What I didn’t expect for 2024 was Dragami Games remastering the iconic 2012 Japanese video game, Lollipop Chainsaw.
One worry I have is that Goichi Suda and James Gunn will not be returning, along with the lack of licensed tracks such as “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive, which added to the game’s energy and vibe.
For those who didn’t play Lollipop Chainsaw, it was a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hack-and-slash game where you play as Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong), a cheerleader from a zombie-slaying family. Juliet has to deal with a zombie outbreak on her 18th birthday, save her boyfriend Nick Carlyle (voiced by Michael Rosenbaum), who’s now just a head she wears on her belt, and society as a whole.
One thing I always loved was that even the villains had great voice actors, ranging from Michael Rooker as a Viking Metal-themed villain to Rick Wasserman as a Rock n’ Roll-themed villain to a Punk Rock villain voiced by Jimmy Urine. This brings me to the fact that while Jimmy Urine does a voice, why isn’t there a song from his side project “The Left Rights”?
I mean, this seemed like something that would fit the insanity of the Left Rights. They promoted the album “Bad Choices Made Easy” by having the comic strip/cartoon character “the 4y-Guy” try to sell the album to a random guy who came into his store looking for “Something Different.”
The remaster coming out is called “RePOP,” which has a normal version that is basically the original release but also offers a version with “pop-art” damage effects and toned-down violence, which I can understand.
I don’t like the idea of it changing, but I understand they have to do something for this new version.
I’ll admit I have some hope for this remaster, but it stinks that they had to remove the licensed music. As long as they keep the voice acting and fun gameplay, I have some hope for this remake.
Even if the game stinks, we still have the PS3 and 360 versions we can return to. With PS3 emulation getting better, we can use our original discs.