Code of Princess EX

Though not all of the 50+ characters are worth maxing out, the eight heroes of the campaign and the unlockable bosses are an absolute joy to play, learn, and master. With so many modes and so many quests, this is yet another quality Switch title ready to suck up dozens of hours of your life.

The humour tries a little too hard at points, but generally speaking, there's a genuinely great spirit to the game, and with the addition of multiplayer, you'd be hard pressed to find a more enjoyable brawler on the Nintendo Switch.

While lacking in some areas, Code of Princess EX is a solid enhanced port that keeps all of the goofy charm and adds some performance improvements to the final package. This is one adventure beat-em-up fans should look at if they want a solid and humorous experience.

Code of Princess EX is pleasantly playable, finally fluid compared to the 3DS version, and the combo fans will find a very flexible game system. Unfortunately, it is also repetitive to the bone, and the visual impact on a big TV screen doesn't look so great.

A must play for anyone who is a fan of retro arcade style beat ‘em ups, especially if they can appreciate a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The character and enemy designs are visually interesting and the gameplay mechanics make playing through this tongue-in-cheek adventure enjoyable. The enormous character roster and multiple game modes provide a good value, but the biggest problem lies in the nature of the genre. The gameplay is repetitive even with the different fighting styles of each character, which can get old quickly, especially on single player.

With the newly added co-op campaign mode, higher definition visuals, higher framerates, and plenty more additions, Nicalis has breathed new life into an oft-forgotten title. Just make sure you prepare yourself for the inevitable bout of 'Nintendo thumb'.

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.

Code of Princess EX is a decent beat 'em up but it's nowhere near as good as Guardian Heroes which is clearly the game that it was inspired by. That being said, if you like half-nude ladies that some dude drew on his computer then I guess you should check it out.

Code of Princess EX is back in what promises to be an ultimate version. The result falls behind the promise, due to its graphics that are not up to the original game's quality, but Code Princess EX does have some assets of its own, including the plot's humour, which is not to be taken too seriously, and the wide variety of movements and characters to choose from, which will satisfy the players' curiosity.

Code of Princess EX is fun in spurts, but is otherwise a mixed bag. I enjoyed the cast’s jabs at the story more than the plot itself. The mechanics are empowering and fun to play out, but lead to a repetitive and predictable gameplay loop. Likewise, the plethora of playable characters is offset by limited movesets. The relatively high price for a port of a 3DS game may not win many fans over either. Ultimately, Code of Princess EX is most tailored to enthusiasts of the beat-em 'up genre and to players seeking a cathartic experience.

Code of Princess EX is an entertaining game, which includes some interesting new features, but unfortunately they are not enough for a beat'em up, which although is not bad, does not stand out in any special way beyond the large number of unlockable characters, its RPG feel and being translated. Its story has touches of humor but is very simple, its graphics are still improvable, its control is somewhat crude and the animations are somewhat robotic. Its great asset in this respect is its local multiplayer mode and its online multiplayer, both cooperative and competitive.

Code of Princess EX is a bit of a mixed bag for. It looks great, never missing a beat no matter how action-packed things get, and it’s certainly very accessible. And it’s fun – for a time. It simply isn’t a game that will stay with you for any length of time. It’s more a palate cleanser between meatier fare, or for those times you want to relive your youth with some Streets of Rage-style bashing.

If you’re an avid anime fan that likes a bit of kooky comedy-drama with your spammy beatdowns then Code of Princess EX isn’t too bad a game to carry around in your backpack. Some will undoubtedly find the story getting a bit too much in the way of the action, and the small moveset for each character really doesn’t help to hide its highly repetitive gameplay. It’s good to at least see some meat to its combat though, and the character designs are imaginative enough to land some flair to the story.

The combat feels smooth and responsive, yet there wasn’t enough variety. I like the characters, though I quickly got tired of listening to them. The RPG component was the worst offender. A system meant to create depth instead offered frustration in high doses.

The weird thing is that I never felt this huge sense of growth with my characters as they leveled up.

It's not clear why Code of Princess on 3DS was ever a cult hit; maybe because it was the only action RPG on the 3DS at the time? Organising a local multiplayer session ends up taking up more time than the time spent playing together since the core gameplay of Code of Princess EX is very shallow and very tedious. Battles just drag on for an eternity as heroes constantly wail on goons, making everyone who is playing feel only regret. What a waste of excellent character designs that they have to be used in such a milquetoast beat 'em up.

I actually like the idea of an RPG without the exploration bits, but such a game desperately needs to place more emphasis on engaging and enjoyable combat, which here, is severely lacking.

Code of Princess EX takes many influences from the classic brawlers, but, like a lot of them, it delivers a repetitive and boring gameplay loop. It tries to compensate that with tons of content, but it is hard to be encouraged to try it all when the basics are so weak.