Guacamelee steps back into the ring with a “Game of the year edition” treatment: Super Turbo Championship Edition! Aside from being a nod to Street Fighter, this rendition gives us an overhauled story which features some new abilities, enemies, and the surprisingly satisfying ability called INTENSO, but is it worth donning Juan's mask once again?
A highly anticipated Vita title, Guacamelee (released April 2013) met most of my expectations. It’d been awhile since I played a "metroid-vania" game, and the addition of the beat 'em up elements only further enticed me, and I’ll admit I find Luchadors and their bizarre showmanship and honor around their masks enjoyable in a goofy kind of way.
For those unfamiliar with the game, the player is thrust into the role of Juan, a lowly agave farmer who is looked down upon by most, but not his childhood friend, who is kidnapped in the opening sequence of the game. Over the course of the eight to ten hour adventure (more if you want to seek out every collectible and ace all the challenge missions), you’ll learn a variety of special abilities that can be chained together to help maneuver some of the later regions. The most unique in this regard is the ability to shift dimensions, where platforms will materialize where they weren’t before, and some enemies will be invulnerable, while others will be freely attacked, and vice versa. It’s an interesting mechanic that even factors into boss fights, and it’s implemented incredibly well.
You will be doing a lot fighting with your fists and feet against a decent variety of enemies in the game, but the combat and depth of Guacamelee’s fighting is easily the selling point. Combos are very flexible, and the use of certain abilities is necessary to defeat specific enemies as well.
An addition to the Super Turbo Championship Edition is the ability for Juan to hulk out in a new power up called "INTENSO." Once his meter fills up (either from breaking barrels containing the essence or defeating a supercharged enemy), Juan becomes notably faster, deals incredible damage, and eventually unlocks the ability to have his health regenerate when he is in this mode. It’s a rush whenever it pops up, and the game isn’t afraid to throw a large number of enemies at you to encourage its use.
I really can’t stress how well implemented the combat is in this game though. As you get the hang of tying moves together, you’ll see yourself going from 10-20 hit strings well into the 80s and 90s and beyond in some encounters, really helping remind you just how much you’ve mastered the combat.
The new content also fits very smoothly for the most part. The reveal of the new boss is humorous and most likely intentional, as the other bosses reveal themselves alongside Calaca, the new addition comes in at the very last moment asking what they missed. There are also a bevy of challenges that were released as DLC for the Vita and PS3, but they are all included in this new edition, alongside the various costumes that came out. They are mostly the same, with the exception being a new Mayan warlord outfit that directly ties into Intenso’s build-up and duration. The costumes all have their ups and downs and are worth trying, but I found myself going back to the Pinata one, mostly for the risk of the increased damage for added difficulty, as well as the increased gold gain to unlock abilities sooner. They are all nice options, but not necessary, as plain old Juan gets the job done just fine.
Overall, if you’re dying to play a Metroid-vania or beat 'em up, Guacamelee is right up your alley but it’s not just for fans of those genres though. Guacamelee is a very well made game, and arguably Drinkbox Studio’s best title. It’s a fresh idea, has tight gameplay with a flexible combat system, and it has some sorely underrated music. The track that sticks out to me the most is The Temple of Rain, and you’ll understand where I’m coming from once you listen yourself. If you haven’t tried the previous entry, there’s no reason not to start on Super Turbo Championship Edition as it has all the original content, and then some.
- Scott Sullivan
The Good:
- The combat is incredibly satisfying and visceral
-snappy, colorful graphics and great enemy design
- Large world, a very solid amount of content for the low price
- SKELETONS! MEXICAN SKELETONS!
The Bad:
- Use of internet memes in some references may be a huge turn-off to some
-Some of the later end game challenges are incredibly challenging
- new content may not be enough to justify a second visit to some people
