51. Akumajō Dracula (Famicom Disk System)
52. Castlevania (NES)
53. Classic NES Series: Castlevania (Game Boy Advance)
54. Guardian Heroes (Xbox Live Arcade)
55. Metal Slug (Neo Geo MVS)
56. Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo MVS)
57. Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo MVS)
58. Soul of Darkness (DSiWare)
59. Code of Princess (3DS)
60. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
61. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
62. The Legend of Zelda 2: Link no Bōken (Famicom Disk System)
63. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (PC)
64. Shan Gui (Steam)
65. Space Fury (ColecoVision)
66. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle (ColecoVision)
67. Gateway to Apshai (ColecoVision)
68. MURI (Steam)
69. Pink Hour (Steam)
70. Pink Heaven (Steam)
71. Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (Steam)
72. Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Steam)
This is a rad game. A free one, to boot.
The visual presentation is pretty striking. It looks like a ZX Spectrum title. Black background, chunky pixels, and plenty of garish yellows.
Though this reference may be lost on some, Princess Remedy reminds me of Esper Dream crossed with a bullet hell shooter. As the princess journeys through the kingdom she encounters a series of sick individuals whose ailments require treatment. Some of the "illnesses" are hilarious and nonsensical, like the girl who's sick because "she's five years old" and then becomes "six years old" after being cured. Curing an individual requires combat against the "bugs" that torment them - battles are initiated by speaking to NPCs. Combat occurs within the confines of a single screen and the princess is equipped with an evolving projectile weapon (pills at first, syringes later) throughout the game. As the game progresses, both princess and foes gain additional ammunition and at game's end combat becomes a delicate dance around a screen full of bullets.
Which isn't to say the game is hard. Permanent life upgrades are plentiful, as are "bomb" flasks. The princess also regenerates health during battle after set time intervals. I lost perhaps 3-4 skirmishes throughout the course of my one-hour playthrough, and there is no penalty for a loss. The enemy roster is pretty creative, best of all is the (literally) towering final boss which seems to be a parody of the final confrontation in Final Fantasy VI right down to the Kefka-esque nihilistic ranting.
Controls are spot-on, though there is no diagonal movement or strafing so some of those tough later battles do require some additional strategy.
Princess Remedy is brought to us by Remar and Ludosity, the developer of MURI (another game I played a short time ago and loved). A $3 sequel dropped a few weeks ago, so I'll be checking out that when I have a chance.
Oh, and in a strange stroke of un-luck I got really sick also immediately after playing this game. You failed me, Princess Remedy!
Next month: Nothing but spooky/monster/horror games.