Code of Princess wants to be two games at once. It is a side-scrolling brawler where you juggle enemies with combo chains, and it is a role-playing game where you pour status points into a character sheet after every fight. The tension between those two halves never resolves.
Trailer, via Official ATLUS West.
Solange and the Sacred Blade DeLuxcalibur
The setup is pure Saturday-morning fantasy. Princess Solange Blanchefleur de Lux is exiled from the Kingdom of DeLuxia after monsters attack and the royal family takes the blame from the Distron army. She carries the Sacred Blade DeLuxcalibur and sets out to learn why the monsters turned violent, while Distron hunts her for the sword.
Her party fills out fast. There is the thief Ali Baba, the zombie-like Necromancer Lady Zozo, the bard and sage Allegro, the martial artist Master T Drakkhen, the blind samurai “Shooting Star” Tsukikage, the cat businessman Marco Neko, and the warrior nun Sister Helga “Hel” Wilhelmina.
Zozo, Tsukikage and Master T join because they feel drawn to the DeLuxcalibur. Zozo says she is not in her real body — she made one for herself because her real body was stolen.
Queen Distiny and the Fallen Angel
The back half of Code of Princess goes bigger. Solange’s team learns that Distron’s leader, Queen Distiny, is behind the monster attacks. They fight the generals: the ninja Baku Juppongi, a former acquaintance of Ali; the sorcerer Alchemia; and General Liongate, who turns out to be Solange’s brainwashed brother Schwartz.
Then the game reveals Queen Distiny is a cover for the fallen angel Dios Diablos Distille, who once tried to destroy the world, was defeated, and is now rebuilding strength to try again. Zozo’s real name is Milk Macchiato, and Alchemia is her sister Cocoa, who also had her body stolen — by Queen Distiny.
Zozo, Tsukikage and Master T join Solange because they feel “drawn” to the DeLuxcalibur.
Over 50 Playable Characters
The roster is the selling point and the problem. Code of Princess packs over 50 playable characters across several modes. The story campaign only lets you control four of them: Solange, Ali, Zozo and Allegro. A free play mode opens every campaign scenario to any available character, and Bonus Quests add scenarios gated behind specific requirements.
Multiplayer supports local and network play. You can run scenarios cooperatively or fight each other in a Versus Mode, up to four combatants in a fight.
| Mode | Playable characters | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Story campaign | Solange, Ali, Zozo, Allegro | Narrative scenarios |
| Free play | Any available character | Replay campaign scenarios |
| Bonus Quests | Specific characters | Unlock extra scenarios |
| Versus Mode | Up to four combatants | Player fights player |
Stats, Points and Equipment
Every completed scenario pays out experience points, money and sometimes equipment. Level up and you allocate status points freely. That is the RPG hook, and it is the part that gives Code of Princess its pull — the promise that the brawling feeds a build you control.
The beat ’em up half is where the game thins out. Combo-heavy fighting and free stat allocation are a real pairing on paper. In practice, the campaign’s four-character limit means most of that roster sits behind modes that assume you already finished the story.
3DS, Windows and Code of Princess EX
Agatsuma Entertainment released Code of Princess in Japan in April 2012, and Atlus USA brought it to North America in October 2012. Agatsuma also published it in Europe and Australia in March 2013, exclusively as an eShop title. A Windows version followed in April 2016.
An enhanced port, Code of Princess EX, launched for the Nintendo Switch between July and August 2018, handled by Nicalis worldwide and Pikii in Japan.
What Code of Princess Gets Right
The cast is the best thing here. A zombie necromancer who built herself a body, a blind samurai, a cat with a business plan — Code of Princess commits to its own silliness, and the Distille twist gives the story a real villain instead of a cardboard queen.
The stat system is genuinely flexible. Free point allocation means two players can build the same character in completely different directions, and that is worth something.
Where It Falls Short
The campaign locks away most of what makes the roster interesting. Four playable characters in a game advertising over 50 is a bad trade. The brawling itself does not carry the weight the RPG layer puts on it.
Code of Princess is a good idea executed halfway. The pieces are all here — the characters, the build system, the co-op — but the structure keeps them apart.
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