+great character design and cel-shading that works well work on wii
+killing people in this game rules, no question. pulling off the QTE and hacking someone into pieces with blood spurting everywhere is so satisfying, especially if you get multiple people at once
+the roulette system is also an inspired touch, keeping things fresh by powering up travis at random
+with the above in mind, the stage designs are well-paced with good enemy placement, and there's a few good setpieces to keep the long drab hallways from getting too boring
+the wrestling holds are also a great touch, situationally useful and fun to watch, especially when you unlock new ones
+there's not all that many different katanas, but I like how each one has a unique design and special characteristics. combos actually vary a bit between them as well
+I think the "it's empty and boring as a parody!" justification for the open world is flimsy but honestly I don't mind it that much. I never felt too put off by driving around town, and thankfully there's some collectables to sweeten the deal
+shoutout to volodarski, which is an actually cool fight. shinobu is better designed than most of the others as well, but is way too hard for third boss in the game
+amazing soundtrack, and an all-time classic theme song
+the title is a music reference, of course, and there are plenty of cute references to punk music strewn across the city
+the sound design in general is really great, with shrieking, taunts, lightsaber noises, and gunshots giving the combat a grisly feel. also the garden of madness phone calls rule
-once you get past the hack-and-slash parts, the combat is very uncomfortable, specifically when dealing with the camera and the lock-on system. travis is at an uncomfortable angle for much of the game, and the camera has a tendency to get caught on objects or confused... rolling can also be unpredictable in the same way
-there are hidden techniques that the game never alludes to nor shows in the manual, some of which seem essential for certain boss fights (dark step specifically, which isn't easy to pull off on your own)
-because of the control issues, a lot of boss fights become much more frustrating than they need to be. it doesn't help that the bosses towards the end of the game become damage sponges that mindlessly throw out combos with limited windows to chip away their health
-the jack-off motion for charging the beam katana is funny but it can be such a pain to constantly refill it (this is easier in the switch version I presume). it's especially annoying in sections with lots of gunmen, where your charge gets shredded from blocking bullets
-grinding for cash in this game is quite tedious, and since it's integrated into the gameplay (and plot) through the ranking match admission fees, you'll spend much of your playtime doing it, esp after you've already unlocked all the side jobs and assassin missions
-the plot towards the end is childish, to be frank. it's hard to tell what suda51 is trying to convey here other than "aren't endgame twists silly?" and "ultraviolence is sort of gross... but cool too!" with little actual depth or nuance compared to his other work, and it seems to think it's far more clever than it actually is
-it's also hard to see travis as a loser since he's both a working class stiff and a highly trained assassin. hell, as you move forward and your assassin rank goes up, you'll eventually work your way out of needing to do side jobs in favor of higher paying assassin gigs. sure he's an otaku, but he works his ass off (I think this might be a cultural rift that ruins this portrayal for us americans)
-the other main theme (ultraviolence) feels undercooked as well. yes, travis is a sociopath, but there's a lot of antagonizing the player for their killing sprees without much thought over who designs the games this way or why violent games are so popular
-also the fourth wall-breaking is some real try-hard shit in this game. they really love to clobber you over the head with it too, especially towards the end
-travis's gigantic pants have not aged well...
as much as I want to like this game, it really is an acquired taste. this is a budget game with limited assets and a clunky engine, and its hard for me to recommend considering that it's not one of suda's better stories and there's many frustrating sections throughout. I think it is worth playing to pay respect to a daring cult classic on a system with very few games of its ilk, but don't go in expecting the world
+killing people in this game rules, no question. pulling off the QTE and hacking someone into pieces with blood spurting everywhere is so satisfying, especially if you get multiple people at once
+the roulette system is also an inspired touch, keeping things fresh by powering up travis at random
+with the above in mind, the stage designs are well-paced with good enemy placement, and there's a few good setpieces to keep the long drab hallways from getting too boring
+the wrestling holds are also a great touch, situationally useful and fun to watch, especially when you unlock new ones
+there's not all that many different katanas, but I like how each one has a unique design and special characteristics. combos actually vary a bit between them as well
+I think the "it's empty and boring as a parody!" justification for the open world is flimsy but honestly I don't mind it that much. I never felt too put off by driving around town, and thankfully there's some collectables to sweeten the deal
+shoutout to volodarski, which is an actually cool fight. shinobu is better designed than most of the others as well, but is way too hard for third boss in the game
+amazing soundtrack, and an all-time classic theme song
+the title is a music reference, of course, and there are plenty of cute references to punk music strewn across the city
+the sound design in general is really great, with shrieking, taunts, lightsaber noises, and gunshots giving the combat a grisly feel. also the garden of madness phone calls rule
-once you get past the hack-and-slash parts, the combat is very uncomfortable, specifically when dealing with the camera and the lock-on system. travis is at an uncomfortable angle for much of the game, and the camera has a tendency to get caught on objects or confused... rolling can also be unpredictable in the same way
-there are hidden techniques that the game never alludes to nor shows in the manual, some of which seem essential for certain boss fights (dark step specifically, which isn't easy to pull off on your own)
-because of the control issues, a lot of boss fights become much more frustrating than they need to be. it doesn't help that the bosses towards the end of the game become damage sponges that mindlessly throw out combos with limited windows to chip away their health
-the jack-off motion for charging the beam katana is funny but it can be such a pain to constantly refill it (this is easier in the switch version I presume). it's especially annoying in sections with lots of gunmen, where your charge gets shredded from blocking bullets
-grinding for cash in this game is quite tedious, and since it's integrated into the gameplay (and plot) through the ranking match admission fees, you'll spend much of your playtime doing it, esp after you've already unlocked all the side jobs and assassin missions
-the plot towards the end is childish, to be frank. it's hard to tell what suda51 is trying to convey here other than "aren't endgame twists silly?" and "ultraviolence is sort of gross... but cool too!" with little actual depth or nuance compared to his other work, and it seems to think it's far more clever than it actually is
-it's also hard to see travis as a loser since he's both a working class stiff and a highly trained assassin. hell, as you move forward and your assassin rank goes up, you'll eventually work your way out of needing to do side jobs in favor of higher paying assassin gigs. sure he's an otaku, but he works his ass off (I think this might be a cultural rift that ruins this portrayal for us americans)
-the other main theme (ultraviolence) feels undercooked as well. yes, travis is a sociopath, but there's a lot of antagonizing the player for their killing sprees without much thought over who designs the games this way or why violent games are so popular
-also the fourth wall-breaking is some real try-hard shit in this game. they really love to clobber you over the head with it too, especially towards the end
-travis's gigantic pants have not aged well...
as much as I want to like this game, it really is an acquired taste. this is a budget game with limited assets and a clunky engine, and its hard for me to recommend considering that it's not one of suda's better stories and there's many frustrating sections throughout. I think it is worth playing to pay respect to a daring cult classic on a system with very few games of its ilk, but don't go in expecting the world