It's been a bit since I replayed this game while going through my GhM marathon, and it's given me a lot of time to think about this game. I originally played it around six years ago after playing the original game and back then I really liked it; now I can see that was just me being a stupid kid.
Before going into the stuff I don't like, I'll go over the stuff I actually like. First and probably the best thing about this game, the OST is amazing and every track in this game is stellar, I probably like this more than the original's OST. I also think the game looks nice, especially in places like the first boss fight with the snow falling on Santa Destroy (though this could be because I REALLY love snow aesthetics in games). The port to the Switch is also really nice but that's more so on Engine Software and not the people who made the game. And finally, getting to play as Shinobu and Henry was really awesome even though you had to do shitty platforming as Shinobu and only play as Henry for one boss.
Now that that's out of the way, onto the shit I hate. First, the gameplay is a huge step down from the original's. The combat feels nowhere near as satisfying with it feeling way floatier and the enemies being way more annoying in my opinion. The side jobs are wayyyy worse with barely any of them being fun besides the ones that are basically rip offs of other games. Thank God they're not mandatory, but to me the side jobs in the first game are part of what made it so memorable. Having to work your ass off to get to the next boss fight or get your next beam sword makes it feel more satisfying. Speaking of beam swords, in the first game if you got all of them you unlocked a secret boss who was insanely cool and easily the best fight in the game. In this game there is something similar, but the first is way less cool with the only thing cool about it being the stage which is only somewhat cool, hopefully 3 does something cool with that character. There are also entire 15-20 minute sections just fighting enemies, sometimes in the same room which just isn't fun. Next is the plot, in this game Travis goes on a revenge quest to kill the people who killed his best friend, but the thing is that the people who actually killed him are basically non-existent to the plot and are relegated to optional side missions which start to repeat towards the end. Even Suda himself says that he would go back and change this. Speaking of Suda, him not directing this game is a huge let down. I'm not opposed to people other than Suda directing things at GhM or even in Kill the Past, but I feel like if he did direct this game it would have turned out a lot better. And finally, the final boss. Most of the boss fights in this game range from just okay to kinda bad, but the final boss is probably the worst thing this company has ever put into their games. The first phase isn't really fun and the second phase is one of the most broken bosses I've experienced in a game with moves that can keep you in the corner of the arena for a good while. Also the boss himself isn't a good villain with his only motivation for hating Travis coming from optional side content from the first game. Also this is just a nitpick but I think it's way funnier if Travis is a virgin instead of him actually fucking Sylvia.
In conclusion, this game is kinda a mess with some pretty good elements. I've been thinking a lot of I should recommend people skip this game and go straight to Travis Strikes Again cause it honestly doesn't have any bearing on that game. I guess if you REALLY wanna play it, go for it, it's not the worst game ever and it even has some good bits. But if you have no interest in this game, don't feel like if you need to to understand the later games in the series.
Before going into the stuff I don't like, I'll go over the stuff I actually like. First and probably the best thing about this game, the OST is amazing and every track in this game is stellar, I probably like this more than the original's OST. I also think the game looks nice, especially in places like the first boss fight with the snow falling on Santa Destroy (though this could be because I REALLY love snow aesthetics in games). The port to the Switch is also really nice but that's more so on Engine Software and not the people who made the game. And finally, getting to play as Shinobu and Henry was really awesome even though you had to do shitty platforming as Shinobu and only play as Henry for one boss.
Now that that's out of the way, onto the shit I hate. First, the gameplay is a huge step down from the original's. The combat feels nowhere near as satisfying with it feeling way floatier and the enemies being way more annoying in my opinion. The side jobs are wayyyy worse with barely any of them being fun besides the ones that are basically rip offs of other games. Thank God they're not mandatory, but to me the side jobs in the first game are part of what made it so memorable. Having to work your ass off to get to the next boss fight or get your next beam sword makes it feel more satisfying. Speaking of beam swords, in the first game if you got all of them you unlocked a secret boss who was insanely cool and easily the best fight in the game. In this game there is something similar, but the first is way less cool with the only thing cool about it being the stage which is only somewhat cool, hopefully 3 does something cool with that character. There are also entire 15-20 minute sections just fighting enemies, sometimes in the same room which just isn't fun. Next is the plot, in this game Travis goes on a revenge quest to kill the people who killed his best friend, but the thing is that the people who actually killed him are basically non-existent to the plot and are relegated to optional side missions which start to repeat towards the end. Even Suda himself says that he would go back and change this. Speaking of Suda, him not directing this game is a huge let down. I'm not opposed to people other than Suda directing things at GhM or even in Kill the Past, but I feel like if he did direct this game it would have turned out a lot better. And finally, the final boss. Most of the boss fights in this game range from just okay to kinda bad, but the final boss is probably the worst thing this company has ever put into their games. The first phase isn't really fun and the second phase is one of the most broken bosses I've experienced in a game with moves that can keep you in the corner of the arena for a good while. Also the boss himself isn't a good villain with his only motivation for hating Travis coming from optional side content from the first game. Also this is just a nitpick but I think it's way funnier if Travis is a virgin instead of him actually fucking Sylvia.
In conclusion, this game is kinda a mess with some pretty good elements. I've been thinking a lot of I should recommend people skip this game and go straight to Travis Strikes Again cause it honestly doesn't have any bearing on that game. I guess if you REALLY wanna play it, go for it, it's not the worst game ever and it even has some good bits. But if you have no interest in this game, don't feel like if you need to to understand the later games in the series.