History VideoGame / BattlePrincessMadelyn

* ShoutOut: The opening sequence of Madelyn being told a story by her Grandfather, as well as playing a video game that is clearly Minecraft [[BlandNameProduct by a different, unmentioned name]], is based on the FramingDevice of ''Film/ThePrincessBride''.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is ''very'' clearly (and openly) inspired by the ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' series of games. Even Madelyn's movements and body language are reminiscent of Sir Arthur's.

* CutsceneBoss: The [[spoiler:The Baron of Germany boss fight ramps up just like any other...and then, right before the battle begins, he's killed off by another character. [[spoiler:To add insult to injury, the responsible party is a ''child'' that had gone missing from the village earlier, and you were asked to find.]]

In January 2020, Causal Bit Games teamed up with publisher Limited Run Games to release the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch-exclusive ''Battle Princess Madelyn: Royal Edition'', which discards the Story Mode entirely in favor of expanding the Arcade Mode, which Obritsch notes is much closer to the game he originally conceived.

One oft-mentioned thing that sets ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' apart from other games of its type is the story behind its creation: artist/creator Chris Obritsch created to game for real-life daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied in school, and based it on the game she loved to watch him play the most: ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins''. What's more, Obritsch incorporated some of his daughter's designs and ideas into the game itself.

* ActionPet: Fritzy's newfound ghost powers allow him to help Madelyn fight enemies.
* ActionGirl: Madelyn starts out as a knight-in-training, but becomes more powerful as the game progresses.
* AnticlimaxBoss: The Baron in Germany. [[spoiler: Also doubles as TheUnfought, as he is killed by an [=NPC=] before you can even fight him.]]

* FriendlyGhost: After dying in the opening cutscene, Madelyn's dog Fritzy returns as her ghostly sidekick.
* HardLevelsEasyBosses: Fighting the bosses is considerably less frustrating than getting to them.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: While the game's obviously a fantasy, some of its plot points were inspired by real-life events. The game's protagonist was inspired by creator Chris Obritsch's daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied at school. Obritsch created the game to show Madelyn that she really could do the great things her bullies said she couldn't. Likewise, the ghost-dog Fritzy is based on Madelyn's real-life pet, who had to be put down at some point before the game's development.

* WriteWhoYouKnow: The main character is the creator's daughter Madelyn, and her family is based on the real-life Obritsch family.

* ShoutOut: The opening sequence of Madelyn being told a story by her Grandfather, as well as playing a video game that is clearly Minecraft with the SerialNumbersFiledOff, is based on the FramingDevice of ''Film/ThePrincessBride''.

* TheUnfought: [[spoiler: The Baron of Germany.]]

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Almost universally described as a spiritual successor to Capcom's classic VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins series of games, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' melds the former's arcade action with a running narrative and a more open, exploration-focused design. However, for those who wish to skip the story and gun for a high score, the game has an Arcade Mode for that purpose. A patch issued in March 2019 added "King Daddy" mode, an ultra-difficult variation of Arcade Mode, and a Boss Rush mode.

One oft-mentioned thing that sets ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' apart from other games of its type is the story behind its creation: artist/creator Chris Obritsch created to game for real-life daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied in school, and based it on the game she loved to watch him play the most: VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins. What's more, Obritsch incorporated some of his daughter's designs and ideas into the game itself.

* {{Crossover}}: Don Ramiro of fellow [[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins GnG-alike]] VideoGame/MalditaCastilla shows up to give Madelyn advice and aid when she travels to his native Spain.

* ShoutOut: The opening sequence of Madelyn being told a story by her Grandfather, as well as playing a video game that is clearly Minecraft with the SerialNumbersFiledOff, is based on the FramingDevice of Film/ThePrincessBride.

Almost universally described as a spiritual successor to Capcom's classic VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins series of games, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' melds the former's arcade action with a running narrative and the larger, more exploration-focused design of a {{Metroidvania}} title. However, for those who wish to skip the story and gun for a high score, the game has an Arcade Mode for that purpose. A patch issued in March 2019 added "King Daddy" mode, an ultra-difficult variation of Arcade Mode, and a Boss Rush mode.

* EarlyGameHell: Instead of dramatically ramping up the difficulty as you progress, Story Mode actually gets more forgiving as it goes on. This is less a matter of the game getting easier (the difficulty is fairly constant) than upgrading your weapons and armor allows you to take more damage and gives you more powerful and more useful attacks.

* LethalJokeItem: The Staff is inarguably the least badass weapon in the game. Even at level 3, it only fires colorful musical notes...that hit like a freight train. The Staff can take down even the toughest regular enemies with only a couple of hits, and only its homing function (that renders its shots somewhat unpredictable) prevents it from breaking the game.

* {{Metroidvania}}: ''Madelyn'''s Story Mode has a few elements of a Metroidvania , most of the genre's defining characteristics are downplayed or absent. Only two new skills are absolutely required to advance in the game, and the game outright tells you where they are. Backtracking is generally more about getting the OneHundredPercentCompletion GoldenEnding than advancing the game itself. Finally, only the game's first half has any pretense of being a single contiguous world -- the latter half is made up of individual stages that must be teleported into. The levels themselves do require some exploration, but the wide-open level design is more akin to games like VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors than the sprawling, labyrinthine design of most {{Metroidvania}} games.

Almost universally described as a spiritual successor to Capcom's classic VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins series of games, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' melds the former's arcade action with a running narrative and the larger, more exploration-focused design of a {{Metroidvania}} title. However, for those who wish to skip the story and gun for a high score, the game has an Arcade Mode for that purpose.

* ActionPet: Fritzy's newfound ghost powers allow him to help Madelyn fight enemies, solve puzzles, and access new areas.

* {{Metroidvania}}: Played with. ''Madelyn'' does require exploration, but some of the hallmarks of the genre are either downplayed or absent. Only a couple of new skills are absolutely required to advance in the game (the double jump and the pogo staff), and the game outright tells you where they are or how to get them when the time comes. Backtracking is for quest items is generally more about getting the OneHundredPercentCompletion GoldenEnding than advancing the game itself. Finally, rather than one large open world, the game is divided up into "stages" that, while sporting an open design, are separate and distinct from each other. It's more of a proto-{{Metroidvania}} like VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors for the NES, rather than a {{Metroidvania}} proper.

* NintendoHard: While not as punishing as the games that inspired it, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is hardly a walk in the park. Enemies spawn constantly and with little to no warning, and sometimes their placement is downright cruel. You can ''not'' stop paying attention in this game for even a moment. The only thing keeping it from being as brutal as its inspiration is that Madelyn has ''much'' better control over her jumps.

* Retraux: Despite its 2018 provenance ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is intended to look and feel like an early-90s Capcom arcade game, and it's fairly successful.

* EarlyGameHell: Instead of dramatically ramping up the difficulty as you progress, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' actually gets somewhat more forgiving as it goes on. It's not so much that the game itself gets easier as it is that your weapons and armor can be upgraded, giving you more useful attacks and more stamina.

* Crossover: Don Ramiro of fellow [[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins GnG-alike]] VideoGame/MalditaCastilla shows up to give Madelyn advice and aid when she travels to his native Spain.

* TheCameo: Don Ramiro of fellow [[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins GnG-alike]] VideoGame/MalditaCastilla shows up to give Madelyn advice and aid when she travels to his native Spain.

* ActionPet: Fritzy's newfound ghost powers allow them to help Madelyn fight enemies, solve puzzles, and access new areas.

* FriendlyGhost: After dying in the opening cutscene, Madelyn's dog Fritzy returns as a ghostly sidekick.

* NintendoHard: While not as punishing as the games that inspired it, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is hardly a walk in the park. Enemies spawn constantly and with little to no warning, and sometimes their placement is downright cruel. You can ''not'' stop paying attention in this game for even a moment. On the other hand, Madelyn controls much better than Arthur ever did, so at least players are a bit better equipped to deal with the challenge.

Almost universally described as a spiritual successor to Capcom's classic VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins series of games, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' melds the former's arcade action with the larger, more exploration-focused design of a {{Metroidvania}} title.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is ''very'' clearly inspired by the ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' series of games. Even Madelyn's movements and body language are reminiscent of Sir Arthur's.

''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is a 2018 action-adventure game by Causal Bit Games for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Playstation 4. It chronicles the journey of a young knight-in-training who sets out to rescue her family from the forces of evil, and avenge the death of her beloved pet dog, Fritzy. Accompanying Madelyn in her quest is...well, Fritzy, whose ghost becomes her faithful companion and partner in battle.

Almost universally described as a spiritual successor to Capcom's classic VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins series of games, ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' melds the former's arcade action with the sort of larger, more exploration-focused design of a {{Metroidvania}} title.

* ActionPet: Fritzy's newfound ghost powers make them a worthy fighting partner.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: While the game's obviously a fantasy, some of its events were inspired by real-life events. The game's protagonist was inspired by creator Chris Obritsch's daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied at school. Obritsch created the game to show Madelyn that she really could do the great things her bullies said she couldn't. Likewise, the ghost-dog Fritzy is based on Madelyn's real-life pet, who had to be put down at some point before the game's development.

* FriendlyGhost: After dying in the opening cutscene, Madelyn's dog Fritzy returns as a ghostly sidekick and battle companion.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: According to WordOfGod, some events in the game are based on real-life events. The game's protagonist was inspired by creator Chris Obritsch's daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied at school. Obritsch created the game to show Madelyn that she really could do the great things her bullies said she couldn't. Likewise, the ghost-dog Fritzy is based on Madelyn's real-life pet, who had to be put down at some point before the game's development.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is ''very'' clearly inspired by the ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' series of games. Even Madelyn's movements and body language are reminiscent of Sir Arthur's.

Almost universally described as a spiritual successor to Creator/Capcom's classic VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins series of games, Battle Princess Madelyn melds the former's arcade action with the sort of larger, more exploration-focused design of a [[Metroidvania]] title.

* FriendlyGhost: After dying in the opening cutscene, Madelyn's dog Fritzy returns as a ghostly sidekick and battle companion.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: According to WordOfGod, some events in the game are based on real-life events. The game's protagonist was inspired by creator Chris Obritsch's daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied at school. Obritsch created the game to show Madelyn that she really could do the great things her bullies said she couldn't. Likewise, the ghost-dog Fritzy is based on Madelyn's real-life pet, who had to be put down at some point before the game's development.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is ''very'' clearly inspired by the ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' series of games. Even Madelyn's movements and body language are reminiscent of Sir Arthur's.

''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is a 2018 action-adventure game for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Playstation 4.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Battle Princess Madelyn'' is ''very'' clearly inspired by the ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' series of games. Even Madelyn's movements and body language are reminiscent of Sir Arthur's.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: According to WordOfGod, some events in the game are based on real-life events. The game's protagonist was inspired by creator Chris Obritsch's daughter Madelyn, who was being bullied at school. Obritsch created the game to show that Madelyn really could do the great things that her bullies said she couldn't. Likewise, the ghost-dog Fritzy is based on Madelyn's real-life pet, who had to be put down at some point before the game's development.