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Battle Princess Madelyn will officially launch sometime this Fall
Casual Bit Games has announced that Battle Princess Madelyn has completed development and is now awaiting certification from the three consolemakers. That also means that the game is currently on track for a Fall 2018 launch on the PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Wii U, and Vita.
Heavily inspired by Super Ghouls N Ghosts and Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, Battle Princess Madelyn was built using design ideas from Creative Director Christopher Obritsch’s daughter, and he’s thrilled with how the final product came together:
From its initial concept days, right through the successful Kickstarter campaign which reached over $212,665 CAD, until its imminent release, Battle Princess Madelyn has developed and grown from inspiration from feedback from my daughter, who inspired the original idea, gamers and ideals from the very best of classic retro games fused with modern presentation complete with gameplay and fun. I believe all our goals have been achieved with much much more added ingredients, features and elements that will have gamers engaged in a game that has been crafted with real planning, dedication and, a lot of love.
A new trailer for Battle Princess Madelyn has been embedded above, and an exact release date will be announced “very shortly.”
New Retail Releases: Red Dead Redemption 2, Just Dance 2019, More
After almost a decade of waiting, it’s finally time to hop on your horse and ride along the dusty trails and gleaming train tracks of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. The Wild West prequel will be available in stores for the PS4 and Xbox One later this week, and while you might think that most game publishers would avoid going head-to-head with the highly-anticipated new entry in the famed franchise… you’d be wrong.
Well, sort of.
Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2019 serves as a perfect bit of counterprogramming to Rockstar’s cowboy epic, and the latest addition to the series will be available on the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, as well as the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
But the rest of this week’s new retail releases are mostly a smattering of smaller games from smaller publishers. Nickelodeon Kart Racers will let fans drive for the finish line as their Nickelodeon characters. A different kind of driving skill is required for Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds Edition. And Bandai Namco will launch My Hero One’s Justice, the first game based on the My Hero Academia anime. All three games will be available for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
A complete look at this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Nickelodeon Kart Racers, Red Dead Redemption 2
Casual Bit Games shares a new trailer from Battle Princess Madelyn’s Arcade Mode
Casual Bit Games delivered the “August 2018 Development Update” for Battle Princess Madelyn to Kickstarter backers over the weekend, and they also gave fans their first look at the game’s Arcade Mode:
There are seven levels in arcade mode, and 11 boss fights – two of them being end-of-the-game gauntlet fights. These levels come at you like you would expect – relentlessly but in a fair sorta way. They’re definitely not a walk in the park, but those o you who have good reflexes will find themselves right at home with this more demanding version of the gameplay.
The levels are a mash-up of the three main stages in story mode. We’ve picked our favorite levels and turned them into the levels contained within this mode. In Arcade Mode there are less hidden items and no puzzles to get around, so it’s straight up Ghouls ‘n Ghosts style action, presented in our own way.
The bosses have been tweaked to be harder, but with less hit points in order to balance out the play time in these levels. Enemies have been tuned differently to be a little more spot-on with their abilities compared to how they behave in Story Mode.
Battle Princess Madelyn doesn’t have a final release date just yet, but the game will be available for the PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Vita, and Xbox One.
Shovel Knight: King of Cards will be released on April 9, 2019
Yacht Club Games originally wanted to release Shovel Knight: King of Cards a few years ago, but the expansion kept getting pushed back as they dug deeper into Shovel Knight’s world. Today, the developer is finally ready to confirm that Shovel Knight: King of Cards will be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One on April 9, 2019.
The developer is also bundling together the original Shovel Knight and all of its expansions (including Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, King of Cards, and the recently-announced Shovel Knight Showdown) in a new retail release for the PS4 and Switch. This Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove will also launch on April 9.
But wait, there’s more. The Amiibo 3-Pack featuring King Knight, Specter Knight, and Plague Knight will also make its debut in stores on April 9. The figures will unlock “exclusive armor sets, new Challenge stages, and the ability to summon fairy companions to accompany players on quests” in the games for the 3DS, Switch, and Wii U.
Finally, attendees at this weekend’s PAX West show in Seattle will get the chance to try out a playable demo of Shovel Knight: King of Cards at Yacht Club’s booth.
Shovel Knight’s Battle Mode will be known as Shovel Knight Showdown
All the way back in 2013, Yacht Club Games closed out Shovel Knight‘s Kickstarter campaign with the promise of three additional story expansions and a Battle Mode. More than five years later, we’ve almost reached the end of this bounty of post-launch content, and the developer has confirmed that Battle Mode will actually be known as Shovel Knight Showdown.
Like the previous expansions, Shovel Knight Showdown will be available as a free update to the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, as well as a standalone download. Players will be able to choose from more than 16 characters (including Shovel Knight, Shield Knight, Black Knight, The Enchantress, and every member of the Order of No Quarter) as they battle it out in four-player modes like Gem Clash and Showdown. A single-player Story Mode for every character is also in the works.
Those attending PAX West 2018 this weekend will be able to meet the developers and try out Shovel Knight Showdown at Yacht Club’s booth.
Shovel Knight Showdown will launch for the PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, and Xbox One on April 9, 2019, and a few more details about the game can be found at Yacht Club’s official website. The developer also produced an extended gameplay trailer for IGN, and it’s been embedded after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged PAX West 2018, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight Showdown
Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler was the best-selling game in July 2018
It would have been amusing if Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler took the #8 spot in The NPD Group’s monthly report of best-selling games (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz). But instead, the retro-styled RPG smashed expectations and landed in the top spot for the preceding four-week period. That means the publisher is likely less amused and more amazed.
Nintendo Switch exclusives dominated the list of best-selling games last month, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#3), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#7), and Mario Tennis Aces (#10) all cracking the top ten. The recent Switch launch of Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy (#9) also likely accounted for its rise in the rankings (the game is also available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
The Switch was also the best-selling console in July, the first time that’s happened since December 2017.
You can find out how the rest of the top ten shook out, with a quick rundown of the remainder of July 2018’s best-selling games, after the break. (more…)
Nintendo scored both the best-selling game (Mario Tennis Aces) and console (NES Classic) of June 2018
Nintendo can lay claim to the top-selling console in June 2018… but it wasn’t the Nintendo Switch. Instead, it looks like the relaunched NES Classic was the month’s best-selling console.
However, that’s not to say that the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch (as well as the Super NES Classic and 3DS) were slouching. According to the NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz), the three major consoles, both of Nintendo’s retro microconsoles, and the 3DS created a 52% increase in overall hardware sales versus June 2017.
All told, the game industry tallied $1.1 billion in sales in June, which was good for a 25% year-over-year increase.
June is typically a slow month for new releases, and that was reflected in the NPD’s companion report on best-selling games. Mario Tennis Aces was the top-selling game during the month, with The Crew 2 (#4), and Lego The Incredibles (#7) also breaking into the top ten. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy‘s debut on the PC, Switch, and Xbox One also helped it re-enter the list at #9.
A quick rundown of the remainder of June 2018’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Retro, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Crash Bandicoot, Detroit: Become Human, Far Cry 5, FIFA 18, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego The Incredibles, Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis Aces, NPD, The Crew 2
New Battle Princess Madelyn trailer shows off the game’s updated stages
The developers at Causal Bit Games are still working hard on Battle Princess Madelyn, their modern-day homage to the retro stylings of Capcom’s Super Ghouls N Ghosts, and earlier this week they unveiled a brand new trailer featuring “updated stages, collecting weaponry, and armor shards from the cursed chests.”
The developer also posted a new update to Battle Princess Madelyn’s Kickstarter campaign, detailing a few more changes and additions that have been made to the game in the last month:
The final boss was redrawn and redesigned a few times. Nothing was feeling epic enough. Following the story too close wasn’t cutting it, it started as a rival sorceress girl the same age and size as Maddi, but the first half of the fight felt too plain and samey. I worked with Maddi a few times on how the last boss should look overall. There was a giant zombie woman head, dragon snake things, and I can’t even remember what else now. This one has been redone over and over for the better part of a year. But finally I got a clear head about it, and we sat down and came up with something amazing! We aren’t going to show that obviously but we’re not that far away from you seeing it yourselves!
Creative Director Christopher Obritsch also discussed rather scary-sounding heath issue towards the end of the post and everyone at Warp Zoned wishes him a speedy recovery.
Battle Princess Madelyn will be released sometime soon (but we don’t know exactly when) for the PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One.