While I’m not even two hours into Desperate Struggle yet, I have to say I’m already pleased with it and excited to continue. It takes place three years after the first in a Santa Destroy that’s now a larger city, filled with large corporations. There seems to be more cut-scenes, but that might just be early in the game. The graphics are still great, and the little bits of breaking the fourth wall are amusing while not annoying. The first fight was fun but simple. It was a tutorial after all.
But let me tell you about the two things that made me fall extra in love with the game. First, Travis’ cat is back, but now she’s fat! You can play with her to make her lose weight, but exercising makes her unhappy. Then you give her treats to make her happy! She’s fat and cute! Second, Desperate Struggle has awesome minigames! There’s a video game Travis owns in his house. It’s called Bizarre Jelly 5, and it’s a vertical shoot ’em up in which you control a magical girl who can shoot with her hand. On the harder difficulty, it’s like a (mild) bullet hell. Bizarre Jelly is based on the anime that Travis Touchdown loves. After I played it, it unlocked a video that allowed me to watch an anime clip of Bizarre Jelly, complete with the second and third panty shots in Desperate Struggle (the game’s not for kids). The side jobs all play as simple games that feel like they would have been right at home on the NES. They’re fantastic!
All in all, the main gameplay is still awesome, and the minigames are great. I love how aware Desperate Struggle is that it’s a game. It’s like an homage to the medium as a whole.