Slaps & Beans 2 Review

Bud Spencer & Terence Hill were actually Italian actors featured in a bevy of action/comedy movies from 1959 to 1994. While in 1959, in Hannibal, they were only supporting actors, their first movie as a duo was God Forgives… I Don’t!. Most of their filmography were known as Spaghetti Westerns, a sub-genre that was meant to refer to western movies made by Italians. They were quite a popular duo because they were different and complemented each other.

Bud Spencer was the cool headed big guy while Hill was the impulsive hot head and was often the cause of the brawls both characters got involved in. In 2017, the duo was brought back virtually for Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Slaps & Beans inspired by some of their movies and players would play as titular characters beating up everyone who looked at them wrong. And here we are in 2023, Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Slaps & Beans 2 is out allowing players to continue their shenanigans.

Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Slaps & Beans 2 picks up where the 2017 game left off as they continue their investigation into the yellow. Their hunt will bring them to Chinatown where they’ll come across a mysterious figure only known as Black Tiger. Their adventure will bring our two heroes across a variety of levels such as a jungle, laboratory; among others.

Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Slaps & Beans 2 is a side scrolling beat’em up where you can play as both characters. While the game does offer co-op, if you’re venturing solo, you can swap between both characters at any time and it does come handy (more on that later). Both characters have a weak attack, strong attack; they can also run and block. You also have special attack meters that can let you pull off stronger attacks by pressing both X and A at the same time. Both characters also pick up various items and weapons to use and throw at enemies.

Some levels will also have items that can be used to cause damage. For example, Terrance can use a wooden box to do a double kick to nearby enemies. Where the partner swapping comes in handy is when you’ll need to solve light puzzles in order to progress forward. For example, one of the earliest example is to reach a higher area requires Spencer’s brute strength to break boxes so Terrance can reach a higher spot and activate an elevator so Spencer can meet up his buddy.

After a few levels, you’ll be introduced to power ups. Moving forward, you’ll be able to pick up things like a boxing glove or helmet for a temporary power or defense boost. While the core mechanic is combat, some levels feature some mini-game mechanics to break up the monotony. For example, you’ll have to make sure a boat survives a ride with the cargo, bananas, intact. Or later on, you’ll play a game of cards with a hustler. Unfortunately, you need to win/succeed in order to progress.

Each boss battle have unique requirements to be cleared. While some combat is required, it’s not always a simple mechanic of beating the level’s head honcho to a pulp. One of the boss battles requires players to free tigers before throwing a steak into a ring so the wild beast attack. Another one has you beating up a baddy trying to escape with money while surviving waves of cronies. They are also multi-layered. Once you’re done with the Story, you can jump into multiplayer modes with friends where you’ll enjoy the bevy of mini-games found throughout story mode.

The game does look great in a its pixelated goodness. Both protagonists look quite similar to their real-life counterpart. Enemies are generic, but there’s a decent variety of them across the various levels. Speaking of which, the game does feature a generous variety in terms of level design; whether it be the jungle, Chinatown or a laboratory, each area is uniquely designed. The soundtrack is a boring, generic & forgettable blues-ish score and the voiceovers are fairly performed; although the voice actors used for Spencer and Hill are obviously not their real-life counterpart. They sound fine, but there’s something off.

The game does have a few nuisance however. The first being the game not seemingly being compatible with the console’s Quick Resume feature. While it does claim to be when booting the game later on, you’re always booted out to the main menu instead of being able to pick up where you left off. Given the game’s monotone nature on certain levels, it’s a bit frustrating if you have to drop the game mid-level and start it all over again at a later time. The other issue is that during some levels, the camera pans out so far off that it feels like you’re watching miniature figures beat each other up. Some fights will have a lot of enemies causing you to lose track of both characters. Combat is boring, slow and uninspired.

Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Slaps & Beans 2 is an interesting, albeit bland, addition to the beat’em up genre. While combat feels uninspired, having the game flow flipped on its head with various types of mini-games to keep things fresh is a fun way to keep people playing. The addition of a competitive multiplayer mode is an interesting touch. But it’s hard to recommend this game knowing the core mechanic, combat, falls flats compared to the plethora of beat’em ups available. If you’ve enjoyed the first, this is a no-brainer, but otherwise, I’d recommend waiting for a sale.