Lollipop Chainsaw - Grasshopper action game - Page 4 - Blu-ray Forum

MOONPHASE · 06-15-2012, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariakon

It was tucked away in the corner, but there were other dating sims near the more crowded areas. The entire arcade had four or five floors, with rhythm games (most featuring taiko (sic?) drums) taking up the bulk of the first floor, while shooters (the top-down scrollers that the Japanese kids loved to show off upon) and fighting games had their own sections. The arcade was in Akihabara, and had what seemed like a thousand cabinets, so the Sailor Moon game was relatively deserted.

Yeah I guess I can see that happening in Akihabara but probably nowhere else.

ariakon · 06-15-2012, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

Yeah I guess I can see that happening in Akihabara but probably nowhere else.

I normally stayed in Akasaka, where the arcades were smaller and cozier and stocked mostly with more normal stuff (Metal Slug, Tekken, SF, etc.). Lots of little hostess (and a few host) bars all over the place, though.

jsteinhauer · 06-22-2012, 01:54 AM

This game is kicking my butt. I can't even do chapter 2. I can't get the best of that elderly couple. This game also fatigues the right thumb very quickly.

with a few

mixed in.

Icemage · 06-22-2012, 04:11 AM

I have to say that I'm not terribly thrilled with Lollipop Chainsaw.

Based on about 6 hours spent with the game, here are some impressions:

Story
Lollipop Chainsaw oozes fanservice for people who were looking for young cheerleaders fighting hordes of icky zombies. If you're thinking that's something of a small demographic... well, yeah, it is.

You play as Juliet, a high school student whose secret life is that her entire family are zombie hunters. Her boyfriend doesn't know this, but finds out in the most traumatic way possible very early on in the story (this is not a spoiler, the game talks about this in the intro).

The rest of the game is basically Juliet unravelling the mystery of why almost everyone at school is now a zombie, slashing her way with her pom-poms and chainsaw through hordes of zombies to defeat bosses along the way.

Presentation
Lollipop Chainsaw wears its heart on its sleeve in terms of looks. It's not as stylized as No More Heroes, but it's still a brightly colored game despite the many, many zombies. The default setup has you smacking around enemies with your chainsaw, producing bursts of rainbow colors and sparkles.

Everything is presented at a decent frame-rate with no screen tearing, and the animations are pretty good, but the environments are a bit basic and static.

The audio in this game deserves an honorable mention, as there's an eclectic mix of background music and a few well-placed and very clever uses of licensed music as well. The intro screen uses Cherry Bomb by the Runaways, and going into Sparkle Hunting mode triggers the bizarre-but-hilariously-appropriate Mickey by Toni Basil as the background music while the mode is active.

Gameplay
Lollipop Chainsaw is a third-person action brawler with a sense of style, but some flaws in execution.

Juliet begins with a basic repertoire of combat moves and combos, and she can accumulate coins which let her expand her move set and upgrade her basic stats like health or recovery speed.

The combat system feels a bit like Dynasty Warriors crossed with Bayonetta. Juliet can not block attacks, but she is fairly nimble and can jump quickly, either to sidestep an attack, or to jump over an enemy (with an optional overhead smash attack as she's jumping over them).

Her basic attacks are her pom-poms (

), a high chainsaw attack (

), and a low chainsaw swipe (

).

allows her to jump. At first, the only combination attacks you get are the most basic ones;

->

for a quick jabbing pom-pom strike, followed by an immediate chainsaw swipe, plus a few jumping attacks like a jump-kick

->

, which lets you instantly daze an enemy if it lands. L1 lets you lock onto specific enemies and focus attacks on them if you want to either thin the herd or take down particularly annoying enemies first.

As mentioned above, you can spend money earned by defeating enemies or accomplishing tasks to upgrade your move set and learn longer and more powerful combination attacks.

The drawback to all of this is that there are often multiple enemies on-screen, sometimes many-multiples, making chaining together a combination risky. Juliet is easily interrupted mid-combo, and Lollipop Chainsaw doesn't go out of its way to give you a whole lot of "safe" attacks or give you much warning when an enemy is about to take a swipe at you.

Against single enemies, you're perfectly safe, as you can pretty much just beat them up and easily avoid their attacks, but taking on groups is fraught with peril. Both your pom-pom and chainsaw attacks can hit-stun enemies, but the pom-pom attacks have very little range, while the chainsaw attacks are slow. This means that no matter which combo you use, you don't often have an attack string that can keep you safely out of attack range of enemies that aren't currently being stunned by your attacks. Often times, an enemy in the back of the pack that is out of range can wind up an attack and dash in during the middle of your attack combo, hitting you and breaking your combo (which then means now you've got a whole pack of enemies coming out of hit-stun who can now follow up to attack you).

Boss fights, on the other hand, are entertaining and cool (as you'd expect from a Suda51 game), where you have to do a bit of thinking on your feet to figure out how to tackle each boss. Wading in and mashing buttons won't get you very far, and they hit far too hard to make that profitable.

Overall
I personally find the combat in Lollipop Chainsaw to be more tedious than fun. You get no instant reward for successfully evading an attack other than the simple fact that you avoided damage (unlike Bayonetta's very clever Witch Time mechanic for a well-timed dodge). You don't get the same sort of feel of control in crowds like you do in Batman: Arkham Asylum/City. You don't have the same sort of acrobatic and relatively safe styling attacks like you do in Devil May Cry.

What you do get is hordes of irritating enemies interleaved with some interesting boss fights. One part Dynasty Warriors, one part No More Heroes.

I don't think I can bring myself to slog through the former just to enjoy the rest of the latter, but your mileage may vary.

Talal86 · 07-04-2012, 09:28 PM

Just beat this, it's a BLAST!

I kept getting trophies throughout the game, but when I checked later, it was only 27% (19 bronze)

I really suck at collecting trophies..

jsteinhauer · 07-09-2012, 07:20 PM

I only have left to defeat Killabilly. Like Shadows of the Damned, the game actually grows on you a little in time, and I've really got nothing else around right now. It was pretty difficult early on, playing on Hard, before upgrading health and strength. It took me a very long time to get past the elderly couple in the Prologue, as well as the exploding birthday cake. I still haven't figured out how homing works. I admit it's frustrating sometimes that you can't counter attacks, but there are plenty of health-restoring lollipops to keep you going. I, too, am surprised at how few of the game trophies you unlock naturally playing the game. Looking at them after the fact reveals several of them to be for things you would never, never think to do. Those are really the worst kind.

Another aspect of the theme is that it's Juliet's birthday, and this zombie outbreak threatens to ruin it.

Music, musicians more specifically, are a major element in the last half to two thirds of the game. I can't really figure out why.

While the game at face value might seem to be a little pedophiliac, it's really nothing more than a little lecherous, and when you get right down to it, Juliet is not in the least seductive. I think Arkham City is a sexier game by far, but maybe that's just me. I'm not into schoolgirls.

Grim Reaper · 08-28-2012, 10:00 PM

in the latest issue of @gamer mag from best buy. there is a coupon for $20 off.

MOONPHASE · 08-28-2012, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Speaking at a Kadokawa Games event, Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Goichi Suda announced 700,000 units of Lollipop Chainsaw were shipped worldwide. Suda said this is a new record for Grasshopper Manufacture and he enthusiastically said there’s 300,000 left to break the million mark.

Prior to working with Kadokawa Games and Warner Bros., Grasshopper Manufacture partnered with Electronic Arts to develop Shadows of the Damned and Marvelous Entertainment to create No More Heroes.

Grasshopper Manufacture’s next major title is the PS3/Xbox 360 title Killer is Dead, which Kadokawa Games will release in Japan next year. A new movie with a dark atmosphere and stylish battle scenes was shown to attendees.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/08/27...00000-shipped/

DealsR4theDevil · 10-30-2012, 04:31 PM

19.99 at amazon ... tempting. I kind of feel this will be 10 bucks on black friday though. any thoughts?

RaijinUT · 10-30-2012, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

19.99 at amazon ... tempting. I kind of feel this will be 10 bucks on black friday though. any thoughts?

I am in the same boat... I doubt it will get under 10 bucks though. If it does, then it will be as one of those limited door buster type of deals to clear inventory.

Moneydemon3 · 10-30-2012, 05:03 PM

I bought this game a couple of days ago and was on the fence. It is totally worth it. Just buy it.

MOONPHASE · 10-30-2012, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

19.99 at amazon ... tempting. I kind of feel this will be 10 bucks on black friday though. any thoughts?

Seems doubtful to reach $10. But the $20 price on Amazon is actually because Gamestop is selling it for $20 and so Amazon price-matched with them.

DealsR4theDevil · 10-31-2012, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

Seems doubtful to reach $10. But the $20 price on Amazon is actually because Gamestop is selling it for $20 and so Amazon price-matched with them.

Maybe it would hit $15, but your probably right. I went ahead and ordered it.

RaijinUT · 10-31-2012, 02:05 AM

I grabbed it too

Spiderbri · 10-31-2012, 02:09 AM

i just started playing it two days ago. it's cute, but i'm playing on hard for the trophies and it's very frustrating. I'm having trouble getting motivated to play it. i keep upgrading her health at every chance, but those named zombies and the sheer number of normal zombies are making it hard to have fun.

i will try and get a combo move next and see if that helps make the groups easier to take. I've been told the armadillo move is very helpful so I'll get that.

love the style and humor of it though.

AikonEnt · 10-31-2012, 01:29 PM

Got the game yesterday, think I'll play this next as it seems like some short button bashing fun.

jsteinhauer · 11-01-2012, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spiderbri

i just started playing it two days ago. it's cute, but i'm playing on hard for the trophies and it's very frustrating. I'm having trouble getting motivated to play it. i keep upgrading her health at every chance, but those named zombies and the sheer number of normal zombies are making it hard to have fun.

i will try and get a combo move next and see if that helps make the groups easier to take. I've been told the armadillo move is very helpful so I'll get that.

love the style and humor of it though.

Hard was very hard at first. It gets easier once you get some good combos with wide areas of effect. The first group of named zombies were a total bear, and the first old lady and man with walker was the toughest part of the game for me. You can also go back and play your hard game via chapter select once you beat it on a lower difficulty and you have a lot of combos, but you need to play on hard to find all of the lollipop wrappers.

GP Legend · 11-02-2012, 06:45 AM

I got a copy of this game for EB Games because it was on sale for $20. I already beat it yesterday and got 100% of the achievements. I got it for 360. But if I had it on PS3, I would have had a platinum for it, lol.

It was not a bad game, for $20 at least. Not something I would want to pay $60 for, though.

DealsR4theDevil · 11-02-2012, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GP Legend

I got a copy of this game for EB Games because it was on sale for $20. I already beat it yesterday and got 100% of the achievements. I got it for 360. But if I had it on PS3, I would have had a platinum for it, lol.

It was not a bad game, for $20 at least. Not something I would want to pay $60 for, though.

How long did it take you? You are making it sound short lol

GP Legend · 11-03-2012, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DealsR4theDevil

How long did it take you? You are making it sound short lol

It is short. I spent about two days getting 100% on it.

06-22-2012, 04:11 AM	#64
Icemage Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007	I have to say that I'm not terribly thrilled with Lollipop Chainsaw. Based on about 6 hours spent with the game, here are some impressions: Story Lollipop Chainsaw oozes fanservice for people who were looking for young cheerleaders fighting hordes of icky zombies. If you're thinking that's something of a small demographic... well, yeah, it is. You play as Juliet, a high school student whose secret life is that her entire family are zombie hunters. Her boyfriend doesn't know this, but finds out in the most traumatic way possible very early on in the story (this is not a spoiler, the game talks about this in the intro). The rest of the game is basically Juliet unravelling the mystery of why almost everyone at school is now a zombie, slashing her way with her pom-poms and chainsaw through hordes of zombies to defeat bosses along the way. Presentation Lollipop Chainsaw wears its heart on its sleeve in terms of looks. It's not as stylized as No More Heroes, but it's still a brightly colored game despite the many, many zombies. The default setup has you smacking around enemies with your chainsaw, producing bursts of rainbow colors and sparkles. Everything is presented at a decent frame-rate with no screen tearing, and the animations are pretty good, but the environments are a bit basic and static. The audio in this game deserves an honorable mention, as there's an eclectic mix of background music and a few well-placed and very clever uses of licensed music as well. The intro screen uses Cherry Bomb by the Runaways, and going into Sparkle Hunting mode triggers the bizarre-but-hilariously-appropriate Mickey by Toni Basil as the background music while the mode is active. Gameplay Lollipop Chainsaw is a third-person action brawler with a sense of style, but some flaws in execution. Juliet begins with a basic repertoire of combat moves and combos, and she can accumulate coins which let her expand her move set and upgrade her basic stats like health or recovery speed. The combat system feels a bit like Dynasty Warriors crossed with Bayonetta. Juliet can not block attacks, but she is fairly nimble and can jump quickly, either to sidestep an attack, or to jump over an enemy (with an optional overhead smash attack as she's jumping over them). Her basic attacks are her pom-poms (), a high chainsaw attack (), and a low chainsaw swipe (). allows her to jump. At first, the only combination attacks you get are the most basic ones; -> for a quick jabbing pom-pom strike, followed by an immediate chainsaw swipe, plus a few jumping attacks like a jump-kick -> , which lets you instantly daze an enemy if it lands. L1 lets you lock onto specific enemies and focus attacks on them if you want to either thin the herd or take down particularly annoying enemies first. As mentioned above, you can spend money earned by defeating enemies or accomplishing tasks to upgrade your move set and learn longer and more powerful combination attacks. The drawback to all of this is that there are often multiple enemies on-screen, sometimes many-multiples, making chaining together a combination risky. Juliet is easily interrupted mid-combo, and Lollipop Chainsaw doesn't go out of its way to give you a whole lot of "safe" attacks or give you much warning when an enemy is about to take a swipe at you. Against single enemies, you're perfectly safe, as you can pretty much just beat them up and easily avoid their attacks, but taking on groups is fraught with peril. Both your pom-pom and chainsaw attacks can hit-stun enemies, but the pom-pom attacks have very little range, while the chainsaw attacks are slow. This means that no matter which combo you use, you don't often have an attack string that can keep you safely out of attack range of enemies that aren't currently being stunned by your attacks. Often times, an enemy in the back of the pack that is out of range can wind up an attack and dash in during the middle of your attack combo, hitting you and breaking your combo (which then means now you've got a whole pack of enemies coming out of hit-stun who can now follow up to attack you). Boss fights, on the other hand, are entertaining and cool (as you'd expect from a Suda51 game), where you have to do a bit of thinking on your feet to figure out how to tackle each boss. Wading in and mashing buttons won't get you very far, and they hit far too hard to make that profitable. Overall I personally find the combat in Lollipop Chainsaw to be more tedious than fun. You get no instant reward for successfully evading an attack other than the simple fact that you avoided damage (unlike Bayonetta's very clever Witch Time mechanic for a well-timed dodge). You don't get the same sort of feel of control in crowds like you do in Batman: Arkham Asylum/City. You don't have the same sort of acrobatic and relatively safe styling attacks like you do in Devil May Cry. What you do get is hordes of irritating enemies interleaved with some interesting boss fights. One part Dynasty Warriors, one part No More Heroes. I don't think I can bring myself to slog through the former just to enjoy the rest of the latter, but your mileage may vary.

06-22-2012, 01:54 AM	#63
jsteinhauer Gaming Moderator Member since:Aug 2007 Blu-ray reviews:120 Trading Score:66	This game is kicking my butt. I can't even do chapter 2. I can't get the best of that elderly couple. This game also fatigues the right thumb very quickly. with a few mixed in.

07-04-2012, 09:28 PM	#65
Talal86 Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Dec 2010 4K collection:227 Blu-ray collection:373 DVD collection:2 Trading Score:74	Just beat this, it's a BLAST! I kept getting trophies throughout the game, but when I checked later, it was only 27% (19 bronze) I really suck at collecting trophies..

07-09-2012, 07:20 PM	#66
jsteinhauer Gaming Moderator Member since:Aug 2007 Blu-ray reviews:120 Trading Score:66	I only have left to defeat Killabilly. Like Shadows of the Damned, the game actually grows on you a little in time, and I've really got nothing else around right now. It was pretty difficult early on, playing on Hard, before upgrading health and strength. It took me a very long time to get past the elderly couple in the Prologue, as well as the exploding birthday cake. I still haven't figured out how homing works. I admit it's frustrating sometimes that you can't counter attacks, but there are plenty of health-restoring lollipops to keep you going. I, too, am surprised at how few of the game trophies you unlock naturally playing the game. Looking at them after the fact reveals several of them to be for things you would never, never think to do. Those are really the worst kind. Another aspect of the theme is that it's Juliet's birthday, and this zombie outbreak threatens to ruin it. Music, musicians more specifically, are a major element in the last half to two thirds of the game. I can't really figure out why. While the game at face value might seem to be a little pedophiliac, it's really nothing more than a little lecherous, and when you get right down to it, Juliet is not in the least seductive. I think Arkham City is a sexier game by far, but maybe that's just me. I'm not into schoolgirls.

08-28-2012, 10:00 PM	#67
Grim Reaper Blu-ray Duke Top contributor Member since:Jun 2006 Location:Let Me In! 4K collection:499 Blu-ray collection:2022 DVD collection:25 Trading Score:13	in the latest issue of @gamer mag from best buy. there is a coupon for $20 off.

10-30-2012, 04:31 PM	#69
DealsR4theDevil Power Member Member since:Sep 2007 Trading Score:76	19.99 at amazon ... tempting. I kind of feel this will be 10 bucks on black friday though. any thoughts?

10-30-2012, 05:03 PM	#71
Moneydemon3 Senior Member Member since:Mar 2007 Location:Wisconsin Dells, WI Trading Score:176	I bought this game a couple of days ago and was on the fence. It is totally worth it. Just buy it.

10-31-2012, 02:05 AM	#74
RaijinUT Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Mar 2010 Location:Salt Lake City Blu-ray collection:140	I grabbed it too

10-31-2012, 02:09 AM	#75
Spiderbri Blu-ray Guru Member since:Oct 2008 Location:PA Home Theater Gallery:7 Blu-ray collection:152 Trading Score:2	i just started playing it two days ago. it's cute, but i'm playing on hard for the trophies and it's very frustrating. I'm having trouble getting motivated to play it. i keep upgrading her health at every chance, but those named zombies and the sheer number of normal zombies are making it hard to have fun. i will try and get a combo move next and see if that helps make the groups easier to take. I've been told the armadillo move is very helpful so I'll get that. love the style and humor of it though.

10-31-2012, 01:29 PM	#76
AikonEnt Blu-ray Guru Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Crawley, UK Blu-ray collection:246	Got the game yesterday, think I'll play this next as it seems like some short button bashing fun.

11-02-2012, 06:45 AM	#78
GP Legend Banned Top contributor Member since:Jul 2009 Location:BC, Canada 4K collection:47 Blu-ray collection:275 DVD collection:53 Trading Score:11	I got a copy of this game for EB Games because it was on sale for $20. I already beat it yesterday and got 100% of the achievements. I got it for 360. But if I had it on PS3, I would have had a platinum for it, lol. It was not a bad game, for $20 at least. Not something I would want to pay $60 for, though.

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