Guacamelee Gold was one of my favorite pick ups here and I'm glad they did not take long to bring the update here. This game is not only a worthy update but a good starting point for someone who has never played Guacameelee before. I know some people are upset about having to pay for an update but they packed a lot into this. 2 extra levels along with new secrets, intensio mode and my personal favorite a new set of Steam Trading Cards!!

The only negative I can say is my hands still haven't recovered from all the abuse I put them through last time to get 100% on the achievements. But what's a little carpal tunnel to enjoy more of this great universe.

You can Suplex a Chicken 11/10

No but to put on my Serious reviewer voice, this is the Improved version of Guacamelee, which comes with nicer looking effects for enemies, your special attacks cause camera shake etc and an "Intenso mode" which makes you super powered for a short time, plus comes with brand new content, plus a new boss (or should I say Trio of bosses), it is a great little upgrade to an already amazing Metroidvania brawler. plus its also a great deal at 66% off for those who owned the other version of Guacamelee,

Downside however is that because it is a new game rather than an expansion/patch for the original version, you will need to start again from the start, but its fun seeing what new additions/Graphics they added in this version.

p.s. the screens when you get powerups are no longer Seizure Inducing, so you wont be blinded by flashy colours when playing in the dark.

Hmm..
Naturally when you're looking to buy a game, you want to get the latest and greatest version. It should have all the extra content, bug-fixes, and so on. However, the possibility exists that the newest verson could be inferior in some ways. Game-design is a constant and always finicky, and nobody ever seems to be satisfied with its results. So things get changed, and changed again, sometimes they're even changed back to their original state. It's a constantly confusing nightmare, and for what? In the end it all comes down to preference.

Forgive me, I love to ramble.

STCE is on paper*, the superior version of Guacamelee! Let's look at some of the facts:

Two brand-new areas to explore!
A new boss-fight!
Intenso!
Multiple save-slots!
New enemies!
Every foe has a visible health-meter!
etc!

If you're hankering for more Guacamelee, then definitely grab this! The new areas are great. They make the world a bit richer, and are fleshed out with plenty of secrets and fighting/platforming to be had. I also like the little changes such as costumes being unlocked via silver coins. The biggest deal is that the controller-issue I had with Guaca-Gold is fixed, making this by default the superior version for me.

BUT!
STCE is a different game, and it can be considered inferior in a way. The controversial addition is Intenso! It's the "shock gloves"** of Guacamelee. Once you fill a meter you can become a superpowered luchadore by pressing L3+R3. Once you purchase all of the upgrades you're practically invincible. Guaca-Gold wasn't a difficult game, so having the ability to cheese the rare moments of challenge makes things a bit too easy. Keep in mind that this ability is optional. Most of the time I forgot I even had it.

The new enemies are quaint. For the most part they're reskins that can move faster, hit (much) harder, and will sometimes teleport to get out of danger. Aside from nega-chupacabras doing tons of damage with their sword-stab, they're not a threat. There are also some flying fish in one of the new areas. They remind me of enemies from the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night. They only showed up in one area, and behaved in a similar manner. If it's a reference, then I applaud drinkbox for their attention to obscurity.

If you haven't played Guacamelee before, IMO it's best to go straight to this version. It's more convenient, since the original version doesn't have multiple save-slots. Having the most content is a definite plus as well. You might feel the urge to go back to Guaca-Gold for its original "true" level of difficulty but eh...I wouldn't recommend it. Most of Guacamelee's challenge is in a couple of boss-fights, and the optional areas like El Infierno. For the most part you're the awesome skull-cracking luchadore on a fun adventure. If you want a difficult Metroidvania, consider Valdis Story: Abyssal City (also on Steam).

Mostly though I'm just really happy and relieved that the controller issue I had with Guaca-Gold is fixed in this game. It's the main reason I'll probably never go back to the earlier version (though I have a fair number of achievements I should get).




*What is it with "on paper"? I use that phrase way too often.

**The gloves from Batman: Arkham Origins. Punch through any defense, combo count boost, makes things so easy.

Since I reviewed Gold Edition previously, I'm going to focus on the differences and new content here. See my thoughts on why I enjoyed this game so much here http://steamcommunity.com/id/Soupinator/recommended/214770

Super Turbo Championship Edition is essentially a significant content DLC on top of Gold Edition, but since it makes so many changes to the game it is sold as standalone with a discount for previous owners. Loading up a Gold Edition savegame simply would not work so if you started the game in Gold Edition you will have to start over in this one. It adds two new large areas with new gameplay mechanics, adds a bunch of new enemy types (elite versions of existing enemies with new abilities,) some new graphical effects (heat distortion and shadows,) a new rage mechanic for combat, pollo bombs!, and reworks all the fights in the game. There may be other changes I can't think of at the moment.

While none of the new content is strictly necessary to enjoy the game, I found it well worth the $5 upgrade. The new areas are a lot of fun and quite unique compared to the rest of the game and are integrated seamlessly with the story. The INTENSO rage mechanic works well as a panic button letting you recover from a fight that's going badly, and that does become necessary. The fight rework in addition to the new enemies makes the game significantly more difficult which I appreciated but others may not. In some fights they went a bit too far though, covering the screen with enemies, removing all sense of strategy and turning the combat into a spamfest.

So which version should you buy? I would definitely recommend this one, with the caveat that you may find it too difficult.

One of the best platformer/Beat-them-up just got upgraded. new attacks, new enemies, new bosses, new levels, new modes, new skins and a graphical improvement, this is really worth getting if you didn't play the original version. if you have the original you get a 66% discount which is good but i still think it should be an optional DLC that sells for 2 Dollars. of course i understand many people won't buy it because they played the original and they shouldn't buy it, but as for me its just that i wanted a reason to replay Guacamelee again so i bought this.

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is the remake of Guacamelee! Gold Edition. On it's own it is a fantastic throw-back to Metroid-style platforming, exploration, and "weapon" upgrades that aid combat, mobility, and access to new areas (the weapons being your fists, btw). It is a remarkable well put together game of roughly the same length as Super Metroid, perhaps a tad shorter.
A solid 10/10 if you're into number rankings. Definitely worth the money, and the time and effort you'll put into getting 100% and playing hardcore mode.

The caveat:
If you already own Gold Edition, I'm not sure this is worth the entry price. I had and completed Gold Edition shortly after it came out last year. Not wanting to spend money on this remake without knowing what made it different I finagled myself a copy through trading. For those who have Gold Edition and are curious, the biggest CHANGE is enemy behavior. It is slightly more difficult to scum your special attacks ad nauseum. Another change is that costumes cost a second "silver" currency which is much more rare than the gold. And the additions amount to 3 new areas with a total extra ~2 hours of gameplay (depending on your play style). The other addition, which I never found necessary to use is a Turbo mode which makes Juan faster and more powerful for a limited amount of time. And finally you can drop an egg bomb as a chicken.

Are these changes and additions worth $5 to someone who already owns and has played Gold Edition? Well, that's entirely subjective. In retrospect I'm glad I didn't spend the money for the remake, but I am glad I got to play it. I truly love this game, and if it was made 20 years ago I think people would still be hype about it today.

tl;dr
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition is worth every penny to a Guacamelee noobie, and is a crapshoot if you've got Gold Edition.
Enjoy!

+ Gorgeous 2D graphics
+ Metroidvania gameplay
+ Sidequests
+ Almost feels like an entirely new game (for me, at least)

- Sometimes a bit too unbalanced/unforgiving

[Rating: 90/100]

Guacamelee is awesome. It's got impressive art style, gameplay is tight and music is great.

The best part of it is combat system. It's fluid and fast. You combine regular kicks and special moves into spectacular combos, finishing of enemies with piledrivers, throws and slams. Dodging is easy, so combat in this game is more about fun then frustrating challenge(unless you'll go for OPTIONAL stuff to get achievments).

Platforming gets gradualy more difficult and more creative as you learn new moves, but it won't be a problem(unless you'll go for OPTIONAL stuff to get achievments).

The world is huge and different, all areas are themed. Exploring it and finding hidden chests with upgrades is fun. Sometimes to get to the chest you'll have to beat platforming puzzles, sometimes combat challenges. There're also some side quest, which are mostly there for comedy reasons. Guys at Drinkbox generaly have a good sense of humor. You'll find a lot of references to your favourite indie and childhood games.

The plot is simple, yet characters are different and weird(in a good way). Every big area ends with a boss fight of sort. I don't know, the game is generaly crafted so well, I'd call it a masterpiece. Go get it!

PS. I've beaten Gold Edition and now replaying this version on a Hard Mode.

Vanilla Guacamelee really burned me hard because for the majority of the game I really was enjoying it due to the gameplay and atmosphere up until the difficulty scaling went out right the window with Jaguar Javier and I just gave up there. Thankfully Super Turbo has fixed most of these problems and the ball-busting stuff is relegated to 100% completion as it should be. Intenso is also a solid enough way to make things somewhat easier while leaving it optional. The levels and boss that they added in Super Turbo are nice additions that are worth 5 bucks if you already own Vanilla. Overall if you haven't bought Guacamelee yet just buy this, its standalone and an improvement over Vanilla. If you want more Guacamelee or felt really burned by Vanilla give Super Turbo a spin, its what I wanted the game to be from the beginning.

If someone told you about a game that was a cross between Metroidvania and Double Dragon where you play as a Luchador wrestler that can transform into a chicken and who learns his special moves from a half-goat-half-man during the Dia De Los Muertos Festival, you'd be perfectly within your rights to assume that the individual in question was insane.

Thankfully for the world, the game actually does exist, and it's brilliant.

It's kinda nice to have a game with themes that come from somewhere other than Japan or the United States, even if nothing in Guacamelee should be taken seriously, vis-a-vis the reality of life in Central America. All of the stages and characters are beautifully crafted in a slightly demented sort of way, the fighting flows wonderfully, and the upgrade system is easy to use.

As for differences between Super Turbo Championship Edition and Gold Edition, there is a new boss, a few new regular enemies, two new stages, a few new music tracks, a new special power, and a heavily revised "Hard Mode" - which is many orders of magnitude more diffcult in STCE than it was in the Gold Edition.

In all, I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about the game... Like... At all.

I started playing Quacamelee! Gold Edition, and though I really liked the gameplay mechanics, I wasn't a big fan of the theme at first. I also have a long queue of unplayed games I've been trying to get through, and so I set it down for a while. And then a while became a freaking long time.

So I saw GSTCE come out, and thought to myself, hey that game was a lot of fun, here's the perfect excuse to go back. So I picked it up, and this time I couldn't put it down (still haven't as the game is running while I write this). You have a pretty simple set of combat moves (basic atttacks, direction strong/bonus attacks, a set of meters), but some very complex combo abilities emerge. Additionally, the evolving moveset unlocks new areas in the game similar to Super Metroid (can't speak for later ones, never had interest in a first person Metroid).

The control scheme feels super tight and rock solid. Often, you play platformers, and the controls will feel sluggish, or delayed. Or the inertia when moving feels 'off'. But not here. The game throws tons of crazy challenges at you (especially inferno levels or tree top), but I always felt like it was my fault I was dieing and not due to the game asking more out of you than its gameplay mechanics allowed for. They push you, but not too far. It feels really well balanced in this respect.

There is also something very satisfying about the combo system. From throws, to slams, to just straight up clobbering. Popups, juggles, it's got similarities to a capcom Vs game or maybe even a smash bros. It's one of those games where it's just really fun to turn on and beat the crap out of some things.

The game's art style, while seemingly simple and cartoony, is very rich, and contains a deceptive level of detail. The game has save points that you just walk past throughout the world, so you never have to stop the action. Similarly for starting up, menus, and cut scenes. These devs recognize necessary modern conveniences, and they got the biggest of them all right: let the player play the game and don't force them to watch/do crap that they don't want to!

If you own the original, this going to come down to what you think $5 is worth for a game. Do you measure it in terms of gameplay hours? Or do you measure it in terms of skilled labor hours put into it by a small indie game company? I chose the latter, picked the game up and have a blast ever since. If you're even a small fan of metroidvanias, I would recommend this game.

I can barely think of anything I DON'T like about this game. How could I possibly find fault with a Mexican-flavored side-scrolling dimension-swapping metroidvania comedy beat-em-up set on Día de los Muertos?

The combat is exciting, the controls are tight, you will NEVER run out of different ways to beat people up, platforming is immensely satisfying and makes good use of the special moves, it's chock full of those little moments that make you go "woah!", consequenses for failure are low and put you back in the action right away, you spend a significant portion of the game as a chicken...

Just fuggin' buy it already, it's awesome.

10/10

Imagine you took Metroid, Final Fight and Lucha Libre and put it in a blender, then you poured that all over the sexiest person you can think of and made love to him/her for 24 hours straight. Then after you are done, you are given a billion dollars, the title of King of the World, and a back rub. That's Guacamelee in a hyperbole enfused nutshell.

In all seriousness, Guacamelee has precision platforming; challenging, old school, pattern based combat; addictive music; actual funny humor; and its a friggin Metroidvania. Plus its gorgeous... It is quite possibly the best game (of the retro-esque platform/combat style) that I've played in years. Definately the best Metroidvania since Monster Tale on the DS, its secrets are not super hard to find, but the skill required to get 100% more than makes up for the slightly easy to find items, and many of the abilities make the back and forth nature of this type of game much less tedious, as almost all of them are movement based in one way or another. There is nothing that I can complain about this game, except maybe that there are no sequels yet, or maybe that its only about 12 hours long for a 100% play through.

*Filled to the brim with content, It feels like you've played for so much longer than you actually have.
*Satisfying liberal combat system.
*Super tight brain-bending platforming.
*Huge and smooth difficulty curve. It seems like the game always encourages you to take "just one more notch up".
*Nice humour.

A great Metroidvania. An improvement over the original. Worth the asking price of $15, You'll get enough game time from trying to get 100%.

The original Guacamelee! is one of my favorite "Indie" games that I own, and I was extremely excited when I heard that the Super Tubo Championship Edition came to PC. I purchased it immediately and just finished my Normal playthrough.

Guacamelee!: Super Turbo Championship Edition adds a good amount of extra content, in the form of new levels, new enemies scattered throughout the game, a new boss, and new abilities. It's a "Metroidvania" style 2D action game, but instead of a bounty hunter or vampire hunter, you play as Guacamelee!, a luchador fighting his way through both the land of the living and the dead to rescue his love.

The Good:

*Unique art style drawing from Mexican folklore, specifically the "Day of the Dead"
*Great music and environments
*Tight controls
*Clever, rarely frustrating platforming sections
*Fun combat, with a mix of combo-based striking and grappling
*Simple story with humor and references to classic games all over every stage of the game

The Bad:
*Can't remap controls on a controller. This is a minor gripe, because the controls make sense, except for the new "Intenso" mode, which requires pressing LS and RS simultaneously on a gamepad. This is annoying, especially considering that RB and RT are both mapped to the same function, and either could have been switched to Intenso mode.
*Game is short. I wanted it to last longer. There is replayability in a Hard mode unlock and a challenge guantlet of sorts, with lots of hidden items to go back and find for 100% completion. But even with the added content, I beat the game in 9 hours (not 100%), with a considerable amount of backtracking and exploration.
*The new Intenso mode makes combat far too easy on Normal playthrough. Entering Intenso mode lets you just wail on anything until it runs out, forgoing combos and dodging entirely.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this game. As an owner of the original Guacamelee!, I received the upgrade at a discount (67% off, or $5). I had no issues replaying the game from scratch, because it's fun. I'd be less likely to recommend the upgrade to existing Guacamelee! owners at $15, because there's not THAT much new content. For new owners, however, $15 is absolutely worth it, even with the short length of the game. You'll want to get 100% completion, and then tackle Hard mode if you still haven't had enough.

This is an amazing game. I haven't had this much fun in a game for a long time.
Note:
-Fun and deceivingly complex combo system
-Aggravating yet fair platforming (I've almost thrown my controller a few times.)
-Really good story
-colorful and fun artstyle and soundtrack

With new bosses, enemies, powerups, and much more at hand, this version of the already awesome Guacamelee is the definitive version to get and shows that there's still some Metroidvania games that still impress people like me.

It's Guacamelee, except with more stuff. And the new stuff is pretty good, though maybe a bit misplaced in the game's timeline; the second new area especially has several things harder than anything else in the game, /including/ the secret areas :B
Hard mode also has platforming challenges changed a little, which actually feels unnecessary but it's not a huge change. It's still the same luchadorvania that I enjoyed the first time through. Still not perfect but plenty fun. Worth picking up if you never played the original Gold edition, probably worth it on sale if you have.

Just a heads up tp those who own the Gold Edition. This is NOT a cash grab with a couple of levels tacked on, it's a complete overhaul. The new levels are fully integrated into the base game. Certain pathways that were accessible in the original are blocked off in this game, and require the use of new abilities needed to traverse parts of the new levels.

The new abilities are available early on, and required a complete rebalancing of all prior enemies. The new enemies, traps, and levels, are much more challenging. The difficulty ramps up steadily to the point of frustration, but that makes it all the sweeter when you finally manage to get past a difficult section.

If you enjoyed the Gold Edition, you'll enjoy this one even more.