When comparing Code of Princess vs Shovel Knight, the Slant community recommends Shovel Knight for most people. In the question“What are the best 2D games on Steam?” Shovel Knight is ranked 13th while Code of Princess is ranked 57th. The most important reason people chose Shovel Knight is:
Shovel Knight has very colorful pixelated graphics, a decent chiptune soundtrack, excellent 8-bit sound effects, and the controls feel really fluid and responsive. So whether you’re just running through a castle, shoveling away at gems in a tunnel, or even jumping on a dragon’s head, Shovel Knight is a blast to play.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easily extended gameplay
Players can go back to any completed level and play them with any of their unlocked characters. This can be done to earn more points to put into their skills in order to level each character up. While it may be a bit repetitive, it does allow the player to go back and play as much as they want, giving the game some longevity.
Pro Fun combat mechanics
The game focuses on 2D side scrolling beat em up combat, with light and powerful moves that can be easily chained together. The game also allows for quite a lot of juggling of enemies, which works great with all the chains one can make. While it may take a minute to get the timing down, once it is understood, the game offers quite a lot of brawling action. On top of this there are RPG elements where the player can constantly upgrade their players, making for a good way to keep the player interested throughout the game.
Pro Good localization
The translation of the game done by Atlus is top notch, the story makes sense and there is no issues with things being changed too much. The voice work is also great and quite a surprise for originally being a 3DS game as the cart sizes limit the amount of audio contained in the game. Luckily all of that voice work still remains in the PC version.
Pro Silly story that allows itself to have fun
While the main story arch is not anything new (Princess and friends need to save the world), the game allows itself to have fun as it can be very silly at times. This can make for an enjoyable story for the game despite the generic plot thanks to the humor contained within.
Pro Feels great to play
Shovel Knight has very colorful pixelated graphics, a decent chiptune soundtrack, excellent 8-bit sound effects, and the controls feel really fluid and responsive. So whether you’re just running through a castle, shoveling away at gems in a tunnel, or even jumping on a dragon’s head, Shovel Knight is a blast to play.
Pro Great for couch co-op
Because Shovel Knight can be pretty hard at times, bringing a friend along can help out a lot. The two of you can work together to take down enemies and communicate the best ways to handle jumps and special skills. Plus, if one of you is more experienced with the game, that player can help the newcomer along and teach them the ropes instead of leaving them to figure out everything on their own, possibly to the point of frustration. Playing this game with another person is a fun way to bring back the feeling of couch co-op on the older retro systems.
Pro A unique experience
Shovel Knight has 2D pixel art, a simple gameplay, and a retro feel. It stands out in an era dominated by 3D titles with super detailed graphics and convoluted gameplay because of its influences from classics like Zelda, Castlevania, Duck Tales, and even Super Mario Bros. It’s not just trying to cash in on the nostalgia of older players because it’s a game that can be enjoyed by anyone thanks to its polish.
Pro Pretty fun risk versus reward system
In each stage, there are multiple checkpoints you can revive at if you die. The twist is that you can destroy the checkpoints for extra treasure. Doing this also means you’ll have to start from the beginning of the stage if you die. It’s a pretty cool way to increase difficulty and add tension to a playthrough, especially because it’s never forced on you.
Cons
Con Odd display options
Since this is a port from the Nintendo 3DS, the screen size is not uniform to what is found on most PCs. This means there may be some letterboxing on the sides of the screen depending on what resolution one chooses to play at. luckily the secondary background for the letterboxing can be removed, as it may be distracting to some. This also means that the game is quite pixelated due to the original source material being sub HD quality. So there is a lot of pixelation, which may turn dome people off from the game.
Con Character can get hidden when a lot of enemies are on screen
When on the rear plane, the character can easily be hidden behind many enemies on the screen. This makes it difficult to tell what one is or needs to be doing, which can be frustrating.
Con 3DS 3d mechanic does not work that great on PC
The game is set up for the player to be able to jump in between three different planes on each level. Fore ground, mid ground, back ground. This was done to take advantage of the 3D view that the 3DS offers. On PC though this does not work as well as the cool visual element of 3D is not there, which means it can just be a pain to hop between planes.
Con Repetitive gameplay
Something many beat em up style games have trouble with is that the game can become repetitive. This is true of Code of Princess as well, as the gameplay may get stale after much time is spent in the game.
Con Can be frustrating
While Shovel Knight captures a lot of SNES era’s good parts, it also brings back some of the bad parts. It's mostly the hidden enemies that attack you as soon as you approach their hiding spots, causing you to take needless damage or even die. This adds a really tedious trial and error aspect that forces you to memorize all enemy placements just so you can beat a stage. In addition to dealing with the enemies, the timing of jumps or using special skills at the right moment adds to the frustration. Press the button too early or too late and you'll end up back at the start of a platforming section or worse, dead.