Cutting a bloody swathe through an army of the undead, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP joins Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered on Switch. Both games complement each other as flawed but enjoyable examples of Grasshopper Studios’ beloved catalogue. An idiosyncratic collaboration between Suda 51 and filmmaker James Gunn, Lollipop Chainsaw highlights the unique style of both creators. It’s a hyper-stylised, quip-heavy action game that remains a uniquely demented experience. Sadly, content omissions and some choppy performance hamper this remaster, tainting the colourful mayhem.
The plot is both a perfect representation of its era and a great opportunity to experience Gunn in a goofy horror mode that was stifled when the MCU beckoned. On the morning of her eighteenth birthday, cheerleader Juliet Starling is inconvenienced by a zombie outbreak in her hometown. Luckily, Juliet comes from a long line of zombie hunters, the undead horde is no match for her skills with a chainsaw and a set of pom poms. Unable to save her boyfriend from a bite, Juliet decapitates him and carries his magically animated head on her belt. Together, they must battle through high school and defeat five musically themed dark lords, summoned by an angry goth kid named Swan to end the world.
There was a time when a story like this wasn’t even that strange, such were the beautiful absurdities of the 2010s. It’s a relentless onslaught of violence and puerile humour, even more so than the tonally similar No More Heroes. Though, as entertaining as the profanity-filled carnage can be, your mileage may vary.
The tone combines the punk rock energy of Suda 51, with the Troma film spirit of Gunn’s early career. Horror references litter the script while thrashing music and cartoon visuals drive the action. Juliet (played in English by luminary voice actor Tara Strong) is a great protagonist, always acting like a high school cheerleader despite basically being a superhero. The supporting characters are also a blast, particularly Juliet’s family of hunters and the Dark Purveyors – the demon lords who are each themed around different music genres.
This being a Grasshopper brawler, the combat is suitably ridiculous. When your protagonist’s main weapon is a souped-up chainsaw, subtlety is not the way to go. Juliet’s main attack loop is to soften up the zombies with cheerleader-fu before decapitating them with a chainsaw swing. Initially limited, new combo chains can be unlocked using currency hoovered up during battles. Finishing a combo with a big swing of your ‘saw will decapitate multiple enemies at once, triggering score multipliers and flashy finishers.
As you mow down the opposition, a special meter will fill that allows Juliet to trigger Star Soul Power, which covers her in a rainbow glow and briefly enhances her abilities. Skill progression is nicely balanced, with a dash and projectile add-on for your main weapon helping to build out offensive options. And, not just a pretty face along for the ride, Nick is used at multiple points to clear a path for Juliet via a QTE event. Tickets can also be collected and used to play ‘Nick roulette’, a wheel spin with the chance to land on crowd control powers.
While Juliet’s skills are visually impressive, enemy targeting has a jarring stiffness to it. Closing distance in a fight feels sluggish, something that isn’t as noticeable with zombie trash mobs, but annoying as hell during one-on-one boss encounters. There are multiple ways to home in on enemies, but in the heat of a tough fight, movement feels fiddly. Fortunately, Juliet’s growing repertoire quickly compensates for the clunky combat, and RePop does lessen the financial sting of buying upgrades. Even so, RePop feels significantly worse to play than the original release, which wasn’t perfect to begin with.
Aside from the streamlined upgrade system, Dragami Game’s update doesn’t add much added to the experience. The titular RePop mode is a sanitised version of the game that, aside from some altered cutscenes, feels oddly similar to the Japanese edit of the original. Swapping out blood and decapitations for colourful effects feels like the old days of Nintendo censorship. The licensed music is now sadly gone, with only The Chordette’s ‘Lollipop’ making the cut. Some of the game’s best sequences utilised licensed tracks to make them memorable, and now they just have a generic pop-punk score.
What has been added, much to our dismay, is performance issues. Levels are linear pathways with transitions that usually involve Juliet traversing over obstacles. In the original game, this felt dynamic and added to the breakneck pace of the action. Here the system struggles to cope and the frame rate drops considerably between these areas. This goes for large battles and explosion effects as well, which can trigger an unhealthy stutter. It’s unfortunate this cleaner, sharper-looking version of the game is hamstrung by shoddy optimisation.
The adventures of Juliet, her monster-hunting family and from-the-neck-up boyfriend is still an energetic calling card for a beloved studio. It’s an interesting look at the combined creative powers Suda and Gunn, who are both playing to their strengths. It’s a shame that RePop is not the best way to experience it.
Conclusion
Lollipop Chainsaw RePop’s zombie-killing mayhem is just as childish, stupid and fun as it was in 2012. This remaster brings with it a streamlined experience and decent visual polish. Unfortunately, RePop suffers from poor optimisation, lapsed musical licenses and an extra mode that brings nothing new to the table. If you can, seek out the original.
Cutting a bloody swathe through an army of the undead, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP joins Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered on Switch. Both games complement each other as flawed but enjoyable examples of Grasshopper Studios' beloved catalogue. An idiosyncratic collaboration between Suda 51 and filmmaker James Gunn, Lollipop Chainsaw highlights the unique style of both creators. It’s a hyper-stylised, quip-heavy action game that remains a uniquely demented experience. Sadly, content omissions and some choppy performance hamper this remaster, tainting the colourful mayhem.
The plot is both a perfect representation of its era and a great opportunity to experience Gunn in a goofy horror mode that was stifled when the MCU beckoned. On the morning of her eighteenth birthday, cheerleader Juliet Starling is inconvenienced by a zombie outbreak in her hometown. Luckily, Juliet comes from a long line of zombie hunters, the undead horde is no match for her skills with a chainsaw and a set of pom poms. Unable to save her boyfriend from a bite, Juliet decapitates him and carries his magically animated head on her belt. Together, they must battle through high school and defeat five musically themed dark lords, summoned by an angry goth kid named Swan to end the world.
There was a time when a story like this wasn’t even that strange, such were the beautiful absurdities of the 2010s. It’s a relentless onslaught of violence and puerile humour, even more so than the tonally similar No More Heroes. Though, as entertaining as the profanity-filled carnage can be, your mileage may vary.
The tone combines the punk rock energy of Suda 51, with the Troma film spirit of Gunn’s early career. Horror references litter the script while thrashing music and cartoon visuals drive the action. Juliet (played in English by luminary voice actor Tara Strong) is a great protagonist, always acting like a high school cheerleader despite basically being a superhero. The supporting characters are also a blast, particularly Juliet’s family of hunters and the Dark Purveyors - the demon lords who are each themed around different music genres.
This being a Grasshopper brawler, the combat is suitably ridiculous. When your protagonist’s main weapon is a souped-up chainsaw, subtlety is not the way to go. Juliet’s main attack loop is to soften up the zombies with cheerleader-fu before decapitating them with a chainsaw swing. Initially limited, new combo chains can be unlocked using currency hoovered up during battles. Finishing a combo with a big swing of your ‘saw will decapitate multiple enemies at once, triggering score multipliers and flashy finishers.
As you mow down the opposition, a special meter will fill that allows Juliet to trigger Star Soul Power, which covers her in a rainbow glow and briefly enhances her abilities. Skill progression is nicely balanced, with a dash and projectile add-on for your main weapon helping to build out offensive options. And, not just a pretty face along for the ride, Nick is used at multiple points to clear a path for Juliet via a QTE event. Tickets can also be collected and used to play ‘Nick roulette’, a wheel spin with the chance to land on crowd control powers.
While Juliet's skills are visually impressive, enemy targeting has a jarring stiffness to it. Closing distance in a fight feels sluggish, something that isn't as noticeable with zombie trash mobs, but annoying as hell during one-on-one boss encounters. There are multiple ways to home in on enemies, but in the heat of a tough fight, movement feels fiddly. Fortunately, Juliet's growing repertoire quickly compensates for the clunky combat, and RePop does lessen the financial sting of buying upgrades. Even so, RePop feels significantly worse to play than the original release, which wasn't perfect to begin with.
Aside from the streamlined upgrade system, Dragami Game’s update doesn't add much added to the experience. The titular RePop mode is a sanitised version of the game that, aside from some altered cutscenes, feels oddly similar to the Japanese edit of the original. Swapping out blood and decapitations for colourful effects feels like the old days of Nintendo censorship. The licensed music is now sadly gone, with only The Chordette’s 'Lollipop' making the cut. Some of the game's best sequences utilised licensed tracks to make them memorable, and now they just have a generic pop-punk score.
What has been added, much to our dismay, is performance issues. Levels are linear pathways with transitions that usually involve Juliet traversing over obstacles. In the original game, this felt dynamic and added to the breakneck pace of the action. Here the system struggles to cope and the frame rate drops considerably between these areas. This goes for large battles and explosion effects as well, which can trigger an unhealthy stutter. It's unfortunate this cleaner, sharper-looking version of the game is hamstrung by shoddy optimisation.
The adventures of Juliet, her monster-hunting family and from-the-neck-up boyfriend is still an energetic calling card for a beloved studio. It’s an interesting look at the combined creative powers Suda and Gunn, who are both playing to their strengths. It’s a shame that RePop is not the best way to experience it.
Conclusion
Lollipop Chainsaw RePop's zombie-killing mayhem is just as childish, stupid and fun as it was in 2012. This remaster brings with it a streamlined experience and decent visual polish. Unfortunately, RePop suffers from poor optimisation, lapsed musical licenses and an extra mode that brings nothing new to the table. If you can, seek out the original.
