Silly little zombie hack ‘n’ slasher. Kind of like the video game equivalent of a B-movie. Unfortunately, not the self-aware type that really revels in its schlock, but rather the more straight-faced variety that still tries to take itself pretty seriously. Naturally, the series caught my eye as a horny kid. I'm glad I never got to play it back when I was 13 though, because even if my mom would have let me buy them and I wouldn't have been too embarrassed to take them to the store clerk at the counter, these cheap Japanese budget titles would've only left me disappointed with how they fail to deliver the tantalizing thrills their names and box art promise. While main protagonist "Aya's" bra straps certainly hang erotically down off of her bare shoulders giving the impression that it could fall to the ground at a moment's notice, you won't find a single sexy cutscene or camera angle to arouse you further. For shame for tricking teenage boys like this, Tamsoft. For shame.

Fun fact: if you live outside of Japan then this was probably released on the same day as Bikini Samurai Squad (which you can check out my review for here, if interested) where you're at. The original 3-year gap between the two releases these offerings had in their developer's home country likely made it a bit easier to hide from consumers how they basically just recycled all the assets from the aforementioned Xbox 360 iteration for this Wii outing. A couple of character models feature slight differences, but for the most part the exact same levels and enemies have been carried over and reused.

The value that comes from the sheer novelty of slicing through the undead by waggling your Wiimote cannot be overstated, however. You won't be carefully directing swings of your blade Skyward Sword style so much as you're merely flicking your wrist up and down, yet when paired with the need to push the analog stick in different directions to create combos you get a surprisingly engaging, thoroughly amusing combat system. Simplistic though the enemy encounters may be. It also might not have the flashier moments of its predecessor (no giant zombie orca boss fight here 😔), but the four playable ladies each have their own brief "what if?" campaigns to get through and the local co-op ensures there's enough entertainment to keep you playing. Heck, it's even easier to forgive the subpar, low-quality graphics this time around considering that's how the majority of the platform's third-party library looks.

While Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop continues to be the best zombie game on Nintendo's now second bestselling home console that I've played thus far, this stands out as a solid alternative due to the brainless, cheesy fun it can provide. Plus, thanks to the inclusion of things such as pop-up tutorials that explain the deeper mechanics or requirements for taking out stronger monster types (a feature sorely missing in its Microsoft exclusive sibling) and the strength of its new physically interactive method of controlling the action, "Slayers" narrowly manages to outshine its precursor found on the more impressive hardware.

7.5/10