Written by: PlayDevil.com Staff

 

 

 

It was nearly impossible for me to tear my eyes from Lollipop Chainsaw after demo began. Though a rather straightforward third person action combat title, Suda 51's over-the-top style oozed from every moment of the short gameplay video, with a visual flare that fans of the director will instantly gravitate to.

 

Staring preppy cheerleader Juliet, a student of San Romero High (I am sure the Romero reference is no coincidence), the game drips with American iconography all viewed through a Japanese filter. I think my notes say it best where I simply wrote – Pom-poms, lollypops, chainsaw, zombies. A bizarre mix of items but each one of which is key to the game, with lollypops providing health, pom-poms and chainsaws being used as weapons and zombies being… well zombies.

 

The game begins on Juliet’s 18th birthday, and everyone in the school has turned into zombies. Not knowing how or why she sets out to save who she can and find out what has happened. To help her she is armed with pom-poms for light attacks, a chainsaw for heavy attacks and Nick… a disembodied head she wears on her hip. Not much else was revealed about this Nick, but he could be heard offering advice during battles and will no doubt serve as a foil for Juliet to help with the games narrative.

 

Action is fast and Juliet’s agile flips and spins form the best defence as the hordes of zombies grab at her. To add complexity to combat comes the combo system and quick time events. Combos are not based simply long attack chains but for the number of undead that can be dealt with in a single cut. To maximise this lining up the zombies is vital, nudging them with the pom-poms before slicing through them with the more lethal chainsaw. Killing more than three at a time leads XP rewards as well as allowing Juliet’s special move to charge more quickly (and sending a gratuitous shower of blood and sparkling heart into the air as a bonus).

 

While the inclusion of zombies may be Suda’s attempt to make Lollypop Chainsaw more palatable to a Western audience but this has done nothing to prevent putting his own spin on them. Sub-boss and boss zombies possess intelligence and personalities that are equal parts unnerving and entertaining, helping establish the unique feel of the world.

 

The demo gave plenty of time to show off these oddities. While the route through the game looks linear, occasionally the path branched allowing some limited choice. These decisions sometimes reveal survivors in that can be saved, but if Juliet is unsuccessful in rescuing them they quickly reanimate as more powerful zombies. Zed was also shown, a punk rocker zombie who acts as one of the games bosses. Located in a stadium the Zed uses sound from huge speakers to attack, and Juliet had to use her chainsaw to slowly carve her way through the sound system (using quick time events) to defeat him.

 

To help aid the zombies shape Lollypop Chainsaw's distinct style is a 60's comic filter. Dot art, reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art such as Whaam! is clear in the bright splashes that daub the screen when rewards are earned from Juliet’s pom-poming zombies. It is a look that harks back to the golden age of comics, reminding of an era when heroes were still all American and not dark anti-heroes.

 

Part of me feels Lollypop Chainsaw is a protest game by Suda 51, trying to pick everything he believe is popular in the West to see if that will prove more commercially successful. If so I hope it works, but as with all Suda games the outlandish style may make it hard for the mainstream to stomach. I know I will be getting it on 360 and PS3 when it releases in 2012, but it may be a hard sell to the wider audience.