It's been quite some time since I've posted a review on here. I blame working, unemployment, and then working again. Anywho, I've polished off a few games since then, including the Sony exclusive Guacamelee, found on Vita and PS3 (identical versions). But enough talk, have at you!
Guacamelee is a strictly melee based Metroid, and it doesn't hide this. For God's sake you literally get power ups from Chozo statues, and the goat-man yells at you constantly for breaking them. It's this type of humor, with references galore, that keeps you literally giggling the entire time. This game is funny. Funny, yet still an amazing game that is serious while not taking itself seriously.
The game is of the Metroidvania vane, where you explore a 2D map, gathering powerups that allow you to progress to new areas. For instance, you gain an uppercut that allows you to smash red blocks. I'm not going to spoil all of the powerups for you, but you can enter the final boss battle with unlimited mobility. Screw it, don't read this if you don't want spoilers, but you gain the ability to become a chicken and eventually fly. I told you this game is silly.
Combat and platforming are equally the focus here; the platforming gets intense, but is nothing to a Super Meat Boy vet. There are a few really difficult bonus sections that I managed to clear with minimal frustration, and I don't consider myself amazing at platformers. Good, but not elite.
The combat is surprisingly deep, considering the lack of variety in enemies. There aren't more than 20 unique enemies in this game. But the difficulty scales by giving them armor that can only be broken by a certain move, or placing them in an alternate dimension where only they can hurt you, and you have to switch to to damage them. I probably should have mentioned this...but you gain the ability to switch between the living and dead dimensions instantly, with the universes paralleling eachother. So you hit R and end up exactly where you were in an instant, just with reverse enemies, platforms, yadda yadda. Ok so to further the combat, there are some intricate combos available considering you have X amount of base moves and 4 special moves. It doesn't get too stale, I can tell you that. It can get a bit tough but I never took more than a few turns to get through an area, and they give you ample health and breathing room. The special moves are limited to a set amount that replenish fairly quickly, so you're rarely standing idle for too long. There's also a pretty vital grapple system that can really save your butt due to invisibility frames and smash attacks. Those are upgraded from the shop, which I'll talk about later. The grapple can only be initiated after a certain amount of damage has been inflicted on the particular opponent.
Platforming...platforming is pretty great in this game. The dimensional play adds a very unique twist, and the special moves also add to it, ala Super Smash Brothers (using Mario's uppercut to get more distance, essentially). Plus you gain some special moves later that add to it but aren't combat oriented (although they can aid in combat). The platforming in the main game never gets too bad, but there are some hidden areas that are pretty stinking annoying that I'll get into later.
Ok, so back to the main game. You progress, unlock new items to unlock new areas, fight people. Boss wise I think there are 4, maybe 5. They're all pretty unique but not terrible tough. Two I beat without batting an eyelash and honestly spaced out half the fight. The final boss is an homage to Castlevania, complete with an easy to remember pattern. While playing Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, it got to the point where I was perfecting Dracula and doing speed runs. The final boss was really easy for me to memorize and I ended up perfecting on the 4th or 5th run. Still a satisfying battle.
Now you don't level up, per se, but you do collect some stuff (again like SM), and can buy upgrades. I was disappointed with the amount of available upgrades, although I did buy my absolute last one right before the final boss, so I guess it was paced well, but everything in there actually affected my play. As for collectibles, there are heart pieces (which upgrade your health), skull pieces (which give you more stamina to do moves) and a third I didn't even know about until I beat the game. I was awarded a piece to a mask, and upon looking it up, I found that collecting 5/6 pieces (the final boss' doesn't save), you get the move I spoiled earlier involving a chicken. These pieces are hidden pretty well, considering I didn't even know they existed until the end, and earning them can be quite tough, although I managed to do it all in a sitting. So either they're not that bad or I'm getting a lot better at video games...who knows.
Difficulty...I was a little disappointed as I found the quite pretty easy. Hand-holding is abundant, whether it's the marker on the screen telling you where to go or the fact that everything that requires a special move is color coded based on the required move. The main game is very straight forward, but some of the bigger secrets are tucked away. This game is nothing like Super Metroid in terms of just letting the player figure out everything for themselves. There were a few times I got completely stuck in SM; not in Guacamelee.
With that said, I highly recommend this game. It's funny, graphically pleasing, and enjoyable. I'm thrilled by the Live Market and PSStore, as I feel it's an avenue for games like this. Forcing them to justify a retail presence in this generation is really tough. This is the perfect medium. $15 is a fine price for this game. $30+ I would have been quite disappointed in the length. Guacamelee can be taken in short doses, as well, so you can turn it on for 10 minutes in the can and pick right up where you left off.
Short review for a short game. Next one I do should be for Super Metroid, but I'm considering a tangent into the Deadpool game, since I just finished it an hour ago.
