Lollipop Chainsaw is the next game to come screaming out of Suda 51’s head. It won’t be for the masses, and probably will hit the bargain bin pretty soon, but there’s something about this game that just makes it a lot of fun.
Title: Lollipop Chainsaw
Publisher: Warner Brothers Interactive
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: Action, Hack and Slash
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Price: $59.99
Rating: M
Juliet Starling doesn’t lead a normal life. While she is an attractive cheerleader for her High School, San Romero (an obvious nod to George Romero) and the middle of three sisters, that is pretty much where normality ends. Juliet also happens to be a chainsaw wielding, lollipop loving, zombie hunter. Also, the rest of her family (two sisters and her dad) are all zombie hunters as well. On Juliet’s 18th birthday, she is on her way to meet her boyfriend Nick, when literally all hell breaks loose.
As Juliet reaches Nick to meet up with him, zombies attack them both. Just as Juliet is about to be bitten, Nick steps in and takes the hit himself, this saving Juliet and essentially killing himself. What Nick doesn’t know, until he wakes up, is that Juliet uses “magic” on Nick to keep him from becoming a zombie. The downside is that he is no more than just a head. Looking to get to the bottom of the zombie attack, Juliet with Nick attached to her him (literally) set out to find her sensei Morikawa. Morikawa then leads them to the source of the problem. Swan, a goth kid from Juliet’s high school has unleashed the “rotten world” upon Earth and is going to kick back and watch the world die for all the people that were mean to him. From then on it is up to Juliet to stop the spirits that Swan released and save the world.
Let’s get this out of the way up front; This game is not for everyone. It is about a zombie hunting cheerleader, with a talking severed head on her hip that used to be her boyfriend, that uses a chainsaw to kill other high school students. I under no delusion that most people have stopped caring about the game already. However, should you look past the insanity of the plot, the game actually isn’t that bad. The writing goes a long way to make you feel like the characters are perfectly cast to be in the world they are. I am surprised that the first boss hasn’t stirred up some controversy for the comments that he spews forth against Juliet. Though I will say this, Nick easily has all the best lines, and the best reactions.
Lollipop Chainsaw is weird, for sure, but it is also well put together. As Juliet, you run around chopping zombies into bits and scoring points and “zombie medals” for doing so. The difference being that the zombies don’t explode into a red mist, or writhe on the floor until they bleed out. That wouldn’t be Suda 51’s style at all. Instead, when you relieve a zombie of it’s head, they burst into a cloud of stars and sparkles. Should you accomplish killing three or more zombies at once, you will be treated to “Sparkle Hunting” thus giving you more bonuses… and more rainbows. It’s a very cute and stylized way to kill everything in your path. The best way to get “Sparkle Hunting” more easily, is to stun the zombies by attacking them with your pom-poms. Yup, those things that cheerleaders shake (giggity) during football games. There is actually a pretty deep combo system in here that allows for a lot of varying attacks.
As Juliet gets more medals, she can then use those to buy things from the in game “Chop-Shop.com” store. Here you can purchase new combos, new buffs for stats, music for custom soundtracks, and of course, new outfits. This is where the game attempts to get you, the player, to keep coming back. Lollipop Chainsaw is short. I think I ended up finishing it the first time through in about four hours. I got the “bad ending” but Lollipop Chainsaw is made for repeat playthroughs. Built into the game are score challenges called “Beat Dads Score” because apparently Juliet’s father is the best zombie hunter and you are attempting to best him. This also allows for you to get more medals and purchase more store items.
Lollipop Chainsaw has easily the most eclectic soundtrack of any video game I think I have ever played. Tracks vary from the Chordetts rendition of the classic “Lollipop” song, to metal songs by bands like Children of Bodom, and Archenemy, to more radio friendly songs like Empire State Human by The Human League. Hell, they even threw in the Buckner and Garcia classic “Pac-Man Fever”. All of the songs are used in perfectly fitting situations and add a bit to the feeling of the stages. The soundtrack also includes original music from accomplished composer Akira Yamaoka. However, I really wish the loop for Lollipop had been a bit longer. Hearing the same verse over and over again while in the in-game shop is a bit madding.
Lollipop Chainsaw, as I said before, isn’t for everyone. It probably won’t win any awards, except maybe most stylized zombie hunter, but it’s a game worth playing. I probably wouldn’t recommend paying the full $60 price for it unless, like me, you play on putting multiple plays into it. I hate even saying it, but this is more of a bargain bin game. If it hits the $20-$30 price range, I would say it’s well worth picking up for that. Lollipop Chainsaw is fun, it controls well enough, and the soundtrack is great. It may not stand above all the games released this year, but there is no doubt that it stands apart from them all.
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