Romeo is a Dead Man

Romeo is a Dead Man is described by Japanese developer Grasshopper Manufacture as an "ultra violent science-fiction action game", which is a very apt description, I think. Because Romeo is a Dead Man is a mixture of many things and is very difficult to place in a traditional genre box.

The game was created by Japanese game designer Goichi "Suda51" Suda in collaboration with Ren Yamazaki, and the two have also collaborated on games such as No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, and Killer is Dead. Suda51 is a man with a very, very twisted mind, and although he is now 58 years old, his mind has not become any less twisted with age. It's still jangling and clanging in Romeo is a Dead Man, and it's all pointing in all sorts of different directions, which is exactly as it usually is when Suda51 is involved in something - and exactly as it should be.

To get a little insight into the madness, we need to spend some time on the story. You take on the role of Romeo Stargazer (probably the best name in gaming), who is the deputy sheriff in Deadford, Pennsylvania. However, his life suddenly changes when he is attacked and mortally wounded by a White Devil, a mysterious monster that takes half his face and his right arm. Romeo is saved at the last minute by his brilliant (and slightly mad) grandfather and scientist Benjamin Stargazer. He has developed a so-called "Gear Life Support System", a device that Romeo wears on his head and which keeps him artificially alive by balancing him on the edge between life and death by creating a time paradox.

In his efforts to save Romeo, his grandfather dies, but he manages to install himself as a kind of talking embroidery on the back of Romeo's jacket so that he can still help and guide Romeo - and he will need it. Because, of course, it doesn't stop there. Shortly afterwards, Romeo is approached by a guy from the FBI's Space-Time Police (who is constantly unsure whether to call Romeo his traditional name or DeadMan), as Romeo's missing girlfriend, Juliet Dendrobium, has been classified as a "Space-Time Drifter" - and the FBI Space-Time Police are very keen to get their hands on her. Therefore, he is hired as a member of the unit with the catchy name: FBI Wanted Space-Time Criminal Special Investigative Task Force.

As is probably quite clear here, this is a classic Suda51 story, where a lot is going on and it can be difficult to keep up with everything. This is typical of games from Suda51, which are usually filled with personality, often completely crazy, with insanely convoluted stories, but also brimming with creativity. Often, when viewed in isolation as games, they are not particularly convincing, but it would also be wrong to view them as such. That said, Romeo is a Dead Man is not nearly as janky as Suda's previous games (but there is still jank) and it's clearly the best game he has made, while retaining the distinct Suda51 characteristics.

As mentioned earlier, Romeo is a Dead Man is difficult to categorise, but at its heart, the game is a 3D hack 'n' slash action game, much like Killer Is Dead and Lollipop Chainsaw, and I also got some Bayonetta vibes here and there. Here, you are equipped with a range of melee weapons of various kinds, such as swords, but also firearms such as a pistol, a shotgun, and others. When I say "sword" and "shotgun", it's worth remembering that this is a game from Suda51, so we are far from dealing with normal swords and normal shotguns here.

This hack 'n' slash part works really well. The combat system is fast, you hack your way through hordes of zombie-like enemies called "Rotters" while collecting various resources that can be used to upgrade weapons and other items. You have a fast and light attack, a slower but more powerful attack, and when a blood meter is filled up, you can perform a Bloody Summer super attack. It's all spiced up with quite interesting boss fights and a few Soulslike elements, such as all enemies in an area respawning when you save the game. It works and plays surprisingly well, but one could have wished for a few more different enemies.

Just when you thought the monotony was starting to set in, the game suddenly changes to a completely different genre, where you have to sneak around unseen and... No, I won't reveal any more, but I wish Grasshopper Manufacture would make a game in this, by their standards, very different genre, because it also works quite well.

Between each mission, you return to the FBI Space-Time Police spaceship Last Night, which serves as the game's central hub or base. Here you are assigned new missions, you can play against bosses you have already defeated, and you can upgrade your weapons and unlock new ones. It sounds very normal, but again, keep in mind that this is a game from Suda51. This means that everything aboard the Last Night spaceship is designed as a semi-top-down 16-bit pixel adventure game, which stands in stark visual contrast to the hack 'n' slash part.

Another nice touch is that you can take various so-called "Bastards" with you on the different missions. These Bastards are a kind of zombie that you can send after your enemies if you find yourself in trouble along the way. The way to get these Bastards is to grow them in the beds of the spaceship's kitchen garden. Yes, you read that right, you grow zombies in the soil of the kitchen garden. You plant a Bastard seed (which you find during the missions) and after a short time, you pull a zombie out of the ground and take it with you on missions. There are a total of 21 different Bastards, all with different attacks and characteristics. It's wonderfully crazy.

In Marianne's kitchen, you can use a mini-game to make different curry dishes, which you can also take with you on missions. When consumed, they improve your attack strength, strengthen your defence, or extend the range of your firearms for a short period of time. The ingredients for these curry dishes can, of course, also be found around the game, or they can be purchased at Shiroyabu's shop on board the Last Night.

I would say that these segments aboard the Last Night are sometimes a little too long and end up becoming boring, making you long to return to slaughtering Rotters around you. Underneath all the craziness, as mentioned before, there is a really well-functioning hack 'n' slash action game that is simply a pleasure to play, not only by Suda51's standards, but in general. Another big part of the game is some more exploration-oriented so-called Subspace levels, where you have to find your way through some virtual corridors, which you access via some so-called "Nirvana TVs". These sections contrast well with the action-packed gameplay, but they are used too much, especially towards the end, which is a bit unfortunate as they are not the most exciting and are clearly the most boring parts of the game visually.

The structure of Romeo is a Dead Man is delightfully old-school. There is no open world here, but instead a series of linear missions separated by a hub world where you upgrade yourself and get new missions. Even though, as we have just revealed, none of this is normal, but the structure is recognisable. It's easy to get into and the lowest difficulty level is really easy, but if you want more of a challenge, you have to choose the orange chocolate from the chocolate box, because yes, you choose the difficulty level by selecting different chocolates from a beautiful box of filled chocolates. Again, this is Suda51 we're dealing with here.

Romeo is a Dead Man is a game with dozens of graphic styles. The hack 'n' slash part could more or less resemble other 3D action games, except that the enemies dissolve into a cloud of blood and rose petals when they are defeated. Another visual direction is, as mentioned, the 16-bit pixel style between missions aboard the Last Night. The pause screen resembles something from the 1970s, the options menu resembles something from teletext (for those who remember that kind of thing), the story is told through comic book sequences in several different styles, the machines where you upgrade and unlock new weapons resemble an old-fashioned stereo system combined with a Japanese game show, and the menu where you save your game resembles... well, an error message from a very old computer - it's certainly not pretty. The creativity is insane, and it's crazy how many different styles the designers have managed to mix together and somehow make it work anyway. It all exudes great creativity, and there's nothing else out there that resembles Romeo is a Dead Man.

The audio is just as crazy as the visuals. The sound effects are quite nice and work well, while the soundtrack ranges from fast electronic tracks to jazz and something that sounds like a child who has had too much candy and been placed in front of a piano that hasn't been tuned properly.

How do you summarise a game like Romeo is a Dead Man? It's not actually that easy. However, I think I'll stick with the opinion that this is the game from Suda51 that will have the widest appeal, simply because it's the best game he's made. It's not perfect, there are still some glitches, but it's also wonderfully crazy (I still haven't quite got over the fact that you can grow zombies in your kitchen garden), so you still need to be open and receptive to this kind of thing, otherwise you'll put it down after a short while with disbelief in your eyes and immediately find yourself another hobby.

If, like me, you are inexplicably drawn to Goichi "Suda51" Suda's crazy brain, then you should definitely play Romeo is a Dead Man, because there is simply nothing else like it when it comes to the overall gaming experience. The game can be completed in 12-15 hours, depending on how thorough you are and what difficulty level you play on. Romeo is a Dead Man is probably a good place to start if you want to get a taste of this man's twisted world - not because it isn't crazy and absurd, because it is - but because it's the most digestible and well-functioning game he has created.