VIDEO: Is a game about a zombie killing cheerleader too much of a good thing?
Matt Hawkins It’s like that comic who does one too many sequels pot raying a once beloved character. There’s a point in which it sorta becomes sad, and the same could be said for one of the few shining heroes of the Japanese game industry.
So a really good game just came out today, the aforementioned No More Heroes port for the PS3. Everyone should get it, because it’s a wacky roller coaster ride with Japanese sensibilities every single step of the way, but in a good way. More on that in a bit.
But yeah, NMH has been a good thing for Grasshopper Manufacture, the folks behind it. For years they’ve produced quirky titles that, while helping to develop a fantastical fan base, never produced impressive sales figures, which one needs to sorta do if one wants to stick around in a considerable fashion. I’m not privy to sales figures of the Wii version, but it obviously did well enough to warrant a sequel, and a port to get even more attention/profits.
But then a funny thing happened; Grasshopper all of a sudden realized that it has a winning formula. One that they used to created Shadow of the Damned, yet another action spectacular that was dripping with style, attitude, ultra violence, and tits. It was again unmistakably Japanese, top to bottom. And it was okay I guess.
So here we have another offering that has the wackiest premise yet, as if a Mexican wrestling fanatic/otaku that welds a real deal lighter saber who wants to be the top assassin in town, all just to get laid really, wasn’t crazy enough. This time you’re a cheerleader that happens to come from a long line of zombie killers, and who also happens to attend a high school that gets a sudden infestation of the undead, and also happens to have her trust (as well as pink) chainsaw handy.
She also has a disembodied head, attached to her side, though it’s hard to make out in the trailer (but trust me, it’s there).
Anyway, sounds pretty much the greatest thing ever, huh? Indeed it does, and that’s the problem. It sounds too good, as in too calculated and contrived. Basically, if you asked a pimply-faced Grasshopper fanboy what game they would make if they worked there, this would be it. And that’s not a good thing.
The Japanese game industry has been a mess as of late. In recent years they’ve attempted to appeal to western tastes, since that’s where all the money’s at, and in the process have left folks back home feeling a bit in the cold. Hence why the number of folks playing anything has fallen sharply. Meanwhile, those aforementioned efforts are either lame ass takes on stuff that we do much better, quite frankly, or overly exaggerated takes on what we believe a Japanese game should be. Any guesses as to what Lollipop Chainsaw qualifies as?
Sure it’s neat, but it’s a shtick that is getting old real quick. Sorry to be so negative, I guess I miss the games they used to produce. On that note, another awesome game to get is Flower, Sun, Rain for the DS. You play a detective that’s on a tropical island that must defuse a bomb. Problem is, everything keeps repeating, over and over again, a la Groundhogs Day. You sorta need to experience it for yourself to understand what I mean. On the minus side, most folks reading this might hate it (and it’s absolutely not everyone’s cup of tea, so that’s not a knock). On the plus side, it’s like $5 new if you can find it!
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