BANZAI PECAN: The Last Hope For the Young Century

41%
Game Brain Score Based on 70 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
BANZAI PECAN: The Last Hope For the Young Century Game Cover
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"Banzai Pecan: The Last Hope For the Young Century" is an old-school arcade-style action game set in a demonic-infested 20XX. When her boyfriend is kidnapped, Pecan transforms into Banzai Pecan, a powerful warrior, a "Young Century" savior, to regain justice. The game features hand-to-hand combat, dodge-and-counter mechanics, and powerful Banzai Shinken moves to unleash divine retribution on enemies.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

41%
Audience ScoreBased on 70 reviews
graphics4 positive mentions
gameplay9 negative mentions
  • The game features a nostalgic 90s anime aesthetic and humor, appealing to fans of the genre.
  • It offers a fun, albeit challenging, beat 'em up experience with a variety of unlockable content.
  • The soundtrack is enjoyable and complements the fast-paced gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The controls are often unresponsive and poorly designed, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • The game suffers from balance issues, with bosses being either overly difficult or too easy, detracting from the challenge.
  • The writing and humor can come off as cringeworthy and juvenile, failing to resonate with a broader audience.
  • gameplay33 mentions

    The gameplay of "Banzai Pecan" is widely criticized for its poor mechanics, frustrating controls, and lack of polish, leading to a repetitive and often irritating experience. Many players find the combat unresponsive and the boss fights cheap, resulting in a game that lacks both replay value and the engaging qualities typical of classic beat 'em ups. While some appreciate its potential and humor, the overall consensus is that the gameplay fails to deliver a satisfying experience.

    • “From the gameplay to the soundtrack, everything is just awesome!”
    • “The gameplay itself is standard for a fighting game.”
    • “Despite the difficulty in gameplay mechanics, I decided to let 'Banzai Pecan: The Last Hope for the Young Century' set to the side to withstand the test of time.”
    • “Gameplay was annoying and irritating.”
    • “The base gameplay is fine but controls are a little frustrating and occasionally unresponsive.”
    • “Boring gameplay, bad controls, cheap and spammy boss fights, and cringeworthy dialogue is what makes up this game.”
  • story23 mentions

    The story of "Banzai Pecan" is polarizing, with some players finding it cringy and poorly executed, while others appreciate its silly, tongue-in-cheek humor and nostalgic references. Critics note that the narrative is clichéd and relies heavily on stale memes, lacking depth and character development typical of beat 'em ups. However, fans argue that the absurd premise of succubi stealing a boyfriend for a hellish plot adds a unique charm, making it an experience worth having despite its flaws.

    • “When the game nears its end, the story suddenly gets serious in an explosive final chapter.”
    • “Banzai Pecan is an indie game and it shows, but the story is one place it really excels.”
    • “The story doesn't make much sense if you take it too seriously, but if you let your imagination run wild, you'll see that her boyfriend got kidnapped by the queen of a succubus force and now you have to invert the roles and save your knight in distress.”
    • “The story is a shallow, clichéd mess that doesn't even try to have fun with itself and relies too much on stale memes and innuendos to the point where it comes off as just plain terrible with no payoff.”
    • “Banzai Pecan: The last hope for the young century, or as I would like to call it, Banzai Pecan: The Last Shred of Dignity of This Century, is a half-baked 2D brawler that tries so hard to be like Capcom's God Hand (or not at all) that it falls flat on its face thanks to its poor execution and bottom-of-the-barrel story.”
    • “The story is dude gets kidnapped, go save him.”
  • graphics18 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing them as outdated or reminiscent of mediocre webcomics, while others appreciate the polished, old-school aesthetic and vibrant art style. The anime-inspired visuals and animations are often described as lacking depth, though a few reviewers found them charming and well-executed. Overall, the graphical quality seems to vary significantly, leading to a polarized reception among players.

    • “The graphics and animations are well-done.”
    • “You can tell a lot of passion went into these visuals.”
    • “Great 16-bit graphics.”
    • “First of all, the graphics are bad.”
    • “From cutscenes to characters, everything has this mediocre 'DeviantArt' feel to it that you get with a lot of artwork from artists who aren't that good yet.”
    • “Apparently it needs a lot of graphical and processing horsepower (especially with the older versions), even though the graphics look about as good as a mediocre webcomic from the mid-2000s, and the animations are terrible to the point of being a detriment to the gameplay.”
  • music15 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the catchy soundtrack and memorable themes, while others find it generic and repetitive. While many appreciate the overall quality and fun nature of the music, issues with audio balancing and intrusive sound effects detract from the experience for some players. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a highlight, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere despite some criticisms.

    • “The soundtrack rocks and the storylines are quite funny.”
    • “The soundtrack chosen is also nice to listen to, with the main theme and trailer theme sticking in my head.”
    • “A really fun and lovely game, with a great soundtrack and adorable graphics.”
    • “Controls are awful, gameplay is awful, music is forgettable.”
    • “The audio balancing is all over the place; for the most part, character voices are completely drowned out by the music, so I can't comment on the quality of the voice acting. The voices sound like they were recorded using low to medium quality headsets and not even decent quality stand-alone microphones.”
    • “The music mostly consists of repetitive techno beats that loop constantly, while others don't really add anything to the game.”
  • humor15 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it campy and filled with references to anime that can be hilarious, while others criticize it as cringy and unoriginal, featuring infantile dialogue and uninteresting characters. The comedic elements often rely on a tongue-in-cheek style that may not resonate with all players, leading to a polarized reception regarding its effectiveness. Overall, while some appreciate the humor as a guilty pleasure, others find it lacking in substance and execution.

    • “This basically is a short guilty pleasure beat-em-up with a heavy dose of comic-book style art & humor.”
    • “The game has a lot of references to other anime series and games (most I know, some I don't), and it's pretty hilarious.”
    • “Its funny though, howling with laughter funny.”
    • “If that was supposed to be a parody of anime, it's a very unfunny parody with infantile dialogues and uninteresting characters.”
    • “Unfunny writing.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game offers limited replayability, with users noting a lack of long-term gameplay and balance adjustments since its last update in 2015. Many feel that the questionable programming and reliance on elements from superior titles further diminish its fun factor and overall value.

    • “There's not a lot of replay value or long-term gameplay here, so basically you're getting a $3 game that, given a chance, is a fun little title but would've benefitted from some more balance adjustments (likely not happening given it was last updated in 2015).”
    • “Combine all this with questionable programming and system requirements, little replay value, along with some stuff stolen from other (objectively better) video games and you have a game that's not very fun to play.”
  • character development2 mentions

    The game excels in character design by playfully parodying anime tropes, embracing a lighthearted and humorous approach. While meaningful character development may not be the primary focus, the over-the-top and silly nature of the characters adds to the overall enjoyment, aligning well with the game's brawler genre.

    • “If this game does one thing right, it's the character designs, which clearly don't take themselves too seriously by parodying anime tropes.”
    • “I understand that character development or any kind of meaningful story isn't the primary reason players come to a brawler, but in a game like God Hand, it embraces its video game nature with characters and situations that are goofy, over-the-top, or just plain silly.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with any of the characters.”
    • “While the character designs are visually appealing, the actual development of the characters is disappointing and uninspired.”
    • “There is little to no growth or change in the characters throughout the game, leaving them feeling static and uninteresting.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players overwhelmingly criticize the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and monotonous, often describing it as an over-simplified and pointless experience that leads to frustration and physical strain from repetitive button-mashing.

    • “Over-simplified, boring, tedious, button-mashing, rubbish, pointless.”
    • “It's just one tedious button-mashing session after another, and by the fourth level I was beginning to get RSI from jackhammering the goddamned attack button!”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its dynamic and fast-paced energy, appealing particularly to fans of anime and action genres. Players appreciate the vibrant and engaging environment that enhances the overall gameplay experience.

    • “A must-play for fans of dynamic anime and fast-paced action games, thanks to its vibrant atmosphere.”
    • “The game immerses you in a captivating world filled with energy and excitement.”
    • “The uptempo atmosphere keeps you engaged and on the edge of your seat throughout the gameplay.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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