original. Your entire party now earns XP as you play (although at a reduced rate), making levelling up less of a chore. All-in-all, there are changes, then, but not universally positive ones.
Conclusion
If you’re a fan of the original, you’ll likely enjoy the minor tweaks and upgrades on offer, but don’t dive in expecting a ‘remaster’. You get couch co-op and a healthy framerate, although it doesn’t look great on a TV and the original’s excellent English voiceover is AWOL. Despite modest enhancements, the 3DS origins of this six-year-old game are plain to see, which may put off newcomers. It’s a solid hack-and-slash experience, as it always was – we just wish it did more to earn that ‘EX’ addendum.
Comments 69
hmm, i don't know if i want the Switch Version, PC or 3DS version of this game later down the road.
Port.*
*That I'm buying, so please take the time to understand who my snark is directed at.
He's not pinning, he's passed on. This parrot is no more. He has ceased to be. He's expired and gone to meet his maker. He's a stiff, bereft of life, he rests in peace. If you hadn't have nailed him to the perch he'd be pushing up the daisies. He's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot!
Boo. I own the 3ds version and had this preordered. The review doesnt make it sound great, though ...
I'm giving it a rental. I never got the chance to seriously play the 3DS version and now the Switch is my only option.
I'm more interested in Blade Strangers, but I'll probably pick this up if it goes on sale.
Why does this princess fights naked?
Eh. Hearing how little is changed, I'll stick with my 3ds and steam copies.
@Drommajin because it gets hot when fighting lol
Been on my radar for a while and I plan to get the Switch version now for sure. Although while the reported general absence of original voices across both platforms leaves me indifferent to lack of English ones either (as long as all the humour is in the text, I'm good - Izuna didn't need to voice its rich dialogues either), it's probably the first case I hear of when a port to a nextgen platform (with an "EX" label to boot) LOSES a voiceover rather than optionally gain one. XD I mean, does the Japanese version have no voices either?
@Drommajin I'm pretty sure there was a figure of her and then they made a game afterwards, I guess it brings in a "certain audience".
I enjoyed it on my 3DS when it first came out but the price seems a little high for what this is.
I think I'll just stick with my 3DS version for now. Once this drop in price then maybe I'll double dip.
@Drommajin Because she left her clothes in another castle!
I might get this again on Switch since when most were playing COD, I was playing COP!
Also for anybody wondering why they removed the English voices, Atlus provided the English dub since they published the game on 3ds when the game first left Japan, because publisher is now Nicalis, copyrights and such meant they had to only stick with the Japanese voices (same also goes with Steam version).
So the original 3DS version is better? Always wanted to play this one, but was put off at how EU version in comparison to NA and JAP is download only.
This game is not all that. It is what it is. I'm talking about the 3DS version. I would definitely not double dip.
@SheldonRandoms LOL, maybe she is on a quest to get her clothes back.
@Drommajin I would if I were her. A competent and powerful distraction. And probably more important, it’s a fantasy setting. Go with it.
@dartmonkey
"A Japanese VO option would have made a fine addition to the package but losing elements from the original is disappointing, especially for a game purporting to be the definitive version."
I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused. Does this mean that there's no voice acting at all or does it mean that it's only JP Voice over?
My biggest complaint with the 3ds version was the frame rate. If this is a solid 60fps im not really bothered about any other improvements, that'll do for me.
Those screenshots look kinda janky. The sprite-scaling seems off.
I bought this back on 3DS, and I wasn't super impressed with it. The combat is surprisingly sluggish.
@Drommajin the game has a lot of of 4th wall humor, making fun of other RPG's and fantasy games in general. It's almost a parody. The clothes and character comments are kind of a running gag throughout the game.
@BlueKnight07 Great commentary. It increased my interest in this game (too bad the price tag is kinda of steep though).
@Oat @nhSnork
To clarify, it DOES have the Japanese VO. Apologies for the confusion - an emphasis on ‘addition’ (as opposed to substitution of the English VO) would have made that clearer
@Samuel-Flutter And if you told kids that today, they wouldn't believe you!
(Two opportunities to use that line in a week.....it's like nerd-heaven. )
@PanurgeJr - Over ten posts later and no one posted his meme photo.
I am ASHAMED!
The original was one of the biggest disappointments for me on the 3DS. It had a lot that I like, but certain elements just held it back hard. Doesn't sound like any of my issues with it were fixed for this. What a shame.
@Paraka Who?
Another game with a sexialized female character who is basically wearing metal underwear as "armor."
I'll stick with my 3DS version. Taking out the English dub really hurts this port.
@GrailUK - I know one is now galavanting about at GoNintendo, but a boyish poster is what I suspected.
@dartmonkey Thanks for clarifying. I was worried that they completely removed the vo entirely
The PEGI Game rating says 12 Mild Swearing, Nudity.
I can't find the nudity........ :/ Anyone help?
@Eef Its digital only in Europe, because Nicalis.
Game is really expensive over here and sounds rather disappointing and rather lazy package. So will pass.
I liked this one quite a bit on the 3DS, to the point where I got quite mad that we didn't get the nice physical edition that was available in the US. BUT, with the lack of the great English VO and the fact that there aren't any goodies with the physical make this an easy pass for me unless I see it discounted down the line. I still play the 3DS version from time to time, it's enough for me.
@cfgk24 Well, Solange's clothing could barely pass for underwear even, so I guess that's one of the reasons (combined with the fact that there are some suggestive comments about her clothes and what her...ahem "job" might be). With that being said, at least one of the Shantae games' rating said "Sex", so...
Bought the original the day it came out. My only complaint is that the story was too short. No voice over is a deal breaker.
Would the combat be comparable to Phantom Breaker as it takes place on a plane?
@Spectra Likewise. This game was one of my best ‘sleeper game’ memories of 2012. My life was changing in some ways back then and I have fond memories of this ‘escapism.’ I’d like to get a true definitive edition with the English VO. I’ll wait and see if they patch it in!
I’m with those who won’t consider a purchase without the English voiceover. Regardless of rights issues, the removal of features for ANY re-release or remaster is always a dealbreaker for me; I think it’s poor form to ask consumers to pay the same, or more, for what is ultimately less. Nintendo Life, please let us know if the English voice work arrives via patch!
@Fake-E-Lee Princess Solange is actually really endearing and sweet, but she's very odd. She's a fierce sword fighter but very naive. The joke being that she's so pampered as a Princess, and her sword training was so sheltered, that she didn't know what to wear to battle. She's a total parody of the Princess Warrior character trope, and Anime princesses in general.
So yeah, nothing to be ashamed of it you like her. She is easily one of the stronger fighters.
@Eef Problem is Nicalis really isn't consistant with Europe (or at least UK). We barely get any of their titles but get a price hike on the digital store still.
Was able to import Cave Story without being too pricey at the least. But sucks nonetheless. - As for Wonderboy I don't recall seeing that physical in UK, or maybe released way after its digital incarnation I missed it.
I'm big on physical too so this kind of stuff niggles me.
@SheldonRandoms That is certainly disconcerting if true, because that means the voices will likely never get patched in.
Sounds average to me. The Switch had plenty of more interesting games on it. But during the Wii U era I might have picked it up.
I thought the game was just decent on 3DS. It was over hyped imo.
I just wish this reviewer could find something other than "3DS origins" as a reason to put this game down. This should NEVER be used as a summary reason to put a stigma on a game. -_-;
I loved this game back on the 3DS, and I disagree about how well the soundtrack has held up: in my opinion, it is the best music composed for a beat-em-up since the Streets of Rage / Bare Knuckle games. The character themes are expertly crafted and do a lot to add to the tension in a battle or cutscene. I hope it hasn't been so compressed as to ruin it. Ali's theme alone (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p8j3VY2fMxU) is worth putting up with the framerate in the original (which is why it's splendid to have it run at 60 now), but... not if the English VO is missing.
I'm really torn: I want this remaster for some reasons but then there's others holding me back. Maybe wait for a sale...
Wait ... English voiceover is gone? WTF? The characters' voices in the cut scenes added a tremendous amount of charm to the game (especially Solange, voiced by the great Laura Bailey). Oy. This just went from "must buy now" to "y'all better release an update/patch if you want my money".
@the_shpydar I'm thinking the same thing. I have this on pre-order for Best Buy with a pickup scheduled for tomorrow. I never got around to buying the first iteration, but no english voiceover is disappointing especially as I've heard from many that it's very good voice over. Hopefully they can patch it in later, but I don't know if I want to pick it up now and hope that it gets added later when it may very well not get added.
This game runs at 60fps on the New 3DS, if you unlocked the clock speed with a CFW.
I played this with a friend having never played the original.
When you finally get through all the cutscenes and actually play the game, it looks horrible and the gameplay is really unresponsive and repetitive. I cannot believe they're charging full price for this.
@Bliquid
Well, that's cause it is a 6/10. I thought the game was decent on 3DS, but you have to understand that at the time this game released, there was a different standard altogether for handheld gaming in each and every genre. We've come a long ways in the last five years, and games that would normally be a strong 7.5 are now 6 (generous 7 in this case- opinions always vary).
Games that were decent romps on 3DS have much, much stiffer competition nowadays on Switch, due to the sheer magnitude of the jump forward in portable gaming it brought with it.
I'm still buying it, just because I like Nicalis and their physical releases and feel a bit nostalgic toward this title, but it's definitely a 6.
@Aozz101x Unless they patched it the pc version had the same framerate trouble as the 3ds.
@Kimyonaakuma Figure came after the game was out
@Nincompoop What's CFW?
@Antraxx777 CFW = Custom FirmWare
Using Luma3DS to unlock the 804 mhz speed in the New 3DS's CPU will give you 60 fps.
Even if it's supposed to be "funny" I just can't get over the look of the titular princess. It's not just that she's running around naked, she looks simply off. There's just something wrong about her. And I do not hide that I own a few miniatures of "Amazons" in chainmail bikinis, some without their tops.
As an owner of the 3DS original, I may throw this in my GameFly list. It just hardly seems worth double dipping.
60fps and couch co-op sound cool, though given the aesthetic this isn't something I've let my child play thus far on our portable.
The rest of the "improvements?" Removed vocal tracks, removed character customization options, removed, bursts are altered to give you less control.
So then it comes down to how much you want the extra characters, and if enough people are playing online to make it worthwhile.
@Fake-E-Lee So she won't think you're a skeez for playing a Bayonetta game?
Well, I already have the 3DS version, and I definitely don't see any reason to double-dip.
how close is the gameplay and chracters to gardian heroes? cause i loved that game to death so if this games close to that then ill make the jump.
@Nincompoop Well, damn, that sounds like the best of both worlds: 60 fps but keep the English VO and the stereoscopic 3D. But will I still be able to connect to the eshop?
@SmaggTheSmug That's cause she is odd, and maybe a bit air -headed (look into her vacuous stare). But at least she is also friendly and sweet.
I really like how her hair looks (the bikini armor is just ridiculous though), but Ali is the cooler character design and personality, anyways. As are the warrior nun and rock-n-roll elf.
@Bombdotorg999
The combat is best compared to Guardian Heroes from the Sega Saturn (I believe some designers who worked on that game worked on Code of Princess). Which is kinda like a Street Fighter 2 meets Streets of Rage fighting system (but with weapons) mixed with an RPG experience points, level up system.
Action's very frantic and fluid, I don't get the complaints.
@sik187
Very. The lead "Solange" plays a bit like Han. Haven't played many other characters yet but the game is definitely a spiritual successor to Guardian Heroes
@Turbo857 well thank you very much i think ill buy this game friday then along with like 4 other games thats coming out this week
Laughed so hard reading the sub title, Monty Python for the win. First post in years, glad to know my account still works.
@NiaBladerunner @Aozz101x
This Switch version is the definitive version of the game and a lot better then the old 3DS version. Having smooth 60 FPS is a huge improvement over the shaky 3DS framerate.
The loss of english VA is sad, but understandable, all other changes are for the better.
@dartmonkey good to hear. Thanks for clarifying!
I never played it before, but I want to play it someday.
The producer wants to make a sequel. Let's hope it'll happen.
This game is awful.
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