Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (Wii U) review "Tight."

If mask and tights are adequate protection and wrestling moves your preferred weapon, Juan, the broad-chested hero of Guacamelee! is your luchador. Rescue El Presidente’s daughter and defeat the skull-headed mastermind, Carlos Calaca.

This action-oriented platformer is all polished and has a direct port from console-optimized code. Two-dimensional games like this should never push your hardware, and this is a skillful example of code with sharp reflexes. Even integrated graphics solutions won’t blink at the tight controls and on-screen combat. Your rig is undoubtedly ready for this match.

On that note, you may comb through the settings and have more difficulty setting them. It’s not a mistake: Once you’re in, be prepared to train, and train hard. This is not a game for beginners; mastery of your own reflexes is expected for optimal score and performance. Where Metroid and Zelda compensate for the difficulty arc with gear upgrades, you are expected to do so with your muscle memory and trained reflexes with style.

Worry not, because there are some upgrades that serve as an analog for stamina increases and health for overall survivability. You have plenty of time to acquaint yourself with Juan’s mechanics, which are forgiving and straightforward: Punch, kick and throw enemies around the screen to unbalance unreachable opponents. Executing moves requires little more than tilting an analog stick and pressing a corresponding button.

With a little practice, you’ll be clearing the floor like a pro. Some scenarios pit you in arena combat with upwards of a dozen opponents at once. Fear not: You are always equipped to win. As with any fight, you have to overcome yourself first. The rest is…well, coins, which you’ll receive after the defeat of any enemy.

Juan is more than solid muscle and tough…silence? Just like the thorns tattooed on his chest, his moves do the talking, opting for the classic self-insertion approach to narrative. The aforementioned techniques do more than open beat-down options: Most goodies can only be reached with the use of recently acquired, goat-taught skills.

You won’t spend much time retracing your steps, thankfully, because this is a demanding game. You may want to pit yourself against it when you’re feeling at your peak because anything less could be personally disappointing. This drives home the point of enacting the part of a luchador, funnily enough. Small wonder this title attracts dedicated warriors.

If you’re not ready for a beating, invite a friend for a two-player smackdown at any time. Your weapons: The Xbox 360 controller and keyboard can be easily swapped on the option screen. Probably the slickest method of doing so I’ve seen in recent history. Few titles treat the PC platform with such respect, and Drinkbox could likely have gotten away with less.

Thankfully, the fun doesn’t stop there: Guacamelee! has entertaining culture-steeped characters with plenty of attitude and humour. How often does a female villain have enough depth to flirt with the hero, to shrug it off as a game? A little respect for personality goes a long way here, and a few choice lines for memory.

Speaking of fun, while the soundtrack may be stereotypical, I doubt it could be any more fitting and inventive without being derivative. You’ve heard the guitar riffs before, and sometimes, they stand out too much, but I’d warrant this worthy of adding to your personal library. Rom Di Prisco and Peter Chapman are no strangers to game music and deliver an energetic and memorable audio backdrop for your adventure. Suitably, it doesn’t distract from your focus, which you’ll be needing.

As mentioned, melee combat isn’t your only obstacle: Platforms and walls will push the limits of your patience, but somehow, never too far. Remember how I said there are no difficulty options? Everything meets here. While you can’t increase Juan’s attributes, you can purchase wrestling moves, health and stamina at skull-adorned tables strewn throughout the game. These pull triple duty as perk distributors, auto-saves and recharge stations.

Carefully trimmed with Mexican-Spanish flavoured game references and caricatures, it could easily be said that “challenge” is the main ingredient of this dish. From here on out, beating this game is your choice. Complete the platform puzzles for rewards? Grind endlessly respawning enemies in open areas? Team up with an ally and share the fun? This is Drinkbox’s answer to scaling the challenge. The prize is yours to claim. Know you’re in for a personally demanding fight. Once you do, pick up one of the finest titles of the genre.

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Community review by hastypixels (December 07, 2016) Wisdom comes from effort and mistakes.