Let me tell you how the first few minutes of Romeo is a Dead Man play out. It begins with the whole universe floating in a fish tank, set to dreamy music that turns into Japanese rap. That’s just the start screen. Then comes a stop-motion cartoon intro over a pretty little model town. Next, we jump inside a police car, a zombie attack happens, the hero dies in a bloody way, a door opens to space and time, and there’s a grandpa riding a motorcycle. Romeo Stargazer gets brought back to life with a needle in his eye and a big space helmet. More zombies show up. A love story flashes back, shown by a lively camera moving over a nice drawn comic book. Romeo has an evil girlfriend Juliet who jumps between worlds, and his grandpa like Doc Brown comes back as a living patch on a jacket. If I had not played it for six hours straight, I would say Romeo is a Dead Man is the type of game they stopped making long ago.
This new strange creation from the quirky team at Grasshopper Manufacture seems shot out from the old days. Back when video games were free and wild with no rules. I know this is my old memories talking through rose-colored glasses. Still, it makes me think of games like El Shaddai, Asura’s Wrath, and Seaman. And almost everything by Grasshopper leader Goichi Suda, known as Suda51. Suda once said his style is punk. But for Romeo is a Dead Man, he calls it jazz. That change might mean a game with less sharp edges but more heart. Yet it stays just as free and creative.
For all its crazy side stuff, Romeo is a Dead Man has a clear main part. Grasshopper gives another super-fast sword-fighting game from behind the hero. It’s like their No More Heroes mixed with Killer is Dead. Maybe a bit like Killer7 from Suda and Shinji Mikami in 2005. In other words, it’s Suda doing his best work. If you did not like his games before, this wild one might not win you over. But I like them a lot. From my view, Romeo is a happy comeback full of joy.
Since Grasshopper has done this fight style many times, it’s no shock that the basic fighting is the best part right away. Like in No More Heroes and Killer is Dead, the fast sword swings are so strong and full of bright colors, it’s hard to see straight. But there’s more than just the endless sprays of neon blood. Romeo’s fighting uses light hits, heavy hits, and special moves with wild colorful starts. It feels smooth and beats like music. It’s very pleasing every time.
It’s not super deep yet, that’s true. But Grasshopper adds some twists to keep it fun. First, you can shoot a quick gun anytime. Aim at the flower weak spots on foes for big damage. It adds a nice beat, a bit like Killer7. Romeo fights many kinds of undead Rotters. This stops the sword work from getting boring. There are snipers, charging mutants with big tomato heads, huge muscle guys with clap attacks, and small bugs that shoot exploding poop. And that’s before the big boss fights. Those have giant mutants with long arms or heads that shoot electricity. They make fighting like a puzzle sometimes.
Fighting holds everything together well. You might feel Grasshopper wanted more than they had time or money for, like always. But what I played feels like one of their smoothest games. You jump through time as a new FBI space-time agent. You see places like a nice 80s mall hunting a soldier turned gangster, or a 1960s office building. The areas are big enough to run around and fight enemies. Goals like finding generators keep you on track. Nothing fancy, but it’s quick and light so it stays fun. It fits Romeo’s rhythm like Souls games. Save points let you travel fast, reset enemies, and farm money to level up. This makes fighting better.
In the middle of all this, Grasshopper adds extra flavor with dimension layers on levels. Touch the old TVs that play jazz around, and a man without a head takes you to a blocky other world. It adds jumping and puzzles as you switch worlds to reach new spots. Like most extra parts in Romeo is a Dead Man, it’s not perfect. But it mixes things up when fighting might get old.
Romeo is a Dead Man is packed with this kind of thing. It’s hard not to like its endless happy ideas. On your ship, there’s farming like a top-down old RPG. Grow seeds into Rotters that fight with you. There’s a curry cooking game like a fancy cartoon show. Fry items for strong food buffs. A scanning game like four paddles in Pong. A space fly in first person through time with random dungeons for prizes. Leveling is a Pac-Man maze. Get badges for powers, buy guns or big hammers, and upgrade them. I could list more.
It’s a crazy, fun pile of weird systems that fit together. Alone, some might not hold up. But all jammed into this silly world of science cats, other-world dojos, and a sweet love story across time and space, it’s great. The characters help too. They have a fun script with silly jokes and some touching parts. They make you like them right away.
After six hours, Romeo is a Dead Man is not perfect. But it’s been a long time since a game kept me so happy and hooked. It’s smart, silly, amazing, creative, and clear. It feels like one solid thing, not just luck. They don’t make games like this anymore, if they ever did. But they made it, it’s great, and I love it so far.