Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition review: bigger title, better game

Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition is hipster paradise. If it were a person it would be a jaded, iPhone-loving, tight-jean-wearing, ironic-saying-on-a-t-shirt-toting, Neutral Milk Hotel-listening god. Unlike most hipsters who drown in the mainstream, it swims against the mainstream.

While every developer worth its salt (or artisanal coffee beans, since that’s quite hipster) tries oh-so-very hard to do something different, the nice people at Drinkbox Studios decided to make one of the most derivative games of all time.

From the design that’s a blatant rip-off of all things Metroid and Castlevania to the walls of the game’s various environments that are filled with Internet memes. Heck, even the name is derivative (either a play on guacamole or a portmanteau of guacamole and melee if I were to take a guess). What’s more, it’s a re-release of a game that only came out last year.

Did I mention that this year’s release takes all the pages from Capcom’s “Names for Street Fighter” book by adding the words “Super Turbo Championship Edition” to the name?

There are very few single-player games outside the RPG and RTS genre worth playing through a second time. And even fewer that demand your time and energy for the inevitable “definitive” re-release. This is one of them.

“Why?” I hear you chortle? Because all the additions to it work well with what is an already solid game. There’s enough variety to keep old-timers like myself who bought the first release of the game a year ago and newbies will get the joy of experiencing this fantastic mishmash of Mexican culture and Internet memes for the first time.

Before I get to the additional features, Guacamelee has you in the role of Juan. No sooner does the game start than you find yourself dead and the love of your life kidnapped by a flaming skeleton. You find yourself back in the land of the living as a Mexican wrestler with some killer moves at your disposal.

Along the way you’ll solve puzzles and end a host of supernatural psychos who stand in your way from run of the mill skeletons to catchy named bosses such as Javier Jaguar who pack quite the punch. You’ll be switching between two dimensions as well, one of the living and the other of the dead as you try to save the world. It’s a great looking game, basking in an abundance of color backed up by slick animations and punchy music.

Aside from the obvious more words to the title, new features include an ability to help you switch dimensions called Shadow Swap, pollo egg bombs to help you navigate hard to reach areas, and extra save slots. These don’t change the gameplay in any large way. But what does change the way you play is a new power called Intenso. When the appropriate meter fills up you can active Intenso which makes you a whole lot more powerful than you usually are. As you continue mashing your opponents into pulp, the meter keeps filling up. The moment you don’t perform stylish combos and kills, it reduces. This single mechanic changes the way you’ll approach boss fights and the many times you find yourself swamped with hordes of enemies to slay. It makes the game a lot more offense heavy, much like God of War.

In addition to this two, new levels found their way into the game. One is the Canal of Flowers. It’s a busy section of gameplay replete with a ton of foes to slaughter amidst the backdrop of abundant greenery. The other level is that of Pico de Gallo, it’s a volcanic section with lava galore and has you squaring up against a new boss known as El Trio de la Muerte (Trio of Death). Both of these are fantastic add-ons to the game, not only do they expand the game’s length, they fit right in and don’t feel forced.

Having said that, one of the original game’s issues still exists. The dash function is mapped too close to other critical moves such as being able to jump. This makes platforming segments a lot more troublesome than they should be. Even more so when another platform-critical ability, the flaming uppercut requires a similar player input. You’ll find yourself performing uppercuts instead of dashing till you get the hang of some quirky and cramped choice of control layout.

So whether you’re a newbie or an old-hand, Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition is well worth the download. It might be a slow month for brand new games, but it’s a great month for good games and this just proves it.